Magyar László szerk.: Orvostörténeti Közlemények 170-173. (Budapest, 2000)

KÖZLEMÉNYEK — COMMUNICATIONS - Győry, Hedvig: "Providing protection to a new-born on the day of his birth ". Extra-and intrauterine complications and abnormalities in ancient Egypt. — „Az újszülött védelméről gondoskodni születése napján ". Méhen kívüli és belüli komplikációk és rendellenességek az ősi Egyiptomban

erded in the time of King Isesi, in accordance with my majesty's wish to see this pygmy. (25) Orders have been brought to the chief of the new towns and the companion, overseer of the priests to command that supplies be furnished from what is under the charge of each from the every storage depot and every temple that has not been exempted. " (Lichtheim, I. p. 26—27)

m In everyday life (during the Old Kingdom) dwarfs were often represented in the neighbourhood of their master achieving personal tasks, leading dogs and monkeys, preparing the broad collars with tiny beads, attaching the buckle. Based on their analysis the achondroplasia seems to be the most frequent. It is also interesting, how low the female ratio is among them. One ought to be cautious, nevertheless, for these presentations could be reasoned either by contemporary artistic views or by uneven finds. From the Middle Kingdom onwards the word nmw is used for the denomination of dwarfs, and it seems, that from this time the earlier dng can only be found in the compositions of names. According to visual presentations, they had the same activities as earlier. The appearance of the dwarf nurse is new however, and also those dwarfs who live (together with other disabled persons), obviously without any job in the household of the elite. We may conclude from it that they became a certain status symbols. Their cultic roll, however, became significantly broader. They not only danced but also dealt with the offerings, as several stands were made during this period which resembles the shape of a dwarf holding the plate.

103 Petrie has found the remains of doughnut in some of these dishes at Illahun.

104 Their typical flat head in their iconography emphasises their solar character. During the New Kingdom almost exclusively the Amanta art presented dwarfs. According to the names their connection to the Sun remained. The statuettes and the vessels modelled with their shapes show a strengthened fertility and sexual character. The iconography of the two already mentioned dwarf gods supports this tendency, too. Both nmw — probably used for Pataikos in some cases — and Bes are often mentioned from now onwards in religious and magical texts. The appearance of a dwarf recalled parallel the image of a child, an adult and an old man, which aspects were united in the personality of the sun god Ra. He was namely already as a new born baby strong, wise and much experienced. This association helped the dwarf to get on top of his head the scarab which could again tie him more tightly to the idea of birth. But dwarfs were associated to other gods as well, e.g. Neit,

105 Amon,

106 and Ptah.

107 In the temple of this latter god Herodotos himself saw dwarf statues. The living counterparts of these divinities, however, surely had a difficult life. They must have been frequently pulled out, as good mannered youngsters are warned in several instructions not to mock them. Because of their weak constitution we rather met 102 cf. in Hungarian: Ókori keleti történeti chrestomathia, ed. by Harmatta János, Budapest, 1965, p. 21—22 103 Maarten J. Raven: A puzzling Pataekos, OMRO 67, 1987, p. 7—19. 104 W. M. Flinders Petrie: o.e., p. 11, pi. 6/9, 12—13. din. 105 Ramadan El-Sayed: La Déesse Neit de Sais I, Kairo, 1982, BdE 86; cf. Herman de Meulenaere — Jean Yoyotte: Deux composants "natalistes" de l'anthroponymes tardive, BIFAO 83, 1983, p. 112—22, esp. 113, no. 7; Yvan Koenig: Le Papyrus Boulap 6, Kairo, 1981, DdE 87, p. 70. cf. D(n/3 g)3-Njt, Dg-Hnsw, Dg-Dhwtj. 106 cf. the double feather of Amon on the top of the head of some Pataikos amulets, as. e.g. Daresssy: Divinité, I. p. 202, vol. II. pi. 42. 107 Maj Sandman Holmberg: The god Ptah, Lund, 1946, p. 1882—185.