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"Let no man ignorant of geometry enter here." Inscribed above the door Plato's Academy in Athens.
Geometry will draw the soul toward truth and create the spirit of philosophy.
The knowledge of which geometry aims is the knowledge of the eternal.
Then, my noble friend, geometry will draw the soul towards truth, and create the spirit of philosophy, and raise up that which is not unhappily allowed to fall down.
Derived from the geometry of a seashell, this piece is inspirational because something so small and seemingly insignificant was used to design volutes and even spiral staircases. Nature was used as a design in creating architectural works.
Serapis is often shown standing on the back of the sacred crocodile, carrying in his left hand a rule with which to measure the inundations of the Nile, and balancing with his right hand a curious emblem consisting of an animal with the heads. The first head--that of a lion--signified the present; the second head--that of a wolf--the past; and the third head--that of a dog--the future. The body with its three heads was enveloped by the twisted coils of a serpent. Figures of Serapis are occasionally accompanied by Cerberus, the three-headed dog of Pluto, and--like Jupiter--carry baskets of grain upon their heads.
14 The four images discussed so far were all used for healing: the three Chnoubis-snakes
presumably for stomach or digestive problems and the lizard for eye disease. In two
cases, we saw that the first half of the inscription encircling the image often appeared
on the reverse of gems of the same type and in a third case how a text inscribed in four
short lines beneath the image corresponded to the text sometimes inscribed along the
edge of the obverse of the gems. But despite numerous graphic errors and some other
complications, we saw that these four designs could have been used as models for
producing magical gems similar to those that survive from Roman times. This is not the
case, however, with the two remaining images, which are drawn directly from a much
older Pharaonic tradition and are concerned mainly with protection, not healing. They
also display radical changes in their design, which, in turn, do not have obvious
parallels among the earlier magical gems.
15 Let us begin with the upper scene on side A, where we seem to see a human figure
holding two upright poles, as if he were cross-country skiing and skipping at the same
time (Fig. 6a). In the exhibition catalogue Marc Étienne aptly suggested that this was a
stripped-down version of the so-called “Pantheos” or polytheistic deity that appears on
many protective amulets,24 as, for example, on a gem in the British Museum inscribed
with a prayer for protection (Fig. 6b) or a thunderstone-amulet in Toronto that
protected a house from lightning (Fig. 6c).
25 The figure on the copper plaque is, of
course, a pale imitation, as it only replicates the two upright staffs held in the hands of
the god, while ignoring the wings and the various animal heads and vegetation that
usually protrude from the top of Pantheos’ head or from the sides of his neck. Like the
suppression of the lion’s head on the figure holding the Chnoubis-staff discussed
earlier, this may have been another effort to “clean up” the image and make it more
acceptable to late antique and perhaps Christian clients. No Greek text, circular or
otherwise, is associated with this image, although the as-yet-undeciphered Arabic text
may be connected with this image by its proximity.26 There is, however, a puzzling
object beneath the left foot of this figure, which is, I suggest, a truncated version of the
rectangular shape created by the ouroboros serpent that one sometimes finds below the
feet of the Pantheos, as you can see on the gem in Fig. 6d.
16 Étienne also pointed out that the final image on the copper plaque (Fig. 7a), that of a
person standing on top of a snake and feline, was originally inspired by another
popular late-Pharaonic image, the child Horus as he appears on hundreds of statuettes
or cippi that were used in Egypt to protect people or their homes from scorpions,
snakes and other dangerous animals. We see the standard scene in Fig. 7b: the child
Horus stands on a pair of crocodiles and grips in each hand two snakes and a scorpion,
as well as the tail of a tiny lion in his left hand and the horn of a tiny ibex in his right.
The god himself is naked, and his head is shaved, except for the so-called Horus lock
that hangs down behind his right ear. The mask of the god Bes, yet another apotropaic
device, sits on top of his head.
17 The figure on the copper plaque in Paris does indeed recall some of these details: he is
bald, and near to his left ear there appears to be a poorly drawn lock of hair, but on the
wrong side of his head. There is, however, no clear indication that this person is a child,
and, in fact, in size and shape he differs little from the two other humanoid figures on
the plaque, although the artisan did add nipples to the Horus figure, an attempt, perhaps, to stress that he alone is naked. This figure does not, however, grasp any animals in his hands, as Horus does in the standard scene, but rather, he holds a
downward-pointing branch, much like the object held by the Heliorus figure discussed
above. I suggest that this “branch” may, in fact, be a poorly drawn scorpion grasped by
its tail, as we can see in an equally poor image carved on a gem of Roman date (Fig. 7c)
that is also said to come from Egypt:27 a naked Horus standing on two small and facing
crocodiles and holding a scorpion by the tail in his right hand and an ibex in his left.
This gem image has also been “cleaned up” a bit: the lock of hair is gone and the
palmette on top of his head replaces the usual Bes-mask. The Greek prayer on the
reverse reveals the protective force of the image: “Lord Akrimakrageta help and
protect the wearer from every creeping thing!” This image suggests, then, that the
branch held by “Horus” on the copper plaque was originally meant to be a scorpion.
18 But what are we to make of the snake and lion beneath the feet of Horus, precisely
where we expect to find the crocodiles? Both make good sense as replacements, of
course, because on the traditional cippi they are also suppressed, albeit in a different
manner: grasped firmly in the hands of the child-god. That these animals have simply
been moved about within the original design is suggested by the fact that the lion who
dangles from Horus’ hand on the traditional cippus (Fig. 7b) often looks back over its
shoulder, just like the lion on the copper plaque. I suggest, moreover, that the person
who replaced the crocodiles with the lion and the snake had in mind the words of
Psalm 90.14: καταπατήσεις λέοντα καὶ δράκοντα (“you will trample on the lion and the
snake”) or the images of Jesus that these words inspired, for example, in the famous
sixth-century mosaic in the Archbishop’s Chapel in Ravenna (Fig. 8a). Verses from
Psalm 90, of course, were extremely popular on Christian amulets and an unpublished
Byzantine amulet that quotes the verse 9–11 of the Psalm on the reverse, shows Jesus
on the obverse (Fig. 8b) hovering, like the Horus-figure on the Louvre plaque, over a lion
and a snake, although in this case the lion appears above the snake and thus correctly
follows the word-order of the Psalm.28 In these images Jesus sometimes holds in his
right hand a spear or a cross, so perhaps the object in the right hand of the Horus
figure on the plaque was meant to be a palm branch, another important symbol of
victory.29
Found via Researchgate Source PDF
Some photos with Bes.
I am a crocodile immersed in dread,1 I am a crocodile who takes by robbery, I am the
great and mighty fish-like being who is in the Bitter Lakes, I am the Lord of those who
bow down in Letopolis.
— Book of Going Forth by Day, Chapter 88
crocodiles (from kroke meaning pebble and drilos meaning worm, describing the
animal’s skin)
(1) [ Hail to you God, son of God! Hail to you] Heir, son of heir! [Hail to you Bull,
son of Bull,] y
(2) born to the divine one. Hail to you Horus who came forth from
Osiris, born to Isis, [the goddess! I have recited] z
(3) from your magical spells, I have
spoken out your incantations aa, I have said your spells which [your heart] created.
[These are your magical spells which came forth from] (4) my mouth, which your
father Geb ordained for you, which your mother Isis gave] (5) to you, which your
brother bb who is in front of Letopolis (Horus) taught to you in order to provide your
safeguard, renew your protection, in order to seal the mouths (6) of cc all the lions in
the desert, all the crocodiles in the river, all the snakes who are in the heaven, in the
earth and in (7) the water, in order to give life to people, to satisfy the gods, to glorify
Re with the hymns dd repeated with joy. (8) Come to me quickly, quickly on this day,
like the one who steers the boat of God did for you. May you drive away (9) for me
every lion upon the desert, every crocodile in the river, all biting reptiles in their
holes! ee May you make (10) them ff for me as the pebbles on the desert,
gg and crocks
of earthenware along the street! May [you] extract for hh (11) me this coursing venom
which is in the limbs [of the man who is suffering] ii. Beware lest your words
concerning it go unheeded jj. [Behold! You shall come against it.] (12) See! [I have
invoked] this which belongs to you (your name) on this day kk. May [you] create
[respect for yourself, make high yourself by means of (13) [magical power]ll to keep
alive for me those who are [suffocating], praise[is given to you by (14) mankind, may
Maat be adored in your forms] mm, and may all the gods be called upon in [your]
likeness. (15) [Behold, One calls upon you] on this day. I am Horus the savior, the
great nn Heir. (16) /////////// /////////// in the presence of Nephthys
oo, your flames drive
them away(and) your courage (makes them) enter their land, acclamation for you,
[you]create (17) celery pp which is for you twice, stick is for you twice, enemy there,
(18) male dead, female dead, enmity is removed from you qq, Oh lord of brightness,
destroy heads, keep(yourself) far from me. (19) I am the Lion who seals the mouth of
any reptile, any male and female snakes and any scorpion, there is no bite of them rr. I
am (20) Ptah, they do not appear against me. I am Horus, they do not attack me. I am
Khnum, they do not come to me. (21) I am Amun, they do not see me. I am Thoth,
they do not look at me. It is made for the king's son Ramses, (22) the chief priest of
Hathor, lady of Atfih ss , Aantohar-nahkt pashed-Bastet tt, the justified, born to the
house servant Meket-Emneout uu his mother, I invoke Mout forever vv?.
Another image I found in research that I found interesting how it resembled the pose found in the Horus Cippus and had the same style of hair.
