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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 

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Osiris and the Four Sons of Horus

This photo ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ shows some of the details (Osiris and the Four Sons of Horus) on the mummiform coffin ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ of a man named Kharrushere who lived during the Third Intermediate Period/22nd Dynasty (c. 825โ€“712 B.C.E.). These elaborately decorated coffins ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ๐“ช are very typical of this time period, and theyโ€™re some of my favorite things to just sit and look at because the art is just exquisite!ย 

Osiris and the Four Sons of Horus
Osiris and the Four Sons of Horus depicted on a mummiform coffin at the MET.

In this image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, we can see the god ๐“Šน Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ sitting in a shrine ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“…“๐“‚œ๐“‰. If you look closely, the pillars that are holding up the shrine ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“…“๐“‚œ๐“‰ are actually โ€œDjed Pillars ๐“Šฝ๐“Šฝ๐“Šฝโ€ which is significant because not only does โ€œDjed ๐“Šฝโ€ mean โ€œstabilityโ€ in Middle Egyptian, but the Djed Pillar is also thought to represent the spine of Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ!

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

While Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ is not explicitly labeled with his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, we know itโ€™s him for a couple of reasons! He is depicted holding the crook ๐“‹พ and flail ๐“Œ…, which is very typical! In the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช thought, we can see the title โ€œLord of Eternity ๐“ŽŸ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž›โ€ which is always associated with Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ! Itโ€™s basically his nickname!

๐“ŽŸ – Lord 

๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› – Eternity

In front ๐“ƒ of Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ on the table, we can see the Four Sons of Horus! Not only are they usually shown together like this, but each one of them is labeled with their name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–! However, due to spacing, the names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ are a little abbreviated/shortened from their usual forms! 

Letโ€™s start reading from the right since thatโ€™s the way the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช in this section point: 

๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ด๐“ฟ – Imseti (not shortened)

๐“Ž›๐“๐“‘- Hapi (๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“‡Œ) 

๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“†‘ – Duamutef (๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘)

๐“๐“Œข – Qebehsenuef (๐“๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“†‘)

Duamutef ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘ and Qebehsenuef ๐“๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“†‘ seem to be switched because Duamutefโ€™s ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– appears before Qebehsenuefโ€™s ๐“๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“†‘ in the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช but after him in the lineup! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

The God Osiris Inside A Sarcophagus

This depiction of the god ๐“Šน Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“น is on the inside of a sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ. Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“น is the lord of the Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰ย  and it was the goal to be โ€œrebornโ€ like Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“น was after death. Much like Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“น in the myth, the deceased would not return to the world of the living, but instead live on in the Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰.ย 

The God Osiris

Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“น is always depicted in the same way – as a mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ, holding the crook ๐“‹พ and flail ๐“Œ… , and wearing the Atef crown ๐“‹š. The Atef crown is the White Crown of Upper Egypt ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“‹‘ with two ๐“ป feathers ๐“†„๐“๐“ญ๐“‹› of Maโ€™at ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ฆ adorning the sides. Above Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“น is Khepri ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“‡‹๐“›, who is the god ๐“Šน of the rising sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ. 

I love how Khepri ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“‡‹๐“› is drawn in the โ€œHorizon ๐“ˆŒโ€ hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ. The ancient Egyptians used to use hieroglyphic symbols ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช as artistic depictions for a lot of the natural happenings! Another example is how the โ€œsky ๐“‡ฏโ€ and โ€œstar ๐“‡ผโ€ hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช were often also used to depict these object in art. 

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! We are going to start near Osirisโ€™ head!

๐“Šฉ๐“น – Osiris

๐“ŽŸ – Lord

๐“‡ฝ – Duat (ancient Egyptian word for Afterlife/Netherworld)

๐“ŽŸ – Lord

๐“‚ฆ๐“ˆŠ – Sacred Land/Necropolis

Next to the flail: 

๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ – West

Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“น is often referred to as “Foremost of the West ๐“…๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ” because in ancient Egypt, the “west ๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ” was referred to as the Land of the Dead since the sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ set in the west ๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ.

Now beneath โ€œwestโ€ is where I donโ€™t know what the glyphs say! It looks like โ€œ๐“Šน๐“Œƒโ€ which is โ€œdivine writingโ€ (aka hieroglyphsโ€ but โ€œGreat God ๐“Šน๐“‰ผโ€ would make more sense! Sometimes the way the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are drawn/painted can make it difficult to read and interpret!

There are many different ways to write Osiris’ name in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช. Much like any language, Middle Egyptian changed and evolved over time. The way that Osiris is written on this sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ, “๐“Šฉ๐“น,” is a popular spelling from the Third Intermediate Period – Late Period, which is when this sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ is dated to. The most common way that Osiris was written before then was “๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ,” which is the spelling that most are familiar with. Other ways to write Osiris are: ๐“น๐“‡“๐“€ด and ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“‚‹๐“€ด, but these are less common.

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Partial Relief with Hieroglyphs

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

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at an incomplete piece of a limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ relief! This piece at the Brooklyn Museum is so beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ because even though it is just a fragment, the colors are so striking and I just love looking at it! Blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ has always been my favorite color, and the blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ on this relief is still so bright even after thousands of years!ย 

Partial Relief with Hieroglyphs
Partial Relief with Hieroglyphs at the Brooklyn Museum

Since the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are pointing to the left, we are going to start reading the symbols from the left! 

The โ€œQuail Chick ๐“…ฑโ€ is a super common symbol that you will see in a lot of inscriptions! It is a uniliteral phonogram sign, which means it has the sound of a single consonant. The โ€œ๐“…ฑโ€ is representative of the sound โ€œwโ€ or โ€œu.โ€ This symbol is also an ideogram for the word โ€œchick ๐“…ฑ๐“บ.โ€

The โ€œripple of water ๐“ˆ–โ€ is also a uniliteral phonogram! The โ€œ๐“ˆ–โ€ is associated with the sound of โ€œn!โ€ The โ€œ๐“ˆ–โ€ has many grammatical functions on its own, and it can mean โ€œto,โ€ โ€œof,โ€ โ€œfor,โ€ โ€œwe/us/our,โ€ โ€œin,โ€ โ€œbecause,โ€ โ€œthrough,โ€ and some others! How do we know which word it is? Context clues! In the case of this inscription, too much is missing for us to know what the word is! 

The โ€œtall loaf of bread ๐“‘โ€ symbol is an ideogram for โ€œbread ๐“‘,โ€ which usually appears in offering formulas. Surprisingly, it can also be used as an ideogram for โ€œThothโ€ as well! 

The โ€œhobble for cattle ๐“Ž‚โ€ symbol is a biliteral phonogram which means it is associated with the sound of two consonants. The โ€œ๐“Ž‚โ€ is associated with the sound โ€œz3โ€ (pronounced like โ€œzahโ€) and is usually used in words such as โ€œprotection ๐“Ž‚๐“ฆ/๐“Ž‚๐“›โ€ and other related phrases.

The โ€œforepart of lion ๐“„‚โ€ symbol is an ideogram for the word โ€œfrontโ€ and โ€œforemost.โ€ It is associated with the sound โ€œh3tโ€ which would be pronounced like โ€œhat.โ€ 

The last word all the way on the right I can actually see in full – this is the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–of the god ๐“Šน Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ! 

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Reading Hieroglyphs

The Djed Pillar

The โ€œDjed Pillar ๐“Šฝโ€ is one of the most common symbols seen in Egyptian art and hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! This particular Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ is from the Book of the Dead of ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ Imhotep at the MET! Even though this Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ is from the Ptolemaic Period, the origin of the Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ is in the Predynastic Period!

Djed Pillar

The Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ can be seen in inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ as a hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ, as an amulet ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…† for mummies ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ๐“ช or the living ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“€€๐“ช,  in tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ and temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ art, statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช, and so much more! This is a wonderful symbol to understand the meaning of because it is everywhere! 

In terms of religious symbolism, The Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ is thought to represent the spine of Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ. When a person died ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ and became โ€œThe Osiris,โ€ The Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ was then thought to represent their spine! The spine was thought to keep Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ upright and able to function as the primary god ๐“Šน of the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ. This is even referenced in the The Book of the Dead: โ€œRaise yourself up Osiris. You have your backbone once more, weary-hearted One; you have bones.โ€ 

Letโ€™s take a look at the hieroglyphic meaning! The โ€œreed column ๐“Šฝโ€ more commonly known as the โ€œDjed Pillarโ€ is a biliteral phonogram that has the sound โ€œแธdโ€ which sounds like โ€œDjed.โ€ It also functions as an ideogram for โ€œStability.โ€ 

There are many common words and phrases that have the Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ in it: 

๐“™๐“‹น๐“Šฝ๐“Œ€ – Given Life, Stability, and Strength

๐“Šฝ๐“Šฝ๐“ˆ‹๐“…ฑ๐“Š– / ๐“Šฝ๐“Šฝ๐“…ฑ๐“Š– – Djedu 

๐“Šฝ / ๐“Šฝ๐“ – Stability, Endure

๐“‹ด๐“Šฝ๐“Šฝ – Make Permanent

๐“Šฝ๐“‚ง๐“› – To Be Stable

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Osiris’ Name in a Cartouche

Osiris’ 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 doesn’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!

This is a fragment of a beautifully ๐“„ค painted ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ. I would estimate its from around the later New Kingdom period or later because thatโ€™s when painted ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ sarcophagi ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ๐“ช such as these became popular!ย 

Osiris' Name in a Cartouche
Osiris’ name in a cartouche on a sarcophagus fragment

I love this piece because of the cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท, but also because there is so much other stuff going on even though itโ€™s small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ! The hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are: ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ๐“ŽŸ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› which translates to โ€œOsiris, Lord of Eternity.โ€ Letโ€™s break down the symbols! 

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ – Osiris

๐“ŽŸ – Lord

๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› – Eternity

I havenโ€™t seen that many pieces like this, so I just found this one so cool! Usually the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป is what appears in a cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท, but in this case itโ€™s Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ and his title! The top of the cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท also has the Atef Crown ๐“‹š on it, which is the crown that is associated with Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ. 

The ancient Egyptians talked about โ€œeternity ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž›โ€ a lot and were actually the civilization to derive the concept of โ€œeternity ๐“†–.โ€ There were two ๐“ป very common ways they expressed the word for โ€œeternityโ€ in hieroglyphic symbols:ย 

๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› – Eternity

๐“†– – Eternity/Everlasting

There are some other popular hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช that appear on this piece!! See if you can spot them! 

๐“„‘๐“‚ง๐“๐“Š– – Edfu

๐“Šน๐“‰ผ – Great God

Both of the phrases appear symmetrically on either side of the cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท which is something that is common on these types of pieces! 

Letโ€™s take a look at some of the deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน that appear! If you look in the lower left, you can see part of the god ๐“Šน Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ with a large table of offerings ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ in front of him. On the top left, below the winged ๐“‚ง๐“Œณ๐“๐“†ƒ sun disk ๐“‡ณ๐“บ is a falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„ which is representative of the god ๐“Šน Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ. On the top right, there is an ibis ๐“‰”๐“ƒ€๐“…ค which is representative of the god ๐“Šน Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ. 

On either side of the cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท, the god ๐“Šน Hapi ๐“Ž›๐“‚๐“Šช๐“ญ๐“ˆ˜ (god ๐“Šน of the Nile River ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ/flooding of the Nile) is shown. There are two ๐“ป of him because if you look closely, you can see both symbolically tying up papyrus ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Ž›๐“†ฐ and lotus ๐“†ธ plants together. This was meant to represent the union of Upper ๐“‡“ and Lower ๐“†ค Egypt! You can easily recognize Hapi ๐“Ž›๐“‚๐“Šช๐“ญ๐“ˆ˜ because of the papyrus flowers ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Ž›๐“†ฐ on his head! 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

The Book of the Dead of Nauny

The Weighing of the Heart (sometimes called the Judgement of Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“น) is my absolute favorite part of the Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ. I love how each version is unique and not a single one is the same! I find this particular papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› to be absolutely stunning.ย 

The Book of the Dead of Nauny

In ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, the Book of the Dead was actually called โ€œComing Forth By Day ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ,โ€ and it was a collection of magic spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ to help the deceased enter the Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰, and eventually the Field of Reeds ๐“‡๐“๐“ˆ…๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“Š–.ย 

The Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ is interesting because it doesn’t follow a particular story.ย  The spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ do seem to be grouped by theme, and sometimes pictures ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ can be representative of the spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ that are written!ย 

This particular Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ belonged to a woman ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“ named Nauny ๐“ˆ–๐“„ฟ๐“ˆ–๐“‡Œ๐“ who lived during the 21st Dynasty reign of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Psusennes I ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“…ฎ๐“‡ผ๐“ˆ๐“ˆ–๐“Š–. Naunyโ€™s ๐“ˆ–๐“„ฟ๐“ˆ–๐“‡Œ๐“ ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช are also at the MET!ย 

The Book of the Dead of Nauny
Isis (left) and Nauny (right)

Starting from the left: the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ is shown next to Nauny ๐“ˆ–๐“„ฟ๐“ˆ–๐“‡Œ๐“, who is shown holding her eyes ๐“น๐“น and mouth ๐“‚‹ in her hands. Naunyโ€™s ๐“ˆ–๐“„ฟ๐“ˆ–๐“‡Œ๐“ heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ is weighed by Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ against Maat ๐“ฆ. Usually, Maatโ€™s ๐“ฆ feather ๐“†„๐“บ is used, but this time Maat ๐“ฆ herself is shown on the scale, and is represented by the hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ that is used in her name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–! Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ is shown on top of the scale, and his job is to record the findings. Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“น presides over the scene.ย 

The Book of the Dead of Nauny
Anubis

Luckily for Nauny ๐“ˆ–๐“„ฟ๐“ˆ–๐“‡Œ๐“, the scales are in balance which means that she lead a true ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„ and just ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„๐“œ life ๐“‹น and is worthy enough to enter the Field of Reeds ๐“‡๐“๐“ˆ…๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“Š– and enjoy eternal ๐“†– life ๐“‹น with Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“น! Above the Weighing of the Heart scene, Nauny ๐“ˆ–๐“„ฟ๐“ˆ–๐“‡Œ๐“ is seen standing by her own tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ and worshipping ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ.ย 

The Book of the Dead of Nauny
Osiris
Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

The Deities Maat and Osiris-Iah

These two ๐“ป bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ pieces at the Petrie Museum are both such nice representations of Egyptian deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน! Bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช were popular during the later period of Egyptian history, and there are so many of them for two ๐“ป reasons! The first ๐“ƒ is that bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ preserves really well so the pieces arenโ€™t as subject to breakdown and the second is because bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ pieces were mass produced! Both of these bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช are dated to the 26th Dynasty.ย 

Osiris-Iah (left) and Maat (right)

The statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ at the forefront of the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is of the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Maat ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ฆ. Not only was Maat ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ฆ the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ of truth ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„, fact, law, order and justice ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„๐“œ, โ€œmaatโ€ was also a concept and a way of life in ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. Maat ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ฆ was also the balance and order in the whole universe. Maat ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ฆ is usually shown as a woman with a feather ๐“†„ on her head.ย  Her most important role was in the judgement of the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ.

Some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช fun! The words for โ€œMaat ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ฆ,โ€ โ€œtruth ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„,โ€ andย โ€œjustice ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„๐“œโ€ are super similar!ย 

The statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ in the back of the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is of the combination god ๐“Šน Osiris-Iah. I know the description says โ€œOsiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ,โ€ but the crown on the head of the deity ๐“Šน, which shows the moon and a crescent underneath, leads me to believe this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ is Osiris-Iah. 

While Iah ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“‡น is the god ๐“Šน of the moon ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“‡น, he seems to be the adult version of the god ๐“Šน Khonsu ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡“๐“…ฑ๐“€ฏ(another lunar god ๐“Šน), and over time seemed to take over the lunar aspect of Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ. So why was Iah ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“‡น assimilated with Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ? This is most likely due to the monthly lunar cycle, which seems to follow a birth ๐“„Ÿ – death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ – rebirth ๐“„Ÿ๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ cycle. This cycle was the backbone to the Egyptian religion, and was always linked back to Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ. 

Some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช fun! The words for the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the god ๐“Šน โ€œIahโ€ and โ€œmoonโ€ are the same – ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“‡น!ย 

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Reading Hieroglyphs – Stela of Irethoreru

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

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at a stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ for a man ๐“Šƒ๐“€€๐“ค named Irethoreru and it is dated to the 25th Dynasty (Third Intermediate Period, c. 775-663 B.C.E.). I have posted about the full stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ in the past, but today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to take a closer look at some of the inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on it! I like to highlight the titles/epithets associated with Gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน and Goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“, because they are inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ that you can easily recognize a lot!ย 

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! We are starting right underneath the solar disc!ย 

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ – Osiris

๐“‰ผ๐“Šน – Great God (this is actually written backwards and should be โ€œ๐“Šน๐“‰ผโ€)

๐“ŽŸ – Lord

๐“‡ฏ – Sky

๐“‹พ – Ruler

๐“†– – Eternity

All ๐“ŽŸ together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š—, this reads: โ€œOsiris, the Great God, Lord of the Sky, Ruler of Eternity.โ€ โ€œLord of the Sky ๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฏโ€ is usually Amunโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ title, so itโ€™s interesting to see it associated with Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ here! Also, โ€œ๐“‡ฏโ€ can mean the word โ€œabove,โ€ as โ€œskyโ€ is more commonly written as โ€œ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ.โ€ย 

Hereโ€™s the next inscription: 

๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡ – Isis

๐“…จ๐“‚‹ – Great One

๐“Šน๐“… – Godโ€™s Mother/Goddess

All ๐“ŽŸ together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š—, this reads: โ€œIsis, the Great One, the Godโ€™s Mother.โ€ 

Next to each Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†—, the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the city โ€œBehdet ๐“„‘๐“‚ง๐“๐“Š–โ€ (modern day Edfu) is written. Behdet ๐“„‘๐“‚ง๐“๐“Š– is an Egyptian city ๐“Š–๐“บ in Upper Egypt ๐“‡“. Horus of the Winged Disc or โ€œBehdetiteโ€ was the chief god ๐“Šน of the city ๐“Š–๐“บ. 

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

“King with a White Crown and Flail” Hieroglyph

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

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at the โ€œKing with a White Crown and Flail ๐“€ดโ€ symbol! This symbol can act as both a determinative and an ideogram! It can be used as a determinative in the word for โ€œKing ๐“‡“๐“€ดโ€ and also as a determinative for โ€œOsiris ๐“น๐“‡“๐“€ด.โ€

The โ€œKing with a White Crown and Flail ๐“€ดโ€ symbol is also one the many symbols that can be used as an ideogram to solely represent the word for โ€œKing ๐“€ดโ€ in both titles and phrases. 

The โ€œKing with a White Crown and Flail ๐“€ดโ€ symbol is a variant of the symbol โ€œKing With a White Crown ๐“€ฒโ€ and the two symbols can usually be used interchangeably with each other in inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ! 

Here are some ways we can use โ€œ๐“€ดโ€ in inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ! 

๐“‡“๐“๐“€ด – King of Upper Egypt/King

๐“†ค๐“๐“€ด/๐“†ค๐“๐“€ด๐“ฅ – King of Lower Egypt/King

๐“€ด – King

๐“น๐“‡“๐“€ด – Osiris/The Osiris King

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“‚‹๐“€ด – Osiris

So if you see the โ€œKing with a White Crown and Flail ๐“€ดโ€ symbol in an inscription, you are probably looking at a word that has to do with either a King or Osiris!