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Egyptian Artifacts

What’s in a Name?

What’s in a name π“‚‹π“ˆ–?! To the ancient Egyptians π“†Žπ“π“€€π“π“ͺ, a person’s name π“‚‹π“ˆ– was everything!

In order to exist, a human needed to have five 𓏾 essential elements: the body π“Ž›π“‚π“„Ό, the shadow 𓆄𓏏𓅱𓋼, the Ba 𓅑𓏀 (impression an individual makes on others – everything except the physical body), the Ka (soul/life force) 𓂓𓏀, and the name π“‚‹π“ˆ–. A name π“‚‹π“ˆ– was considered the essential part of the person because the other four 𓏽 elements could not exist without the name π“‚‹π“ˆ–. I find this entire concept absolutely fascinating and I’m not going to lie, it has made me appreciate my own name π“‚‹π“ˆ–.

If a person wanted to survive after death 𓅓𓏏𓏱, not only was mummification essential, but even more so was preserving the name π“‚‹π“ˆ–. This is why pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏦 and others who could afford to do so had their name π“‚‹π“ˆ– carved everywhere – they wanted to survive after they died 𓅓𓏏𓏱. If a name π“‚‹π“ˆ– was hacked away or forgotten, it meant that the person was deprived of their entire existence. This is why the names π“‚‹π“ˆ–π“₯ of pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏦 like Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ, Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ– and Tutankhamun π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“π“…±π“π“‹Ήπ“‹Ύπ“‰Ίπ“‡“ were either left off of official King’s lists or removed from their monuments.

Rameses II π“©π“›π“ˆ˜π“„Ÿπ“‹΄π“‡“ has his name π“‚‹π“ˆ– literally everywhere and his cartouche is the most commonly found one! He really wanted to ensure that he survived after he died 𓅓𓏏𓏱! This cartouche from the British Museum is one of Rameses II π“©π“›π“ˆ˜π“„Ÿπ“‹΄π“‡“ and I think it is so beautifully π“„€ carved!