Laenas, Papillius See antiochus iv.
Lagus (fl. fourth and third centuries b. c.e.) Greek military companion of Alexander the Great and the father of Ptolemy I Soter
Lagus served ALEXANDER [III] the great in campaigns and aided Ptolemy’s career. He was married to arsinoe (5), the mother of ptolemy i soter. The Ptolemaic royal line (304-30 b. c.e.) was called the Lagide Dynasty in honor of Lagus’s memory.
Lahun, el - A site in the faiyum region of Egypt, located south of CROCODILOPOLIS (Medinet el-Faiyum), the necropolis of kahun is located there as well. The river BAHR YUSEF (not of biblical origin, but honoring a local hero of Islam) enters the Faiyum in this area. El-Lahun was a regulating station for the Faiyum and the Bahr
Yusef. In certain times of the year, corresponding to the modern month of January, the sluices were closed to drain the area and to clear the waterways and bridges.
Dominating the site is a pyramidal complex erected by SENWOSRET II (r. 1897-1878 b. c.e.). Made out of mud brick, the pyramid was erected on a rocky outcropping and had a stone casing. The mortuary temple of the complex was covered by red granite, and the surfaces were decorated with inscriptions. The burial chamber was lined with red granite slabs and contained a red granite sarcophagus. A subsidiary pyramid was erected nearby, enclosed within the main wall. papyri from the period were discovered there, as well as medical instruments.
Lake of Fire This was a mysterious Underworld site designated in the mortuary relief called the Book of Gates. This text appears for the first time in the tomb of HOREMHAB (r. 1319-1307 b. c.e.). The Lake of Fire was located in “the Sacred Cavern of Sokar” and was the ultimate destination of damned souls. No one returned from the Lake of Fire, which burned in a sunless region.
Lake of Flowers The poetic name for one of the eternal realms of paradise awaiting the Egyptians beyond the grave, the site contained all the elements deemed inviting, such as fresh water, cool winds, and flowers. The Egyptians, surrounded by deserts in all eras, were quite precise about the necessary aspects of amenti, the joyful existence prepared for the dead in the west. Other designations provided similar attributes and were called the LILY LAKE and the Fields of Food.
Lakes These were the water sources of Egypt beyond the boundaries of the Nile, part of the geographical composition of the Nile Valley. The scant rainfall, especially in Upper Egypt, made the land arid and devoid of any lake. The Delta and the faiyum areas of Lower Egypt, however, were graced with seven lakes in ancient times. They were qurun (Birkat el-Qurun), natron, Manzilah, EDKU, Abukir, mareotis, and Barullus. SIWA Oasis in the LIBYAN or Western desert was graced by Lake Zeytun.
Lamentations of Isis and Nephthys This is an ancient hieratic document from around 500 b. c.e. that was part of the Osirian cult. ISIS and nephthys wept over OSIRIS after he was slain by the god set. The two goddesses also proclaimed Osiris’s resurrection from the dead and his ascension into heaven. During the Late Period (712-332 b. c.e.), Osirian dramas were revived, and elaborate ceremonies were staged with the Lamentations as part of the rituals. Both the goddesses Isis and Nephthys were portrayed by priestesses during the ceremonies in which the hymn was sung, or the Songs, as they were also called, were read by a priest. These ceremonies were celebrated in the fourth month of the year, approximately December 21 on the modern calendar. The Lamentations were also called the Festival Songs of the Two Weepers. In time, the Lamentations were added to versions of the book of the
DEAD.
Land of the Bow This was a region of nubia (modern Sudan) controlled by Egypt from the Early Dynastic Period (2920-2575 b. c.e.) until the end of the New Kingdom (1070 b. c.e.). The area below the first cataract, also called WAWAT, attracted the Egyptians because of the local natural resources and the advantageous trade routes. Associated with the concept of the nine bows, the Land of the Bow was displayed in carvings on royal standards. Other lands of the east assumed that title in certain reigns. In some periods the Nine Bows were depicted on the inside of the pharaoh’s shoes, so that he could tread on them in his daily rounds.
Language The oral and written systems of communication of ancient Egypt were once thought to have been a late development on the Nile but are now recognized as an evolving cultural process that is contemporaneous with, if not earlier than, the Sumerian advances. The clay tablets discovered recently in the tomb of an obscure ruler, scorpion, at Gebel Tjauti, date to between 3700 B. C.E. and 3200 b. c.e., thus marking Egypt’s use of a written language at an earlier historical date not recognized previously. The hieroglyphs inscribed on the tablets were used in varied forms throughout Egypt’s history, the last known display being inscribed at philae, dated 394 b. c.e.
The introduction of hieroglyphs was one of the most important developments in Egypt, as a tradition of literacy and recorded knowledge was thus begun. Not everyone in Egypt was literate, of course, but standards of education were set and maintained as a result, norms observed through the centuries by the vast armies of official scribes. In the beginning, the use of hieroglyphs was confined to a class of priests, and over the years the language in the oral form grew sophisticated and evolved, but the hieroglyphs remained comparatively traditional, protected against inroads by the priestly castes that trained the multitude of scribes. The hieroglyphs were normally used for religious texts, hence the Greek name hieroglyph (“sacred carvings”). The linguistic stages of development are as follows:
Old Egyptian is the term used to designate the language of the Early Dynastic Period (2920-2575 b. c.e.) and the Old Kingdom (2575-2134 b. c.e.). Extant texts from this period are mostly official or religious, including the PYRAMID TEXTS, royal decrees, tomb inscriptions, and a few biographical documents.
Middle Egyptian, the linguistic form of the First Intermediate Period (2134-2040 b. c.e.), was used through the New Kingdom and later. This is classic hieroglyphic writing, used on monuments and on the famed rosetta stone.
The Late Egyptian writings included the classic hieroglyphs and the hieratic form. Definite and indefinite articles were included, and phonetic changes entered the language. In the Twenty-sixth Dynasty (664-525 b. c.e.), the demotic form became the accepted language. During the Persian, Greek, and Roman periods of occupation on the Nile, the demotic form was used for legal documents, literary, and religious texts. The demotic is also included in the Rosetta Stone.
Hieroglyphic Egyptian is basically a pictorial form, used by the early Egyptians to record an object or an event. The hieroglyph could be read as a picture, as a symbol of an image portrayed, or as a symbol for the sounds related to the image. In time the hieroglyphs were incorporated into art forms as well, inserted to specify particulars about the scene or event depicted.
Hieroglyphs were cut originally on cylindrical seals. These incised, roller-shaped stones (later replaced by handheld scarab seals) were rolled onto fresh clay jar stoppers. They were used to indicate ownership of an object (particularly royal ownership) and designated the official responsible for its care. Such cylinders and seals were found in the Predynastic Period (before 3000 b. c.e.) and First Dynasty (2920-2770 b. c.e.) tombs. Hieroglyphs accompanying the artistic renditions of the Early Dynastic Period (2920-2575 b. c.e.) began to conform to certain regulations. At the start of the Old Kingdom, a canon of hieroglyphs was firmly in place. From this period onward
Hieroglyphs, the writing of ancient Egyptians, now known to be in use long before the unification of the Two Kingdoms, c. 3,000 B. C.E. (Hulton Archive.)
The hieroglyphic writing appeared on stone monuments and bas-reliefs or high reliefs. The hieroglyphs were also painted on wood or metal. They were incorporated into temple decorations and were also used in coffins, stelae, statues, tomb walls, and other monumental objects.
The obvious limitations of hieroglyphs for practical, day-to-day record keeping led to another, cursive form, called the hieratic. In this form the hieroglyphs were simplified and rounded, in the same way that such writing would result from the use of a reed-pen rather than a chisel on a stone surface. In the Old Kingdom (25752134 b. c.e.) the hieratic was barely distinguishable from the hieroglyphic, but in the Middle (2040-1640 b. c.e.) and New Kingdoms (1550-1070 b. c.e.) the form was developing unique qualities of its own. This form was used until the Roman era, c. 30 b. c.e., although during the Ptolemaic Period (304-30 b. c.e.) Greek was the official language of the Alexandrian court. cleopatra vii (51-30 b. c.e.) was the only member of her royal line that spoke the Egyptian language.
The Egyptian language in the written form (as it reflected the oral traditions) is unique in that it concerns itself with realism. There is something basically concrete about the images depicted, without speculative or philosophical nuances. Egyptians had a keen awareness of the physical world and translated their observances in images that carried distinct symbolism. Gestures or positions reflected a particular attribute or activity. The hieroglyphs were concise, strictly regulated as to word order, and formal.
In the hieroglyphic writing only two classes of signs need to be distinguished: sense signs, or ideograms, and sound signs, or phonograms. The ideograms represent either the actual object depicted or some closely connected idea. Phonograms acquired sound values and were used for spelling. The vowels were not written in hieroglyphs, a factor which reflects the use of different vocalizations and context for words in the oral Egyptian language. The consonants remained consistent because the pronunciation of the word depended upon the context in which it appeared.
Hieroglyphic inscriptions consisted of rows of miniature pictures, arranged in vertical columns or horizontal lines. They normally read from right to left, although in some instances they were read in reverse. The signs that represented persons or animals normally faced the beginning of the inscription, a key as to the direction in which it should be read.
The alphabet is precise and includes specific characters for different sounds or objects. For each of the consonantal sounds there were one or more characters, and many single signs contained from two to four sounds. These signs, with or without phonetic value, were also used as determinatives. These were added at the ends of words to give them particular action or value. The decipherment of hieroglyphic writing was made possible with the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. Since that time, the study of Egypt’s language has continued and evolved, enabling scholars to reassess previously known materials and to elaborate on the historical evidence concerning the people of the Nile.
Suggested Readings: Adkins, Lesley, and Roy Adkins. The Keys of Egypt: The Obsession to Decipher Egyptian Hieroglyphs. New York: Harper Collins, 2000; Allen, James P Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000; Bertro, Maria Carmelo. Hieroglyphics: The Writings of Ancient Egypt. New York: Abbeville, 1996; Scott, Henry Joseph, and Lenore Scott. Egyptian Hieroglyphics. London: Hippocrene, 1998.
Lansing Papyrus This is a document now in the British Museum in London that appears to be related to the school and scribal systems of Egypt. The text of the papyrus praises scribes and extols the advantages of education and learning.
Lapis lazuli This is a semiprecious stone, a form of limestone, blue mineral lazurite, preferred by Egyptians over gold and silver. The stone, which could be opaque, dark, or greenish blue, was sometimes flecked with gold and was used in all eras, especially as amulets, small sculptures, and scarabs. The Egyptian name for lapis lazuli was khesbedj, representing vitality and youthfulness. Lapis lazuli originated in northeastern Afghanistan and was imported into Egypt. The goddess hathor was sometimes called the “Mistress of Lapis Lazuli.”
See also Egyptian natural resources.
Lapwing See rekhet.
Lateran Obelisk This is a monument belonging to TUTHMOSIS III (r. 1479-1425 b. c.e.) that was carved but not erected at karnak until the reign of tuthmosis iv (1401-1391 b. c.e.). Tuthmosis IV had the unattended OBELISK raised and put in a place in the Karnak sacred precincts. The monument carries an inscription that attests to Tuthmosis IV’s filial piety in performing that deed. The obelisk is now on display in the Vatican in Rome.
Layer Pyramid This is the modern name given to the monument erected at zawiet el-aryan at giza by kha’ba (r. 2603-2599 b. c.e.).
Lay of the Harper This is an unusual text discovered on tomb walls and other monuments of Egypt, reflecting upon death. Containing pessimistic views contrary to the accepted religious tenets concerning existence beyond the grave, the Lay of the Harper is solemn and foreboding. One version, found at thebes and reportedly copied from the tomb of inyotef v (r. c. 1640-1635 b. c.e.) of the Seventeenth Dynasty, is also called the Harper’s Song. This text doubts the existence of an eternal paradise and encourages a hedonistic approach to earthly life that is contrary to the normal Egyptian concept of MA’at.
Legal system The extensive and comprehensive judicial system developed in ancient Egypt as part of the national and provincial forms of government. The people of the NILE remained close-knit in their NOME communities, even at the height of the empire, and they preferred to have their court cases and grievances settled under local jurisdiction. Each nome or province had a capital city, dating to predynastic times. Lesser cities and towns within the nome functioned as part of a whole. In each town or village, however, there was a seru, a group of elders whose purpose it was to provide legal opinions and decisions on local events. The court, called the djatjat in the Old Kingdom (2575-2134 b. c.e.) and the KENBET thereafter, made legal and binding decisions and meted out the appropriate penalties. The kenbet was a factor on both the nome and high-court levels. This series of local and national courts followed a well-understood tradition of hearings and judgments.
Only during the periods of unrest or chaos, as in the two Intermediate Periods (First, 2134-2040 b. c.e.; Second, 1640-1550 b. c.e.), did such a custom prove disastrous. The popularity of the “eloquent peasant,” the tale of KHUNIANUPU, was due to the nation’s genuine desire to have courts provide justice. Crimes involving capital punishment or those of treason, however, were not always within the jurisdiction of the local courts, and even the Great kenbet, the supreme body of judgment, could not always render the ultimate decision on such matters.
The Great kenbets in the capitals were under the supervision of the viziers of Egypt; in several periods there were two such offices, a vizier for Upper Egypt and another for Lower Egypt. This custom commemorated the unification of the nation in 3000 b. c.e. Petitions seeking judicial aid or relief could be made to the lower courts, and appeals of all lower court rulings could be made to the Great kenbet by all citizens. Egyptians waited in line each day to give the judges their testimony or their petitions. The decisions concerning such matters were based on traditional legal practices, although there must have been written codes available for study horemhab (r. 1319-1307 b. c.e.), at the close of the Eighteenth Dynasty, set down a series of edicts concerning the law. He appears to be referring to past customs or documents in his decrees concerning compliances and punishments.
No distinction was allowed in the hearing of cases. Commoners and women were afforded normally the same opportunities as aristocrats in the courts. The poor were also to be safeguarded in their rights. The “Eloquent Peasant” was popular because he dared to admonish the judges again and again to give heed to the demands of the poor and not to be swayed by the mighty, the well connected, or the popular. The admonitions to the viziers of Egypt, as recorded in the Eighteenth Dynasty (15501307 B. C.E.) tomb of rekhmire, echo the same sort of vigilance required by all Egyptian officials.
Some of the higher ranking judges of ancient Egypt were called “Attached to Nekhen,” a title of honor that denoted the fact that their positions and roles were in the finest traditions of hierakonpolis, the original home of the first unifier of Egypt around 3000 B. C.E., narmer. The title alluded to these judges’ long and faithful tradition of service and their role in preserving customs and legal traditions of the past. Others were called the “magnates of THE SOUTHERN TEN,” and these officers of the government were esteemed for their services and for their rank in powerful Upper Egyptian nomes or capitals. When Egypt acquired an empire in the New Kingdom era (1550-1070 B. C.E.), various governors were also assigned to foreign territories under Egyptian control, and these held judicial posts as part of their capacity. The viceroy of nubia, for example, made court decisions and enforced the law in his jurisdiction.
The judicial system of ancient Egypt, collapsing during the various periods of unrest or foreign dominance that inflicted damage on the normal governmental structures, appears to have served the Egyptians well over the centuries. Under strong dynasties, the courts and the various officials were expected to set standards of moral behavior and to strictly interpret the law.
During the Ptolemaic Period (304-30 B. C.E.) the traditional court systems of Egypt applied only to native Egyptians. The Greeks in control of the Nile Valley were under the systems imported from their homelands. This double standard was accepted by the common people of Egypt as part of the foreign occupation. They turned toward their nomes and their traditions.
World History
