Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Tyet Knot and Djed Pillar

This beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ art is from a Roman Period mummy mask of a woman and is dated to 60 – 70 A.D. Itโ€™s always incredible to me how art that is just about 2000 years old has paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ and colors that still look brand new! This art shows two Tyet Knots ๐“Žฌ and a Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ (middle).ย 

Tyet Knot and Djed Pillar
Two Tyet Knots (right and left) and a Djed Pillar (middle) on a Roman mummy mask

The origin of the Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ is most likely from the predynastic times while Tyet Knot ๐“Žฌ is from the First Dynasty/Early Dynastic Period. This means that these symbols were over 3000 years old when this mask was made! It always amazes me how the same religious symbols just persisted through Egyptian history! 

The Tyet Knot ๐“Žฌ, also known as the Isis knot ๐“Žฌ, was considered a very strong symbol of protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ and came to be associated with Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ. The Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช believed that knots ๐“Žฌ were able to bind and then release magic ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œ.

The Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ represents the word and concept of Stability in ancient Egypt. The Djed pillar ๐“Šฝ is thought to be the spine ๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“๐“„ฆ of Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ, hence why it takes on the meaning of โ€œstability.โ€ 

The Isis Knots ๐“Žฌ  and the Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ were also mostly used in a funerary context, such as amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ฆ that were placed on mummies ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ๐“ช or as part of spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ in the Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ. 

While both the Tyet Knot ๐“Žฌ and Djed Pillar appear in art frequently, they are also both hieroglyphic symbols and appear in inscriptions! 

The โ€œreed column ๐“Šฝโ€ more commonly known as the โ€œDjed Pillarโ€ is a biliteral phonogram that has the sound โ€œแธdโ€ which sounds like โ€œDjed.โ€ It also functions as an ideogram for โ€œStability.โ€ 

The โ€œtie ๐“Žฌโ€ is an ideogram for โ€œTyet Knot ๐“Žฌโ€ or โ€œIsis Knot ๐“Žฌโ€ and is a triliteral phonogram associated with the sound โ€œtjtโ€ which would be pronounced like โ€œtyet.โ€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
Reading Hieroglyphs

“Everything Perfect and Pure Which a God Lives Onโ€ย 

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

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to be looking at an inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– that appears along the top line on a Middle Kingdom era coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ! This phrase does appear pretty frequently across funerary equipment (stelae, coffin) so it is definitely a good one to know! 

We will start reading the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– on the right since the directional symbols point to the right!ย 

Everything Perfect and Pure Which a God Lives On
The phrase “Everything Perfect and Pure Which a God Lives On” on a Middle Kingdom era sarcophagus

This is the full phrase: ๐“๐“๐“Šต๐“ฆ๐“ŽŸ๐“„ค๐“ƒ‚๐“๐“‹น๐“๐“Šน๐“‡‹๐“…“. Letโ€™s break down each word! 

๐“๐“๐“›๐“ฆ๐“ŽŸ – Everything 

๐“„ค – Perfect/Beautiful/Good

๐“ƒ‚๐“ – Pure

๐“‹น๐“ – Life/Live

๐“Šน – God

๐“‡‹๐“…“- On (In, There, Among, etc.) 

So all ๐“ŽŸ together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š—, the phrase translates to: โ€œEverything perfect and pure which a god lives on.โ€ 

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
Reading Hieroglyphs

Name in Hieroglyphs

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at the word for โ€œname ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–โ€ in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช and the religious/cultural significance that a personโ€™s name had in ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–!ย 

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

Name in Hieroglyphs
The word “Name” in Hieroglyphs as depicted on a relief in an Old Kingdom tomb

In order to exist, a person needed to have five ๐“พ essential elements: the body ๐“Ž›๐“‚๐“„ผ, the shadow ๐“†„๐“๐“…ฑ๐“‹ผ, the Ba ๐“…ก๐“ค, the Ka (soul/life force) ๐“‚“๐“ค, and most importantly, the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–. Without a name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–, the other four elements could not exist!

When a personโ€™s name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– was written in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, it meant that the person would live ๐“‹น forever ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž›. The visual representation of a personโ€™s name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– had the power to give the person eternal ๐“†– life ๐“‹น. This is why pharaohs wanted their name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– on as many monuments as possible – their name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช had immense power! 

This ancient belief about a personโ€™s name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– having such significance is why I feel like I need to write about my Nonno and speak about him. My entire page is dedicated to his memory, and I feel like sharing his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– and image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ helps me to keep him alive even though he is no longer here. 

Letโ€™s break down each of the symbols! 

The โ€œmouth ๐“‚‹โ€ symbol functions most commonly as a uniliteral phonogram and is used to represent the sound โ€œr.โ€ It can also be used as an ideogram for the word โ€œmouth ๐“‚‹๐“บ.โ€ 

The โ€œripple of water ๐“ˆ–โ€ is a phonogram sign, and it functions as a uniliteral sign. The โ€œ๐“ˆ–โ€ is associated with the sound of โ€œn!โ€ The ๐“ˆ– has many grammatical functions on its own, and it can mean โ€œto,โ€ โ€œof,โ€ โ€œfor,โ€ โ€œwe/us/our,โ€ โ€œin,โ€ โ€œbecause,โ€ โ€œthrough,โ€ and some others!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
Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Sistrums with Hathor

Music ๐“‰”๐“‡Œ๐“†ธ and musicians were highly regarded in ancient Egyptian culture. I love music ๐“‰”๐“‡Œ๐“†ธ, and music ๐“‡‹๐“Ž›๐“‡Œ is something that I cannot live without! This is a sistrum ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ, which is a musical instrument from ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– that is similar to a modern rattle or tambourine.ย 

Sistrums with Hathor
A faience sistrum with Hathor from the Ptolemaic Period

Since Hathor ๐“‰ก was the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ of music ๐“‡‹๐“Ž›๐“‡Œ, she was portrayed on most sistrums ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ๐“ช in her human form! However, even though Hathor ๐“‰ก is represented as a woman ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“, she is recognized easily because of her characteristic cow ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’ ears!ย 

Sistrums with Hathor
A closeup view of the sistrum with Hathor’s face! See if you can spot her cow ears!

I love these two sistrums ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ๐“ช pictured below because while they are both from the Ptolemaic Period, they look so different! One of the sistrums ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ๐“ช is made of blue ๐“‡…๐“†“๐“› faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ while the other is made of silver ๐“Œ‰๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰.ย 

Sistrums with Hathor
A blue faience sistrum (front) and a silver sistrum (back) both with Hathor’s face on it from the Ptolemaic Period.

Fun fact: in ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, silver ๐“Œ‰๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ was actually considered to be more valuable because it was harder to obtain through trade! Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– does not naturally have a lot of silver ๐“Œ‰๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰!

The silver ๐“Œ‰๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ sistrum ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ has hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช on the handle, however they are very hard to read due to cracks and natural wear. The blue ๐“‡…๐“†“๐“› faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ one has hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช that are much easier to read! 

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

๐“…ญ๐“‡ณ – Son of Ra

๐“ŽŸ๐“ˆ๐“ˆ๐“ˆ – Lord of Appearances

๐“Šช๐“๐“ฏ๐“ƒญ๐“๐“‡Œ๐“‹ด – Ptolemaios (Ptolemy I)

๐“‹น – Life

๐“‡ – Like

๐“‡ณ๐“บ – Ra 

๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› – Eternity

๐“†– – Eternity

When ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› and ๐“†– are used in the same phrase, itโ€™s usually translated as โ€œEverlasting Eternityโ€ instead of โ€œEternity Eternity.โ€ 

Another way to write โ€œLord of Appearancesโ€ is like this – ๐“ŽŸ๐“ˆ๐“ฅ – using three strokes โ€œ๐“ฅโ€ instead of repeating the โ€œsun over the horizon ๐“ŽŸ๐“ˆ๐“ˆ๐“ˆโ€ hieroglyph three times! Both of these ways are the correct way to write the phrase, however the three strokes โ€œ๐“ฅโ€ is usually used more because it takes up less space! 

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

Wooden Model Boat

This is my favorite wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž model that I have seen in any museum!ย 

Wooden Model Boat
Wooden Model Boat of Ukhotep at the MET

This wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ model boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž is from the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ of a man named ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– Ukhhotep ๐“‹‚๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช. Ukhotep ๐“‹‚๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช was the chief treasurer ๐“‹จ๐“…ฑ, which is why he probably received such gorgeous ๐“„ค funerary equipment ๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“‹ด๐“๐“๐“Šญ. 

This is one of two ๐“ป funerary boats that were found in his tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ – most Middle Kingdom tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ that had wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ models always contained two ๐“ป boats ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž๐“ฆ. In the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰,  one  boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž was oriented to the north ๐“Ž”๐“ and the other towards the south ๐“‡”๐“…ฑ๐“.

During the actual funeral, the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ would take one last journey across the Nile River ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ.ย  Models of boats ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž๐“ฆ (usually funerary boats), were usually found in tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ as a way to symbolically bring the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ into the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰.

Wooden Model Boat
Wooden Model Boat of Ukhotep at the MET showing the mummy and the two women on either side representing Isis and Nephthys.

I really love this model because of the mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ that you can see underneath the canopy! As a kid I always loved that! The canopy also has a leopard ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“‡Œ๐“ƒฎ skin on the top, and the details on the leopard ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“‡Œ๐“ƒฎ are just gorgeous!ย ย 

Wooden Model Boat
Wooden Model Boat of Ukhotep at the MET showing the priests wearing leopard skins.

The mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ is accompanied by two ๐“ป women ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“๐“ช mourners – they are probably meant to represent Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ and Nephthys ๐“‰ ๐“๐“†‡. There is also a priest ๐“Šน๐“› (dressed in the leopard ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“‡Œ๐“ƒฎ skin) who holds a scroll ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› with a funerary offering ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ on it. There is a second priest ๐“Šน๐“›, also dressed in leopard ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“‡Œ๐“ƒฎ skin with his arm ๐“‚๐“บ extended outward in a mourning gesture.

Wooden Model Boat
Wooden Model Boat of Ukhotep at the MET highlighting the detailed leopard on the canopy.

Wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ models were very popular amongst Middle Kingdom tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ. This particular boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž is dated to the 12th Dynasty (c. 1981โ€“1802 B.C.E.)

This is my personal photograph 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
Egyptian Artifacts

Clay Donkey

This little ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ clay ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“‹ด๐“ˆ‡ donkey ๐“ƒ˜๐“บ is easy to miss in the display cabinets of the galleries at the MET, but he is just so cute!ย 

Clay Donkey

This piece was is very rudimentary but I love how it shows a different level of ancient Egyptian artistry. There are four little sticks in the donkey ๐“ƒ˜๐“บ which are used to hold the little clay ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“‹ด๐“ˆ‡ balls which are probably representing sacks of grain ๐“ˆŽ๐“„ฟ๐“…ฑ๐“ธ๐“ฆ. This little ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ clay ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“‹ด๐“ˆ‡ donkey ๐“ƒ˜๐“บ was actually found by Howard Carter when he was excavating near Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช temple!  

While horses ๐“‹ด๐“‹ด๐“…“๐“๐“ƒ—๐“ช werenโ€™t introduced into Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– until the Second Intermediate Period (around 1600 B.C.E.), donkeys ๐“ƒ˜๐“ƒ˜๐“ƒ˜ seem to have been in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– since around 4500 B.C.E. (based on bone evidence). However, the first artistic representation of a donkey ๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“ƒ˜ is from a palette dated to 3100 B.C.E., which is around the end of the Predynastic Period and the start of the Archaic Period (1st and 2nd Dynasties). 

Another distinction between donkeys ๐“ƒ˜๐“ƒ˜๐“ƒ˜ and horses ๐“‹ด๐“‹ด๐“…“๐“๐“ƒ—๐“ช in ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– were that donkeys ๐“ƒ˜๐“ช were used mainly for work and for hauling goods/materials in carts (as seen in this clay ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“‹ด๐“ˆ‡ representation) while horses ๐“‹ด๐“‹ด๐“…“๐“๐“ƒ—๐“ช were only used for pulling chariots ๐“…จ๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“๐“Œ๐“ฆ and were reserved solely for the military and pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ. 

This piece is dated to the Second Intermediate Period โ€“ Early New Kingdom (13th-18th Dynasties, 1991โ€“1450 B.C.E.). 

This is my personal photograph 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

“To Rule” in Hieroglyphs

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

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to be looking at theย  word โ€œ๐“ท๐“ถ,โ€ which has a bunch of different (but seemingly related) meanings in Middle Egyptian!ย 

To Rule
“To Rule” in raised relief from a Middle Kingdom relief at the MET

Here is a list of some of the meanings of the word โ€œ๐“ท๐“ถโ€: 

-To Rule

-Who is Upon

-Nomarch (kind of like a governor who was appointed by the pharaoh)

-Governor (this would be a more modern interpretation of the word) 

-Leader

-Magician

Letโ€™s take a closer look at the two symbols which comprise this word! 

The โ€œface ๐“ทโ€ symbol is a biliteral phonogram for the sound แธฅr and is an ideogram for the word โ€œface.โ€ 

The โ€œhead ๐“ถโ€ symbol is a biliteral phonogram for the sound โ€œtpโ€ and is an ideogram/determinative for the word โ€œhead.โ€

So all together the word โ€œ๐“ท๐“ถโ€ would have a sound value of โ€œแธฅr-tp.โ€

The โ€œface ๐“ทโ€ symbol is always fascinating to see because itโ€™s artistically different from most of the other 750+ hieroglyphic symbols. The โ€œface ๐“ทโ€ symbol is so different because it is a front view of a face instead of a profile view. Most ancient Egyptian art is done in profile, so this symbol really stands out to me amongst other hieroglyphic symbols.  

This is my personal photograph 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
Egyptian Artifacts

Roman Mosaic

While this beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ Roman mosaic is not Egyptian, it is inspired by ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–! The global fascination and love of ancient Egyptian art didnโ€™t start in modern times; in fact, the Romans were enamored with ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– too! The Romans saw Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– as a โ€œland of wealth and antiquity.โ€ย 

Roman Mosaic
An Egyptian inspired Roman Mosaic at the MET

Mosaics are a Roman art form, but if you look at the center you will see Egyptian figures! The figure on the left has blue skin and the sun/horn headdress that is typical of the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ during this time period, while the seared figure on the right is wearing the nemes ๐“ˆ–๐“…“๐“‹ด head cloth which is typical dress for a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป.ย 

The scene is definitely strange because a goddess ๐“Šน๐“ would never be making an offering to a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป – the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป would always be making an offering to a god ๐“Šน or goddess ๐“Šน๐“! This scene was clearly meant to convey what the Romanโ€™s felt as an Egyptian atmosphere and itโ€™s interesting to see the Roman interpretation of Egyptian culture despite its inaccuracies. 

Fun Fact: Roman Emperors liked Egyptian art, and some (like Caligula ๐“ˆ๐“‹พ๐“ฉ๐“„ฟ๐“ฒ๐“๐“Žผ๐“ƒญ๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“ฐ and Hadrian ๐“‰”๐“๐“‚‹๐“‚๐“ˆ–๐“Šƒ๐“ˆŽ๐“Šƒ๐“‚‹) had pieces from ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– brought to Rome to adorn their gardens ๐“Ž›๐“Šƒ๐“Šช๐“ˆˆ๐“ฅ or estates.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
Egyptian Artifacts

Sarcophagus of Rameses III

This striking red granite ๐“…“๐“Œณ๐“๐“Žถ sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ belonged to the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Rameses III ๐“›๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‹ด๐“‹พ๐“‰บ. Rameses III ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“ˆ˜๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– was the second pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป of the 20th Dynasty and he ruled for 32 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“ป turbulent years. His reign was marked by political, economic, and military issues.ย 

The most interesting part about Rameses IIIโ€™s ๐“›๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‹ด๐“‹พ๐“‰บ reign for me is what is known as the โ€œHarem Conspiracyโ€ – Rameses IIIโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“ˆ˜๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– secondary wife, Tiye ๐“˜๐“‡Œ๐“ญ๐“, plotted to have Rameses III ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“ˆ˜๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– killed so her son ๐“…ญ Pentawer ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“๐“„ฟ๐“…ฉ๐“‚‹๐“น could become pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป instead of the chosen heir, Rameses IV ๐“‡ณ๐“„Ÿ๐“Šƒ๐“Šƒ. While Tiye ๐“˜๐“‡Œ๐“ญ๐“ and her conspirators (other high officials) succeeded in killing Rameses III ๐“›๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‹ด๐“‹พ๐“‰บ, they did not succeed in establishing Pentawer ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“๐“„ฟ๐“…ฉ๐“‚‹๐“น as pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป.ย  All of the conspirators were caught and put to death and Rameses IV ๐“‡ณ๐“„Ÿ๐“Šƒ๐“Šƒ succeeded Rameses III ๐“›๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‹ด๐“‹พ๐“‰บ as the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป.ย 

Sarcophagus of Rameses III
The Sarcophagus of Rameses III showing details of the goddess Isis.

Here, on the sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ of Rameses III ๐“›๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‹ด๐“‹พ๐“‰บ, Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ is depicted where the feet of the deceased would be placed. Isisโ€™ ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ sister Nepthys ๐“‰ ๐“๐“†‡ is usually located where the deceasedโ€™s head would be located. Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ is easily recognized in Egyptian art because she is normally shown with the headdress of a throne, ๐“Šจ, which is also one of the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช in her name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–. Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ is shown with wings ๐“‚ง๐“Œณ๐“๐“†ƒ๐“ฆ and sitting on the hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ for โ€œgold ๐“‹ž.โ€ 

Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ is known as a devoted wife ๐“‚‘๐“๐“ and mother ๐“…๐“๐“, but was also associated with resurrection ๐“„Ÿ๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ due to her role in piecing her brother/husband Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ back together after he was dismembered by their brother Seth ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„ก๐“ฃ. She is the mother ๐“…๐“๐“ of Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ, who was magically conceived after Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ brought Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ back to life ๐“‹น. 

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!

Categories
Blog

Revenge of the Mummy

I found this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ from 2004 and it was too good to not share!! As everyone knows, my absolute favorite movie is The Mummy and it was so exciting when the Revenge of the Mummy ride opened at Universal Studios!! One of the ways the ride was promoted was a Statue of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ at City Walk!!ย 

Revenge of the Mummy
Me standing in front of the Statue of Anubis at Universal Studios Orlando to celebrate the opening of the Revenge of the Mummy ride.

I was about 12 years old in this picture (can you believe I was reading hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช) and finding this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ brought back the memories of how excited I was to see the Statue of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ because it was exactly like the one in the movie! I wish this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ was still at Universal Studios! 

Here is some hieroglyphic vocabulary that is associated with โ€œThe Mummyโ€:

๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช – Imhotep

๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ – Anubis

๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ – Book of the Dead

๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ – Mummy

๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ – Amun-Ra

๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ – Scarab

I wish this statue was still there – I still don’t know why they would remove such an incredible recreation of a beloved movie prop!

This is my personal photograph 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!