Nephthys in Hieroglyphs

Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! Today 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳 we are going to be looking at the name 𓂋𓈖 of the goddess 𓊹𓏏 Nephthys 𓉠! Luckily, this sarcophagus at the Brooklyn Museum has her name 𓂋𓈖 written in two ways! 

Most commonly, the type of symbol that is used in Nephthys’ 𓉠 name 𓂋𓈖 is called a Composite Hieroglyph. A Composite Hieroglyphic symbol is a symbol that is the combination of multiple phonographic symbols into a single glyph. 

The three 𓏼 symbols “𓎟𓏏𓉗” can be combined to make the “𓉠” symbol! In statuary and funerary art, the crown on her head 𓁶𓏺 is the composite hieroglyph 𓊹𓌃 that is used to write her name (𓉠), which makes Nephthys 𓉠𓏏𓆇 very easy to identify in tomb art/funerary art. Since the goddess depicted on this sarcophagus is wearing the “𓉠” on her head, we know it’s Nephthys! 

But what if she wasn’t wearing the crown? How would we know it was Nephthys 𓉠 that is depicted? Luckily, most ancient Egyptian funerary art came with “captions” – usually the name 𓂋𓈖 of the deity was written next to them! In this case, we can see Nephthys’ full name 𓂋𓈖 written out as “𓎟𓏏𓉗𓏏𓆇” right next to her face! 

Here are the two ways we see Nephthys’ name 𓂋𓈖 in hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 on the sarcophagus: 

𓉠

𓎟𓏏𓉗𓏏𓆇

Some other variants of Nephthys’ name 𓂋𓈖 are: 

𓉠𓏏𓆇

𓉠𓏏

𓎟𓏏𓉗𓏏𓉐𓁐

𓎟𓏏𓉗𓏏𓏒𓏯𓆗 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

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