Redeeming Demons: Coopting Demonic Forces for Good in Ancient Egypt

Redeeming Demons: Coopting Demonic Forces for Good in Ancient Egypt
in collaboration with the Bowers Museum, and American Research Center in Egypt, Orange County (ARCE-OC)

Saturday, April 10, 1:30 p.m.

The word “demon” is used throughout Egyptology for a number of divine or semi-divine creatures encountered in art and texts. Although there is no term for “demon” in Egyptian, scholars have applied this term freely for creatures with an especially menacing demeanor found in the texts that describe the underworld.  But it also appears in reference to other areas of Egyptian magic, medicine, and mortuary art. Demons appear to have malevolent and benevolent tendencies in Ancient Egyptian religion. This conference will look at the benevolent demons. It will especially focus on how the Ancient Egyptians used magic or myth to coerce ostensibly naturally malevolent forces. The study of demons in Ancient Egyptian religion is undergoing a renaissance. This conference will bring together experts in the topic of Demons in Ancient Egypt to offer their perspectives on how the Ancient Egyptians conceived of magical, ritual, and mythical strategies to bend evil to do the will of good.

Panelists: 
Kasia Szpakowska, Ph.D., W. Benson Harer Egyptology Scholar in Residence, CSUSB (spring 2021)
Rita Lucarelli, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Egyptology Near Eastern Studies, UC Berkeley
Joshua A. Roberson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Art History Department of Art at the University of Memphis
Bryan Kraemer, RAFFMA Research Egyptologist and Lecturer in History at CSUSB