Graciela Gestoso Singer
Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina, Centro de Estudios de Historia del Antiguo Oriente, Investigadora Honoraria
Graciela Gestoso Singer is a Near Eastern historian, on issues related to the history and archaeology of the Bronze Age Egypt and Eastern Mediterranean. Her research focuses on studying the Egyptian state during the Amarna Period, the Amarna archive and the commercial relations with Asia during the reign of Akhenaten, and trade in Eastern Mediterranean. She studied at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) (BA in History, 1985; Lic. in History, Egyptology, 1991) and the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina (UCA) (PhD in History, Egyptology, 2005). She has been Fellow at the National Research Council in Buenos Aires (CONICET, 1992-1996) and Buenos Aires and Tel Aviv Universities (Agreement UBA & TAU, 1996). She taught Ancient Near Eastern History at National University of La Plata (Assistant Professor 1988-1989; Adjunct Professor, 1995-1996) and UCA (Assistant Professor, 1990-1991; Adjunct Professor, 1991-1995; Associate Professor, 1995-1997). She researched at the Institute of Ancient Near Eastern History (UBA) (Research Assistant, 1986-1990); Programa de Estudios de Egiptología (PREDE, CONICET) (Research Assistant, 1990-2000); Israel Antiquities Authority (Research Assistant, 1996-1997), World Heritage Committee (Unesco) (Advisor, 2000-2005), Centro de Estudios de Historia del Antiguo Oriente (CEHAO, UCA) (Senior Researcher, 2007-2010; 2013-2018; Honorary Researcher, 2018-), Unesco World Heritage Centre (Researcher, 2009-2012; Honorary Researcher & Member, 2013-2015; Researcher and Permanent Delegate -Special Delegation in Conflict Areas: The Protection of Cultural Heritage in Conflict Areas-, 2022-2023), and Océanides (France) (Senior Researcher, Egyptology, 2013-2014). She was member of the Editorial Board of the Ancient Near East Monograph Series (ANEM) (SBL & CEHAO, 2009-2018); the Scientific Committee of Revista Bíblico-Teológica, Davar Logos (Universidad Adventista del Plata, 2002-2018); Revista Bíblico-Teológica, Evangelio (Universidad Adventista de Bolivia, 2012-2018); Scientific Referee of RIHAO (The Journal of the Institute of Ancient Near Eastern History, “Dr. Abraham Rosenvasser”, University of Buenos Aires, 2007-2008; 2017-2018); Scientific Referee of Antiguo Oriente (The Journal of CEHAO, 2006-2018), and member of the Scientific Committee of CIVIA Ricerche – Republic of San Marino International Research Center for Ancient Roads (2016-2018). She was Collaborator of Damqātum (The CEHAO Newsletter, 2006-2010).
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El dios Shed en Amarna
Durante el período de Amarna (siglo XIV a.C.), los textos acadios e hititas atestiguan una epidemia letal que se extendió desde Egipto a Siria y a la tierra de Hatti. Los estudios de ADN realizados en las momias de Tutankamón y otros dos miembros de la familia real (Tuya y Yuya) confirmaron que habían sido infectados con malaria. Las excavaciones en las tumbas del sur y del norte revelan evidencia de rastros de deficiencia dietética, enfermedades y cargas de trabajo pesadas. El descubrimiento de estelas y capillas en la aldea de los trabajadores dedicadas al culto de los antepasados y de los dioses Amón, Atón, Shed e Isis permiten analizar las diferentes formas de materialización de la memoria ancestral de una población en tiempos difíciles. Los últimos días de Amarna fueron testigos del culto del dios Shed, el “Salvador”, que buscaba salvar a los egipcios de la enfermedad y la desgracia. La presencia de varias enfermedades que se propagaron fácilmente en las malas condiciones de vida en la aldea de los trabajadores de las tumbas podría explicar el corto período de actividad de la nueva capital (ca. 1350-1330 a.C.). La nueva evidencia arqueológica nos permite interpretar las prácticas de culto privado a los antepasados y dioses como evidencia de un complejo fenómeno económico-social y político que surgió durante una época de cambios y marcó una transición hacia la restauración de los cultos tradicionales.
Abstract: Contemporary and later sources reflect a series of socio-economic and political factors that exacerbated the government crisis during the reign of Akhenaten. Excessively centralizing the economy in the new capital, Akhetaten, along with the undoing of the natural inclusion of different social groups within the civil bureaucracy, the army, and the temples by the appointment of “new” and inexperienced officials, slowly undermined his authority. These measures implemented by Akhenaten, together with aggravating circumstances such as epidemics and/or diseases—which would have affected not only Egypt but also several regions of the Levant—contributed to a crisis of power, the abandonment of the new capital, and the restoration of traditional cults in Thebes during the reign of Tutankhamun. New archaeological evidence at Amarna allows us to interpret changes in burial patterns and in the practices of private worship of ancestors and gods (at the popular level) as evidence of a complex economic-social and political phenomenon that arose during a time of crisis. By the beginning of Tutankhamun’s reign, the city of El Amarna was abandoned, and the new king attempted to implement a strategic policy of restoring the state in three spheres: the social (the re-establishment of traditional families), the political (the ascendant power of Ay), and the economic (the delivery of resources to the clergy of Amun). But the restoration that Tutankhamun inaugurated came at a great cost and could only be completed under Horemheb, who acted with the support of the army.
Este trabajo analiza la existencia de un brote de epidemia fatal en varias regiones en el Levante durante la época de El Amarna. En el Levante, Nergal y Reshep fueron dioses de la muerte, la pestilencia, la plaga, la enfermedad y la guerra. En Egipto, la pestilencia fue asociada con Sekhmet, la diosa de la enfermedad, la curación, la venganza, el odio y la guerra. En cinco Cartas de El Amarna, se mencionan casos de pestilencia, plaga, epidemia, y la “mano de Nergal”. Según estas cartas, la pestilencia afectó a Egipto, Megiddo, Sumur, Biblos y Alashiya (Chipre). Sabemos por las Plegarias heteas que después la epidemia llegó al país de Hatti. Dada la magnitud de esta epidemia, es muy posible que la muerte repentina de varios miembros de la familia real egipcia pudiera estar relacionada con la peste (probablemente la peste bubónica) y otras enfermedades. Estudios recientes evidencian que la peste bubónica habría afectado a los habitantes del barrio de los trabajadores en El Amarna. Asimismo, la peste pudo haber sido interpretada como un castigo enviado por los antiguos dioses ignorados por Akenatón y en consecuencia pudo haber llevado al fin del culto de Atón y el abandono de la nueva capital. Los últimos días de Aketatón fueron testigos del ascenso del dios Shed, el “Salvador”, que buscaba salvar a los egipcios de la enfermedad y la desgracia.
Abstract: The Gods of Plague in Cross-Cultural Discourse in the Amarna Period.
This paper aims to analyse the outbreak of a fatal epidemic in several regions in the Levant during the Amarna Period. In the Levant, Nergal and Resheph were gods of death, pestilence, plague, disease, and war. In Egypt, plague was associated with Sekhmet, the goddess of disease, healing, vengeance, anger, and war. Pestilence, plague, epidemic, or the “hand of Nergal” are mentioned in five Amarna Letters. According to these letters, the pestilence affected Egypt, Megiddo, Sumur, Byblos, and Alashiya (Cyprus). We know from the Hittite Prayers that afterwards the pestilence reached the land of Hatti. Given the scale of this epidemic, it is very possible that the sudden deaths of several members of the Egyptian royal family were linked to the plague (probably the bubonic plague) and other diseases. Recent studies confirm that bubonic plague affected the people living at the Workmen’s Village at Amarna. Furthermore, the plague may have been interpreted as a punishment sent by the ancient gods ignored by Akhenaten and may thus have brought about the end of the cult of Aten, and the abandonment of the new capital city. The last days of Akhetaten witnessed the rise of the god Shed, who sought to save the Egyptians from disease and misfortune.
El viaje de estatuas de dioses y diosas entre cortes de grandes reyes fue un recurso conocido en el Cercano Oriente antiguo. En la Antigüedad, las estatuas de ciertos dioses y diosas fueron símbolos de vida, fertilidad, curación, prosperidad, cambio, alianzas y, en algunos casos, representaron la integración “geográfica” o la legitimación “ideológica” de un territorio. Las Cartas de El Amarna revelan el viaje de la estatua de la diosa Shaushka hacia la corte egipcia durante el reinado de Amenhotep III. Textos acadios, hurritas, hititas y ugaríticos indican el
rol cumplido por esta diosa en panteones locales, así como en diversas cortes extranjeras durante el II milenio a.e. Fue reconocida como la diosa de la guerra, fertilidad y curación. Estatuas de esta diosa son empleadas en rituales realizados ante acciones bélicas, enfermedades, alianzas de matrimonio y nacimientos. El presente trabajo se propone analizar el rol de esta diosa en la corte egipcia durante el reinado de Amenhotep III.
Período de El Amarna.
New Link:
https://www.museodata.com/blogs/386-isis-war-on-cultural-heritage-memory-dr-graciela-gestoso-singer.html
Shaushka, the traveling Goddess: Traveling gods and goddesses between courts was a known leitmotif in the Ancient Near East. Statues of gods and goddesses served as symbols of life, fertility, healing, prosperity, change, alliances and sometimes represented the "geographical" integration or the "ideological" legitimization of a territory. The Amarna Letters reveal the journey of the goddess Shaushka to the Egyptian court of Amenhotep III. Akkadian, Hurrian, Hittite and Ugaritic texts reveal the role played by this goddess in local pantheons, as well as in various foreign courts during the second millennium BCE. She was known as the goddess of war, fertility and healing and statues of the goddess were used in rituals performed before military actions, to heal diseases, to bless marriage alliances and help births. This paper analyzes the role of this traveling goddess in the Egyptian court of Amenhotep III.
the Great Kings through an intricate chain of messenger-merchants who traveled between the various courts. In general, messengers and merchants created the conditions for inter-state relations to flourish. Furthermore, the treatment of messengers could serve as an index of the relations between states. At departure, kings and priests practiced rituals, omens, and prayers in order to guarantee a safe journey for their messengers. Upon arrival, messengers and high foreign emissaries were received in festivals dedicated to the king's investiture, military victories, alliances with neighboring countries, or the inauguration of a temple or palace.
Feasting served as a symbol of power and a tool to reinforce the king's authority, in which the messengers served as important pieces in the political game, not always protected by the laws of "hospitality". The Amarna Archive reveals that some envoys were welcome and granted hospitality, food, lodging, banqueting, and gifts-giving, but others were unwelcome, and their expeditions were impeded and threatened by robbery, bureaucracy, taxes, detentions, abuse, and even death.
El dios Shed en Amarna
Durante el período de Amarna (siglo XIV a.C.), los textos acadios e hititas atestiguan una epidemia letal que se extendió desde Egipto a Siria y a la tierra de Hatti. Los estudios de ADN realizados en las momias de Tutankamón y otros dos miembros de la familia real (Tuya y Yuya) confirmaron que habían sido infectados con malaria. Las excavaciones en las tumbas del sur y del norte revelan evidencia de rastros de deficiencia dietética, enfermedades y cargas de trabajo pesadas. El descubrimiento de estelas y capillas en la aldea de los trabajadores dedicadas al culto de los antepasados y de los dioses Amón, Atón, Shed e Isis permiten analizar las diferentes formas de materialización de la memoria ancestral de una población en tiempos difíciles. Los últimos días de Amarna fueron testigos del culto del dios Shed, el “Salvador”, que buscaba salvar a los egipcios de la enfermedad y la desgracia. La presencia de varias enfermedades que se propagaron fácilmente en las malas condiciones de vida en la aldea de los trabajadores de las tumbas podría explicar el corto período de actividad de la nueva capital (ca. 1350-1330 a.C.). La nueva evidencia arqueológica nos permite interpretar las prácticas de culto privado a los antepasados y dioses como evidencia de un complejo fenómeno económico-social y político que surgió durante una época de cambios y marcó una transición hacia la restauración de los cultos tradicionales.
Abstract: Contemporary and later sources reflect a series of socio-economic and political factors that exacerbated the government crisis during the reign of Akhenaten. Excessively centralizing the economy in the new capital, Akhetaten, along with the undoing of the natural inclusion of different social groups within the civil bureaucracy, the army, and the temples by the appointment of “new” and inexperienced officials, slowly undermined his authority. These measures implemented by Akhenaten, together with aggravating circumstances such as epidemics and/or diseases—which would have affected not only Egypt but also several regions of the Levant—contributed to a crisis of power, the abandonment of the new capital, and the restoration of traditional cults in Thebes during the reign of Tutankhamun. New archaeological evidence at Amarna allows us to interpret changes in burial patterns and in the practices of private worship of ancestors and gods (at the popular level) as evidence of a complex economic-social and political phenomenon that arose during a time of crisis. By the beginning of Tutankhamun’s reign, the city of El Amarna was abandoned, and the new king attempted to implement a strategic policy of restoring the state in three spheres: the social (the re-establishment of traditional families), the political (the ascendant power of Ay), and the economic (the delivery of resources to the clergy of Amun). But the restoration that Tutankhamun inaugurated came at a great cost and could only be completed under Horemheb, who acted with the support of the army.
Este trabajo analiza la existencia de un brote de epidemia fatal en varias regiones en el Levante durante la época de El Amarna. En el Levante, Nergal y Reshep fueron dioses de la muerte, la pestilencia, la plaga, la enfermedad y la guerra. En Egipto, la pestilencia fue asociada con Sekhmet, la diosa de la enfermedad, la curación, la venganza, el odio y la guerra. En cinco Cartas de El Amarna, se mencionan casos de pestilencia, plaga, epidemia, y la “mano de Nergal”. Según estas cartas, la pestilencia afectó a Egipto, Megiddo, Sumur, Biblos y Alashiya (Chipre). Sabemos por las Plegarias heteas que después la epidemia llegó al país de Hatti. Dada la magnitud de esta epidemia, es muy posible que la muerte repentina de varios miembros de la familia real egipcia pudiera estar relacionada con la peste (probablemente la peste bubónica) y otras enfermedades. Estudios recientes evidencian que la peste bubónica habría afectado a los habitantes del barrio de los trabajadores en El Amarna. Asimismo, la peste pudo haber sido interpretada como un castigo enviado por los antiguos dioses ignorados por Akenatón y en consecuencia pudo haber llevado al fin del culto de Atón y el abandono de la nueva capital. Los últimos días de Aketatón fueron testigos del ascenso del dios Shed, el “Salvador”, que buscaba salvar a los egipcios de la enfermedad y la desgracia.
Abstract: The Gods of Plague in Cross-Cultural Discourse in the Amarna Period.
This paper aims to analyse the outbreak of a fatal epidemic in several regions in the Levant during the Amarna Period. In the Levant, Nergal and Resheph were gods of death, pestilence, plague, disease, and war. In Egypt, plague was associated with Sekhmet, the goddess of disease, healing, vengeance, anger, and war. Pestilence, plague, epidemic, or the “hand of Nergal” are mentioned in five Amarna Letters. According to these letters, the pestilence affected Egypt, Megiddo, Sumur, Byblos, and Alashiya (Cyprus). We know from the Hittite Prayers that afterwards the pestilence reached the land of Hatti. Given the scale of this epidemic, it is very possible that the sudden deaths of several members of the Egyptian royal family were linked to the plague (probably the bubonic plague) and other diseases. Recent studies confirm that bubonic plague affected the people living at the Workmen’s Village at Amarna. Furthermore, the plague may have been interpreted as a punishment sent by the ancient gods ignored by Akhenaten and may thus have brought about the end of the cult of Aten, and the abandonment of the new capital city. The last days of Akhetaten witnessed the rise of the god Shed, who sought to save the Egyptians from disease and misfortune.
El viaje de estatuas de dioses y diosas entre cortes de grandes reyes fue un recurso conocido en el Cercano Oriente antiguo. En la Antigüedad, las estatuas de ciertos dioses y diosas fueron símbolos de vida, fertilidad, curación, prosperidad, cambio, alianzas y, en algunos casos, representaron la integración “geográfica” o la legitimación “ideológica” de un territorio. Las Cartas de El Amarna revelan el viaje de la estatua de la diosa Shaushka hacia la corte egipcia durante el reinado de Amenhotep III. Textos acadios, hurritas, hititas y ugaríticos indican el
rol cumplido por esta diosa en panteones locales, así como en diversas cortes extranjeras durante el II milenio a.e. Fue reconocida como la diosa de la guerra, fertilidad y curación. Estatuas de esta diosa son empleadas en rituales realizados ante acciones bélicas, enfermedades, alianzas de matrimonio y nacimientos. El presente trabajo se propone analizar el rol de esta diosa en la corte egipcia durante el reinado de Amenhotep III.
Período de El Amarna.
New Link:
https://www.museodata.com/blogs/386-isis-war-on-cultural-heritage-memory-dr-graciela-gestoso-singer.html
Shaushka, the traveling Goddess: Traveling gods and goddesses between courts was a known leitmotif in the Ancient Near East. Statues of gods and goddesses served as symbols of life, fertility, healing, prosperity, change, alliances and sometimes represented the "geographical" integration or the "ideological" legitimization of a territory. The Amarna Letters reveal the journey of the goddess Shaushka to the Egyptian court of Amenhotep III. Akkadian, Hurrian, Hittite and Ugaritic texts reveal the role played by this goddess in local pantheons, as well as in various foreign courts during the second millennium BCE. She was known as the goddess of war, fertility and healing and statues of the goddess were used in rituals performed before military actions, to heal diseases, to bless marriage alliances and help births. This paper analyzes the role of this traveling goddess in the Egyptian court of Amenhotep III.
the Great Kings through an intricate chain of messenger-merchants who traveled between the various courts. In general, messengers and merchants created the conditions for inter-state relations to flourish. Furthermore, the treatment of messengers could serve as an index of the relations between states. At departure, kings and priests practiced rituals, omens, and prayers in order to guarantee a safe journey for their messengers. Upon arrival, messengers and high foreign emissaries were received in festivals dedicated to the king's investiture, military victories, alliances with neighboring countries, or the inauguration of a temple or palace.
Feasting served as a symbol of power and a tool to reinforce the king's authority, in which the messengers served as important pieces in the political game, not always protected by the laws of "hospitality". The Amarna Archive reveals that some envoys were welcome and granted hospitality, food, lodging, banqueting, and gifts-giving, but others were unwelcome, and their expeditions were impeded and threatened by robbery, bureaucracy, taxes, detentions, abuse, and even death.