Author: ancientegyptblog7

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Reading Hieroglyphs

“He of the Sedge and the Bee”

π“†₯ is an extremely common title that is seen across many different types of monuments across Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š– and museums around the world. A title is a phrase that appears before a cartouche, which is the oval that encloses the name π“‚‹π“ˆ– of a pharaoh 𓉐𓉻.

This gorgeous π“„€ and colorful sunken relief of the phrase π“†₯ comes from the King List that is currently located in the British Museum. I love it when ancient works of art retain their color, because it allows us to see the art as the ancient Egyptians π“†Žπ“π“€€π“π“ͺ themselves saw it. The blue 𓇋𓁹𓏏𓄿𓏸π“₯ and yellow paint is so bright and beautiful π“„€!

π“†₯ can either be translated as β€œHe of the Sedge and the Bee” or more simply β€œKing of Upper and Lower Egypt.”

𓇓 (a sedge) is the symbol that is used to represent Upper Egypt, while the 𓆀 (bee) is the symbol that is used to represent Lower Egypt.

π“†₯ is such a common phrase and you can find it everywhere – if you know how to recognize it, you can really impress people (and most importantly, yourself) in museums! Since the titles appear so often in sculpture, they are a great way to practice reading hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ because you see them over and over again! I didn’t learn over night – it took years of practice for me to be able to read hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ with the ease I do now!

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Reading Hieroglyphs

“Son of Ra”

“Son of Ra”

𓅭𓇳 – Let’s learn some hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ!

𓅭𓇳 simply means β€œSon of Ra.” Let’s break down the phrase:
π“…­ – Son
𓇳 – Ra

𓅭𓇳 is a very common title and you will see it in any museum you go to! A title is a phrase that is seen before 𓐍𓂋 the cartouche 𓍢 of a pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 and can be viewed as an β€œintroduction” so that way the reader knows that the name π“‚‹π“ˆ– of a pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 is about to show up!

Now, the name π“‚‹π“ˆ– of a pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 is no mystery because it always appears in a cartouche 𓍢 but the pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏦 wanted to make sure their names π“‚‹π“ˆ–π“¦ were known/preserved for all eternity π“Ž›π“‡³π“Ž›!

The phrase β€œSon of Ra π“…­π“‡³β€œ also implies that the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 is the child of a god π“ŠΉ, which would give them the divine right to rule. A pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 was considered to be a god π“ŠΉ on Earth 𓇾𓇾!

This beautiful π“„€ inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ is from the King’s List Relief that is located in the British Museum!

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Hieroglyphs Lesson: β€œGiven Life, Stability and Strength for (all) Eternity”

How exciting! This is the first hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ lesson on the new website!

β€œGiven Life, Stability and Strength for (all) Eternity” is one of the most common phrases you will see in hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ! Variations of this phrase can be found on so many different types of artifacts – from stelae π“Ž—π“…±π“†“π“‰Έπ“¦, to statues π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύπ“¦, to false doors, amulets π“Šπ“Šͺπ“…†, sarcophagi π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­π“¦ and more!

Let’s breakdown the phrase symbol by symbol!
𓏙 – Given
π“‹Ή – Life
π“Š½ – Stability
π“Œ€ – Strength
𓆖 – Eternity

π“™π“‹Ήπ“Š½π“Œ€π“†– is very much like a blessing, ensuring that the person being spoken about in the inscription is all of these qualities! This phrase can be used with both the living and the dead! A shortened version, 𓏙𓋹, or β€œGiven Life” also appears frequently!

Something that’s really great is that once you can recognize some of these common symbols and their meanings, you can go to museums and start to recognize the phrases on the monuments! One of the best ways to learn hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ is to just start reading and keep practicing!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

“The Two Lands are in a Festival of Light”

“The Two Lands are in a Festival of Light” at the MET

I absolutely love this piece and I have been very excited to write about it! The relief that I am highlighting is part of a larger display at the MET called β€œThe Two Lands are in a Festival of Light,” and they were originally from the palace π“‡“π“π“ˆ–π“‰π“Ί walls at Amarna π“ˆŒπ“π“‰π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“Š–. 

Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ– is my second favorite pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 (HatshepsutΒ π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ is obviously my first favorite) and I love to see statues, reliefs, or anything from the Amarna π“ˆŒπ“π“‰π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“Š– Period! I find everything to do with Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ– so interesting because he was the β€œtroublemaker” pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 who completely changed everything about the Egyptian religion (polytheistic to monotheistic), moved the capital to Amarna π“ˆŒπ“π“‰π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“Š–, and generally was very much disliked by the Egyptian people π“†Žπ“π“€€π“π“ͺ.Β 

On this relief, we can see a large boat 𓂧π“Šͺπ“π“Šž on the Nile π“‡‹π“π“‚‹π“…±π“ˆ—π“ˆ˜π“ˆ‡π“Ί. At the front of the boat is a central structure that houses Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ–, Nefertiti π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“„€π“„€π“„€π“„€π“„€π“‡π“π“­ and one of the princesses (who is very small and difficult to see). Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ– can be seen striking down an enemy. The Aten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³ is shining above Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ– and sending light rays down to him.Β 

“The Two Lands are in a Festival of Light” at the MET – closeup of Akhenaten (right) and Nefertiti (left)

Since these were on the palace π“‡“π“π“ˆ–π“‰π“Ί walls, it makes sense that Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ– would want himself portrayed as very strong and striking down enemies. Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ– is usually always depicted with his family 𓅕𓉔𓅱𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏦, so enemy smiting was clearly a royal family 𓅕𓉔𓅱𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏦 affair! The depiction of the royal family 𓅕𓉔𓅱𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏦 from this time period is fascinating because usually pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏦 were depicted alone, however in reliefs, Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ–, Nefertiti π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“„€π“„€π“„€π“„€π“„€π“‡π“π“­, and the princesses are always shown together π“ˆ–π“Š—.Β 

Categories
Book Recommendations

Book Recommendation – “Egypt’s False Prophet: Akhenaten”

Egypt’s False Prophet: Akhenaten

I find Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ– to be such an interesting Pharaoh! “Egypt’s False Prophet: Akhenaten” is definitely a book 𓅓𓍑𓏏𓏛 I recommend – it shows how the early 18th Dynasty was a β€œset up” for the AmarnaΒ π“ˆŒπ“π“‰π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“Š–Β period (the book actually talks about Hatshepsut 𓇳𓁦𓂓 quite a lot).Β 

The book 𓅓𓍑𓏏𓏛 also goes into detail about the excavation of the city π“Š–π“Ί of AmarnaΒ π“ˆŒπ“π“‰π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“Š–, what occurred during Akhenaten’s π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ– reign π“‹Ύ, and then the fallout of Akhenaten’s π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ– rule after his death 𓅓𓏏𓏱.Β 

My Nonno gave this book 𓅓𓍑𓏏𓏛 to me forever ago when I first started getting interested in the Amarna π“ˆŒπ“π“‰π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“Š– period and I’ve read it a bunch of times but I still find it to be so interesting! 

Hieroglyph Fact: the word I’m using for β€œbook π“…“π“‘π“π“›β€œ in this post actually translates to β€œpapyrus” or β€œpapyrus roll” – there is no word for β€œbook” in Middle Egyptian, so this is the closest translation I could come up with! 

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Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Hatshepsut

Nicole with the white limestone statue of Hatshepsut at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC

Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ is my favorite Egyptian Pharaoh π“‰π“‰»! Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ as not only the most successful female pharaoh π“‰π“‰», but in my opinion, is one of the most successful pharaohs π“‰π“‰»π“¦ in all of Egyptian history. She ruled for 20 π“Ž†π“Ž† years, commissioned many building projects (her mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri π“‚¦π“‚‹π“‚¦π“₯𓉐 being the most magnificent) and sent an expedition to the land of Punt  π“Šͺπ“ƒΊπ“ˆ–π“π“ˆ‰ . 

Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ is her given name and means β€œForemost of the Noble Women.” Her throne name, which is the name she took when she became pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 is Maatkare π“‡³π“¦π“‚“ which translates to β€œTruth is the Soul of Re.” Most pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏦 had five 𓏾 names, but the given name and throne name are the most popular to find in inscriptions! 

Ever since my Nonno told me that a woman once ruled π“‹Ύ Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š– as pharaoh 𓉐𓉻, I have been obsessed with Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ!

Categories
Blog

Welcome to Ancient Egypt Blog!

Nonno and Nicole at the Vatican Museum

My name is Nicole and I have a passion for history, most notably ancient Egypt. My Nonno has the same love for history, and he taught me basically everything I know. Together, we read books all about Egypt, ever since I was a little girl. He brought me my first book on hieroglyphs when I was six years old, and from there I taught myself how to read them. By the time I was twelve years old, I was able to go to museums and read the hieroglyphs off of the artifacts. Nonno was so proud of me and as my sister said β€œhe had been waiting his whole life for someone to care about this stuff like he did.” We loved going to museums and studying history together.

Unfortunately, my Nonno passed away in February 2020. He was my person and I am completely devastated. I started my Instagram account @ancientegyptblog and this website so I could share our love of history, share all of the amazing things he taught me, all the books he gave me, and all places he took me to.