Ptah-Patek
| Ptah-Patek | |
|---|---|
 Ptah-Patek figurine, Louvre, 4th–3rd century BC | |
| Other names | Pateco, Pataikos |
| Major cult center | Memphis |
Ptah-Patek, or Pataikos, is protective dwarf deity in ancient Egyptian religion that appears primarily on amulets. Many of these have been found in Phoenician and Punic centers throughout the Mediterranean, but also in Etruria and to a lesser extent in Greece.
Origins
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The name "Pataikos" comes from Herodotus who, in his Histories, refers by this name to the figureheads of Phoenician ships in the form of a protective dwarf.[1] Herodotus described Ptah-Patek as a son of or a manifestation of Ptah, and thus calls him "Pataikos", which means "little Ptah".[2]
The deity's connection with Ptah comes from the dwarves who, in Egyptian Antiquity, were generally associated with experts in metallurgy.[3][4]
Attributes and representation
[edit]Ptah-Patek is generally represented as a deformed, naked, green dwarf with a potbelly and a head disproportionate to his body. There are, however, rare cases where he is adorned with a necklace and a crown that surmounts his skullcap. Unlike Ptah, he possesses neither the Djed pillar, nor the Was scepter, nor the ankh, nor the false beard symbol of royalty. Their only similarity lies in the wearing of the skullcap atop their heads.[5] He frequently wore a scarab on his head, which was a symbol of solar creation and regeneration.[6]
During the Late Period of Egypt, Ptah-Patek was often shown with characteristics of Harpocrates, Bes, and Horus, including holding either serpents or knives in his hands, falcons sitting on his shoulders, and standing on top of crocodiles.[2][6]
As a protector
[edit]Ptah-Patek was frequently represented in the form of a faience amulets that protected its wearer from evil forces, dangerous animals, and chaos.[6][7]
Along with Bes, Ptah-Patek was an assistant of Taweret during childbirth, and was associated with women and children.[8] In spells to speed up childbirth, a figurine of Bes or Pataikos would be placed on the forehead of the pregnant woman.[6][7]
Cult
[edit]The Late Period is the period when its popularity grew among the Egyptian people, who, associating it with the god Bes from the 22nd Dynasty of Egypt onwards,[9] exported it throughout the Eastern Mediterranean in the Hellenistic period.
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ↑ Herodotus, Egypt: Histories, 2002, chap. 3, p. 37
- 1 2 Arav, Rami; Bernett, Monika (1997). "An Egyptian Figurine of Pataikos at Bethsaida". Israel Exploration Journal. 47 (3/4): 206–208. ISSN 0021-2059.
- ↑ Michel Valloggia, Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, line 8-10.
- ↑ Let us remember that Ptah is the patron saint of artisans.
- ↑ Comparison between a bronze statuette of Ptah (E 3305) inlaid with gold and electrum from the Louvre Museum in Paris and a faience amulet of Ptah-Patek (number: BAAM 1114) from the Museum of Antiquities in Alexandria.
- 1 2 3 4 Apostola, Electra (2019). "The multiple connotations of Pataikos amulets in the Aegean". Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur. 48: 53–66. ISSN 0340-2215.
- 1 2 Apostola, Electra (2018). "Representations of the demon-god Bes in Rhodes and Samos during the 7th and 6th centuries BC and their influence on popular religious beliefs: Bes and the 'fat-bellied demons'". In Vavouranakis, Girogos; Kopanias, Konstantinos; Kanellopoulos, Chrysanthos (eds.). Popular Religion and Ritual in Prehistoric and Ancient Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean. Archaeopress. pp. 113–114. ISBN 978-1-78969-045-3.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ↑ Braunstein, Susan L. (2011). "The Meaning of Egyptian-Style Objects in the Late Bronze Cemeteries of Tell el-Farʿah (South)". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (364): 12–13. doi:10.5615/bullamerschoorie.364.0001. ISSN 0003-097X.
- ↑ Fourrier, Sabine; Grivaud, Gilles (2006). Intersecting Identities in a Mediterranean Environment: The Case of Cyprus (Antiquity-Middle Ages) (in French). Publications of the Universities of Rouen and Le Havre. p. 75-76. ISBN 9782877754071.
Bibliography
[edit]- Philippe Germond, "The Symbolic World of Egyptian Amulets: From the Jacques-Édouard Berger Collection," Éditions 5 Continents, 2005;
- Alain-Pierre Zivie, Memphis and its Necropolises in the New Kingdom, Éditions du CNRS, 1988.
External links
[edit]
- "Amulet of Ptah-Patèque". barbier-mueller.ch via Internet Archive. Archived from the original on 2018-01-26. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
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