Congratulations to Professor Jennifer Miyuki Babcock on giving a lecture, “The Swift Ones: Hares in Ancient Egyptian Visual Culture,” for ARCE (American Research Center in Egypt)* via Zoom on October 25th.
*It is a members-only event.
Professor Babcock is giving the same talk to a local ARCE chapter (North Texas) in early November. While this talk is in person, there is also live streaming via zoom for the general public to attend.
Lecture Information:
In this talk, Dr. Babcock will provide an overview of the significance of the hare in ancient Egyptian culture. Despite being linked with one of the oldest ancient Egyptian deities, the hare does not feature prominently in ancient Egyptian art, with some exceptions. The discussion will focus on when we typically find representations of hares in ancient Egypt and examine the extent to which these images and objects reflect physiological and behavioral reality.
She will consider the possibility that many of these hare representations are not as concerned with naturalism as they are with emphasizing certain behaviors that were linked to their (super)natural abilities. She also argues that in some cases, hares are purposely conflated with other desert creatures, such as wild cats, providing additional insight into these creatures’ cultural and religious significance and the ancient Egyptian’s relationship with the nearby desert environment.