Imagine a three thousand year old sex magazine. In effect, that's what you get with The Turin Erotic Papyrus. In was discovered in the 19th century in Deir el-Medina, an Egyptian village that once housed the artisans responsible for the great pyramids in the Valley of the Kings.
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| Turin Papyrus |
Located now in the Museo Egizio in Turin, Italy, it measures roughly 8.5 feet by 10 inches. Because of its poor condition, it took years of painstaking work to reveal its contents.
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| Reconstruction of the original Turin Erotic papyrus |
Little else exists that reflects on the sexuality of the ancient Egyptians. What the Turin Erotic Papyrus reveals is open to interpretation. It seems clear that the Egyptians of 3,000 years ago were as enamoured with sex as most of us are in contemporary times. Further proof that we are hardwired to be interested in and find joy in that very fundamental part of our existence.
The link to the Turin Papyrus webpage is http://www.perankhgroup.com/the_turin_papyrus.htm
What I came away with is this. It would seem the pharaoh was trying to inflict pain and not pleasure. I recall seeing one woman who looked impaled...hanging over him limply. It just looked like he used his member as a weapon. After seeing this, I'm sure sexual violence was rampant in ancient times. It also spoke to the inflated ego of a man (Or pharaoh I think they called it in the documentary.) who was rich and in charge. I would be just as taken aback if the person he was with was another man. If it was two men my thoughts would be the same. I am sure they did this to other men as well. The male depicted seemed to want to cause pain. Just my interpretation. You have a very interesting blog. I look forward to reading further!
ReplyDeleteIt's actually possible that the papyrus was intended as a satirical take on sex in general, and may even have been at the expense of men, mocking them as slaves to sex and faintly ridiculous; note how unkempt and ugly they are in comparison to the women. One vignette shows a soldier engaging coitus on a chariot, which the composition may suggest he is cuckolding another man, whilst one of the scenes shows an apparently exhausted man having fallen out of bed, with the woman taunting him by saying "Am I doing anything wrong to you?"
DeleteEgyptian constructions of masculinity are pretty complex, as were their constructions of sexuality. To assume that the images display sexual violence is to place a modern construction of male-female sexual relations on a different iconographic tradition. Not to say that there was no sexual violence in the past, the likelihood is that it was rampant, but it doesn't seem to be being depicted here. Sex was praised in Egyptian love poetry and other sources as pleasurable for both parties. In fact, tones of sexual violence are more common in descriptions of Royal violence against foreign men.Sex was praised in Egyptian love poetry and other sources as pleasurable for both parties. In fact, tones of sexual violence are more common in descriptions of Royal violence against foreign men.
BTW, Pharaoh refers explicitly to the king, it being a New Kingdom term originating from "Per-Aa", meaning "The Great House/The Palace", and acquiring a metanymic usage to refer to the personage of the King. None of the individuals portrayed in the Papyrus are royal.