Silver gelatin on
glass 23.5 x 29.5 cm Epigraphic Survey, Oriental Institute,
University of Chicago |
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Sety I
and Iousaas. In the Temple of Sety I at Abydos, a scene from the
west wall of the second hypostyle hall shows the pharaoh Sety I together
with the goddess Iousaas. Sety I began this large temple and the
associated cenotaph of Osiris (the "Osireion"), located near the cemetery
of the first kings of Egypt and the legendary tomb of Osiris, but it was
left to Sety's son Ramesses II to complete the monument. In the scene
shown here, the goddess Iousaas cradles the king's head and presents to
his nostrils the sign of life, flanked by two signs representing dominion.
Iousaas was a consort of Atum, and she personified the desire that acted
upon the mind of Atum and led him to begin creation through masturbation.
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