Sarcophagus

Denise Martin

In general, a sarcophagus is a stone container that houses either another smaller coffin or a corpse. The word derives from the Greek words sarks , meaning “flesh,” and phagein, meaning “to eat,” and literally translates as “flesh eating.” It is said that Herodotus (or Pliny) observed that the stone used to construct sacrophagi in Troy, in Asia, consumed the flesh of the corpse inside. Hence, all such structures were referred to as sarcophagi. However, in ancient Egypt, the word used to designate the outer stone container for the body is transliterated as nb'nkh and translates to “lord of life,” a reference to Osiris (Ausar) who Osiris ...

Users without subscription are not able to see the full content on this title. Please, subscribe or login to access all content on this website.