Ancient Egyptians and butterflies

[Jack Harrison]

A neighbour is a keen amateur Egyptologist. She knows of my love for butterflies and drew my attention to this. (Middle column on right above the Black Stork).

Ancient Egyptians of course had a special relationship with the Scarab Beetles (see David Kendall’s article http://www.kendall-bioresearch.co.uk/scarab.htm) and other animals such as cats http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cats_in_ancient_Egypt but I was unaware that they had any particular affection for butterflies.

My neighbour tells me that the hieroglyphic bottom right is the artist’s name (Nebefawre) and his date stamp indicates when it was painted. It says 1287 BC (or 1297 – unclear as symbols apparently very similar).

Jack

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Jack,
I reckon it's a Painted Lady! In 1286 BC, during an epic battle between Ramesses II and Hattusil III, king of the Hittites, the soldiers 'could not advance in certainty of the arrangement in ranks of their foe' as the skies above Kadesh were 'blackened by great swirling clouds of butterflies'. This may well be the earliest account of a mass migration by Painted Ladies. The evidence may be circumstantial, but the dates fit very closely - so there may well be a link here.
Neil

[Vince Massimo]

Jack - This is very interesting. I have been doing some research and have dug up some more background information about this particular tomb painting.

Apparantly for Egyptians, the cycles of human life, rebirth and the afterlife mirrored the reproductive cycles that surrounded them in the natural world. After death, the Egyptians looked forward to continuing their daily lives as an invisible spirit among their descendents on Earth in Egypt, enjoying all the pleasures of life with none of its pain or hardships. This vision is vividly depicted in sculptures, reliefs and wall paintings of Egyptian tombs, with the deceased portrayed in the way he or she wished to remain forever accompanied by images of family, servants and other fondnesses.

It is believed that the painting in question came from the tomb of the 19th Dynasty pharoh Sma-Lltotro-ishe II.

Hope this helps.

Vince

[Chris Pickford]

I believe that many cultures also associate butterflies with the spirits of the dead - same word in some languages. Greek mythology as well, I believe.

Chris

[Jack Harrison]

Sorry to say it Neil, but you must be wrong about a possible connection the great battle of 1286 BC when “the skies above Kadesh were 'blackened by great swirling clouds of butterflies'.” 1286 BC is after the date of the painting 1287 (or 1297) BC.

Jack

[Trev Sawyer]

... Ah Jack, obviously the scientists in those days didn't know about the painted lady return migration

Trev

[Charles Nicol]

Jack -

It is believed that the painting in question came from the tomb of the 19th Dynasty pharoh Sma-Lltotro-ishe II.
Vince

Experts differ on the spelling of this particular pharoah... some believe it is Sma-Lltorto-ishe II.
His main wife was Agla-Issur-Tikai

Charles

[NickB]

A possible reference for your butterfly is Danaus chrysippus Butterflies in the tomb of Nebamun (1550 – 1295 BCE) - see link:
http://www.swan.ac.uk/egypt/infosheetge ... _egypt.htm
N
(I'm not sure where this dating fits with your evidence, Jack...)

[Vince Massimo]

Experts differ on the spelling of this particular pharoah... some believe it is Sma-Lltorto-ishe II.
His main wife was Agla-Issur-Tikai

Charles

Thanks for that Charles,

I believe that the possible confusion with the names and spellings is due to the fact that information is extremly limited with this particular pharoh mainly because he was not popular with his people. Subsequently when he died he was almost completly erased from history by his son Swal-Lowtai I.

Vince

[NickB]

I believe that the possible confusion with the names and spellings is due to the fact that information is extremly limited with this particular pharoh mainly because he was not popular with his people. Subsequently when he died he was almost completly erased from history by his son Swal-Lowtai I.
Vince

....Indeed, his name was changed to Nosu-chper-son I subsequently....
N

[Charles Nicol]

I believe that the possible confusion with the names and spellings is due to the fact that information is extremly limited with this particular pharoh mainly because he was not popular with his people.

Vince

He really nettled his subjects

Charleses III

[Jack Harrison]

The intention was to make it an obvious April Fool and thanks to all for joining in the fun. However, nobody so far has got the real joke.

Jack

[NickB]

OK Jack - Butterflies were not used as hieroglyphs - so what was /is the joke
Or am I the last one, again...
N

[Dave McCormick]

I am in the same boat as Nick here, I knew butterflies were never used as hiroglyphs, but thats really it. Is it something to do with Nebefawre? As he was Fourteenth Dynasty Pharoh c. 1704 so he couldn't have painted that in 1287 BC or 1297 or maybe this is a different Nebefawre?

[Jack Harrison]

How could the artist have known it was such-and-such a date BC? I’ll explain if it still isn’t obvious.

This is the year 2010 on the present calendar. Now say in 1400 year’s time the Earth is invaded by Klingons. The new masters demand that from then on we date our calendars as being AK (after Klingons) or BK (before Klingons). So in the new Klingons calendar, this current year would be 1400BK. But of course we have no way of knowing that so could not date our coinage, newspapers, artwork 1400 BK. Hence our Egyptian illustrator could not have possibly known that the date was 1287 BC

Jack

[Vince Massimo]

Thanks Jack, that was fun.

I was looking for a solution that was a bit more cryptic rather than something that was hidden in plain sight.

Now that we are safely past the 1st of April, I can report that while researching a reply to your original post, I came across a reference to an 'Ichneumon' which was depicted in an Egyptian tomb painting. I am as fascinated by words and their origins (etymology) as I am with entomology, so this was an intriguing find. To date I had not considered the origins or meaning of this word beyond that of the parasitic wasp that preys on butterfly and moth larvae. Apparently in medieval literature an ichneumon was the enemy of the dragon. In Egyptian culture it was the name used for "Pharoh's Rat", or more specifically the modern Egyptian mongoose.

Honest guv

[Jack Harrison]

Being a retired airline pilot, I still endeavour to keep in touch. I posted this on a professional chat group. It fooled nobody but was a good laugh nonetheless.

STAYING AWAKE

A leading aircraft manufacturer is trialling a new “anti-drowsiness” device. A CCTV detector determines when a pilot’s eyes have been shut for more than 30 seconds. An automated warning then announces: “Are you awake?” The pilot has to cancel the warning – which involves stretching forward - within a further 10 seconds. If he/she fails to cancel the warning within the allotted time, a 5 centimetre carbon-fibre rod pops up vertically from the seat cushion.

A spokesperson added:
“So far, not a single test pilot has failed to respond in a prompt manner to the aural alert. However, the physical stimulus system will remain as a deterrent against drowsiness. There was one unfortunate incident when the 10 second aural warning mysteriously was reduced to less than one second and the rod activated almost immediately.

"A company software engineer has been suspended pending an investigation. The test pilot is on indefinite sick leave.”

Jack