Kolanthes


Kolanthes or Kolanthes the Child is a child deity from the late period of ancient Egyptian religion. He has been documented since the second century BC in the circle of the deities of Akhmim in the ninth Upper Egyptian Nome.

Divine Family

Kolanthes was a son within the patron trinity of Akhmim. In the Temple of Athribis, his mother was Repyt. Aperetiset also was identified as his mother. The god Min acted as his father.
Kolanthes was identified with Horus, the divine child and the Pharaoh, and he was called "the child of Osiris and Isis".

Cultic sites and written evidence

The cult sites of Kolanthes are located north and south of Akhmim. In the quarries of Gabal El Haridi and Ptolemais Hermiou, Demotic rock inscriptions mentioning Kolanthes have been found. Other sources include Greek inscriptions, a stele inscribed with hieroglyphs from the time of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, and the recently discovered extensive inscriptions from the temple of Athribis.

Name

The hieroglyphic and demotic spellings of the name “Kolanthes” are inconsistent. It may be presumed that this god is not of Egyptian origin.
In the Greek inscriptions, the name is written Κολάνθης, Κολάνθας, or Κολάνθος. The demotic spelling may be translated as QrnDA, according to the Manuel de Codage.
The inscriptions of the Temple of Athribis have different hieroglyphic spellings in the various scenes.

Full spellings

Szene C 2, 31 2b:q-F20:U28-A-Z1-A17Szenen C 1, 702; C 1, 743; C 3, 152; C 3, 172:q-F20:U28-A17Szenen C 3, 162; C 5, 572; C 5, 672:q-F20:D10-A17

Abbreviated Spellings

Szenen C 1, 411; C 1, 511; C 5, 52A17

Abbreviated versions of "Kolanthes the Child"

<-A17-A17-p->

Literature

  • Hans Bonnet: Reallexikon der ägyptischen Religionsgeschichte. de Gruyter, Berlin 1952, 3. unveränderte Auflage, Reprint, De Gruyter, Berlin 2010,, S. 379.
  • Jan Quaegebeur: Kolanthes. In: Wolfgang Helck : Lexikon der Ägyptologie. Band III, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1980,, Sp. 671–672.
  • . Band 8: Register. Peeters, Leuven 2003,, S. 684
  • Rafed El-Sayed, Yahya El-Masry : Athribis I. General Site Survey 2003–2007. Archaeological & Conservation Studies. The Gate of Ptolemy IX. Architecture and Inscriptions. Imprimerie de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, Kairo 2012,
  • Christian Leitz, Daniela Mendel, Yahya El-Masry: Athribis II. Der Tempel Ptolemaios' XII.: Die Inschriften und Reliefs der Opfersäle, des Umgangs und der Sanktuarräume 3 Bände. Imprimerie de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, Kairo 2010,
  • Christian Leitz, Daniela Mendel: Athribis III. Die östlichen Zugangsräume und Seitenkapellen sowie die Treppe zum Dach und die rückwärtigen Räume des Tempels Ptolemaios XII. 2 Bände, Institut français d'archéologie orientale du Caire, Kairo 2017.
  • Christian Leitz, Daniela Mendel: Athribis IV. Der Umgang L 1 bis L 3. 2 Bände, Institut français d'archéologie orientale du Caire, Kairo 2017.
Category:Egyptian gods
Category:Ptolemaic Kingdom