Raising the Pole for Min in the Temple of Isis at Shanhūr

Abstract

Summary This article presents the translation and commentary of two unpublished offering scenes from the eastern and western external walls of the Roman period temple at Shanhūr. Pharaoh Claudius (41-54 CE) raises the pole for Min’s cult chapel and presents lettuce to the same god in the corresponding scene. The pole-raising scene is quite exceptional for many reasons, but mainly because a specific date is mentioned for this ritual, a unique element in all known pole-raising scenes so far, which enables us to date a local Min festival. The appendix provides a chronological and up-to-date overview of all known thirty-two pole-raising scenes from the Old Kingdom to the Roman Period.