Milk and suckling in the Egyptian discourse on the constitution of the body

Milk and suckling in the Egyptian discourse on the constitution of the body

The study of several motives about “interspecific feeding”, among which that of the breast-fed Pharaoh, allows to understand the particular relation which tie some goddesses and the sovereign, who feeds in their breast (or udder). The examination of the figurative scenes reveals a theology of the feeding and of the milk, around the transmission of life by a divine fluid. The various aspects taken on by the breast-feeding goddess also lead to wonder about the nature of the body in the conceptions of Pharaonic Egypt, and to precise Egyptian ideas about the male and feminine parts in the constitution of the body, and also about the role of the milk in the pharaonic physiology.

Key words

• Pharaonic Egypt
• Suckling
• Pharao’s suckling
• Divine cows
• Milk
• Egyptian physiology
• Pharaonic anthropology
• Body’s constitution in Ancient Egypt