Before Time, after Time: existential time markers in Ancient Egypt - beginning, end and restart. A preliminary approach (with a special focus on the Heliopolitan conception)

Abstract

In ancient Egypt, Time was part of the whole “being” that was brought into existence in the “First Time” (sp tpj). Following a linear conception (D.t) of Time we might ask: if Time had a beginning, should we expect for it to come to an end? However, the simultaneous Egyptian circular approach to Time (nHH) turns each end into a new beginning. How should we approach Time before its existence? Can we refer to a “post-Time”? Is the “end” definitive or temporary, awaiting for the (re)start of a new Demiurge’s action? Is the immobility of the pre-Creation similar to one after the “end of the world”? This paper intends to be a preliminary approach to this issue. We will follow the traces suggested by some textual sources, focusing on the Demiurge, an entity connected to Time by means of creation and destruction.