The Real Presence of Osiris: Iconic, semi-iconic and aniconic representations of an Egyptian god

TY - JOUR

T1 - The Real Presence of Osiris

T2 - Iconic, semi-iconic and aniconic representations of an Egyptian god

AU - Sørensen, Jørgen Podemann

PY - 2017/7/3

Y1 - 2017/7/3

N2 - The ancient Egyptian god Osiris was represented in iconic forms in temple reliefs and statues, in semi-iconic form in the so-called corn-Osiris or Osiris-bed, and in aniconic form as the Djed-pillar. All three variations in iconicity are ritual representations of the god and somehow claim his real presence: the temple reliefs by (textually transmitted) conventions, the corn-Osiris by the real, sprouting corn that fills the Osiris outline or form, and the Djed-pillar by the very universality and immense potential of denoting without (yet) depicting or narrating. The synchronous occurrence of these degrees of iconicity illustrates aniconism as a rhetorical option, a matter of ritual design, not a cognitive or theological stage in the evolution of mankind.

AB - The ancient Egyptian god Osiris was represented in iconic forms in temple reliefs and statues, in semi-iconic form in the so-called corn-Osiris or Osiris-bed, and in aniconic form as the Djed-pillar. All three variations in iconicity are ritual representations of the god and somehow claim his real presence: the temple reliefs by (textually transmitted) conventions, the corn-Osiris by the real, sprouting corn that fills the Osiris outline or form, and the Djed-pillar by the very universality and immense potential of denoting without (yet) depicting or narrating. The synchronous occurrence of these degrees of iconicity illustrates aniconism as a rhetorical option, a matter of ritual design, not a cognitive or theological stage in the evolution of mankind.

KW - Faculty of Humanities

KW - Religionshistorie

KW - anikonisk repræsentation

KW - djed-søjle

KW - kornosiris

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0048-721X

VL - 47

SP - 366

EP - 377

JO - Religion

JF - Religion

ER -