Museum of the Antiquity of Leiden: Gods of Egypt for all the public | Culture

The Egyptian civilization He had thousands of gods, and several of the main ones, such as Ra, Amon, Osiris, Isis, Horus or Seth, have survived to this day with their magic intact. Maybe because of its appearance, with jackal, baboon or falcon heads. Perhaps because they occupied a central role in everyday life and could be born and die, like men. Or for being able even to give back to life a murdered husband. Christianity and Islam put an end to polytheism in Egypt, but the mixture of representations of these deities, and the cult of the dead, continues to fascinate. This is what the Museum of Antiquity, from the Dutch city of Leiden, which presents a unique exhibition in its class under a descriptive and solemn title: Gods of Egypt.

On the first floor of the center, figures have been arranged that controlled the elements, possessed the gift of ubiquity, and adopted various forms, but also had feelings. To show them, sometimes, it was not necessary to exaggerate. Tucked into a small urn is a polychrome wooden carving of Isis, goddess of love and protector of mothers and wives. It is a huge task, and in his case, painful, since Osiris, brother and husband (something common in this world) was murdered by his brother, Seth. As the body was torn to pieces, Isis had to pick them up throughout the kingdom. Once reconstructed with the help of Anubis, guardian of tombs and embalmmaster, Isis revived Osiris, who presides over the tribunal of the deceased. They had a son, Horus, who avenged his father. Well, the Isis exposed, she cries on her knees and with her hand on her face the loss of her husband. Same as mortals. The piece comes from Roemer-und Pelizaeus Museum, of the German city of Hildesheim, which has contributed together with the Louvre (Paris), British Museum (London), and the Egyptian Museum of Turin (Italy).

Given the profusion of gods and the more than 500 pieces exhibited until March 31, 2019, there are five themes: Cosmos, Sky, Earth, Underworld and Eternal Life, and the essential presence of Pharaoh. "The goddess Maat represents cosmic harmony, and the task of the pharaohs on Earth was to maintain that order. That's why this civilization survived for three thousand years, "said Maarten Raven, the commissioner, on the eve of its inauguration. To demonstrate his theory, he points out a set of limestone, this one, imposing. It presents Pharaoh Horemheb, the last of the 18th Dynasty (between 1319 and 1292 BC), who ruled what historians call the New Kingdom. When the Egyptian power was in full swing. "Horemheb sits next to Horus, who has a hawk's head, and both are the same size. Pharaoh was both god and man: the dogma of monarchy. The king was included in the religion, which was the basis of the whole life. When he died, another divine one happened to him, "adds Raven. Arrival of the Museum of Art History, Vienna, the work appears in all the books of the discipline, and the Dutch room -dueña of an extensive Egyptian collection- ensures that thanks to loans of this caliber, "the exhibition can be described as exceptional "