Esna VI
Introduction
David Klotz
This is a continuation of my ongoing quest to translate all the Roman inscriptions from Esna temple. The previous volumes are now complete, and can be found here:
Esna II, Esna III, Esna IV.
I will continue to make changes and updates to those, including some desperately needed proof-reading.
The Present Volume
Esna VI covers the interior walls of the pronaos, except for the interior of the facade, already published in Esna II. Most of the inscriptions are offering scenes, with a few decorative cartouches, longer bandeau texts, and varia. Some of these scenes are the latest to be carved, and the texts exhibit fewer “enigmatic” features seen frequently in Esna II and Esna III, and more unusual hieroglyphs or textual confusion.
All the published volumes of Esna temple were recently (2021) released as open-access PDFs by the IFAO. Each translation will contain a link to the original hieroglyphic text, and details about major secondary literature.
So far, 74/74 (100%) of the texts from Esna VI are complete and online. As with previous volumes, the present transliterations and translations are provisional, and I plan to proofread and standardize spellings after I have completed the remaining Esna volumes, and prepare comprehensive indexes. As I was finishing the first draft of Esna VI, Prof. Ahmad K. Safina from New Valley University kindly shared his PhD thesis on this volume. I intend to add references to that work wherever appropriate.
Technical Notes
For each inscription, I link directly to the relevant page of the PDF publications from the IFAO. If you receive an error in this case, usually refreshing the tab with the new link tends to resolve the issue.
Photographs
Excellent photographs of each text and overall views showing the scenes in context can be found at this website.
Contribute!
I welcome any feedback for this project, whether regarding the format, corrections, alternative suggestions for translations, or notes to any important references I might have overlooked. Or perhaps you would like to volunteer to translate certain texts! You may contact me directly at shemanefer@gmail.com. I will of course fully acknowledge any suggestions, and add you to the list of contributors.
I would also appreciate help with relevant bibliography, especially newer journal articles or monographs. I already have most basic references in digital or paper form, but if you noticing any major omissions, please let me know.