Zagreb Papirus 597-2

Zagreb Papirus 597-2

The Zagreb Papirus 597-2 is an exceptionally rare document that describes the mummification of the sacred bull devoted to Apis. The text bears witness to the event that took place at the time of pharaoh Nektaneb II (360-343 BC) during whose rule one of the sacred bulls perished.

In fact, Egyptians sought an animal that had to have precisely defined markings and symbols, in order for it to be proclaimed a Sacred Apis Bull embodying that deity. Such a bull was held and guarded as a sacred animal and after death it had to be mummified and buried in a tomb with all the honours.

Egyptians practiced that ritual for millennia so that their hatred towards the Persians was all the bigger for their satrap mocked that custom. In the text the priest communicates to the pharaoh that the Apis has ascended to the heavens and that the preparations for its burial can begin. The second part of the text consists of instructions on how to mummify a bull after the mourning has been performed in a ritual.