HUMAN OR CENTIPEDE? EGYPTIAN INFLUENCE ON THE NABATAEAN CULTURE
Keywords:
Painted Pottery, Funeral Practices, Sepa, Centipede, Osiris, Isis.Abstract
One of the interesting and rare figures that appeared on the Nabataean painted pottery is the part human part
centipede; such figure was described in literature as being of a stylized worshipping human. In this study, a
new interpretation is proposed based on investigating different aspects of Egyptian influence on the Naba
taean culture, where such figure could be a representation of "Osiris the Egyptian Lord of Eternity" in one of
its forms, "Sepa" the Egyptian centipede god. It is assumed that the centipede symbol was used for the pur
poses of protecting the dead body, as well as to ward off evil spirits on the way to eternal life.
