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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Sandstone Relief of the God’s Wife of Amun Making an Offering to Amun-Ra

This sandstone π“‚‹π“…±π“‚§π“π“Œ—π“ˆ™ relief is dated to the Third Intermediate Period (Dynasty 25, c. 710-670 B.C.E.) and is most likely from Karnak. It depicts the God’s Wife of Amun, named Amunirdis I, making an offering π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ𓏏𓏔𓏦 of Maat π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“¦ to Amun-Ra π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“‡³π“Ί. Standing behind Amun-Ra π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“‡³π“Ί is the god π“ŠΉ Khonsu π“π“ˆ–π“‡“π“…±π“€― (god of the moon π“‡‹π“‚π“Ž›π“‡Ή) who is the son π“…­ of Amun-Ra π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“‡³π“Ί and the goddess π“ŠΉπ“ Mut 𓏏𓄿𓀭.

In the Third Intermediate Period, the β€œGod’s Wife of Amun” was a very powerful position to be in – at some points, they even had as much power as the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻! The women who had this title were either the wife π“‡“π“π“π“ˆž, mother 𓅐𓏏𓁐, or daughter 𓅭𓏏 of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 and would be in charge of performing necessary rituals at festivals and religious ceremonies.

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

π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“‡³π“Ί – Amun-Ra
π“‡“π“π“ˆ– – King of the
π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉ – Gods

π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“‡³π“Ίπ“‡“π“π“ˆ–π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉ – β€œAmun-Ra, King of the Gods.”

Here’s the inscription directly next to Amun-Ra:

π“‰Όπ“ŠΉ – Great God
π“ŽŸ – Lord
π“Šͺ𓏏𓇯 – Sky

π“‰Όπ“ŠΉπ“ŽŸπ“Šͺ𓏏𓇯 – β€œGreat God, Lord of the Sky.”