During the 22^nd Journées de la culture and in partnership with Société pour l’étude de l’Égypte ancienne, Pointe-à-Callière is offereing two free conferences in French on the theme of the Queens of Egypt exhibition.

The UQÀM-Université de Memphis research project at the Temple of Amon-Rê in Karnak

Saturday, September 29 at 2 pm
Jean Revez: Professor in the department of History of the Université du Québec à Montréal

The temple of the God Amon-Rê in Karnak is probably the best preserved monument of its kind in Egypt. Grand complex of over one suqre kilometer, this religious site was at its peak at the same time as the period of the New Kingdom (1580-1080 BCE). It was the backdrop for intense religious activity for th full 2000 years of its existence.

Since 2011, The Université de Montréal and the University of Memphis are leading a joint project is the great hypostyle hall of the temple of Karnak, which aims to study and publish the scenes and hieroglyphic inscriptions of the 130 immense columns inside the monument. Following an overview of the role of the temple of Karnak in Egyptian history, the goal of the conference will be to present the main objectives and results of the research project.

The origin of the world in Ancient Egypt according to funerary texts

Sunday September 30 at 2 pm
Cloé Caron: doctoral condidate in history/egyptology, UQAM & Université Paul-Valéry

In the oldest periods of pharaonic Egypt, no sacred myth, in the traditionally accepted form of a beginning, an evolution, and an end, existed. Conceptions about the origin of the world and its composition were more frequently handed down through snippets existing in the funerary litterature, in such works as the Pyramid Texts and the Coffin Texts. During this conference, we will discover how Egyptians imagined the creation of the world, from the primodial and lethargic mass, the emergence from it of a god-creator, and to the creation of humanity and the gods, as well as the mechanisms which allow creation to be maintained. Complemented by visual aids and texts, we will situate these beliefs in the funerary context and attempt to understand their utility to the deceased.