Upon His Hill

Let’s read some Hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! Today 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳, we are going to be looking at the significance of the epithet “Upon His Hill/Mountain.” 

An epithet is almost like a title, except it comes after a name 𓂋𓈖 instead of before it! The epithet ““Upon His Hill” or “Upon His Mountain” will commonly follow the name 𓂋𓈖 of the god 𓊹 Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣 in inscriptions! This phrase is representative of Anubis’ 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣 role as protector 𓅓𓂝𓎡𓀜 of the dead 𓅓𓏏𓏱; he was always standing watch on tombs/cemeteries from above! 

Here are some variants of the phrase: 

𓁶𓈋𓆑𓏺

𓁶𓊪𓈋𓆑𓏺

𓁶𓊪𓈋𓏺𓆑

Let’s break down the sentence! 

𓁶/𓁶𓊪 – Upon “tp”

𓈋 – Hill “ḏw”

𓆑 – His “f”

Let’s take a closer look at each of the symbols! 

The “head 𓁶” symbol is a biliteral phonogram that represents the sound “tp.” It can also be used as an ideogram and determinative for the word “head.” In this case it is a phonogram. 

The “stool 𓊪” symbol is a uniliteral phonogram for the sound “p.” In this phrase, it is acting as a phonetic complement, which means it is emphasizing the “p” sound in the “𓁶𓊪” part of the phrase. 

The “mountain 𓈋” symbol is a biliteral phonogram that represents the sound “ḏw.” It also functions as an ideogram for the words “mountain” and “hill.” 

The “horned viper 𓆑” functions as a uniliteral phonogram and represents the sound “f.” In this case, the singular symbol represents the word “his,” which has a sound of just “f.” In Middle Egyptian, the pronoun comes after the word it is describing. 

The “stroke 𓏺” has many different uses but here it is used for aesthetic purposes! The “stroke 𓏺” is used to fill up that extra space as needed and can almost be thought of as punctuation! 

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!