Bears in ancient Egypt

Abstract EN

Although bears were considered among the non-native animals in ancient Egypt, they were represented in various scenes because of the ancient Egyptian obsession with exotic animals.

Since the pre-dynastic period, Egyptian kings had imported bears or received them as tributes from Syria and kept them inside the royal menageries.

The earliest evidence of a bear is found on an ivory knife handle, which was found at Jabal al-Tarif near Abydos from the Pre-dynastic period, while the earliest occurrence of importing a foreign bear comes from the court of King Sahure mortuary temple at Abusir.

This study aims to examine the origin of bears and how they were entered to Egypt, in addition to their mention in ancient Egyptian language and literature.

This work sheds light on the characteristic features of bears and their representation in art from the Pre-dynastic period until the late period.

It explains how bears were used as a tool to display the ancient Egyptian political and militaristic mastery over foreign lands.