Author: ancientegyptblog7

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Hatshepsut – Dispelling Misconceptions

There are many misconceptions about Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪, and I want to show why they are misconceptions.

It was always said by historians that Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 was “showing herself as a male” or “trying/wanting to be a man.” These statements are just not true. Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 never portrayed herself as a man 𓊃𓀀𓏤. She portrayed herself as a Pharaoh 𓉐𓉻, which she was! In fact, she very much referred to herself as a woman 𓊃𓏏𓂑𓏏𓁐. How do we know? It’s all in the hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!

Let’s take a look at the titles she gives herself.

The inscription reads: 𓄤𓊹𓏏𓎟𓏏𓇿𓇿𓇳𓁦𓂓𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎟𓎼𓎼𓎼𓇿𓇿𓌸𓇌𓋹𓍘𓆖

𓄤𓊹𓏏 – “Perfect goddess”
𓎟𓏏𓇿𓇿 – “Lady of the Two Lands”
𓇳𓁦𓂓 – “Maatkare” (Hatshepsut’s throne name)
𓇋𓏠𓈖 – Amun
𓎟𓎼𓎼𓎼𓇿𓇿 – Lord of the Thrones
𓌸𓇌 – Beloved
𓋹𓍘 – May She Live!
𓆖 – Eternity

So the inscription reads “Perfect goddess, lady of the two lands Maatkare, Beloved of Amun, Lord of the Thrones, May She Live, For Eternity.”

If Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 was referring to herself as a man 𓊃𓀀𓏤 or trying to be a man 𓊃𓀀𓏤, the inscription would read like this:

𓄤𓊹 𓎟𓇿𓇿 𓇳𓁦𓂓 – “Perfect god, lord of the two lands Maatkare.”

The addition of the “𓏏” makes the words the feminine version! “𓎟 – Lord” becomes “𓎟𓏏 – Lady” and “𓊹 -God” becomes “ 𓊹𓏏 – Goddess.” So as you can see, Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 is very much referring to herself as a woman 𓊃𓏏𓂑𓏏𓁐 – it’s in the hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!

Here is the other inscription that is on the statue:

The inscription reads:𓅭𓏏𓇳𓈖𓏏𓄡𓏏𓆑(𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪)𓇋𓏠𓈖𓇳𓇓𓏏𓊹𓏥𓌻𓇌𓋹𓏏𓆓𓆑

𓅭𓏏𓇳 – Daughter of Ra
𓈖𓏏𓄡𓏏𓆑 – Bodily/Of Her Body
(𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪) – Hatshepsut’s cartouche (birth name)
𓇋𓏠𓈖𓇳 – Amun-Ra
𓇓𓏏 – King of (feminine form of King)
𓊹𓏥 – Gods
𓌻𓇌 – Beloved
𓋹𓏏𓆓𓆑 – She Live Forever (forever is usually written as “𓆖”)

Put together, the inscription reads: “Bodily daughter of Ra, Hatshepsut, beloved of Amun-Ra, King of the Gods, May She Live Forever.”

Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 is very much referring to herself as a woman 𓊃𓏏𓂑𓏏𓁐 – it’s in the hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! If she called herself the “Son of Ra” the inscription would look like “𓅭𓇳” instead of “𓅭𓏏𓇳. ” The word for “bodily 𓈖𓏏𓄡𓏏𓆑” is also feminized, and would be written as “𓈖𓏏𓄡𓆑” if it was referencing a male. The word for “king 𓇓” is also written in the feminine form and has the “𓏏” at the end (𓇓𓏏).

There was no word for “queen” in Middle Egyptian, the closest word that exists is “𓇓𓏏𓏏𓈞,” which translates to “The King’s Wife.” Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 was certainly not the King’s Wife: she was the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻/king 𓇓𓏏.

This misconception needs to be squashed, because it very much erases Hatshepsut’s 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 identity 𓂋𓈖 and as we know, the name/identity 𓂋𓈖 of a person was essential to Egyptian cultural beliefs. Referring to Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 as anything but how she referred to herself is an insult to her.

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Egyptian Artifacts

What’s in a Name?

What’s in a name 𓂋𓈖?! To the ancient Egyptians 𓆎𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏪, a person’s name 𓂋𓈖 was everything!

In order to exist, a human needed to have five 𓏾 essential elements: the body 𓎛𓂝𓄼, the shadow 𓆄𓏏𓅱𓋼, the Ba 𓅡𓏤 (impression an individual makes on others – everything except the physical body), the Ka (soul/life force) 𓂓𓏤, and the name 𓂋𓈖. A name 𓂋𓈖 was considered the essential part of the person because the other four 𓏽 elements could not exist without the name 𓂋𓈖. I find this entire concept absolutely fascinating and I’m not going to lie, it has made me appreciate my own name 𓂋𓈖.

If a person wanted to survive after death 𓅓𓏏𓏱, not only was mummification essential, but even more so was preserving the name 𓂋𓈖. This is why pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏦 and others who could afford to do so had their name 𓂋𓈖 carved everywhere – they wanted to survive after they died 𓅓𓏏𓏱. If a name 𓂋𓈖 was hacked away or forgotten, it meant that the person was deprived of their entire existence. This is why the names 𓂋𓈖𓏥 of pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏦 like Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪, Akhenaten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 and Tutankhamun 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓏏𓅱𓏏𓋹𓋾𓉺𓇓 were either left off of official King’s lists or removed from their monuments.

Rameses II 𓁩𓁛𓈘𓄟𓋴𓇓 has his name 𓂋𓈖 literally everywhere and his cartouche is the most commonly found one! He really wanted to ensure that he survived after he died 𓅓𓏏𓏱! This cartouche from the British Museum is one of Rameses II 𓁩𓁛𓈘𓄟𓋴𓇓 and I think it is so beautifully 𓄤 carved!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Stick Ushabtis at the Petrie Museum

My Nonno 𓈖𓍯𓈖𓈖𓍯𓀀always spoke very highly of the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology at UCL in London. As a kid 𓐍𓇌𓀕, he would always tell me that they had “drawers and drawers full of ushabtis” and it just sounded so cool to me! When we got to visit together, I can confirm that it was most definitely VERY COOL! We spent hours at the museum going through everything and I spent the most time with the ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾𓏪 (no surprise there)!!

These particular ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾𓏪 that are in the drawer are called “stick ushabtis” by archaeologists. Stick ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾𓏪 are made of wood 𓆱𓏏𓏺, have a roughly mummiform shape, no artistic details, and have an inscription 𓏟𓏛𓏥 on the front. Most stick ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾𓏪 are dated to the end of the 17th Dynasty to the beginning of the 18th Dynasty.

The function of these stick ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾𓏪 also seem to be different than that of the regular ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾𓏪 that are found in tombs 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐𓏦 whose function was to perform tasks for the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 in the afterlife 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐. The stick ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾𓏪 have only been found in Thebes 𓌀𓏏𓊖, in the above ground chapels that were found near tombs 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐𓏦. They were usually placed in their own model coffins 𓋴𓅱𓎛𓏏𓆱.

The stick ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾𓏪 represented the family members of the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱, and were placed in the above ground chapel as a way to symbolize family members being close to their dead 𓅓𓏏𓏱 loved one.

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Inscription – “Before Anubis”

Here is a piece of an inscription 𓎘𓅱𓎖 from a Middle Kingdom sarcophagus 𓎟𓋹𓈖𓐍𓊭 at the MET.

Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!!

𓐍𓂋 – Before
𓃣 – “Anubis”

A very simple inscription 𓎘𓅱𓎖, but something that was important for the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 since Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣 was tasked with the protection of the mummy 𓇋𓁹𓅱𓀾! In order for ancient Egyptians 𓆎𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏪 to journey through the Duat 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐 and eventually reach the Field of Reeds 𓇏𓏏𓈅𓇋𓄿𓂋𓅱𓆰𓊖, the mummy 𓇋𓁹𓅱𓀾/body of the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 needed to remain intact! So a person definitely wanted to be near Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓁢!

Anubis’ 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣 name 𓂋𓈖 Can be written many different ways! Here are some common variations:
𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣
𓇋𓈖𓊪𓃣
𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱
𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓁢
𓃣
𓃤
𓁢

Much like in English and other languages, the same words could have different spellings! In ancient Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖, most of the time the different spellings had to do with the space that was available on the piece that was being inscribed!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Frog Figures

These frog 𓈎𓂋𓂋𓆏 figures are dated to the 1st and 2nd Dynasties, which is grouped as part of the Early Dynastic Period (c. 3000-2675 B.C.E.) so these are quite old! This is about the time that Egyptologists think that writing 𓏟𓏛𓏥 was first developed in Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖! However, this form of writing 𓏟𓏛𓏥 consisted of very rudimentary symbols and don’t really represent Middle Egyptian or hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪, which is the form of the language that persisted throughout Egyptian history (and the one that I know).

Frogs 𓈎𓂋𓂋𓆏𓏦 were not really written about at all during these predynastic times, and these statues 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾𓏪 predate a lot of religious writing 𓏟𓏛𓏥 and iconography so all Egyptologists can do is make educated guesses on their significance!

So what inferences can we make about these cute frog 𓈎𓂋𓂋𓆏 figures? Scientifically speaking, frogs 𓈎𓂋𓂋𓆏𓏦 would appear after the flooding of the Nile River 𓇋𓏏𓂋𓅱𓈗𓈘𓈇𓏺, so they were associated with the life 𓋹/the regenerative qualities of water 𓈗. Not only is water 𓈗 necessary for humans, but also for irrigating land for agriculture.

The frog 𓈎𓂋𓂋𓆏 is also associated with the goddess 𓊹𓏏 Heqet 𓎛𓈎𓏏𓆏 who is represented as a woman with a frog 𓈎𓂋𓂋𓆏 head. Also, the frog determinative 𓆏 appears in her name 𓂋𓈖 so she was clearly associated with frogs 𓈎𓂋𓂋𓆏𓏦. Heqet 𓎛𓈎𓏏𓆏 was the goddess 𓊹𓏏 of birth and rebirth. She also protected 𓅓𓂝𓎡𓀜 women 𓊃𓏏𓂑𓏏𓁐𓏪 during the childbirth process so it is possible these statues 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾𓏪 could be symbols of protection 𓅓𓂝𓎡𓀜 for childbirth.

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Egyptian Artifacts

Ancient Fish Dish

Today I’m going to talk about fish 𓂋𓅓𓆟 because fish 𓂋𓅓𓆟 were an incredibly important part of life 𓋹𓏤 along the Nile River 𓇋𓏏𓂋𓅱𓈗𓈘𓈇𓏺! Also, I love fish 𓂋𓅓𓆟 and watching fish 𓂋𓅓𓆟 swim 𓈖𓎟𓃀𓈗 is something I find so relaxing!

So why fish 𓂋𓅓𓆟 on New Year’s Eve?! In ancient Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖, fish 𓂋𓅓𓆟 were seen as a symbol of rebirth and regeneration! Since the ancient Egyptian religion was primarily based on these ideas, symbols that represented them were considered important and very powerful in Egyptian culture.

One of the most common fish 𓂋𓅓𓆟 you would find in the Nile River 𓇋𓏏𓂋𓅱𓈗𓈘𓈇𓏺 was tilapia 𓇋𓆛𓈖𓏏𓆟, which is the type of fish 𓂋𓅓𓆟 that this Fish Dish (18th Dynasty c. 1479-1400 B.C.E.) depicts. Nile tilapia 𓇋𓆛𓈖𓏏𓆟 are easily identified by their very long dorsal fin! The tilapia even has its own hieroglyphic symbol – “𓆛,” and it definitely looks like the dish in the picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏!

The first Fish Dishes have been dated to the pre-dynastic period, and they are one of the types of every day objects that have persisted throughout the Egyptian civilization. It always amazes me how such ideas and objects were able to persist for thousands of years!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Anubis Engraving on a Sarcophagus

Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣 has been my favorite god 𓊹 since I was a child 𓐍𓇌𓀕. Why is he my favorite? Here are some fun facts about Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣 so you can see why!

Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣 is the god of mummification, graveyards/cemeteries, funerals, tombs 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐𓏦 and a bunch of other things associated with death 𓅓𓏏𓏱. Even as a kid 𓐍𓇌𓀕, I was fascinated by mummies 𓇋𓁹𓅱𓀾𓏪 and the process of mummification, so by default Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣 is my favorite!

The name 𓂋𓈖“Anubis” is actually the Hellenistic version of his name 𓂋𓈖 – the Egyptians 𓆎𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏪 called him Inpw.

Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣 is usually represented by the jackal 𓊃𓄿𓃀𓃥 or having the head 𓁶𓏤 of a jackal 𓊃𓄿𓃀𓃥 because these canines were often found in cemeteries.

Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣 has no temples 𓉟𓏏𓉐𓏦 dedicated to him because every tomb/cemetery was considered a “temple” to Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣!

Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣 can be written a bunch of different ways in hieroglyphs: 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓁢, 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣, 𓃣.

Here are some titles that Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣 is commonly associated with. His name 𓂋𓈖 appears with these a lot in hieroglyphic inscriptions:
𓁶𓏺𓈋 𓆑 – “Upon his hill”
𓏅 𓊹 𓉱 – “In front at the God’s booth” (shrine)
𓇋𓏶𓅱𓏏𓐎𓊖 – “He who is in the mummy wrappings”

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Egyptian Artifacts

The Ba Bird

In order to exist, a human needed to have five 𓏾 essential elements: the body 𓎛𓂝𓄼, the shadow 𓆄𓏏𓅱𓋼, the Ba 𓅡𓏤, the Ka (soul/life force) 𓂓𓏤, and the name 𓂋𓈖.

The Ba 𓅡𓏤 is the impression that an individual makes on others – everything except the physical body 𓎛𓂝𓄼. The Ba 𓅡𓏤 can also be thought of as an individual’s personality. When a person died, the Ba 𓅡𓏤 was the only part of the person that would be able to travel out of the tomb 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐, but it did have to return eventually to be reunited with the mummy 𓇋𓁹𓅱𓀾. The Ba 𓅡𓏤 was the part of the person that lived on after death 𓅓𓏏𓏱.

This particular Ba 𓅡𓏤 statue 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾 is dated to the Ptolemaic Period (c. 332–30 B.C.E.). Ba 𓅡𓏤 statues 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾𓏦 like this one pictured were popular to place in tombs 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐𓏦 during this time period – either they were attached to coffins 𓋴𓅱𓎛𓏏𓆱𓏦 or added as an attachment to a stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸.

The details on this Ba 𓅡𓏤 statue 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾 are absolutely beautiful 𓄤. The Ba 𓅡𓏤 has a sun disk 𓇳𓏤 on its head 𓁶𓏤 and is wearing a broad collar 𓅱𓋴𓐍𓎺𓋝 around its neck. It is in great condition even though it is made out of wood 𓆱𓏏𓏺 (wood is organic and can decay very quickly) and the details are in paint and gold 𓋞𓃉𓃉𓃉 leaf!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Statue of Tutankhamun

As a child 𓐍𓇌𓀕 (and even now) I love the story about the discovery of the tomb 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐 of Tutankhamun 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓏏𓅱𓏏𓋹𓋾𓉺𓇓! The gold 𓋞𓃉𓃉𓃉 funerary mask and all of the other artifacts found in the tomb 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐 completely fascinated me and still fascinate me to this day!

Better known to the public as King Tut, Tutankhamun 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓏏𓅱𓏏𓋹𓋾𓉺𓇓 wasn’t that significant of a pharaoh 𓉐𓉻, but the discovery is his pretty much intact tomb 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐 helped to popularize him in the modern day. He is the son 𓅭 of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Akhenaten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖, and is credited with restoring the traditional Egyptian pantheon after Akhenaten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 changed the entire Egyptian religion to the monotheistic worship of the Aten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳 during his rule.

One of the things I love about Tutankhamun 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓏏𓅱𓏏𓋹𓋾𓉺𓇓 is his cartouche!! Here is a breakdown of its meaning:
𓇋𓏠𓈖 Amun
𓏏𓅱𓏏 Tut (image)
𓋹 Ankh (life)
𓋾𓉺𓇓 Ruler of Heliopolis/Upper Egypt

The name 𓂋𓈖 “Tutankhamun” in Middle Egyptian translates to “Living Image of Amun.” However, this wasn’t his original name 𓂋𓈖; Tutankhaten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓏏𓅱𓏏𓋹𓈖𓇳 or “Living Image of the Aten” was his actual birth name! When Tutankhamun brought back the old religion, he changed his name 𓂋𓈖 to reflect the old religion!

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Limestone Relief of Thutmosis III

This is a limestone 𓇋𓈖𓈙𓌉 relief with the cartouches of Thutmosis III 𓇳𓏠𓆣 on it. Let’s read some Hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!

Here’s the top line of text: 𓆥(𓇳𓏠𓆣)𓏠𓈖𓍿𓅱𓎟 𓌀𓏏𓊖𓁷𓄣𓉺𓈖𓊖𓌺𓇌

𓆥- King of Upper and Lower Egypt,
(𓇳𓏠𓆣) – Menkhepera
𓏠𓈖𓍿𓅱 – Montu
𓎟 – Lord of
𓌀𓏏𓊖 – Thebes
𓁷𓄣 – middle/middle of
𓉺𓈖𓊖 – Dendera
𓌺𓇌 – Beloved
The full translation is: “King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Menkhepera, Beloved of Montu, Lord of Thebes, middle of Dendera.”

Here’s the second line of text: 𓅭𓇳(𓅝𓄠𓋴𓇋𓊃) 𓏙𓋹𓊽𓌀𓋴𓃀𓈖𓄫𓄣𓇳𓏇𓏺𓆖
𓅭𓇳 – Son of Ra
(𓅝𓄠𓋴𓇋𓊃) – Thutmosis III
𓏙𓋹𓊽𓌀 – Given Life, Stability, Strength
𓋴𓃀𓈖- Health
𓄫𓄣 – Happiness
𓇳𓏇𓏺 – Like Ra
𓆖 – Eternity
The full translation is: “Son of Ra, Thutmosis III, Given Life, Stability, Strength, Health, and Happiness, like Ra, for eternity.”