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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

The Osiris Cartouche

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!

This wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ mummiform coffin ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ belonged to a man named Amenemopet who lived during the early part of the 22nd Dynasty (c. 975โ€“909 B.C.E.).ย This coffin ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ has what I like to call “The Osiris Cartouche” painted inside!

The Osiris Cartouche
The Osiris Cartouche is located on the bottom panel of this coffin at the MET.

If you look closely at the beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ artwork inside this mummiform coffin ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ thereโ€™s a lot of different things going on! The uppermost row of artwork in the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ shows Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ purifying ๐“‹ด๐“ƒ‚๐“ˆ— the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ, whose is surrounded by offering tables ๐“‚๐“ƒ€๐“…ก๐“„ฟ๐“‹ƒ covered in food ๐“‡ฌ๐“€๐“…ฑ๐“”๐“ฅ! 

Above Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ there are some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช: 

๐“ŽŸ โ€“ Lord

๐“‡ฝ – Duat (the ancient Egyptian word for โ€œNetherworldโ€)

Is it Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ being referred to as the โ€œLord of the Duat,โ€ or is it Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ? Usually this epithet was used with Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ! 

One of the cool things you can see on the bottom panel is Osirisโ€™ ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in a cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท! Usually the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป appears in a cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท! While this doesnโ€™t happen often, there are instances where the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of a god ๐“Šน will appear in the cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท and since this coffin does not belong to a pharaoh, a cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท is not expected! But Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ was believed to be the first pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, so I guess a cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท is fitting! 

The hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are: ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ๐“ŽŸ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž›. Letโ€™s break down the symbols! 

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ โ€“ Osiris

๐“ŽŸ โ€“ Lord

๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› โ€“ Eternity

All ๐“ŽŸ together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š—, this translates to โ€œOsiris, Lord of Eternity.โ€

The cartouche is flanked by the Golden Horus symbol ๐“…‰ on either side which is a Falcon ๐“…ƒ standing on top of the symbol for gold ๐“‹ž. The common symbols of protection, the Eye of Horus and Eye of Ra also appear above the Golden Horus ๐“…‰, along with the shen ring in between the Falconโ€™s wings. The Shen ๐“ถ symbol is a circle of rope that is tied at the end. The tied rope symbolizes completeness and eternity ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž›. 

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

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Perfect, Beautiful, Neferet

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at a very popular word that appears a lot in ancient Egyptian writing ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ! The word โ€œ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹/๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“โ€ translates to โ€œbeautiful,โ€ โ€œperfect,โ€ or โ€œgoodโ€ and can be used not only in titles such as โ€œ๐“Šน๐“„ค Perfect Godโ€ or names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ such as โ€œNefertiti ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“‡๐“˜๐“ป๐“—,โ€ but also in various words or phrases too! 

In Middle Egyptian there are a couple of ways to write โ€œbeautiful,โ€ โ€œperfect,โ€ or โ€œgood:โ€ 

๐“„ค – the hieroglyphic symbol โ€œnfrโ€ (nefer) can be used on its own to represent the word. 

๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ – this would also be pronounced as โ€œnfrโ€ (nefer) as the sounds by the uniliteral phonograms would not be repeated. 

๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“ – this would be pronounced as โ€œnfrt,โ€ (neferet) as this is the female form of the word! This is the one that is in my picture! 

When determinatives are used, the meaning of this word can change so be careful! โ€œ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“โ€ with the woman determinative means โ€œbeautiful womanโ€ while โ€œ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’โ€ with the cow determinative means cow! Determinatives can totally change the meaning of the word!ย 

Neferet
Neferet in hieroglyphs from a Middle Kingdom sarcophagus at the MET.

Letโ€™s break down the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Since the horned viper ๐“†‘ is pointing to the left, we will start reading from the left! 

The โ€œheart and windpipe ๐“„คโ€ symbol is a triliteral phonogram that represents the sound โ€œnfrโ€ which in modern times we pronounce like โ€œnefer.โ€

The โ€œhorned viper ๐“†‘โ€ functions as a uniliteral phonogram and represents the sound โ€œf.โ€ In other words, it can function as a determinative. As a stand-alone symbol, it can also mean he/his. 

The โ€œ mouth – ๐“‚‹โ€ is a uniliteral phonogram for the sound โ€œrโ€ and can be an ideogram for the word โ€œmouth ๐“‚‹๐“บ.โ€ 

The โ€œflat loaf of bread ๐“โ€ is a uniliteral phonogram used to represent the sound โ€œt.โ€ It also functions as the ideogram for the word โ€œbread ๐“๐“บโ€ and can be used to make words feminine! 

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

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

The Pyramid Texts of Pepy I

This small relief on display at the Petrie Museum is a section of โ€œThe Pyramid Textsโ€ which is the oldest known funerary/religious writings in the world. The original text dates back to the Old Kingdom.ย 

The Pyramid Texts of Pepy I
A small relief which contains the Pyramid Texts of Pepy I

The Pyramid Texts can be thought of as a precursor to both the Coffin Texts and the Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ! The main differences between these religious texts are that the Pyramid Texts were only accessible to the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป because they were only carved inside of the pyramids ๐“‹๐“…“๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“ฆ. Also, the Pyramid Texts were also not illustrated!

This particular section of the Pyramid Texts contains a spell ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“› that Pepy I ๐“Šช๐“‡‹๐“Šช๐“‡‹ would say that would provide him with food and drink for eternity ๐“†–! Here is a piece of the leftmost column that I could translate (a lot is cut off): 

๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ – My/I

๐“‡ฌ๐“ˆŽ๐“ˆŽ – Eat

๐“๐“- Bread

๐“Š- Beer

The cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท of the 6th Dynasty pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Pepy I ๐“Šช๐“‡‹๐“Šช๐“‡‹ was one of the first cartouches ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท๐“ฆ I learned to read/recognize because itโ€™s written with only uniliteral hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! A lot of the Old Kingdom pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ have names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ spelled with uniliteral signs, which makes them great for beginners to read/learn! One of the ways I started learning hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช was by practicing reading the cartouches ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท๐“ฆ of the pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ! 

Letโ€™s take a closer look at the symbols in Pepyโ€™s ๐“Šช๐“‡‹๐“Šช๐“‡‹ cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท: 

The โ€œstool ๐“Šชโ€ symbol is a uniliteral phonogram for the sound โ€œp,โ€ and does not have any other grammatical functions!

The โ€œreed ๐“‡‹โ€ symbol is a uniliteral phonogram and most commonly represents the sound of โ€œฤฑอ—,โ€ however it can also function as an ideogram for the word โ€œreed ๐“‡‹๐“บ.โ€ 

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

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Funerary Cones

I love Gallery 117 at the MET so much! The objects in here may not look like much to the average person (they probably just look like a bunch of rocks ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“ฆ), but to me they are a beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ piece in the story of ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–!ย 

Funerary Cones
Me in Gallery 117 at the MET – the Funerary Cones are in a display behind me!

While not as artistically decorated as most of the artifacts in the Egyptian ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“ collections of museums, these โ€œfunerary conesโ€ were always something my Nonno pointed out to me! He thought they were so interesting and now every time I go to museums, I actively seek these out as a way to remember my Nonno! He loved this little gallery at the MET solely because of the funerary cones! 

Funerary cones (a modern name given to these objects) are made of clay ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“‹ด๐“ˆ‡ and usually found at the openings of tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ช at Thebes ๐“Œ€๐“๐“Š– (almost exclusively). They were used primarily during the 18th Dynasty (though there are examples that date to the 11th Dynasty or as late as the 19th-20th Dynasties).

While the exact usage of the funerary cones is not known, but they are inferred to be architectural decorations, tomb labels, symbolic offerings ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ, or even as passports to the Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰! Thousands ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ of these cones have been excavated to date! Every museum I have been to has a collection of these funerary cones!

The end of the funerary cone is usually circular in shape and usually contains an inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ with the name of the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ occupant as well as a god ๐“Šน.

An example inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ that is common on a funerary cone would be something like: โ€œVenerated before Osiris, Son of ____, Name of Deceased.โ€ 

๐“„ช๐“๐“‡Œ – Venerated 

๐“๐“‚‹ – Before

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ – Osiris

๐“…ญ – Son

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

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Stela of Rameses II

This is a large sandstone stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ of Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ on display at the Brooklyn Museum.ย ย 

Stela of Rameses II
Stela of Rameses II on display at the Brooklyn Museum!

The hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช talk about how Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ founded the town of Meriamun, and how he established the cult of Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– there. The stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ was a way to commemorate Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ presenting statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช to the temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ of Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“บ๐“‡ณ. 

The image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ shows (from left to right) Mut ๐“๐“„ฟ๐“€ญ, Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–, and Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“. Rameses II can be seen wearing the blue crown, also known as the khepresh ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“‹™ crown which was very popular among New Kingdom pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป! 

Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ is receiving symbols of kingship (the crook ๐“‹พ) from the god ๐“Šน Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“บ๐“‡ณ. This is meant to represent that Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“บ๐“‡ณ saw Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ as a legitimate and rightful ruler! The pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป believed that they were direct descendants of Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“บ๐“‡ณ (in the 18th – 19th Dynasties Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–/Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“บ๐“‡ณ kind of replaces Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ in popularity as king ๐“‡“ of the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน) and that they were gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน on Earth.ย 

It was also really cool that five ๐“พ of Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ appear on this stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ!ย These names appear on the top two rows of the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!

Here are Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ five ๐“พ names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ:ย 

๐“ƒ’๐“‚ก๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“€ญ๐“Œธ๐“‡Œ – Horus ๐“…ƒ Name (The Strong Bull, Beloved of Ra) 

๐“…–๐“Žก๐“†Ž๐“๐“Š–๐“…ฑ๐“‚๐“†‘๐“ฒ๐“‚ก๐“ˆŠ๐“๐“ฆ – Nebty ๐“…’ Name (Protector of Egypt Who Curbs Foreign Landsโ€)

๐“Œ‚๐“๐“‚ก๐“„˜๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“‚ก๐“Œ”๐“๐“€๐“ป – Golden Horus ๐“…‰ Name (โ€œPowerful of Arm, He Who Has Subdued the Nine Bowsโ€)

๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– – Throne Name (โ€œThe Justice of Ra is powerful, Chosen of Raโ€)

๐“ฉ๐“›๐“ˆ˜๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ – Birth Name (โ€œRa has fashioned him, beloved of Amunโ€)

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

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Blog

Spaceship Earth

There is a wonderful ride at EPCOT called Spaceship Earth! You board a โ€œtime machineโ€ and take a journey on how human communication has changed from the dawn of time to now! I have always loved this ride because it has an entire room dedicated to ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–! 

The narrator highlights some of ancient Egyptโ€™s ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– important contributions to human communication such as the invention of papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› paper and hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!ย 

Spaceship Earth
A scene from Spaceship Earth showing a the pharaoh, the great wife, and a scribe writing on papyrus

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Yes, some of the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช in this ride are actually real! In the picture above, behind the pharaoh sitting on the throne, is the birth name cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท of Seti I! Whatโ€™s funny is that this looks like Tutankhamunโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ throne, but Seti I is sitting on it!ย 

Spaceship Earth
A closeup of the hieroglyphs on Spaceship Earth, showing the birth name cartouche of pharaoh Seti I

๐“…ญ๐“‡ณ – Son of Ra (one of the titles that appears before the birth name cartouche)

๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›- Ptah 

๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ – Belongs to Seth (pronounced like โ€œSetiโ€) 

๐“Œป – Belovedย 

Spaceship Earth
The replica of an ancient Egyptian temple on Spaceship Earth

The picture above shows what looks like a temple, but you can spot Seti Iโ€™s throne name cartouche, ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ :ย 

๐“†ฅ – King of Upper and Lower Egypt (title that appears before the throne name cartouche)

๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“   – Menmaatra (โ€œEternal ๐“  is the Truth ๐“ฆ of Ra ๐“‡ณโ€)

You can also see some other common phrases/titles on this temple such as โ€œMonuments ๐“ ๐“,โ€ โ€œLord of the Two Lands ๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ,โ€ โ€œPerfect God ๐“Šน๐“„ค,โ€ โ€œIt is/To Be ๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ–,โ€ and โ€œSky ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ.โ€ย 

The pictures above show a man making papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› paper and the temple – and you can see Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ in the bottom left!

I hope youโ€™re enjoying my โ€œAncient Egypt in Disneyโ€ series! Let me know in the comments!

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

@ancientegyptblog

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Horus Name of Rameses II

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to be looking at the Horus Name for the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Rameses II! The Throne Name (๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ–) and the Birth Name (๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“) usually appear more in inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ so letโ€™s take a closer look at the Horus Name! 

The Horus Name is the oldest way that a pharaohโ€™s ๐“‰๐“‰ป name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– was written/identified and is one of five ๐“พ ways to write the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. 

The Horus Name consists of three elements: the palace facade ๐“Š, Horus the Falcon ๐“…ƒ standing on top of the palace ๐“Š, and the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป within the palace ๐“Š. The palace ๐“Š hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ is pronounced like โ€œserekhโ€ and some Egyptologists are now referring to the Horus Name as the Serekh Name. This was basically the early version of the cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท! 

Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ had a lot of different variations of his Horus Name, so letโ€™s take a look at the two ๐“ป that are pictured!ย 

Horus Name of Rameses II
Two variants of the Horus Name of Rameses II

๐“‚ก๐“ƒ’๐“›๐“Œบ – โ€œStrong Bull, Beloved of Raโ€

๐“‚ก๐“ƒ’๐“ง๐“Œบ – โ€œStrong Bull, Beloved of Maatโ€

โ€œStrong Bull ๐“‚ก๐“ƒ’โ€œ was a very popular way to start off the Horus Name for male pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ because bulls ๐“ƒ’๐“ƒ’๐“ƒ’ were a symbol of strength ๐“Œ€ and fertility, both of which are qualities that pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ wanted to have!

Letโ€™s break down the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– even further: 

๐“‚ก – Strong

๐“ƒ’ – Bull

๐“ง/๐“› – Maat/Ra

๐“Œบ – Beloved

Both variants of Rameses IIโ€™s Horus Name contain the shortened variants of certain words! 

๐“ง – Maat (๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ง)

๐“› – Ra (๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“›)

๐“Œบ – Beloved (๐“Œป๐“‚‹๐“‡Œ)

Variants can be tricky for those starting to learn hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, but with practice they become much easier – especially the shortened version of the words!

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

@ancientegyptblog

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

The Cartouches of Augustus

This picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is a look at one of the sunken reliefs on the Temple of Dendur at the MET! This relief shows Emperor Augustus wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“‹‘ standing before Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ.ย 

The Cartouches of Augustus
The Cartouches of Augustus – can you spot all three?

To me, what is most interesting though are the cartouches ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท๐“ฆ of Augustus! Unlike the Greek rulers of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– that spelled out their names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ using phonogram symbols, Augustus went a different route when having his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– represented in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช. In this image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ you can see all three ๐“ผ of his cartouches ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท๐“ฆ: 

๐“ˆŽ๐“‡Œ๐“Šƒ๐“‚‹๐“Šƒ๐“‹น๐“†– – (Kaisaros)

๐“„ฟ๐“ฒ๐“๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚‹ – (Autokrator)

๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“€€ – (Pharaoh (pr-ห3))

โ€œAutokratorโ€ is the Greek word for โ€œEmperor,โ€ โ€œKaisarosโ€ is the Greek word for โ€œCaesar,โ€ and โ€œpr-ห3โ€ is the Middle Egyptian word for โ€œpharaoh.โ€

In Middle Egyptian the word for pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป literally translates to โ€œGreat House.โ€œ This is a direct reference to the palace ๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“๐“‰ฅ๐“‰ where the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป resided during his/her rule. 

๐“‰ – House (pr)

๐“‰ป – Great (ห3)

The third cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท is the one I have always found so fascinating because it is literally the word for pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป in Middle Egyptian plus the male determinative sign ๐“€€. Most names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ (even when spelled out with phonograms) are followed by a determinative for a male ๐“€€ person or female ๐“ person. By choosing to have his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– depicted in this way, Augustus was literally calling himself the Pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–! 

Augustus chose to have various words for โ€œrulerโ€ as his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช. Again, this was probably a way to assert his power as the first Emperor of the Roman Empire. He didnโ€™t want anyone to question his right to rule! 

Can you spot three of Augustusโ€™ cartouches in the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“? 

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

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Relief of Rameses II and Horus

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at this fragmented relief from the Louvre which depicts the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– and the god ๐“Šน Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ! Horus is holding Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– hand and leading him. How do we know that this is a depiction of Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ since there are many falcon gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน? The word “Edfu ๐“„‘๐“‚ง๐“๐“Š–” in the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช is a major clue – Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ of the Winged Disc or โ€œBehdetiteโ€ was the chief god ๐“Šน of the city ๐“Š–!

Look at who is leading Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ- itโ€™s the god ๐“Šน Wepwawet ๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง who is the โ€œOpener of the Ways!โ€ Wepwawet ๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง appears on a standard and is associated leading ritual processions.ย 

Rameses II and Horus
Relief showing Rameses II and Horus

Above the depiction is actually part of Rameses IIโ€™s royal titularly! Each pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป had five names, and the first one that appears is known as the โ€œHorus Name.โ€ Rameses II had many variants of his Horus Name, but we will look at the one that appears here: โ€œ๐“‚ก๐“ƒ’๐“ง๐“Œบ Strong Bull, Beloved of Maatโ€

๐“‚ก – Strong

๐“ƒ’ – Bull

๐“ง – Maat

๐“Œบ – Beloved

After that, the Nebty Name ๐“…’ is listed! The Nebty Name is distinguished by the Nebty or Two Ladies symbol โ€œ๐“…’.โ€ Only the partial name appears on the relief: โ€œ๐“…–๐“Žก๐“†Ž๐“๐“Š– Protector of Egypt.โ€

๐“…– – Protector 

๐“Žก๐“†Ž๐“๐“Š– – Egypt (Kemet) (most commonly, Kemet is written as โ€œ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–,โ€ however this is another variant).

The full name is as follows: ๐“…–๐“Žก๐“†Ž๐“๐“Š–๐“…ฑ๐“‚๐“†‘๐“ฒ๐“‚ก๐“ˆŠ๐“๐“ฆ โ€œProtector of Egypt Who Curbs Foreign Lands.โ€ย 

Rameses II and Horus
Relief showing Rameses II and Horus

Above Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ appears:ย 

๐“„‘๐“‚ง๐“๐“Š– – Edfu

๐“ŽŸ- Lord

๐“‡ฏ – Sky

๐“„ค – Perfect

๐“Šน – God 

๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– – Usermaatre setep en Ra (Throne Name of Rameses II which translates to โ€œThe Justice of Ra is powerful, Chosen of Ra.โ€)

๐“™ – Given

๐“‹น – Life 

๐“Œ€ – Strength

All together the inscription says: “Edfu, Lord of the Sky, the Perfect God Usermaatre setep en Ra Give Life and Strength.”

To the left of Rameses II: 

๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ– – It Is

๐“„ค – Perfect

๐“Šน – God 

๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– – Usermaatre setep en Ra

All together the inscription says: “It Is the Pefect God Usermaatre setep en Ra.”

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

@ancientegyptblog

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Steatite Wedjat Amulets

In relation to my post about the wedjat ๐“‚€ or the “Eye of Horus” from yesterday ๐“‹ด๐“†‘๐“‡ณ, I wanted to talk about these really small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ but cool steatite ๐“…ฎ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“ˆ’๐“ŠŒ wedjat ๐“‚€ amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช! I love how detailed the wedjat ๐“‚€ is!ย It always amazes me how ancient Egyptian craftsman were able to make such small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ objects so detailed and beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹! It’s even more incredible that they have lasted in such great condition for thousands of years!

These steatite ๐“…ฎ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“ˆ’๐“ŠŒ wedjat ๐“‚€ amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช are very similar to the steatite ๐“…ฎ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“ˆ’๐“ŠŒ scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช from the Hatshepsut ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“/Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ era of the 18th Dynasty! They are in the same display case as the steatite ๐“…ฎ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“ˆ’๐“ŠŒ scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช at the Metropolitan Museum of Art! Most would miss the fact that these amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช are not scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช!ย 

Steatite Wedjat Amulets
Steatite Wedjat Amulets with Hatshepsut’s throne name Maatkare inscribed on the back

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! This is a simple but great inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– to read! On the back of this amulet ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†, Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช throne name, Maatkare ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“ is written! 

๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– – Amun

๐“Œป – Beloved

๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“ – Maatkare (Truth ๐“ฆ is the Soul ๐“‚“ of Re ๐“‡ณ)

The full inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– reads โ€œBeloved of Amun, Maatkare.โ€ 

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

@ancientegyptblogย