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Book Review: Excavations between Abu Simbel and the Sudan Frontier. Part 5: C-Group, Pan Grave, and Kerma Remains at Adindan Cemeteries T, K, U, and J

On page 67 respectful reference is made to the concept of the 'thought couplet' which J. L. Foster has propagated. The importance of the couplet has been well highlighted by Foster, and in literary studies several types have been recognized. A strange superfluity, however, attaches to the qualification 'thought'. When one reflects that everything ever written by man is the result of thought, the prefix loses any classificatory value. Other categories have been elaborated by Kitchen in Studien zu altiigyptischen Lebenslehren, ed. E. Hornung and O. Keel (Freiburg, 1979), 252-7. These and other matters of terminology scarcely affect the substance of the interpretations offered. It is shown that in the theology of the solar course light and movement are leading ideas and that the emphasis on the sun-god's loneliness is easily linked with the idea of his uniqueness. His being far away in the heaven makes him manifest to all, while his radiance, which conceals him, is the condition of his parousia (,Parusie', p. 107). The last word puts us on our guard. Is it the simple sense of the Greek ('presence') or the Platonic sense (the 'presence' of a Form in a particular) or one of the two Christian senses (the Advent or the Second Coming)? Happily we are instantly informed that the first meaning is intended: it is the presence of the divinity in person, a concept that is then connected with the Egyptian nfrw, for which the meaning 'beauty' is favoured. Mrwt, 'love', is shown to have affinity with nfrw, the quality which Rudolf Otto called the mysteriumfascinans of the holy. In the Amarna texts and in the new solar theology the words nfrw, mrwt, and stwt, 'rays', are treated as synonyms. A part of the Cairo Hymn to Amen-Re is quoted where the beauty of the sun-god at midday arouses a love which has an enervating effect-an instance, perhaps, of 'Liebe als Krankheit', but more probably the idea is purely objective in that Egypt's midday sun does have such an effect. After presenting a version (p. 108) of parts of various hymns, Assmann sums up their doctrine in a paragraph which is noticeably more poetical than the bare bones of the original texts. One can hardly demur to this tendency; it is preferable to the late Rundle Clark's endearing habit of embellishing the versions themselves with an imposed lustre. There are instructive remarks on the idea of continuous creation, an activity furthered by every sunrise, and on the attributes of 'mother and father' and 'shepherd'. The book's second part is devoted to 'Arnun-Re' and begins with a discussion of the theology of Amlin from the time of Hatshepsut, attention being focused on the eulogistic expansions of the divine name. These shorter expressions are subjected to the same careful analysis as the longer and more imposing compositions such as the Cairo Hymn to Amen-Re, where the god is the creator and sustainer and the only source of life. He is unique not only in character but also in being; yet other gods are referred to. A likely source of this view of nature is seen in the sun-temples of the Fifth Dynasty with their depictions of the processes of life and birth. An ethical authority is also recognized in this hymn and concurrently denied-rather unconvincingly-e-to the Amarna hymns; a creator-god who shows loving care for all beings is an object of worship, surely, in the ethical sense since all worship implies ultimately an imitatio Dei. In discussing the theme of the unity of the divine Assmann is naturally concerned with the formulations of Eberhard Otto and Erik Hornung. He does not relish the 'monotheistic tendencies' seen by the former, nor the reductionism of the latter in seeing 'uniqueness' of character as the guiding principle and no real move (apart from Akhenaten) to a belief in an exclusive unity of God. Assmann avers that such a belief was indeed the goal in relation to the concepts of an original creator-god who sustains all life and has ethical import, and is yet a hidden God whose symbols, representations, and names are those of the many gods. He presents his case with great skill, subtlety, and perception, as well as with a formidable battery of contributory techniques. The material which he so abundantly deploys exposes the strength and weakness of his case. It is not always equal to the high claims made for it, and the debate is likely to continue. J. GWYN GRIFFITHS