A Priest of Hathor
Limestone, pigment
Third Intermediate Period, Dynasties 22-23, ca. 945-715 B.C.
Dendera
Purchased in Egypt, 1919
OIM 10729

This stately sculpture represents a priest of Hathor named Basa, seated with his cloak drawn over his knees. The surface is covered with a record of the names and titles of 26 generations of Basa's paternal family. This lengthy inscription contains valuable information about how the priesthood was passed on in ancient Egypt through the generations. On the front of the statue, Basa is shown adoring the gods Osiris and Isis. A scene of him adoring Osiris appears on each side.

Osiris, Isis, and Horus are some of the best known Egyptian deities. According to the Osiris myth, Osiris was murdered by his jealous brother Seth. He was restored briefly to life by Isis, with whom he conceived a son, Horus, who later avenged his father by killing Seth. The creator god had many names and took many forms. The oldest was Atum; others were Re, Amun, and Khnum, as well as the later combined gods, Amun-Re and Re-Harakhti.

Egyptian religion was dedicated to ensuring that the world would remain stable and that the sun would rise every day after a night time journey through the underworld. This all-important goal - the repetition of creation - was ensured by daily rituals in the temples. The king was seen as a god on earth who, through his ritual actions, assured that the sun would rise each day, that a god would inhabit his image in the temple, and that Maat, the goddess of truth and justice representing universal order, would be present in the world.