Month: July 2024

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

The Owl Hieroglyph

Let’s read some hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ! 

Today π“‡π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‡³ we are going to look at one of the most common and recognizable uniliteral phonogram hieroglyphic symbols: the owl π“…“! The owl hieroglyph is very unique because it is viewed head-on instead of in a profile view!Β 

Owl Hieroglyph
The Owl Hieroglyph from a Middle Kingdom coffin at the MET

I personally love the β€œowl 𓅓” hieroglyph because it reminds me of Hedwig from Harry Potter! I’ve been a huge Harry Potter fan since 2001 and whenever I see an owl it reminds me of my favorite books – especially when the hieroglyph is painted to look like a snowy owl! In ancient Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–, owls were seen as protective/guardian figures, which is exactly what Hedwig was to Harry! I love it when ancient Egyptian mythological themes persist through time! 

A uniliteral sign is a hieroglyphic symbol that corresponds to a single sound, just like a letter in the alphabet. The β€œowl 𓅓” symbol represents the sound of β€œm” and it has many different uses!  

The β€œowl 𓅓” symbol is one that appears in inscriptions all the time and is most commonly seen as part of other words! Some words that use the β€œowl 𓅓” symbol are: 

π“…“π“‚‹ – Overseer

π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š– – Kemet (Egypt)

𓅓𓍑𓏏𓏛 – Papyrus Roll

π“‡π“…“π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ – Imhotep 

Of course these are not all the words that contain the β€œowl 𓅓” symbol! 

But what happens if the β€œowl 𓅓” symbol appears by itself in an inscription and isn’t part of another word? The β€œowl 𓅓” symbol has its own meaning when it appears alone! I guess you can say it functions as the all-around preposition! For example, the β€œowl 𓅓” hieroglyph can mean: In, On, At, By, With, and As! This symbol has so many meanings/uses! 

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

Cleopatra’s Needle (Part 2)

Let’s read some hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ! This is my second post on Cleopatra’s Needle and here is a link to the first!

This obelisk 𓉢 was commissioned to be built by Thutmosis III 𓇳𓏠𓆣 during his 18th Dynasty reign to highlight his military victories. On the obelisk 𓉢, not only can you see Thutmosis III’s 𓇳𓏠𓆣 throne name cartouche, but you can also see both the throne name and birth name of the 19th Dynasty pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Rameses II! Rameses II usurped this monument, as he did with the monuments of many past pharaohs! He not only put his cartouches, but at the top of the obelisk 𓉢 his Horus Name also appears in the serekh! 

Cleopatra's Needle
A closeup image of the hieroglyphs on Cleopatra’s Needle in Central Park!

The name π“‚‹π“ˆ– Menkhepperra 𓇳𓏠𓆣 is Thutmosis III’s throne name and it appears multiple times on the obelisk. The name π“‚‹π“ˆ– translates to β€œLasting is the Manifestation of Ra.”

𓇳 – Ra

𓏠 – Lasting

𓆣 – Manifestation

The name π“‚‹π“ˆ– β€œRamessu Mery Amun π“©π“›π“ˆ˜π“„Ÿπ“‹΄π“‡“β€ is Rameses II’s birth name. The name π“‚‹π“ˆ– translates to β€œRa has fashioned him, beloved of Amun,” but could also be translated as β€œRa Bore Him, Beloved of Amun.”

𓁩 – Amun

𓁛 – Ra

π“ˆ˜ – Beloved

π“„Ÿπ“‹΄π“‡“ – Bore Him/Fashioned Him/Born Of

The name π“‚‹π“ˆ– β€œUsermaatre setep en Ra π“‡³π“„Šπ“§π“‡³π“‰π“ˆ–β€ is Rameses II’s throne name and translates to β€œThe Justice of Ra is powerful, Chosen of Ra.”

𓇳 – Ra

π“„Š – Powerful

𓁧 – Justice (Maat)

𓇳 – Ra

π“‰π“ˆ– – Chosen

Can you spot the three different cartouches in my picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏? I will probably be doing another post on the inscriptions and their meaning so look out for that post too!

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

Cleopatra’s Needle (Part 1)

β€œCleopatra’s Needle” aka the Obelisk 𓉢 in Central Park is one of the most beautiful 𓄀𓆑𓂋 sights in Manhattan!

Cleopatra's Needle
Cleopatra’s Needle in Central Park

This obelisk 𓉢 (and another, which now resides in London) was not commissioned by Cleopatra VII π“ˆŽπ“ƒ­π“‡‹π“―π“Šͺ𓄿𓂧𓂋𓏏𓄿𓆇; in fact, it was commissioned by Thutmosis III 𓇳𓏠𓆣 during his 18th Dynasty reign. The obelisks 𓉢 stood at the city of Heliopolis at one of Thutmosis III’s 𓇳𓏠𓆣 temples. The obelisk 𓉢 is made out of β€œAswan π“‹΄π“ƒΉπ“ˆ–π“Œπ“²π“Š– granite π“…“π“Œ³π“π“ŽΆβ€ which was the third most used rock π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‚‹π“ˆ™ by the ancient Egyptians!

Cleopatra's Needle
Me with Cleopatra’s Needle in Central Park

When the obelisks were discovered by the Romans, they were moved from Heliopolis to Alexandria and placed at a temple π“‰Ÿπ“π“‰ dedicated to Julius Caesar. The temple π“‰Ÿπ“π“‰ was commissioned by Cleopatra VII π“ˆŽπ“ƒ­π“‡‹π“―π“Šͺ𓄿𓂧𓂋𓏏𓄿𓆇, which is probably why the obelisks have the nickname β€œCleopatra’s Needle.” 

Cleopatra's Needle
A closeup of me and Cleopatra’s Needle in Central Park!

The two obelisks were given by the Egyptian government as gifts; one is in London, and one is in Central Park in NYC! The obelisk is super close to the MET, so it’s great to go and see before or after your museum trip! 

Cleopatra's Needle
William the Hippo with the obelisk!

I’m going to do another post about the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ on the obelisk 𓉢, so here is the link to that post!

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

Trilobites – Fossil Friday!

Trilobites have been my favorite fossils for as long as I can remember and they are probably my favorite because they look like scarabs 𓐍π“Šͺ𓂋𓂋𓆣π“ͺ! Everything always comes back to ancient Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š– for me! While trilobites and the dung beetle (the real animal that scarabs 𓆣𓆣𓆣 were inspired by) look similar to each other, they do not have many similarities besides that – they were never even on Earth at the same time! 

Trilobites
A plate of trilobites at the AMNH!

Trilobites first evolved during the Cambrian Period around 521 million years ago (mya) . They are classified as an arthropod which means that they have an exoskeleton, and that exoskeleton is what allowed them to fossilize so well. Trilobites lived at the bottom of seas and crawled around scavenging for food! There are over 20,000 different species of trilobites that have been discovered, and they were a very abundant species until they went extinct around 252 mya at the end of the Permian Period – right before the evolution of the dinosaurs. 

William the Hippo with the trilobites at the AMNH.

While trilobites have no religious significance in ancient Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–, the scarab 𓆣 does! The scarab 𓐍π“Šͺ𓂋𓂋𓆣 is the personification is the god π“ŠΉ Khepri 𓆣𓂋𓇋𓁛. Khepri 𓆣𓂋𓇋𓁛 was considered to be the god π“ŠΉ of the morning/rising sun 𓇳𓏺, and was usually depicted as a scarab 𓐍π“Šͺ𓂋𓂋𓆣, or as a human body with a scarab 𓆣 for a head 𓁢𓏺!

The god π“ŠΉ Khepri 𓆣𓂋𓇋𓁛 symbolizes the β€œlife cycle” – birth π“„Ÿ, death 𓅓𓏏𓏱, and then rebirth π“„Ÿπ“Ώπ“…± in the afterlife 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐. This cycle was essential to Egyptian religious beliefs, as Egyptians π“†Žπ“π“€€π“π“ͺ spent their lives preparing for death 𓅓𓏏𓏱 and entering the Duat 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐.

The trilobite display at the AMNH.

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!