Composition and iconographic structure of reliefs in lion temple a in nagaa
Natalia Pomerantseva
Among the temples situated in Wadi Awateib the two most well preserved are known as temples A and B. The objective of my investigation is temple A. It is dedicated to the Lion God Apedemak whose cult was spread over the territory of Kush. one of its earliest records is connected with the name of the prominent German egyptologist K. R. Lepsius who recorded the inscription of the whole complex of edifices in Wad ban Naga Lepsius, 1913.
I would like to dwell upon some aspects of the God Apedemak's iconography so as to define its characteristic features and significance in Meroitic art. Among the Meroitic deities, Apedemak played a prominent part and was closely connected with the king's image - I mean King Netekamani, during the reign of whom this temple was erected; it dates back to the second year BC. Thanks to Meroitic hieroglyphs with the king's and queen's names, prof. P.L.Shinnie states a more precise date at the very end of the first century B.C., or early first century A.D. Shinnie, 1967.
Lion temple A has an ordinary plan but its reliefs attract special attention. The outer and inner walls of it are covered with reliefs representing the royal couple with the crown prince Arikhankharer worshipping gods. Among these deities Apedemak played a major role and was closely connected with the king. Apedemak's function was that of god of war, which could be clearly traced in his appearance. In the scenes of adoration, he is commonly represented in a human shape with a lion's head.
Another kind of iconography of this god is shown in his snake's hypostasy, which symbol became a component part of the god's image. In his snake's appearance, Apedemak is represented on the flank side of the entrance pylon. His ring-shaped body is emerging from a lotus. This composition is crowned with a semi-figure with a lion-headed profile and human hands stretched down from the shoulders. Whether these shoulders are represented frontally or in three-quarters is difficult to say because the dent of the wall prevents us from making out the shoulders precisely.
The lion-headed snake in the image of Apedemak appeared long before the erection of the lion temple in Nagaa. We come across the snake-shaped type of this god in the temple of Musawwarat es-safara, but there unfortunately, the heads of both snakes are broken. It should be emphasized that snake-shaped gods in the various forms of their iconography were inherited from ancient Egypt. We have as an example the massive coffin lid of pharaoh Ramses III (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, E 1-1823). He appears between two goddesses - Isis and Nephthys. There are two pairs of snakes running symmetrically to his left and to his right; two of them almost reach the levels of the pharaoh's head. Their bodies are crowned with women semi-figures with half-faces and hands bent at right angles. This manner of representation upsets the plasticity of the form. The Meroitic master of the Nagaa's pylon succeeded in finding a perfectly harmonious design. Both the snakes play the parts of standard measures in this composition: the size of the long snakes (with semi-figures) is equal to the big cut in θ-division of the whole composition and fixes the length of the pharaoh's figure from the foot to the end of the hanging beard. The whole height of the pharaoh's figure comprises three small snakes. Thus, the snakes indeed played the role of a fixed measure. The connection of Apedemak with a snake is evident. Apedemak's understanding as a god of war accounts for the presence of a snake - an animal in itself embodying fire. Such correlations had taken place in Egypt and could have found their expression within Meroitic religion Kormysheva, 1984.
Snakes were considered to be defenders against evil spirits, as well. Stelae with such kind of representations were set in front of the entrance of the temple of guards, specially in the Greco-Roman period. The image of the snake-shaped Apedemak on the pylon of Nagaa temple could play the same role. Snakes as protectors are met rather often in ancient Egypt - for example, the winged cobra with a large-scale serpentined body, guarding the cartouche with the name of Queen Nefertari (Fig.1). Snakes in their protective function have common features with uraei. Such a kind of resemblance is shown not only in their outward appearance but also in their meaning.
The relief on the entrance pylon of the entrance pylon of Nagaa temple in its general contours bears a strong likeness to an uraeus shown against a neutral background.
The Meroitic mater sets the composition along the flank side of the pylon from the bottom to the top. The snake's body stretches up out of acanthus' leaves. The central leaf gives a start to the movement of the body, both lateral ones are set symmetrically. The acanthus leaves occupy the place of a pillar base instead of being a capital according to the accepted traditions. The relief of the pylon which bears a resemblance with a column could be considered as a kind of "arbor mundi" similar to an obelisk, a throne, a mountain, etc.
Snakes and sceptres are bound up with each other - snakes were usually placed along ritual sceptres; such representations were known since Palaeolithic and Neolithic times Leroi-Gourhan,1965, p.57. The stability of such associations forms a so-called semantic unit; it is obvious that the mytho-poetical symbols of all times and peoples went through analogical stages of evolution. We can no doubt establish the semantic links between SCEPTRE -SNAKE - PLANT. Sceptres on ritual stelae in the hand of gods or pharaohs were twisted by snakes or a snake's body was twined round the stems of a lotus or papyrus. But at the same time the snake-shaped type of Apedemak cannot be considered as a "god on a flower". The autochtonical origin of the Meroitic iconography is evident Kormysheva, 1984, p. 185.
The unification of all the components of the Meroitic relief is achieved through dynamic links between bottom and top by means of the snake's body running like an elastic spring. This visual impression is gained by means of a strict proportional structure which is based on the system of the sacred Egyptian triangles, with a ratio sides of 3:4:5
Let us build one of the sacred Egyptian triangles (KMN). Its apex - point K - is on the level which fixes the top of Apedemak's crown (without disks). If we put four units along the vertical line (on the extension of the big cathetus, having the small one as a common side) - we shall get the same Egyptian triangle (MNM); its hypotenuse will coincide with the hand direction of the semi-figure. Every further triangle (from top to bottom) is built according to an analogical system of construction. Thus, sacred Egyptian triangles literally penetrate the whole composition.
The main dimensions of the pylon are fixed by means of arches, which radius (r) is equal to the hypotenuse of the sacred Egyptian triangle. The main sizes of the composition of the pylon were fixed in ө-division (the scale of RDH, see Pomerantseva 1973, pp. 213-216: and 1981, pp. 147-150).
Large areas of the temples' constructions, such as the height of the pylon, the size of its upper part, the height of the walls and so on, are measured with the same units which were used in the relief with the snake-shaped Apedemak.
It gives us proof for regarding the god figure in his lion-snake hypostasy as a sceptre which contains the main standards of the measures.
Ritual sceptres in ancient Egypt also contained the fixed standards of proportions - for example, the polychrome relief portraiting Pharaoh Set I in front of God Thoth - from the Osiris chapel in Abydos temple of this pharaoh (Fig.3). There is a double Egyptian triangle and two sceptres fixing the main measures. The ritual sceptres of Thoth and the attributes of power in the pharaoh's hands play the part of linear measures.
The façade of the pylon in Naga temple (Fig.4) was settled in θ-division. The scene with the representation of the pharaoh destroying his enemies is derived from the ancient Egyptian prototype, for example, the well-known composition of the VIIth pylon in Karnak. In the Egyptian relief, the figuresof PharaohThutmus III are exhibited on both sides of thepylon unlike a Meroitic composition where king and queen are shown standing symmetricall on each side of the pylon escorted by infuriated lions. Such details are absent in Egyptian composition.Netekamani's posture has some likeness and unlikeness with the posture of an Egyptian
pharaoh who is shown more expressively and dynamically. His head, line of torso and put aside leg are located practically on one diagonal which gives movement to the whole composition. On the contrary Netekamani's figure stand steadily and is supported by his left leg. The leg thrown back is evidently the right leg, according to the position of its toe. Egyptian masters as a rule neglected this detail displaying both toes in front. The figure of Queen Amanitare is rendered absolutely static. She has no prototype in ancient Egyptian art as a woman-fighter. Netekamani and his wife are protected by birds and lions and like Egyptian pharaohs they hold a bunch of captives by their hair.
Naturally, the Meroites did not borrow the Egyptian principles of iconography mechanically, as they did not mechanically adopt Egyptian gods. Hence, syncretism was the result of merging various foreign elements into local ones that were submitted to uniform laws. It has found expression in the same proportional system when similar details of compositions are fixed by the same proportional values (Fig.5). Measurements were performed according to two methods depending on the length of the pylon (M) and the height of each tower whose size were taken separately. The main ones are calculated on the base of the construction of the sacred Egyptian triangle; the long cathetus occupies the position of the central axis of the portal. One unit is equal to the interval between the main axis of the doorway and the corner ledges of the doorpost (on the uraeus' level).
A small cathetus fixes the distance between the main axis and the axes of the king's and queen's figures on the level of the supporting line. The height of the king's figure inclined forward along a diagonal is equal to three units (or the small cathetus). An arch, equal to the hypotenuse (5 units) determines the height of the pylon. The height of the doorway is almost equal to two units - I suppose that there could be a threshold. Values of a proportional scale (RDH) fix the small details of the composition: R determines the size of a field for both figures, the spread wings of birds; the area in which the bunch of captives is inscribed, is equal to two R. The diagonals of the double Egyptian triangle pass through the middle of the faces of the lower captives. All of them form a compact homogeneous cluster (Fig.6) ; their kneeling figures are arranged in three vertical rows; the faces of the central figures are turned in full-face. Theyare the initial ones for each group of
profiles. The derivative position of the next figures is the result of the unwinding of the initial one by means of turning the faces, the hands and the legs to the left and to the right. Their hands are bent at right angles, lifting up in prayer. Each profile and hand comes forward from behind the next. This strong rhythmical row is based on the principle of ornamental development. The structure of the cluster has an interesting peculiarity: the five right profiles correspond to the four left ones and the five left profiles of the next row correspond to the five right ones and so on.
We can observe the same representational device in the relief composition with queen Amanitare. Thus we can call such a way of construction, "unsymmetrical symmetry" or rhythmical symmetry, when some details of the left and right sides do not coincide with each other exactly.
According to oriental traditions, the impression of multitude has been gained by means of recurrence and alterations of the initial type. Half-faces have a derivative function, being the projection of full-faces through concentric circles.
The iconography of God Apedemak in his three headed hypostasy with two pairs of hands is based on the same principles (Fig.7). The doubling of hands has a full meaning - Apedemak touches the king and queen with one pair of hands and at the same time another one is holding the bunch of plants. The worship of this god as a god of fertility stemmed from his being compared with the king responsible for the welfare of his people. The position of the two pairs of hands symbolizes the equal measures of good deeds which the God renders to the king and queen. We are able to make sure that an identical method of proportioning is the base for the construction of the monuments. Geometry sets up the proportions with the standard measurements.
All that is known about the iconography of Apedemak points to the fact that he was exclusively the Meroitic god, but the way his representation varies in its types of iconography conforms to the same proportional system which was used by Egyptian masters. It is unlikely that Apedemak had a concrete Egyptian prototype.
Meanwhile, it is obvious that Egyptian and Meroitic masters started with the construction of the sacred Egyptian triangle and proportions in θ-division. The construction of Meroitic reliefs bears the stamp of pronounced mathematics in their simplest forms of expression. The creative intuition of the masters manifests itself in the compositional and iconographic devices and is proved by the system of proportional correlations which bear the meaning of the order. In this way, creative freedom and strong laws have a common base - mathematics - and it keeps them in balance. The proportional structure of Meroitic relief demonstrates visually its ample artistic potentialities, being the base of a synthesis of architectural and plastic forms.
References
- Kormysheva E.E, 1984 , The Religion of Kush
- Lepsius K.R., 1849-59 , Denkmaler aus Aegypten und Aethiopen, Berlin-Leipzig.
- Leroi-Gourhan A., 1965 , Prehistoire de l'art occidental, Paris.
- Pomerantseva N.,1973 ,Померанцева Н. А., Роль системы пропорциональных со-отношений в сложении канона в произведениях Древнеегипетской и пластики. Сs Проблема канона в Древнем и Средневековом искустве Азии и Африки, Москва.
- Pomerantseva 1989 ,Померанцева Н. А., О некоторых принципах архитектурно-пластических композиций храмового комплекса Муссаварат-эс-Суфра. Мероэ 2. Москва.
- Shinnie P.L., 1966 , Meroe: A Civilization of the Sudan, New York.
P.S. The name of this site is Mussawwarat-es-Safra and not Sufra. The name means in arabic Yellow pictures. It is the Arabs of the Sudan who gave the name as a description for the reliefs on the yellow sandstone buildings (Elnur).
