Kolanthes Explained

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 (Koine Panopolis) in the nineth Upper Egyptian Nome (Egypt).

Divine Family

Kolanthes was a son within the patron trinity of Akhmim. In the Temple of Athribis, his mother was Repyt (Greek Triphis).^{[1] [2]} 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 (Arabic: al-Mansha), Demotic (Egyptian) 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 Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Κολάνθης, Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Κολάνθας, or Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: 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, ISBN 978-3-11-082790-3, S. 379.
• Jan Quaegebeur: Kolanthes. In: Wolfgang Helck (Hrsg.): Lexikon der Ägyptologie (LÄ). Band III, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1980, ISBN 3-447-02100-4, Sp. 671–672.
• Lexikon der ägyptischen Götter und Götterbezeichnungen. Band 8: Register (= Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta. Band 129). Peeters, Leuven 2003, ISBN 90-429-1376-2, S. 684 (eingeschränkte Onlineversion).
• Rafed El-Sayed, Yahya El-Masry (Hrsg.): Athribis I. General Site Survey 2003–2007. Archaeological & Conservation Studies. The Gate of Ptolemy IX. Architecture and Inscriptions (= Publications de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale du Caire. Band 1010). Imprimerie de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, Kairo 2012, ISBN 978-2-7247-0529-4.
• 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 (= Publications de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale du Caire. Band 1016). Imprimerie de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, Kairo 2010, ISBN 978-2-7247-0539-3.
• 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.

Notes and References

1. Institute for Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations (IANES), Egyptologists suspect cliff sanctuary in Athribis: Team from the University of Tübingen and the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities discovers Ptolemaic temple, University of Tübingen, November 11, 2024 (with several images)
2. Jarus, Owen, 2,100-year-old temple from ancient Egypt discovered hidden in cliff face, Live Science, December 2, 2024