And all large and small cattle: Is there a ‘zoogony’ in the Religious Hymns of the New Kingdom (c. 1539-1077 BC)?

The present paper consists of a brief discussion of excerpts from six New Kingdom hymns (Cairo CG 58038, the Great Hymn to the Aten, Hymn of Tura, BM EA 9901.1, BM EA 10684, and Leiden I 344 verso) centred around the creation of animals. It will be argued that one can refer to ‘zoogony’ in the religious hymns of the New Kingdom, considering the different textual strategies and devices attested in the aforementioned sources. The main goal is to ponder on the possible meanings and interpretations that arise from the references to this creative outcome in this set of texts. By evaluating the place of animals in said textual sources, it will be shown how members of the animal kingdom partake in the cosmogonical activity performed by the Creator, being listed among the various beings and entities the deity brings into existence, alongside both deities and humans. Particular attention will be paid to: i) the employed vocabulary to point to different animal species/groupings; ii) the phraseological contexts in which they occur as well as the different textual ways to allude to it; iii) the distinct fashions through which animals are said to come into existence; iv) and their ontological position in the hierarchy of living beings conveyed by these sources. Related sources will be mentioned throughout the paper, and a few quantitative remarks will be presented in its final section.