Author: ancientegyptblog7

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Egyptian Artifacts

The Soul of Pe Statue at the Vatican

The Soul of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š–

The Soul of Pe statue at the Vatican Museum

This bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ kneeling statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of a falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„ deity ๐“Šน is referred to as the โ€œSoul of Peโ€ and it is actually another way to depict the god ๐“Šน Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ. Also known as โ€œHorus of Pe,โ€ these statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช became popular during the Late Period, after 600 B.C.E. 

The Souls ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– and Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– were first mentioned in the Pyramid Texts and refer to the ancestors of the pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ. The Souls ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– and Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– symbolized the predynastic rulers of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. The Souls ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– and Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– were thought of as very powerful deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน that not only aided the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ, but also the current living ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“€€๐“ช pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. 

Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– and Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– were both cities in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– and were around as early as the predynastic period.  Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– was originally the cult center for the god ๐“Šน Horus in Upper Egypt ๐“‡“, however, Pe a town in Lower Egypt ๐“†ค, was awarded to Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ by Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› after his eye was injured during his battle with Seth ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„ก๐“ฃ for the throne of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. 

In this particular statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ, Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ/Soul of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– is shown in a characteristic kneeling position with one arm raised, with the other resting on his chest. This is known as a โ€œjubilation position,โ€ which is meant to show the Soul of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– celebrating the rising of the sun ๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“‡ถ. The Soul of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– is usually represented as Horus the Falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„, while the Soul of Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– is usually represented as a jackal ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ. 

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Nefertiti’s Name and Titles in Hieroglyphs

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

On this relief from the remains of the Central Palace at Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š– (present day Tel el-Amarna), you can see Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–, Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค ๐“„ค ๐“„ค ๐“„คย  ๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ, and their daughter ๐“…ญ๐“ Meriaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“ˆ˜๐“๐“ praising the sun god, Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ. The rays of the sun are depicted as hands giving the symbol of life, the ankh ๐“‹น, to the royal family.ย 

Nefertitiโ€™s cartouche appears twice on this relief. Letโ€™s look at the inscription on the left! Some of it is missing, but I am going to infer the missing pieces: 

๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“ˆ˜๐“๐“ – Meriaten (the last two symbols of her name are seen in the inscription ๐“๐“) (this is my guess)

๐“Œบ – Beloved

๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“ˆ– – Born of 

๐“‡“๐“๐“๐“ˆž – Kingโ€™s Great Wife 

๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค ๐“„ค ๐“„ค ๐“„ค ๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ – Neferneferuaten Nefertiti

๐“‹น๐“˜ – May She Live! 

๐“†– – Everlasting (eternity)

๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› – Eternity

So all together, the inscription reads: โ€œMeriaten, born of the beloved Kingโ€™s Great Wife Neferneferuaten Nefertiti, May she live for everlasting eternity.โ€ 

Nefertitiโ€™s cartouche reads โ€œNeferneferuaten Nefertitiโ€ which pretty much translates to โ€œBeauty is the Beauties of Aten, the beautiful one has come.โ€ โ€œ๐“„คโ€ is a triliteral phonogram and translates to โ€œnfrโ€ (pronounced nefer) which means beauty or beautiful. This is actually the shorthand way to write โ€œbeautiful,โ€ and the other  way it appears in inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ is fully spelled out as โ€œ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹โ€ – itโ€™s still pronounced the same though as โ€œ๐“†‘ = fโ€ and โ€œ๐“‚‹ = r.โ€ 

Above her cartouche on the left side of the relief you can see her title โ€œKingโ€™s Great Wifeโ€ ๐“‡“๐“๐“๐“ˆž – (ancient Egyptians had no word for queen). Pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ also usually had multiple wives, so this title denoted the โ€œfavoriteโ€ wife. 

While both of the following words – ๐“†– and ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› mean the word โ€œeternity,โ€ a lot of times they are seen together on inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ! It would be silly to say โ€œeternity eternity,โ€ so Egyptologists translate this phrase as โ€œ๐“†–๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› Everlasting Eternity.โ€ 

This relief is presently located at the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology at UCL, London. 

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Video

Video – Funerary Cones

@ancientegyptblog

I love Gallery 117 at the MET so much! The objects in here may not look like much to the average person (they probably just look like a bunch of rocks ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“ฆ), but to me they are a beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ piece in the story of ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–! While not as artistically decorated as most of the artifacts in the Egyptian ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“ collections of museums, these โ€œfunerary conesโ€ were always something my Nonno pointed out to me! He thought they were so interesting and now every time I go to museums, I actively seek these out as a way to remember my Nonno! He loved this little gallery at the MET solely because of the funerary cones! Funerary cones (a modern name given to these objects) are made of clay ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“‹ด๐“ˆ‡ and usually found at the openings of tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ช at Thebes ๐“Œ€๐“๐“Š– (almost exclusively). They were used primarily during the 18th Dynasty (though there are examples that date to the 11th Dynasty or as late as the 19th-20th Dynasties). While the exact usage of the funerary cones is not known, but they are inferred to be architectural decorations, tomb labels, symbolic offerings ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ, or even as passports to the Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰! Thousands ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ of these cones have been excavated to date! Every museum I have been to has a collection of these funerary cones! The end of the funerary cone is usually circular in shape and usually contains an inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ with the name of the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ occupant as well as a god ๐“Šน. An example inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ that is common on a funerary cone would be something like: โ€œVenerated before Osiris, Son of ____, Name of Deceased.โ€ ๐“„ช๐“๐“‡Œ – Venerated ๐“๐“‚‹ – Before ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ – Osiris ๐“…ญ – Son This is my personal video and original text. DO NOT repost. #ancientEgypt #egyptology #ancientegyptblog #egyptianhistory #anticoegitto #metropolitanmuseumofart #metmuseum #egyptiantomb

โ™ฌ ร‰phรฉmรจre – Tony Anderson

While not as artistically decorated as most of the artifacts in the Egyptian ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“ collections of museums, these โ€œfunerary conesโ€ were always something my Nonno pointed out to me! He thought they were so interesting and now every time I go to museums, I actively seek these out as a way to remember my Nonno! He loved this little gallery (Gallery 117) at the MET solely because of the funerary cones! 

Funerary cones (a modern name given to these objects) are made of clay ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“‹ด๐“ˆ‡ and usually found at the openings of tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ช at Thebes ๐“Œ€๐“๐“Š– (almost exclusively). They were used primarily during the 18th Dynasty (though there are examples that date to the 11th Dynasty or as late as the 19th-20th Dynasties).

While the exact usage of the funerary cones is not known, but they are inferred to be architectural decorations, tomb labels, symbolic offerings ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ, or even as passports to the Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰! Thousands ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ of these cones have been excavated to date! Every museum I have been to has a collection of these funerary cones!

The end of the funerary cone is usually circular in shape and usually contains an inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ with the name of the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ occupant as well as a god ๐“Šน. These objects can also be referred to as โ€œfunerary stamps.โ€

An example inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ that is common on a funerary cone would be something like: 

โ€œVenerated before Osiris, Son of ____, Name of Deceased.โ€ 

๐“„ช๐“๐“‡Œ – Venerated 

๐“๐“‚‹ – Before

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ – Osiris

๐“…ญ – Son

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Egyptian Artifacts

Imhotep Statues at the Louvre

I love ๐“ˆ˜๐“ seeing Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช in museums, and I am so lucky to have been able to see so many beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช in museums around the world with my Nonno! Due to my Nonnoโ€™s enthusiasm, itโ€™s not just me that loves Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช, but the whole family ๐“…•๐“‰”๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ฆ loves ๐“ˆ˜๐“ these statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช too and can point them out immediately! Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช is always depicted as a man ๐“Šƒ๐“€€๐“ค seated in a chair, usually with a piece of papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› in his lap, so he is quite easy to spot once you know what to look for!

These Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช are at the Louvre, and are dated to the Ptolemaic Period, which is when Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช was widely worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข as a god ๐“Šน, especially by the Greeks. Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช was one of the few non-royal Egyptians to be deified. During his lifetime (two thousand ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ years before the Ptolemaic Period), Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช is credited with designing the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Djoserโ€™s ๐“‚ฆ Step Pyramid (the first ever pyramid ๐“‹๐“…“๐“‚‹๐“‰ด) at Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š–.

The larger of these statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช is interesting because it is made of graywacke ๐“ท๐“‚‹๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ˆ– stone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช instead of bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ! Most Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช are made out of bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ, so it was so cool to see Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช depicted in a different medium (plus I love rocks ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“ฆ). There is also some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช on the papyrus scroll ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› on Imhotepโ€™s ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช lap, and while I canโ€™t read them all because itโ€™s hard to see, one part says โ€œFor the Soul of Imhotep ๐“ˆ–๐“‚“๐“ˆ–๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช.โ€ย 

What I love ๐“ˆ˜๐“ about the smaller ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ is that there is an inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on the base! Itโ€™s a little hard to see, but Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! 

๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช – Imhotep (his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–translates to โ€œHe Who Comes in Peace.โ€)

๐“™ – Given

๐“‹น – Life

๐“…ฑ๐“‘ – Prosperity/Wellbeing

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Egyptian Artifacts

Wooden Statue of Anubis

This wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is one of my favorites! One of the reasons it is so special is because the piece is in such good condition. The black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ is still clearly visible and the wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ is so well preserved. Wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ is an organic material, and even in the dry heat of the desert ๐“…Ÿ๐“‚‹๐“๐“ˆŠ it can still break down over thousands ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ of years! My Nonno always pointed out every wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ piece in a museum and told us how significant it was that the wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ was preserved. Now, it is something I always look for.ย 

This particular Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ piece is dated to the Ramesside Period, which was during the 19th-20th Dynasties of the New Kingdom. This style of statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ depicting Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ actually became very popular during the Ptolemaic Period, and there is a piece similar to this in the Brooklyn Museum too! 

This statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ shows Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ in his jackal ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ form. The kneeling position is representative of him guarding the necropolis ๐“‹ด๐“ˆ–๐“Šผ from high above on a hill ๐“ˆŽ๐“„ฟ๐“„ฟ๐“ŠŽ or mountain ๐“ˆ‹๐“…ณ- as was his role as the god ๐“Šน of cemeteries and mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž. One of his titles which is โ€œLord of the Sacred Land ๐“ŽŸ๐“‡พ๐“‚ฆ๐“ˆŠ,โ€ exemplifies and highlights this role. The โ€œsacred landโ€ mentioned in this title is another way to say โ€œnecropolis ๐“‹ด๐“ˆ–๐“Šผ!โ€ 

Another one of Anubisโ€™ ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ titles is โ€œupon his hill ๐“ถ๐“บ๐“ˆ‹๐“†‘โ€ and this hieroglyphic ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช phrase usually follows his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in dedication texts! Again, this is representative of Anubisโ€™ ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ role as protector ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ of the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ; he was always standing watch from above! 

I also love this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ because it is very similar to Anubisโ€™ ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ determinative hieroglyph ๐“ƒฃ (which is my favorite hieroglyphic ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช symbol) and itโ€™s almost identical to the โ€˜recumbent jackal ๐“ƒขโ€ sign! Basically, I love anything to do with Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ! Seeing a well preserved statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of him, or hieroglyphic ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช symbols of his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ makes me really happy ๐“„ซ๐“๐“„ฃ and excited. Itโ€™s like seeing an old friend ๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“€€๐“! 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Small Stela of the Vizier Paser

This tiny ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ and unassuming stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ at the Louvre is really important to me and my Nonno because it depicts Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ, who was my Nonnoโ€™s favorite non-royal Egyptian! Nonno and I would always make it a point to try and find something related to Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ in every museum we went to! 

Though he wasnโ€™t a royal, Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ was one of the most prominent men of his time and he was vizier ๐“…ท๐“๐“บ๐“€€ under two ๐“ป pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป – Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  and then Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ–.  Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ served many different roles over twenty-five ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“พ years! Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ was also an architect and one of his most famous works is the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ of Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  in the Valley of the Kings! 

A vizier ๐“…ท๐“๐“บ๐“€€ was the highest ranking official ๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“€€ and was the most powerful position in the government, besides the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. Not only was the vizier ๐“…ท๐“๐“บ๐“€€ the most trusted advisor to the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, but he also saw to the day-to-day operations of the government. The vizier ๐“…ท๐“๐“บ๐“€€ was in charge of architecture, taxation, agriculture, military, the judiciary, finances, and many other things. Honestly that sounds exhausting, however, his hard work got Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ a nice tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ for himself, so thatโ€™s how we know so much about him! I guess wanting to preserve his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– for eternity ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› was a success! 

Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ had many different titles, including โ€œHigh Preist of Amun ๐“Šน๐“›๐“Œ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ ,โ€ โ€œsuperintendent of every work of the king,โ€ โ€œprophet of Maat,โ€ โ€œmouth of Nekhenโ€ and โ€œchief of secrets of the hieroglyphs.โ€ This last title is probably why he is depicted with the god Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ on this small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ! 

I wish I could see the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช more clearly, but I can see Paserโ€™s ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– on the bottom part of the stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ! 

Sorry the first picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is a bit blurry – I wanted to get as close as I could! The second picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ shows how small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ the stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ is in relation to other objects!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Early Dynastic Animal Statuettes

We are going back to the Early Dynastic Period today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ! I love anything to do with Egyptian hippos ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ๐“ฆ!!!

This calcite ๐“ฑ hippopotamus ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ and faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ crocodile ๐“…“๐“‹ด๐“Ž›๐“†Œ are dated c. 3100โ€“2649 B.C.E and are from Abydos ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“ˆ‹๐“Š–. The hippopotamus ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ figure was found near a shrine ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“…“๐“‚œ๐“‰ and was most likely an offering ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ to the deity ๐“Šน Khentiamentiu ๐“ƒข๐“ƒ๐“ ๐“„ฟ. 

Khentiamentiu ๐“ƒข๐“ƒ๐“ ๐“„ฟ is an early jackal ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ headed deity ๐“Šน whose name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– means โ€œForemost of the Westerners.โ€ We know that phrase because later on it was commonly used as a title of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ข before it then became Osirisโ€™ ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ title! Before the popularity of Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ, Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ข was the chief god ๐“Šน of the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ, which is why it was his title first! The temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ at Abydos ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“ˆ‹๐“Š– which was originally dedicated to Khentiamentiu ๐“ƒข๐“ƒ๐“ ๐“„ฟ then solely became dedicated to Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ during the First Intermediate Period. 

Hippopotamuses ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ๐“ฆ and crocodiles ๐“…“๐“‹ด๐“Ž›๐“†Œ๐“ฆ were both feared and revered along the Nile ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ because while they were very dangerous animals, little figurines like these (and then later on, amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช) could offer protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ to the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ or the living ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“€€๐“ช. This is why hippopotamuses ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ๐“ฆ and crocodiles ๐“…“๐“‹ด๐“Ž›๐“†Œ๐“ฆ are very common to see in early Egyptian art! The hippo ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ is also seen as a symbol of fertility. 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Roman Sarcophagus

Even though Rome was the dominant power in the Mediterranean at the time, Cleopatra VII ๐“ˆŽ๐“ƒญ๐“‡‹๐“ฏ๐“Šช๐“„ฟ๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“๐“„ฟ๐“†‡ was determined to keep Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– independent of Rome.  However, with the defeat of Mac Antony by Augustus ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“€€ in battle, and the death of Cleopatra VII ๐“ˆŽ๐“ƒญ๐“‡‹๐“ฏ๐“Šช๐“„ฟ๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“๐“„ฟ๐“†‡ (the last Pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, died by suicide c. 31 B.C.E.), Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– was conquered by the Romans. This made Augustus ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“€€ the first Roman Emperor. 

Traditionally, the Romans burned their dead and put their ashes in urns. However, in Roman Egypt, traditional Egyptian funerary practices persisted but adopted some Roman style! Nonno always pointed out the Roman influenced sarcophagi ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ๐“ช in museums because he thought it was so interesting that an image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ was on the coffin, instead of the traditional Egyptian “mask.” The painting of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ still functioned like a traditional Egyptian mask, however it was just more โ€œRomanโ€ in style.ย 

The mask could either serve as protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ, or take the place of the body if the head was destroyed or lost. In the Egyptian religion, the body of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ needed to stay intact in order for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ to be transported to the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰/Field of Reeds ๐“‡๐“๐“ˆ…๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“Š–. This was the purpose of mummification – to preserve the body so both the Ka ๐“‚“ (soul) and the Ba ๐“…ก๐“บ(life force) would be able to recognize the body!

I think this sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ (from the second century AD) in particular is very interesting because it demonstrates a marriage of the two ๐“ป cultures.ย  The Roman influence is clearly seen, with the painted portrait of the deceased (and his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–, Artemidorus below the portrait).ย 

However, the Egyptian gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน are present in gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ on the body of the sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ. Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ, Maat ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ฆ, Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ , and Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ are depicted. Iconic Egyptian imagery ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ such as the winged sun disk is located above the feet, while a traditional broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ is in gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ around the neck of the mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ. 

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Reading Hieroglyphs Video

Video – The Goddess Hathor in Hieroglyphs!

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

This is the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Hathor ๐“‰ก in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Iโ€™m sure you can see this, but Hathorโ€™s ๐“‰ก name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– is unique compared to that of the other deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน! This is because her name is written with a composite hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ! A composite hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ is the combination of many symbols into one symbol! Even with the combination of the symbols, the sounds of the original symbol are still retained! 

Hathorโ€™s ๐“‰ก name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– is the combination of an enclosure (house) ๐“‰— and the falcon ๐“…ƒ. 

๐“‰— +๐“…ƒ = ๐“‰ก 

Het (๐“‰—) + Heru (๐“…ƒ) = ๐“‰ก 

If the two ๐“ป symbols were written separately, we would actually read Hathorโ€™s ๐“‰ก name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– as โ€œHouse of Horusโ€ or โ€œEstate of Horusโ€ (depending on how you translated the ๐“‰— hieroglyph) – so that is the literal translation of her name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–! 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Roman Oil Lamps

While my Nonno loved ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, he also absolutely loved Ancient Rome and the Roman Emperors. This is why he loved the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– so much. Even though the Ptolemaic Period was technically Hellenistic Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, there was still a heavy Roman influence because Rome was still very powerful at the time! 

When Cleopatra VII ๐“ˆŽ๐“ƒญ๐“‡‹๐“ฏ๐“Šช๐“„ฟ๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“๐“„ฟ๐“†‡ committed suicide in 31 B.C.E., that was seen as the end of the pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ and the beginning of Roman Egypt. This makes Cleopatra ๐“ˆŽ๐“ƒญ๐“‡‹๐“ฏ๐“Šช๐“„ฟ๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“๐“„ฟ๐“†‡ the last pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป of Egypt! Nonno often told me stories about Mark Antony, Cleopatra ๐“ˆŽ๐“ƒญ๐“‡‹๐“ฏ๐“Šช๐“„ฟ๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“๐“„ฟ๐“†‡, Augustus ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“€€, Julius Caesar – he loved that whole part of history so much.ย 

These are ancient oil lamps ๐“†ผ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ฒ๐“ ๐“ค๐“‡ถ! These oil lamps ๐“†ผ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ฒ๐“ ๐“ค๐“‡ถ are made of clay ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“‹ด๐“ˆ‡ and can be found throughout countries that were ruled by the Roman Empire! Many are found in present-day Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, Turkey, Syria, and many others! My Nonno absolutely adored these – he loved that you could still see where the oil ๐“‚๐“†“๐“–๐“Š๐“ฆ had burned on some of them (thatโ€™s the black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ discoloration at the opening). Nonno always made sure to point these out in museums and now of course I always look for them. I love seeing the different designs on them! Each lamp ๐“†ผ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ฒ๐“ ๐“ค๐“‡ถ is unique which I love!

Isis and Horus design on the oil lamp, along with the black discoloration on the opening!

Due to Roman influence in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, oil lamps ๐“†ผ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ฒ๐“ ๐“ค๐“‡ถ from Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– were sometimes made with the Egyptian Gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน on them! The oil lamp ๐“†ผ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ฒ๐“ ๐“ค๐“‡ถ all the way on the right depicts Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ nursing Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ. As Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ grew in popularity, she was associated with cosmological order and was considered to be the embodiment of fate by the Romans.  Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ was widely worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข during the Roman times, and Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ feeding Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ as a baby ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ˆ–๐“€• has even appeared on the back of Roman coins. Amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช and bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช of Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ feeding Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ were also made in abundance during this time period.