Iβve had this written for a while but havenβt posted it because it is very feelings-y and very different from my usual posts. I am a huge fan of the group BTS. They are a Korean boy band whose music has basically gotten me through 2020. While I love all of their music, one of their songs has really struck a chord with me because it basically puts my feelings about ancient Egypt into words. The song is called βFirst Loveβ and it is written and performed by Min Yoongi (aka SUGA). While you would expect a song with this title to be about a person, it is in fact about Yoongiβs love for the piano from a very young age and his lifelong journey with his childhood piano.
I have always called Ancient Egypt my βfirst loveβ so when I listened to the song and I read the translation I immediately related to it. While I am passionate about many things, Egypt is always the thing that I will return to because Egyptβs history is just something I love so deeply. Throughout my life, I have so many beautiful memories in my Nonnoβs basement looking through his books and staring up at the bookcases hoping to one day be able to read every single word that they contain. So many memories of listening to my Nonno explain the significance of each piece in museums. These feelings of childish wonder are emotions that I always wish to return to.
βWhen I was fed up and lost, Back then when I fell into a pit of despair, Even when I pushed you away, Even when I resented meeting you, You were firmly by my side, You didnβt have to say anything, So donβt ever let go of my hand, I wonβt let you go ever again either, My birth and the end of my life, You will be there to watch over it allβ -First Love
I feel like a picture of me with my favorite Hatshepsut ππ ππΉππππΌπͺ statue is appropriate for this type of post! Iβm 16 in this picture!
The Temple of Dendur is gorgeous π€ – the room that it is located in makes it actually feel like you are along the Nile River ππππ ±ππππΊ in Egypt ππ ππ!
This room is one of my absolute favorite places – sometimes I like to sit on one of the benches and just enjoy the atmosphere of it! Visiting the temple only makes me want to go to Egypt ππ ππ more!
The temple πππ was actually commissioned by Augustus and building was complete by 10 B.C. Dendur is located in Nubia, and is just south of Aswan. Even though the temple πππ was built by Augustus, it definitely follows Egyptian style and not Roman style. The emperor is actually presented as a pharaoh ππ» worshipping Egyptian gods πΉπΉπΉ on the walls of the temple πππ. The temple πππ was primarily used to worship the goddess πΉπ Isis π¨ππ₯.
Ostraca are basically the ancient Egyptian version of a sketch pad or scrap paper! They were used by scribes πππͺ or artists to practice their craft! The ostraca were usually chips of limestone or broken pottery.
These ostraca at the MET are very awesome because they depict Senemut π’ππ πΌ!! Senemut π’ππ πΌ was Hatshepsutβs π³π¦π most trusted advisor (and in my opinion, they were definitely much closer than that π). Senemut π’ππ πΌ was not only the tutor for Hatshepsutβs π³π¦π daughter π π Neferure π³π€ π€ π€, the royal architect in charge of Deir el-Bahri, but he was also the Steward to Amun πππΊππ π at Karnak.
The sketch of Senemut π’ππ πΌ on these ostraca are very similar to the sketches of Senemut π’ππ πΌ that are seen in his tomb!
These were always some of my favorite pieces to see as a kid! Not only because it was Senemut π’ππ πΌ, but also I loved seeing how the Egyptians πππππͺ used to do things!! Seeing the grids and seeing their βsketch padsβ allowed me a glimpse into just how some of this incredible art was created!
This bronze statue at the MET is from the Ptolemaic Period (664 – 31 B.C.E.) represents Isis π¨ππ₯, Osiris πΉπ¨π and Horus π π- the main triad of the Egyptian pantheon.
Here, Horus π π is represented in his Greek form Harpokrates, with his trademarked “finger to lips” pose. This pose represents the βbe quietβ gesture because to the Greeks Harpokrates was the god πΉ of silence. What is interesting about this piece is that there are suspension loops on the back of Osiris πΉπ¨π and Harpokrates – this piece is probably too big to be worn as a necklace, so the loops may have some type of unknown symbolic significance.
Many gods πΉπΉπΉ in the Egyptian pantheon appeared in groups of threes πΌ, which were known as Triads. They were groups of gods πΉπΉπΉ that usually have some type of familial significance to each other. For example, one of the Memphis triads during this period was Ptah πͺπππ±, Sekhmet πππ ππ, and Nefertem π€πππππ―. Nefertem π€πππππ― is the son of Ptah πͺπππ± and Sekhmet πππ ππ, just like Horus π π is the son of Isis π¨ππ₯ and Osiris πΉπ¨π!!
This is one of the grand, large kneeling statues πππππΎπͺ of Hatshepsut ππ ππΉππππΌπͺ that were found during excavations of her temple at Deir el-Bahri. The excavations were a joint operation between the MET and the Egyptian government.
In this statue πππππΎ, Hatshepsut ππ ππΉππππΌπͺ is depicted wearing the nemes headcloth, a false beard on her chin, and is kneeling with a nemset jar π in each hand π§ππΊ. These were meant to be offerings to the god πΉ Amun ππ π- an inscription on the statue πππππΎ states that Hatshepsut ππ ππΉππππΌπͺ is offering “maat” to Amun ππ π- while Maat ππ΄π£ππ¦ was the goddess of truth, “maat” was also a concept held dearly by Hatshepsut ππ ππΉππππΌπͺ. Her reign was guided by order, truth, and justice – all the principles of maat.
Hatshepsut ππ ππΉππππΌπͺ is seen kneeling, which is not too common for a Pharaoh ππ» since they were considered to be gods πΉπΉπΉ on Earth. However, since Hatshepsut ππ ππΉππππΌπͺ was making an offering to the god πΉ Amun ππ π, she did this in a kneeling position. A pharaoh ππ» kneeled for no one – except for another god πΉ.
From this angle, the statue πππππΎ looks even more grand! I also love pink granite, which many of Hatshepsut’s ππ ππΉππππΌπͺ statues πππππΎπͺ are made out of. Granite is an extremely dense and durable rock (hence why it is used for countertops today), and these statues πππππΎπͺ of Hatshepsut ππ ππΉππππΌπͺ were definitely built to last.
The image above is of the cartouches of Hatshepsutβs throne name, Maatkare π³π¦π.
This is a small, kneeling statue πππππΎ of Hatshepsut ππ ππΉππππΌπͺ made out of black/pink granite! The black and pink granite is traditionally found in Aswan (Upper Egypt). In the USA, black and pink granite is commonly found in Nevada and other western states! This piece is in the MET.
While not as grand as some of her other statues πππππΎπͺ that adorned her temple πππ at Deir el-Bahri, this one makes quite an impression. There are at least eight of these statues πππππΎπͺ, and many of them are in the MET. They were most likely used to line the upper court at her temple πππ, and are thought to be intended for her Heb Sed festival (a festival used to celebrate 30 πππ years of rule, and then celebrated every three πΌ years after the initial 30 πππ). Hatshepsut ππ ππΉππππΌπͺ, ever the Pharaoh ππ» to break from tradition, instead celebrated hers in the 16th ππΏ year of her rule!
In this statue, Hatshepsut ππ ππΉππππΌπͺ is kneeling and is seen holding the nemset jar π. The jar π has the djed pillar π½ adorning the front. The djed pillar π½ is thought to be the spine of Osiris πΉπ¨π, and it represents stability and endurance – both are attributes a Pharaoh ππ» needed in order to be a successful ruler!
“The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt” was one of my best book purchases of 2020! I have only just been able to read through most of it, and this is probably one of the most complete books that I have in regards to the Egyptian pantheon. I love how the book was organized, and how it also paid attention to the lesser known godsπΉπΉπΉ and goddessesπΉππͺ in Egypt ππ ππ. The pictures were also spectacular and really added value to the text by only emphasizing the written words.
I have learned quite a few things from this book, and it is one I definitely recommend if you are interested in Egyptian mythology and religion. I wish I had gotten this book sooner – I got it on a trip to the MET in September 2020. I’m the type of person that likes to see my books before I purchase them, which is why I hadn’t gotten the book sooner.
I actually brought this book with money my Nonno had given me, so it still felt like he was the one that brought it for me β€οΈ.
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The sarcophagus of Wereshnefer is a really interesting piece in the MET. Wereshnefer was a priest of the goddesses πΉππͺ Mut ππΏπ, Nephytys π ππ, Satis π΄ππππ and Neith ππππ and he lived during the 30th Dynasty to the early Ptolemaic Period. Despite being a priest πΉπ in Upper Egypt ππ ππ, his sarcophagus was found at Saqqara.
One of the interesting things about his very large coffin is that the funerary/religious texts that are engraved into the stone are from writings that predate Wereshnefer by about one thousand years! The lid (which is pictured) shows images and texts related to the sun’s journey through the sky πͺππ― during the day πππΊπ³, which in Egyptian religion, acts as a metaphor for the journey from death π ππ± to life πΉ that one would take while accompanying the sun π³πΊ.
What is so interesting about Wereshnefer’s sarcophagus is that it shows the Earth πΎπΎ as being round. This is the first evidence that scientists and historians have of the Earth πΎπΎ being depicted as a round object (as we know, most people thought that the Earth πΎπΎ was flat). Nut πππ―π, the goddess πΉπ of the sky πͺππ―, is seen arched over the rounded Earth πΎπΎ and is supported by Shu ππ ±π, the god πΉ of the atmosphere. At Nut’s πππ―π feet is Geb π ππ, the god πΉ of the Earth πΎπΎ. It is fascinating to me that the Egyptians πππππͺ would depict the Earth as being round!
This copy of the Book of the Dead (known to the Egyptians as the Book of Coming Forth By Day) belonged to a priest πΉπ of Horus π π named Imhotep ππ π΅ππͺ! Imhotep ππ π΅ππͺ, Priest πΉπ of Horus π π, lived during the early Ptolemaic Period (between 332-200 B.C.E.) Fun fact: the word priest πΉπ actually translates to βgodβs servantβ!!!
Now, this is definitely not that Imhotep from “The Mummy” (1999), however, this is still a funny coincidence! I always get a laugh when I see this in the museum! The Book of the Dead was created for Imhotep ππ π΅ππͺ so he could have a successful journey into the afterlife πΌπΏππ. The spells on the papyrus π πππ were also meant to ensure his safety and well-being in the duat πΌπΏππ(realm of the dead).
The Book of the Dead is interesting because it doesn’t follow a particular story. The spells do seem to be grouped by theme, and sometimes pictures ππ ±ππ¦ can be representative of the spells as well. The scene shown here is the Weighing of the Heart, in which the deceasedβs heart πππ£ was weighed against Maatβs ππ΄π£ππ¦ feather. More details on that scene later in the post!
Imhotep’s version of the Book of the Dead is complete, and is over 70 feet long!
This page illustrates spell 110, which gives Imhotep ππ π΅ππͺ the ability to enjoy various earthly activities. This takes place in the Field of Reeds, which is also known as The Field of Offerings. Imhotep ππ π΅ππͺ is actually seen doing work in the field πππ – he can be seen using a scythe to harvest grain, plowing the field, and doing other various activities. In the top left, there are hieroglyphs βπΉππππΏπππππβ that translate to “it is he in the Field of Offerings.β The Field of Reeds could also be written as πππ ππΏππ ±π°π
I have provided some close up images of some of the aspects of the image that I mentioned in the caption above!
Let’s take a look at some other portions of the Book of the Dead!
I only have the drawings in this photograph, but to the left of the images would be the Hieratic script which would spell out the Sun Hymns. The Sun Hymns would allow Imhotep ππ π΅ππͺ to be turned into a spirit and join the Khepri π£πππ in the daily cycle of death and rebirth (rising and setting of the sun). During the night πΌπππ, Imhotep ππ π΅ππͺ would travel through the Duat πΌπΏππ underworld/netherworld) and be born again the next morning in the form of ba π ‘πΊ (individual’s soul that was depicted as a human headed bird).
The top image ππ ±π shows the goddesses πΉπΉπΉπ Isis π¨ππ₯ and Nephytys π ππ attending to the sun god Khepri π£πππ, who is in the form of a scarab π£. The middle image ππ ±π shows the sun π³πΊ in human form and is attended by two π» ba π ‘πΊ and baboons. The bottom image ππ ±π shows Imhotep ππ π΅ππͺ and his wife* receiving offerings.
*Since Imhotepβs ππ π΅ππͺ mother π ππ is mentioned a lot throughout his Book of the Dead, many people think that the woman who always accompanies Imhotep in the images ππ ±ππ¦ is his mother π ππ and not his wife!
Fun fact! The words for βnight πΌπππβ and βend πΌππππβ were very similar in hieroglyphs πΉππͺ!!!
Now on to my favorite scene from the Book of the Dead (in more detail)!
While I have already posted a pic of the Weighing of the Heart, I wanted to post some alternative angles because this series of images is my absolute favorite – no matter whos Book of the Dead it is from!
Here, Anubis πππͺπ ±π’ weighs the heart πππ£ of the deceased π ππ± against Maatβs π΄ππ£ππ¦ feather. If Anubis determines thereβs balance between the two, then the deceased would be presented to Osiris πΉπ¨ π by Horus π π. Thoth π €π records the findings. Ammit waits to eat the heart if itβs unworthy!
Here we can see that Imhotepβs ππ π΅ππͺ heart πππ£ is balanced against the feather! There are some really cool images in this particular scene – instead of just being a feather on the scale, it is the hieroglyph determinative for Maat (π§). Also, in the last picture, Imhotep ππ π΅ππͺ is accompanied by a feather with a human body! This is probably a representation of Maat π΄ππ£ππ¦, though she is usually depicted as a woman with a feather on her head and rarely as just a human body with a feather.
This is the last picture I have from Imhotep’s ππ π΅ππͺ Book of the Dead. Due to the way that the papyri π ππππ¦ are displayed at the MET, it can be very difficult to get clear pictures ππ ±ππ₯. I’m happy that I went back through my pictures ππ ±ππ₯ because I had taken some better ones than I initially thought!
In this image, you can see some of the hieratic script that the Book of the Dead is written in – don’t ask me to translate, because I can’t read hieratic! I can only read hieroglyphs πΉππͺ! I would love to learn hieratic though! Some of the hieratic is in black ink while some of it is in red. The red ink seems to symbolize either the beginning or the end πΌππππ of a spell, or it could highlight a word for a noun that was considered “bad” in Egyptian culture. However, sometimes even “offering table” could have been written/drawn in red and offering tables were not bad at all! So, some of the red ink seems kinda random.
Imhotep ππ π΅ππͺ is seen here with Anubis πππͺπ ±π£, who is seated on top of a shrine. As you all know, Anubis πππͺπ ±π£ is my favorite Egyptian god (he is the god of mummification and cemeteries) so I was very excited to see I got an image ππ ±π with Anubis πππͺπ ±π£! I like this image ππ ±π because it reminds me of the Anubis πππͺπ ±π£ shrine that was found in Tutankhamun’s ππ πππ ±ππΉπΎπΊπ tomb – that is one of my absolute favorite pieces of all time! The drawing is also like the hieroglyph determinative βπ£β for Anubis!
Happy Anniversary to the deciphering of Egyptian HieroglyphsΒ πΉππͺ! Seeing the Rosetta Stone in person was a dream come true for me!Β
Jean-FranΓ§ois Champollion was just a teenager in September 1822 when he discovered how to read hieroglyphs πΉππͺ based off of the Rosetta Stone! The Rosetta Stone is actually a decree issued by priests πΉππͺ in 196 B.C.E. that affirmed the cult of Ptolemy V πͺππ―ππππ΄. Identical decrees were supposed to be placed in every temple πππ in Egypt ππ ππ!
During the Christian period in Egypt ππ ππ, the use of hieroglyphs πΉππͺ began to wane and finally disappeared at the beginning of the 4th Century. The Rosetta Stone contains three πΌ languages ππ¦: Hieroglyphs πΉππͺ, Greek and Demotic. Since Greek was a known language ππΊ, scholars began to try to use the Greek section of the Rosetta Stone to translate the portion in hieroglyphs πΉππͺ.
Thomas Young was the first person to show that the name ππ in the cartouche (πͺππ―ππππ΄) actually spelled out βPtolemy,β however, Champollion gets the credit for deciphering hieroglyphs πΉππͺ because he showed that the phonetic symbols were also used for Egyptian ππππ names πππ¦ and not just foreign names πππ¦. With his extensive knowledge of Coptic, Champollion was able to begin reading the hieroglyphs πΉππͺ fully!
I am thankful for the early works of scholars like Champollion because I would not be reading hieroglyphs πΉππͺ without it!
