Provider: Moravian Museum, Brno, Czech Republic

TY  - JOUR
JO  - Anthropologie (Brno)
TI  - Medicine, mathematics and magic unite in a scene from the Temple of Kom Ombo (Ko 950)
AU  - Coppens F
AU  - Vymazalová H
Y1  - 2010
VL  - 48
IS  - 2
PB  - Moravian Museum, Brno, Czech Republic
SN  - 0323-1119
SP  - 127
EP  - 131
KW  - Egypt
KW  - Medicine
KW  - Mathematics
KW  - Magic
KW  - Ritual
N2  - 
N2  - A single relief from the Ptolemaic-Roman temple of Kom Ombo in Upper Egypt is remarkably well-known among most scholars interested in the history of ancient medicine. The depiction in question, often referred to as KO 950 and dated to the second - third century CE, portrays a set of medical, perhaps even surgical instruments, and other realia from Roman Imperial times. This particular relief forms a small part of a much larger offering scene, a fact that has often been overlooked in the past. The paper aims to place the depiction of the medical instruments and assorted realia into its broader context on the basis of a detailed analysis of all components of the scene, including the other items depicted, such as a tapered jar and shallow basin, the wadjet-eyes presented by the pharaoh to the associated deities, as well as the associated hieroglyphic inscriptions. Integrated analysis of text and image indicates that the scene combines elements from the scientific fields of medicine and mathematics with magic and religious rituals to bring about renewal and resurrection to the land of Egypt.
ER  -