A special lecture as part of our Collecting Trees programme and exhibition:
“Talking Trees in Ancient Egyptian Love Poetry” by Cynthia Sheikholeslami (American University in Cairo).
Saturday 29th June, 2pm, Kanaris Lecture Theatre.
FREE but booking required.
An ancient Egyptian papyrus, dating to around 1100 BC, contains a series of love songs related to trees and fruits. This lecture will explore the themes and imagery of these Egyptian love songs, and how they were related to the worship of the Egyptian goddess Hathor, a deity associated with fertility – but also with trees.
CYNTHIA MAY SHEIKHOLESLAMI studied Egyptology at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, and UCLA. Her interests are in the history and society of the New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period in Egypt. She has published a number of studies dealing with the cult and priests of Montu in Thebes during the 25th Dynasty, and is preparing a publication of some of their funerary equipment discovered in the Hatshepsut Temple for the Polish-Egyptian Mission at Deir el-Bahari. She has also researched information about Egyptian antiquities contained in the travel accounts of 19th century visitors to Luxor.
Egypt at the Manchester Museum 