Bubastis
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| Per-Bastet (pr b3stt) en jeroglífico | |||||
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Bubastis[1] (Per-Bastet en antiguo egipcio o Tell Basta en árabe) era una antigua ciudad egipcia, capital del XVIII nomo del Bajo Egipto (Am-Khent), situada cerca de la moderna ciudad de Zaqaziq, en la zona oriental del delta del Nilo. Ha sido identificada con la Phibeseth ("casa de Bastet") de la Biblia.[2] Bubastis está sudoeste de Tanis, sobre la margen oriental del brazo pelusiaco del Nilo, en las coordenadas 30º 34' N, 31º 31' E.
Fue el principal centro de culto a la diosa felina Bastet o Bast. En el siglo V a. C., el historiador griego Heródoto realizó una descripción de la ciudad y de los peregrinos que acudían a rendir culto a la diosa Bastet.
Contenido[ocultar] |
Historia [editar]
Los estratos más antiguos datan del Imperio Antiguo, habiendo referencias a reyes de la dinastía IV, así como templos de la dinastía VI (Teti y Pepy I) y una necrópolis.
El tercer periodo intermedio de Egipto es su época de mayor prosperidad, sobre todo durante las dinastías XXII y XXIII a partir de que Sheshonq I la convirtiera en residencia real. Su importancia decreció tras la comquista persa de Cambises II en 525 a. C.
Durante la vigésimo segunda dinastía egipcia la ciudad era uno de los lugares más importantes del delta. Inmediatamente al sur de Bubastis estaban las tierras con las cuales Psamético I recompensó los servicios de sus mercenarios[3] y al norte de la ciudad comenzaba el gran canal que el faraón Necao II construyó entre el Nilo y el mar Rojo[4] Después de tomar Bubastis, los persas destruyeron sus murallas.[5] A partir de este período declinó gradualmente, aunque aparece en los anales eclesiásticos entre ls sedes episcopales de la provincia Augustamnica Secunda. Existe constancia de monedas acuñadas en Bubastis de la época de Adriano.
Egypt_Karnak_test.png (400 × 394 píxeles; tamaño de archivo: 288 KB; tipo MIME: image/png)
Heródoto, II. 59-60
Religión [editar]
Bubastis era el centro de la adoración de la diosa Bastet, que los griegos identificaban con Artemisa. El gato era el animal sagrado de la diosa, que se representa con cabeza de gato o de leona y acompaña con frecuencia al dios Ptah en las inscripciones monumentales. Hay una necrópolis para gatos.
Las características de la ciudad y del nomo de Bubastis eran su oráculo de Bastet, el templo de esa diosa y la procesión anual en su honor. El oráculo ganó en renombre e importancia después de la afluencia de colonos griegos en el delta, puesto que la identificación de Bastet con Artemisa atrajo a su templo tanto a egipcios como a extranjeros.
El festival de Bubastis era uno de los más alegres y magníficos de todo el calendario egipcio según lo descrito por Heródoto:
Restos arqueológicos [editar]
Sus ruinas están cerca de la ciudad de Zaqaziq. Se han realizado expediciones arqueológicas a las ruinas en 1886, 1887, y 1906, en la última de las cuales se descubrió una capilla de la sexta dinastía y un templo del siglo VIII a. C.
Las ruinas atestiguan la magnificencia original de la ciudad. Las murallas miden casi cinco kilómetros. Dentro del recinto principal, donde está la mayor acumulación de ruinas, hay muchos bloques de granito que parecen haber pertenecido a los obeliscos numerosos y al propileo. Según Heródoto, la construcción de una barrera de tierra alrededor de la ciudad antigua fue comenzada por un faraón llamado Sesostris y terminada por el invasor etíope Sabakos, que empleó a prisioneros para el trabajo.[6] La barrera se pensó para proteger de las inundaciones del Nilo la ciudad, jardines y arboledas. Por el aspecto general de las ruinas y la descripción dada de ella por Heródoto, parece haber sido levantada de manera concéntrica alrededor de los templos de Bastet y Hermes, de modo que el lugar entero se asemejara al interior de un cono invertido. Los únicos edificios permanentes de Bubastis parecen haber sido los templos y el muro de granito:
- Templo ka de Teti y Pepi I
- Capillas del Heb Sed de Amenemhat III y Amenhotep III.
- Templo de Bastet, de Osorcón II.
- Templo de Atum, de Osorcón II.
- Templo de Mihos, de Osorcón III.
- Necrópolis de gatos.
Notas [editar]
Referencias [editar]
- Este artículo incorpora texto del Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, de William Smith (1856), en dominio público.
Enlaces externos [editar]
Wikimedia Commons alberga contenido multimedia sobre Bubastis. Commons- de la Torre Suárez, Juan. «Bubastis, galería fotográfica». Consultado el 24, 06 de 2008.
Bubastis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bubastis[1] , also known as Tell Basta or Egyptian Per-Bast was an Ancient Egyptian city, the capital of its own nome, located along the River Nile in the Delta region of Lower Egypt. Bubastis is often identified with Phibeseth ("house of Bastet") of the Bible.[2]
Contents[hide] |
[edit] History
Bubastis served as the capital of the nome of Am-Khent, the Bubastite nome, the 18th nome of Lower Egypt. Bubastis was situated southwest of Tanis, upon the eastern side of the Pelusiac branch of the Nile. The nome and city of Bubastis were allotted to the Calasirian division of the Egyptian war-caste.
It became a royal residence after Shoshenq I, the first ruler of the 22nd dynasty, became pharaoh in 943 BC. Bubastis was at its height during this dynasty and the 23rd. It declined after the Persian conquest by Cambyses II in 525 BC, which heralded the end of the Saite 26th dynasty and the start of the Achaemenid dynasty.
The Twenty Second Dynasty of Egyptian monarchs consisted of nine, or, according to Eusebius[3] of three Bubastite kings, and during their reigns the city was one of the most considerable places in the Delta. Immediately to the south of Bubastis were the allotments of land with which Psammetichus rewarded the services of his Ionian and Carian mercenaries;[4] and on the northern side of the city commenced the canal which Pharaoh Necho II began (but never finished) to go between the Nile and the Red Sea.[5] After Bubastis was taken by the Persians, its walls were dismantled.[6] From this period it gradually declined, although it appears in ecclesiastical annals among the episcopal sees of the province Augustamnica Secunda. Bubastite coins of the age of Hadrian exist.
The following is the description which Herodotus gives of Bubastis, as it appeared shortly after the period of the Persian invasion, 525 BC, and Hamilton remarks that the plan of the ruins remarkably warrants the accuracy of this historical eye-witness.[7]
- "Temples there are more spacious and costlier than that of Bubastis, but none so pleasant to behold. It is after the following fashion. Except at the entrance, it is surrounded by water: for two canals branch off from the river, and run as far as the entrance to the temple: yet neither canal mingles with the other, but one runs on this side, and the other on that. Each canal is a hundred feet wide, and its banks are lined with trees. The propylaea are sixty feet in height, and are adorned with sculptures (probably intaglios in relief) nine feet high, and of excellent workmanship. The Temple being in the middle of the city is looked down upon from all sides as you walk around; and this comes from the city having been raised, whereas the temple itself has not been moved, but remains in its original place. Quite round the temple there goes a wall, adorned with sculptures. Within the inclosure is a grove of fair tall trees, planted around a large building in which is the effigy (of Bast). The form of that temple is square, each side being a stadium in length. In a line with the entrance is a road built of stone about three stadia long, leading eastwards through the public market. The road is about 400 feet (120 m) broad, and is flanked by exceeding tall trees. It leads to the temple of Hermes."
[edit] Religion
Bubastis was a center of worship for the feline goddess Bast (also called Bastet (emphasising the feminine ending t), or even Bubastis (after the city)), which the ancient Greeks identified with Artemis. The cat was the sacred and peculiar animal of Bast, who is represented with the head of a cat or a lioness and frequently accompanies the deity Ptah in monumental inscriptions. The tombs at Bubastis were accordingly the principal depository in Egypt of the mummies of the cat.
The most distinguished features of the city and nome of Bubastis were its oracle of Bast, the splendid temple of that goddess and the annual procession in honor of her. The oracle gained in popularity and importance after the influx of Greek settlers into the Delta, since the identification of Bast with Artemis attracted to her shrine both native Egyptians and foreigners.
The festival of Bubastis was the most joyous and gorgeous of all in the Egyptian calendar as described by Herodotus:
- Barges and river craft of every description, filled with men and women, floated leisurely down the Nile. The men played on pipes of lotus. the women on cymbals and tambourines, and such as had no instruments accompanied the music with clapping of hands and dances, and other joyous gestures. Thus did they while on the river: but when they came to a town on its banks, the barges were made fast, and the pilgrims disembarked, and the women sang, playfully mocked the women of that town and threw their clothes over their head. When they reached Bubastis, then held they a wondrously solemn feast: and more wine of the grape was drank in those days than in all the rest of the year. Such was the manner of this festival: and, it is said, that as many as seven hundred thousand pilgrims have been known to celebrate the Feast of Bast at the same time.[citation needed]
[edit] References
 | Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Bubastis. |
[edit] Notes
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography by William Smith (1856).
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Coordinates: 30°34′22″N 31°30′36″E / 30.57278°N 31.51°E
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