Categories
Video

Book of the Dead of Sobekmose – Video

One of the greatest aspects of the Brooklyn Museumโ€™s Egyptian collection is The Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ for a man named Sobekmose, who had the title โ€œGoldworker of Amun.โ€ Sobekmose was buried in Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š– and that is where this papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› was found. This Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ dates to the 18th Dynasty (early New Kingdom 1500-1480 B.C.E.).ย 

@ancientegyptblog

One of the greatest aspects of the Brooklyn Museumโ€™s Egyptian collection is The Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ for a man named Sobekmose, who had the title โ€œGoldworker of Amun.โ€ Sobekmose was buried in Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š– and that is where this papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› was found. This Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ dates to the 18th Dynasty (early New Kingdom 1500-1480 B.C.E.). This Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ is displayed as one complete papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› which is incredible to see! The papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› is curved, due to either 1) being made that way or 2) getting warped over thousands of years being rolled up in a tomb ๐“‡‹๐“‡ฉ๐“Šƒ๐“‰! The Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ is interesting because it doesn’t follow a particular story. The spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ do seem to be grouped by theme, and sometimes pictures ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ can be representative of the spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ as well. The Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ contained instructions/spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ as they made their way through the Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. The red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ text that you see is used to indicate the start of a new spell ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›, the end of a spell ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›, or the names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฅ of certain mythological figures. My friend @EgyptologyLessons posted a video of a Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ yesterday so I was inspired to post one too! Follow me to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, Egyptian mythology, art, culture and more! This is my personal video and original text. DO NOT repost. #ancientegypt #egyptianhistory #egyptologist #ancient_egypt #historytok #egyptology #brooklynmuseum #bookofthedead #booktok #egyptianmythology

โ™ฌ Ahsoka – Main Theme – Epic Version – L’Orchestra Cinematique

This Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ is displayed as one complete papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› which is incredible to see! The papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› is curved, due to either 1) being made that way or 2) getting warped over thousands of years being rolled up in a tomb ๐“‡‹๐“‡ฉ๐“Šƒ๐“‰! 

The Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ is interesting because it doesn’t follow a particular story.ย  The spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ do seem to be grouped by theme, and sometimes pictures ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ can be representative of the spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ as well.

The Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ contained instructions/spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ as they made their way through the Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. The red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ text that you see is used to indicate the start of a new spell ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›, the end of a spell ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›, or the names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฅ of certain mythological figures. 

This is my personal video and original text. DO NOT repost.ย 

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more! 

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

May He Live Every Day Like Ra

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! 

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at one of my absolute favorite  wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ coffins ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ from the Middle Kingdom! The art of ancient Egypt really started to develop during the Middle Kingdom times, and the beautifully ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ painted wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ coffins ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ and their hieroglyphic ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ are just captivating! The paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ and the colors are just exquisite and have really stood the test of time! 

When I go to the MET, sometimes I just sit on the floor in front of this coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ to 1) just stare at its beauty ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ and 2) to take a break!

This coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ belonged to Khnumnakht, an individual who lived during the 12th-13th Dynasties (c. 1850-1750B.C.E.). Khnumnakht is known only by the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– on his coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ; Egyptologists donโ€™t know anything else about him or his life ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“!ย 

May He Live Every Day Like Ra
May He Live Every Day Like Ra

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Here is what the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– says: 

๐“‹น๐“˜ – May He Live 

๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ŽŸ – Every Day

๐“‡๐“‡ณ๐“บ – Like Ra

The little โ€œstrokes ๐“บโ€ within the symbols are not technically part of the words and they are not pronounced! They are there for aesthetic purposes to make sure all of the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are spaced out correctly and appear in even lines on the coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more! 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Magical Stela or Cippus

This magnificent piece is known as a โ€œMagical Stela,โ€ or a โ€œCippus of Horus.โ€ Normally, stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ were used to commemorate the dead but Cippus pieces are like a protective amulet ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…† in the shape of a stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ.ย 

Me with the Cippus at the MET

This cippus was used by the living for protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ. Since the Old Kingdom, Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ was called upon as a defender against snake or scorpion bites. Placing the cippus on a wound would evoke its magical and healing powers. 

Smaller versions of Cippus stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ were usually kept in homes ๐“‰๐“บ, but this one here at the MET is a lot more elaborate and was actually commissioned by a priest ๐“Šน๐“› to be displayed in public! Itโ€™s difficult to see in pictures, but the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are carved so exquisitely and I love just looking at them!ย 

A closeup of the top of the Cippus at the MET

The top panel on the front of the Cippus depicts Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ standing on two ๐“ป crocodiles ๐“…“๐“‹ด๐“Ž›๐“†Œ๐“ฅ and holding other dangerous animals such as snakes ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†˜๐“ช, a lion ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“„›, an antelope ๐“ƒฒ๐“บ and scorpions ๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“†ซ๐“ช in each hand. Surrounding Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ are other deities. On Horusโ€™ ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ left there is Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ, Ra-Horakhty ๐“…Š๐“”๐“”๐“ค, and then on Horusโ€™ ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ right is Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ. The god ๐“Šน Bes ๐“ƒ€๐“‹ด๐“„œ also appears above Horusโ€™ ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ head ๐“ถ๐“บ. Bes ๐“ƒ€๐“‹ด๐“„œ was known to ward off evil ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…จ and bad luck. 

This piece is dated to the Late Period (30th Dynasty). Considering everything, I figured this would be a fitting post for today! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more! 

Categories
Blog

MALS Awareness

Story behind this picture: I was having such bad abdominal pain at the museum that I had to sit on the floor in front of the Temple of Dendur and was trying to distract myself by taking selfies.ย 

Iโ€™m Nicole and you know me as @ancientegyptblog and the girl that can read hieroglyphs! What most people do not know is that Iโ€™ve been suffering with horrible abdominal pain for over 15 years caused by MALS, an anatomical abnormality I was born with and is caused by a genetic condition that I have.ย 

MALS (also known as Celiac Artery Compression Syndrome) is a rare vascular compression disorder that affects about 1 in 100,000 people. It is so rare that most doctors do not know about it, and as a result, do not investigate it as a cause for abdominal pain. 

The pain I experience daily is horrific. I can only describe my pain as โ€œfeeling like someoneโ€™s fingernails are scratching the insides of my digestive system,โ€ โ€œhot lava in my intestines,โ€ and โ€œrocks in my abdomen.โ€ I feel this pain all day every day and no medication/diet/treatment has offered any kind of relief from the pain. The pain that MALS causes is the EQUIVALENT of the pain experienced by end stage pancreatic cancer patients. The pain with MALS is caused by the diaphragm rubbing against the celiac nerves and the compression of the celiac artery.ย 

This may be TMI for some, but Iโ€™m not going to sugar coat my experience; my suffering needs to be known so maybe others experiencing similar issues can be helped faster than I was. 

My main symptoms with MALS are horrible abdominal pain triggered by eating, but it can also be triggered by drinking too much, standing or walking for too long, exercise, deep breathing, and long car rides. I also suffer with other bowel issues such as extreme bloating, malabsorption, nausea, and constipation so bad I have to drink a colonoscopy prep every single night and take prescription laxative pills each morning. I am also malnourished due to the pain I experience when eating. I basically have to choose: do I eat or stay hydrated because both eating and drinking enough is impossible. 

The only treatment for MALS is major abdominal surgery that involved the resection of the diaphragm/median arcuate ligament and a neurectomy of the celiac ganglion nerves. I will be undergoing this surgery on 10/18 (at the time this post is posted, I will have undergone the surgery already), which has a 90% chance of completely relieving me of my abdominal pain and hopefully restoring me of my ability to eat.ย 

The suffering I have faced is unimaginable. And most people donโ€™t take me seriously because I โ€œdonโ€™t look sickโ€ and I hide my immense pain really wellโ€ฆuntil I canโ€™t. MALS is also incredibly isolating because NO ONE believes the pain is real and it can take an incredibly long time to get an accurate diagnosis.ย 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more! 

Categories
Video

Hieroglyphic Vocabulary โ€“ Weekย 7

Letโ€™s read some Hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!

Here is Week 7 ๐“€ of my Hieroglyphic Word of the Day stories all compiled into a video! Learning any language – including hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช/Middle Egyptian doesnโ€™t have to be difficult! 

  1. God ๐“Šน, ๐“€ญ
  2. Goddess ๐“Šน๐“
  3. To Be/To Exist ๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ–, ๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–
  4. Godโ€™s Mother ๐“Šน๐“๐“…, ๐“Šน๐“…
  5. Given Life Like Ra ๐“™๐“‹น๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“‡
  6. Lord of the Two Lands ๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ
  7. True of Voice ๐“™๐“Šค, ๐“™๐“…ฑ๐“๐“Šค
@ancientegyptblog

Letโ€™s read some Hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Here is Week 7 ๐“€ of my Hieroglyphic Word of the Day stories all compiled into a video! Learning any language – including hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช/Middle Egyptian doesnโ€™t have to be difficult! 1. God ๐“Šน, ๐“€ญ 2. Goddess ๐“Šน๐“ 3. To Be/To Exist ๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ–, ๐“ƒน๐“ˆ– 4. Godโ€™s Mother ๐“Šน๐“๐“…, ๐“Šน๐“… 5. Given Life Like Ra ๐“™๐“‹น๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“‡ 6. Lord of the Two Lands ๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ 7. True of Voice ๐“™๐“Šค, ๐“™๐“…ฑ๐“๐“Šค These are all words/phrases that you will come across in inscriptions! Next time youโ€™re at a museum, see if you can spot these ancient Egyptian words! Follow me to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more! This is my personal photograph/video and original text. DO NOT repost. #ancientegypt #egyptianhistory #egyptologist #ancient_egypt #historytok #egyptology #hieroglyphs #hieroglyphics #letsreadsomehieroglyphs #languagelearning

โ™ฌ Le Monde – From Talk to Me – Richard Carter

These are all words/phrases that you will come across in inscriptions! Next time youโ€™re at a museum, see if you can spot these ancient Egyptian words! 

This is my personal video and original text. DO NOT repost. 

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more! 

Categories
Video

Ushabtis are My Favorite – Video

Nonno and I are co-presidents of the Ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ fan club! As much as I also love the Temple of Dendur at the MET, nothing beats seeing all of the different types of ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ figures on display! Seeing the ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ makes me so happy!ย 

@ancientegyptblog

Nonno and I are co-presidents of the Ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ fan club! As much as I also love the Temple of Dendur at the MET, nothing beats seeing all of the different types of ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ figures on display! Seeing the ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ makes me so happy! Fun Facts about Ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures: 1. The ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ served as substitutes for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ and would perform labor or jobs for them in the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. 2. Ushabtis are usually inscribed with specific spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ which assigned each ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ to a certain task! The most popular one is the โ€œShabti Spell.โ€ 3. Ushabtis can be made of many different types of materials such as faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ, wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ, clay ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“‹ด๐“ˆ‡, limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ and rarely even bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ! 4. People who could afford it were buried with over 400 ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช! Usually there were 365 ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“พ worker ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช (one for each day of the year) and then overseer ushabtis! My Nonno loved ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช so much and would tell my sister ๐“Œข๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ and I stories about them! I love these statues so much and I may be among their biggest fans – I cannot get enough of them! Follow me to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, Egyptian mythology, art, culture and more! This is my personal ideo and original text. DO NOT repost. #ancientegypt #egyptianhistory #egyptologist #ancient_egypt #metropolitanmuseumofart #ushabti #ushabtis #shabti #shabtis #templeofdendur #historytok #egyptology

โ™ฌ Le Monde – From Talk to Me – Richard Carter

Fun Facts about Ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures: 

  1. The ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ served as substitutes for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ and would perform labor or jobs for them in the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. 
  2. Ushabtis are usually inscribed with specific spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ which assigned each ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ to a certain task! The most popular one is the โ€œShabti Spell.โ€ 
  3. Ushabtis can be made of many different types of materials such as faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ, wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ, clay ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“‹ด๐“ˆ‡, limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ and rarely even bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ! 
  4. People who could afford it were buried with over 400 ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ ushabtis  ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช! Usually there were 365 ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“พ worker ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช (one for each day of the year) and then overseer ushabtis!

My Nonno loved ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช so much and would tell my sister ๐“Œข๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ and I stories about them! I love these statues so much and I may be among their biggest fans – I cannot get enough of them!ย 

This is my personal video and original text. DO NOT repost.ย 

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more! 

Categories
Blog

God’s Mother

Letโ€™s read some Hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! What does the popular Middle Egyptian phrase โ€œGodโ€™s Mother ๐“Šน๐“…โ€ mean? Before we delve into the meaning, letโ€™s break down the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!ย 

God's Mother
“God’s Mother” in raised relief on display at the MET

โ€œGodโ€™s Motherโ€ can be written three ways in hieroglyphs: 

๐“Šน๐“๐“…

๐“Šน๐“…๐“

๐“Šน๐“…

This phrase is a combination of two different words: the word โ€œGod ๐“Šนโ€ and the word โ€œMother ๐“…๐“๐“/๐“…๐“/๐“๐“…๐“.โ€ 

The โ€œcloth on a pole ๐“Šนโ€œ hieroglyph is an ideogram for the word god. ๐“Šน is also a triliteral phonogram, and represents the letters โ€œntrโ€ which may have been pronounced like โ€œneterโ€ or โ€œnetjer.โ€ ๐“Šน Is also a determinative for โ€œgod.โ€ So the โ€œcloth on a pole ๐“Šนโ€œ symbol can function as all three types of hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! If you see this symbol, you are most likely looking at a word that has to do with the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน!

The โ€œvulture ๐“…โ€ is a triliteral phonogram and represents the sounds โ€œmjt/mwtโ€ which we infer would be pronounced like โ€œmut.โ€ 

The โ€œflat loaf of bread ๐“โ€ is a uniliteral phonogram used to represent the sound โ€œt.โ€

The phrase โ€œGodโ€™s Mother ๐“Šน๐“…โ€ can have two different (but related) meanings in Middle Egyptian inscriptions. It can be used to refer to the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ and will usually appear after her name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in inscriptions. This is in reference to the fact that Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ is the mother ๐“…๐“๐“ of Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ, who is the mythological ruler of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– and the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป was thought to be a representation of Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ on Earth. 

This brings us to the next meaning of this phrase! The phrase โ€œGodโ€™s Mother ๐“Šน๐“…โ€ was an honorific title held by the woman who gave birth to the current pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป! Since the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป was a god on Earth, the woman who gave birth to him/her was quite literally the Godโ€™s Mother ๐“Šน๐“…!ย 

God's Mother
Another variant of “God’s Mother” painted on a piece of a sarcophagus at the Brooklyn Museum

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost.ย 

Follow me @ancientegyptblogย onย Instagramย andย TikTokย to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more!ย 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts Video

Talatat – Video

These small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ blocks are called โ€œTalatatโ€ and were used solely during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ–! These were used in the construction of the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ at Karnak (this construction started when he was still Amenhotep IV ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“Œ€) and the palace ๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“๐“‰ฅ๐“‰ at Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š–. Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š– was the capital of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ–.ย 

@ancientegyptblog

These small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ blocks are called โ€œTalatatโ€ and were used solely during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ–! These were used in the construction of the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ at Karnak (this construction started when he was still Amenhotep IV ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“Œ€) and the palace ๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“๐“‰ฅ๐“‰ at Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š–. Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š– was the capital of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ–. These limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ blocks were unique because they were so small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ a single worker could carry them and put it into place. This was meant to expedite construction and make building a lot faster. The Talatat are also unique because they were only used during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ–, and were never used again. Even though originally from Amarna ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š–, these Talatat were actually found at Hermopolis because after Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ– reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“, his monuments ๐“ ๐“ were destroyed and building materials were used by other pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ! These Talatat at the MET were once brightly painted in striking colors, as was most of the Egyptian monuments ๐“ ๐“. A lot of the colors you see on these blocks are restored and not necessarily the original colors. Tens of thousands of Talatat have been found across Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. Follow me to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, Egyptian mythology, art, culture and more! This is my personal video and original text. DO NOT repost. @ancientegyptblog #ancientegypt #egyptianhistory #egyptologist #historytok #egyptology #ancient_egypt #pharaoh #akhenaten #metropolitanmuseum #egypt

โ™ฌ Epic Music(863502) – Draganov89

These limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ blocks were unique because they were so small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ a single worker could carry them and put it into place. This was meant to expedite construction and make building a lot faster. The Talatat are also unique because they were only used during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ–, and were never used again. 

Even though originally from Amarna ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š–, these Talatat were actually found at Hermopolis because after Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ– reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“, his monuments ๐“ ๐“ were destroyed and building materials were used by other pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ! 

These Talatat at the MET were once brightly painted in striking colors, as was most of the Egyptian monuments ๐“ ๐“. A lot of the colors you see on these blocks are restored and not necessarily the original colors. 

Tens of thousands of Talatat have been found across Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. 

This is my personal video and original text. DO NOT repost.ย 

Follow me @ancientegyptblogย onย Instagramย andย TikTokย to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more!ย 

Categories
Blog

Hieroglyphs and Cursive Hieroglyphs

Did you know that there are two different types of hieroglyphic scripts? There are Hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, and then there are Cursive Hieroglyphs! 

Hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, the script everyone is most familiar with, was the first ๐“ƒ script used by the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช to write their language! There are well over 700 ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ unique hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช and over 800 ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ symbols if you count the variants! Hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช were mainly used on temples ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰๐“ฅ, stelae ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ๐“ช, tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฅ, obelisks ๐“‰ถ๐“‰ถ๐“‰ถ, other funerary equipment  ๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“‹ด๐“๐“๐“Šญ such as sarcophagi ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ๐“ช and other objects of all kinds! 

Then there are Cursive Hieroglyphs which are also known as Hieroglyphic Book Hand! This was usually used on handwritten papyri ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“›๐“ฆ and was a less detailed version of the traditional hieroglyphic symbols. Cursive Hieroglyphs are easy to read because these symbols match their traditional hieroglyphic counterparts!ย The most difficult part can sometimes be deciphering the handwriting – a problem that we still see today even with modern written scripts!

In the images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ, I have the same phrases of the same phrases written in Hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช and Cursive Hieroglyphs so you can visually see the comparison between the two ๐“ป forms of writing! A pattern Iโ€™ve noticed about Cursive Hieroglyphs is that the shorter variants of words and phrases is more commonly used as opposed to the traditional hieroglyphic script!ย 

Hieroglyphs and Cursive Hieroglyphs
A comparison of the two scripts – both show the phrase “Words Spoken By Osiris”

The image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ above shows two ๐“ป variants of the phrase โ€œWords Spoken By Osirisโ€

๐“†“๐“Œƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ (Hieroglyphs)

๐“†“๐“Œƒ๐“‡‹ ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“Šน (Cursive Hieroglyphs)

Hieroglyphs and Cursive Hieroglyphs
A comparison of the two scripts – both write the word “To Be” or “To Exist”

The image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ above shows two ๐“ป variants of the word โ€œTo Beโ€ or โ€œTo Exist.โ€ย 

๐“ƒน๐“ˆ– (Cursive Hieroglyphs)

๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ– (Hieroglyphs)

Follow me @ancientegyptblogย onย Instagramย andย TikTokย to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, Egyptian mythology, art, culture and more!ย 

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Hieroglyphic Vocabulary – Week 6

Letโ€™s read some Hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!

Here is Week 6 ๐“ฟ of my Hieroglyphic Word of the Day stories all compiled into a video! Learning any language – including hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช/Middle Egyptian doesnโ€™t have to be difficult! 

This week I had a gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน and goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“ theme! 

  1. Duamutef ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘, ๐“‡ผ๐“‚Ÿ๐“๐“†‘
  2. Hapi ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“‡Œ, ๐“‘๐“Šช๐“‡Œ
  3. Qebehsenuef ๐“๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“†‘, ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ–๐“Œข๐“๐“ฅ๐“†‘, ๐“๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“†‘๐“€ญ
  4. Imseti ๐“‡‹๐“…“๐“Šƒ๐“ฟ, ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ด๐“˜๐“‡‹
  5. Montu ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ, ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ๐“€ญ
  6. Sobek ๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“Žก๐“†‹, ๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“Žก๐“€ญ
  7. Nephthys ๐“‰ , ๐“ŽŸ๐“๐“‰—๐“๐“†‡

These are all words that you will come across in inscriptions! Next time youโ€™re at a museum, see if you can spot these ancient Egyptian words! 

Here is a link to the video on TikTok – with music!

@ancientegyptblog

Letโ€™s read some Hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Here is Week 6 ๐“ฟ of my Hieroglyphic Word of the Day stories all compiled into a video! Learning any language – including hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช/Middle Egyptian doesnโ€™t have to be difficult! This week I had a gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน and goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“ theme! 1. Duamutef ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘, ๐“‡ผ๐“‚Ÿ๐“๐“†‘ 2. Hapi ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“‡Œ, ๐“‘๐“Šช๐“‡Œ 3. Qebehsenuef ๐“๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“†‘, ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ–๐“Œข๐“๐“ฅ๐“†‘, ๐“๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“†‘๐“€ญ 4. Imseti ๐“‡‹๐“…“๐“Šƒ๐“ฟ, ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ด๐“˜๐“‡‹ 5. Montu ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ, ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ๐“€ญ 6. Sobek ๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“Žก๐“†‹, ๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“Žก๐“€ญ 7. Nephthys ๐“‰ , ๐“ŽŸ๐“๐“‰—๐“๐“†‡ These are all words that you will come across in inscriptions! Next time youโ€™re at a museum, see if you can spot these ancient Egyptian words! Follow me to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more! This is my personal photograph/video and original text. DO NOT repost. #ancientegypt #egyptianhistory #egyptologist #historytok #languagelearning #hieroglyphs #hieroglyphics #egyptology #letsreadsomehieroglyphs #ancient_egypt

โ™ฌ Just A Girl – No Doubt

Follow me to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more! 

This is my personal photograph/video and original text. DO NOT repost. 

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more!