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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Book of the Dead of Amenhotep (Part 2)

Here is the second small papyrus 𓅓𓍑𓏏𓏛 of the Book of the Dead 𓉐𓂋𓏏𓂻𓅓𓉔𓂋𓏲𓇳𓏺𓍼𓏺 which belonged to a man named Amenhotep π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ (not the pharaoh). You should also check out Part 1 which goes into more depth on a different papyrus of Amenhotep!

Book of the Dead of Amenhotep
The Book of the Dead of Amenhotep on display at the MET.

This small section of the Book of the Dead 𓉐𓂋𓏏𓂻𓅓𓉔𓂋𓏲𓇳𓏺𓍼𓏺 has Chapter 78 written in Cursive Hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ. This chapter is about how the deceased can β€œtake the form of a divine Falcon.” The gods Osiris and Horus appear in this spell, and it even involves a mythological figure called β€œThe Double Lion.” 

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

Book of the Dead of Amenhotep
A closeup of the Book of the Dead of Amenhotep which shows a mummy figure of Amenhotep (left) and a Falcon (right).

Next to the Falcon π“ƒ€π“‡‹π“Ž‘π“…„ you can see the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ which I think are: π“†£π“‚‹π“…“π“ƒ€π“‡‹π“Ž‘π“ŠΉπ“‚‹π“» (sometimes the cursive hieroglyphs are difficult to read – I did my best).Β 

β€œπ“†£π“‚‹β€ means β€œto exist, to be, to change into” and β€œπ“ŠΉπ“‚‹β€ means β€œdivine.” While the other symbols are a little difficult to read, I can assume it’s one of the variants for the word β€œFalcon π“ƒ€π“‡‹π“Ž‘π“…„β€ since I can see what I think is the beginning of the word β€œπ“ƒ€π“‡‹π“Ž‘.” So all together this text most likely reads: β€œTo Change Into the Divine Falcon.” 

π“†£π“‚‹π“…“π“ƒ€π“‡‹π“Ž‘π“ŠΉπ“‚‹π“» or “To Change Into the Divine Falcon” is the name of Chapter 78 which is what the rest of this papyrus shows! It’s amazing how the ancient Egyptians wrote titles for their “chapters” (using “chapters” or “numbers” to describe the Book of the Dead is a modern designation and was not used during ancient times).

The name π“‚‹π“ˆ– β€œAmenhotep π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ” means β€œAmun is Satisfied” and is a name π“‚‹π“ˆ– known by people who love ancient Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š– because there were many pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏦 who had the birth name of β€œAmenhotep π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ.” I didn’t notice it until I zoomed in on the papyrus 𓅓𓍑𓏏𓏛, but the name π“‚‹π“ˆ–β€œAmenhotep π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ” appears in the top left corner next to the mummy 𓇋𓁹𓅱𓀾 looking figure! I love how the ancient Egyptians captioned everything – if you can read hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ it makes everything so much easier! 

Let’s break down the meaning of the name π“‚‹π“ˆ–:

π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ– – Amun 

π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ – htp (Satisfied, Peace) 

If you want a lot of information about the Book of the Dead, I suggest looking at UCL’s website – it’s what I use to reference the chapter numbers!

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

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