This study examines a well-established idea in normative Egyptological discourse, that there exists in the inventory of Egyptian symbolism a distinct and unique symbol called sed-em-ra (‘tail-in-mouthʼ) in Egyptian, though usually referred to today by the Greek term ouroboros (‘tail-devouringʼ), being the image of a serpent arranged in a circle with the tip of its tail in its mouth, and expressive of specific meanings such as “endless time” and “eternity,” among others. However, a close examination of relevant iconographic and textual sources reveals that this Egyptological ouroboros is largely an illusion, and one that distorts understanding of Egyptian material by importing into it ideas that properly belong to the history of the post-pharaonic reception of the ouroboros icon, such as the idea that the ouroboros was primarily a symbol of the recurrent solar year, which had its origin with Latin authors, or the idea that the ouroboros symbolizes time and eternity, which is a tradition no older than the Italian Renaissance. Yet it is this latter ouroboros of the Renaissance iconographers and emblem books, an unquestioned part of the intellectual environment in which the discipline of Egyptology historically emerged, that induced nineteenth and twentieth century Egyptologists to unhesitatingly single out the ouroboros for special notice as the “serpent of eternity,” an interpretation not supported by Egyptian sources. A fresh hermeneutical approach requires the abandonment of such preconceptions, starting with rejection of the idea that the Egyptian ouroboros is a distinct symbol with specific meanings attached. Once the term ‘ouroborosʼ is used only in a limited and purely descriptive sense, it becomes possible to understand what the icon may be intended to express within the larger conceptual and iconographic context in which occurrences are embedded. This approach makes it clear that the icon was never a discrete symbol in Egypt, but rather a possible variant amongst related iconography that might convey similar meanings. A detailed reassessment of relevant primary sources shows that the icon is primarily associated with the idea of protective enclosure, conceived of as a divine force functioning on multiple levels: cosmic, solar, funereal, and individual.

This dissertation is a case study and analysis of provincial religious decorum at New Kingdom Asyut. Decorum was a social force that restricted and defined the ways in which individuals could engage in material displays of identity and religious practice. Four-hundred and ninety-four votive stelae were examined in an attempt to identify trends and patters on self-display and religious practice. Each iconographic and textual element depicted on the stelae was treated as a variable which was entered into a database and statistically analyzed to search for trends of self-display.

The analysis of the stelae revealed the presence of multiple social groups at Asyut. By examining the forms of capital displayed, it was possible to identify these social groups and reconstruct the social hierarchy of the site. This analysis demonstrated how the religious system was largely appropriated by elite men as a stage to engage in individual competitive displays of identity and capital as a means of reinforcing their profession and position in society and the patronage structure. Women also donated votive stelae at Asyut. Indeed, women appear to have enjoyed higher visibility, and much more independent social power and agency at Aysut than at any other New Kingdom site. However, the stelae also demonstrate that women were usually not public figures, and mostly gained their social capital through family connections.

The presence of multiple social groups engaged in religious practice at Asyut demonstrates that individuals from all levels of society actively participated in formal Egyptian religious practices and displayed a personal connection to Wepwaut--although this connection was expressed in different ways. This challenges the often presented belief that there was a divide between so-called `popular religion' and temple-based religious practice in the ancient world, and complicates the perception that belief in a personal connection to the divine and participation in formal religious experiences were limited to elite members of society.

The Ptolemaic temples are some of the best-preserved examples of Egyptian religious architecture; they represent the culmination of a long line of development, reflected in an increase in the number and polyvalency of hieroglyphic signs and iconographic elements in the wall reliefs. This development widened the scribal playing field for creating expressions that function on multiple aural, visual, and thematic levels.

There have been few scholarly studies of these plays on words, signs, and iconography; despite the intrinsic relationship of texts, reliefs, and architecture in Egyptian monuments, there have been no comprehensive studies of these techniques within a unified architectural space. I was therefore motivated to study these scribal methods within the most important cult chamber of the Temple of Hathor at Dendera: the Per-wer Sanctuary. Building upon the work of Gutbub, Guglielmi, and Derchain, I extended their approaches to the material in several ways: examining these techniques on both micro- and macro-levels, from their smallest details to their broadest thematic connections; foregrounding individual techniques to determine the words and phrases singled out for emphasis; synthesizing their use in the interconnections formed between scenes and texts within the three-dimensional space of the cult chamber.

I found that these scribal techniques support the three main themes of the Per-wer: Hathor as Creator and solar goddess; the Myth of the Distant Goddess; the King as Intermediary between the human and divine worlds. The myth creates the context for the King's interaction with the goddess, allowing his ritual actions to restore cosmic balance and activate the creative process. By communicating across boundaries, the scenes link complementary pairs, creating a network of interrelationships that mirrors the perfection of the divine Creation.

The results of my study suggest that this three-pronged approach could profitably extend to those of other cult chambers at Dendera, and to other Graeco-Roman temples, whose reliefs also contain plays on words, signs, and iconography. By studying these complex techniques of the ancient scribes, we can thereby come closer to understanding how they envisioned the universe and the place of humankind within it.

This dissertation examines the social functions of translation in Egypt from the Middle Kingdom through the Roman Period (ca. 2000 BCE-200 CE), focusing on the practice of translating texts from earlier into later phases of the Egyptian language. There are two main objectives for this study. First, I determine how translation developed, and second, I investigate how the practice of translation in Egyptian society changed over time. I accomplish this by situating the translations, which form the basis of my textual analysis, within their social contexts. This research establishes that translation was a part of a tradition of Egyptian interpretive processes, offers evidence for the continued social prestige of translation as an intellectual ability from the Pharaonic to Roman Periods, and contributes to the discussion of how broader linguistic developments affected the social use of language in Egypt.

In order to prove that there was a progression from interpretation to translation, I begin by analyzing the earliest attestations of Egyptian textual commentary from the Middle Kingdom. Then I compare those techniques to the ones found in translated texts of the Third Intermediate Period and later. I illustrate how the increased specialization of the traditional Middle Egyptian language after the New Kingdom led to the adoption of translation as a means of textual interpretation.

From the repeated attestations of interpreting in the biographies of high-ranking officials from Pharaonic Egypt, I conclude that Egyptians were interested in highlighting their intellectual aptitude as part of their elite identity. Educated scribes who were invested in transmitting and explaining complex texts thus valued translation as an scholarly pursuit, as it guaranteed that important ritual texts remained understandable to the general population over time.

Following the spread of Greek-Egyptian multilingualism from the Late Period onward, I contend that translation became an important feature of daily life and its function expanded beyond interpretation. By comparing the bilingual Rhind papyri and the Ptolemaic trilingual decrees, I argue that Middle Egyptian and its associated scripts were adopted alongside contemporary Demotic to invoke the religious and political authority of traditional Egyptian culture during the Ptolemaic Period.