Blurring the Line between Worshipper and Worshipped

In his "Ode to the West Wind,"Percy Bysshe Shelley speaks of the the "wild West Wind," the "breath of Autumn's being," with the reverence of a worshipper in the presence of a deity (1). Focusing on the coming death of winter, Shelley emphasizes the destructive power of the wind "who chariotest [the winged seeds] to their wintry bed" to lie "each like a corpse within its grave," contrasting its power with that of its "azure sister of the Spring" (9-12). His reference to the "Destroyer and Preserver" of the Hindu trinity places these seemingly disparate winds into a sort of encompassing single entity that both creates and kills. This transcendent aspect of the wind in the poem ties it not only with the Hindu trinity, as is explicitly referenced, but also with the three-personed Christian trinity and the Egyptian trinity of Amun, Ptah, and Re. The figure of Amun, sometimes pictured as a ram, also ties interestingly to this poem because Amun was considered the god of the wind. Thus, the worshipper of the West Wind in Shelley's poem can join with the worshippers of Amun, including the Egyptian pharaoh Taharqa.

During Taharqa's reign as pharaoh, he built or enlarged several temples to the ram god of the wind. Having shown such devotion to the god, it would seem logical for a statue to be constructed that places Taharqa in close proximity to his beloved deity. Just as Henry III wanted to be buried by St. Edward the Confessor in the hopes that such positioning in death would give him a "fast track" to heaven, the appearance of Taharqa standing within the legs of Amun visually ties him to the deity and emphasizes his desire for the god's protection.

Taharqa's position of deference to Amun, appearing miniaturized beneath the ram's head, also alludes to his desire to be used by the god, similar to Shelley's speaker's call for the West Wind to "make me thy lyre"(57). Dwarfed in the god's presence, Taharqa becomes like "a dead leaf thou mightest bear" and "a wave to pant beneath thy power"(43, 45). Taharqa's figure blends into Amun's or, depending on how you read the sculpture, Amun's figure blends into Taharqa's, so that worshipper and worshipped become one. Thus, Taharqa accomplishes what Shelley's speaker pleads for; Taharqa's desire for Amun to "be thou me" is realized as the division between man and god blurs in sculpted granite (63).


The pharaoh's deference to this god of the wind, this all powerful creator god, also alludes to his desire for a blessing of his rule. If he is given the god's protection, prosperity will also be brought to his rule. Thus, the god of the wind becomes a means for Taharqa to "scatter, as from an unextinguished hearth / Ashes and sparks, [his] words among mankind" (66-67). While Shelley writes these words in reference to the dissemination of his poetry, the desire for prosperity the words imply can apply to all figures, from pharaohs to commoners. Thus, Shelley, in his reverence for the West Wind, taps into the worship of the ancients.