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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Maned Sphinx of Hatshepsut

A couple of weeks ago I asked on my Instagram if there was an object people wanted to see more of, and someone suggested the Maned Sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ of Hatshepsut ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“, so here it is!ย 

Maned Sphinx of Hatshepsut
I took a selfie with the Maned Sphinx of Hatshepsut!

Pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ were commonly represented as sphinxes ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ฆ in ancient Egyptian art for many reasons. A sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ is a mythical creature that has the body of a lion ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“„› and the head of a human. In ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, lions ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“„›๐“ช have been associated with kingship ๐“‡“๐“‡Œ since prehistoric times due to their strength ๐“Œ€ and ferocity. The sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ was the perfect representation of the strength ๐“Œ€ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป due to its lion ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“„› body, while the face still preserved the image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ of the king ๐“‡“ himself/herself.ย 

A closeup of the hieroglyphs on the Maned Sphinx of Hatshepsut.

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

(๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“) – Maatkare

๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– – Amun

๐“Œบ๐“๐“‡Œ – Beloved

๐“‹น๐“๐“™- Life Given

๐“†– – Eternity

โ€œMaatkare, Beloved of Amun, Given Life for Eternity.โ€

I know this is strange, but โ€œGiven Lifeโ€ is actually written backwards! It should be โ€œ๐“™๐“‹นโ€ not โ€œ๐“‹น๐“™โ€ as itโ€™s written (this inscription is read from right to left, because thatโ€™s the way the directional symbols are pointing). 

Thereโ€™s also an added ๐“, which makes it the feminine form! Thereโ€™s a second sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค just like this one in the Cairo Museum, and on that sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค, there is no added ๐“! Why would one sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค use the feminine form and one use the masculine?! We will probably never know!ย 

Maned Sphinx of Hatshepsut
The hieroglyphs on the Maned Sphinx of Hatshepsut with their English translation next to them!

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

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Egyptian Artifacts

Fragment of Akhenaten

This is a fragment of what used to be a limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of the pharaoh Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–! This (and many others like it) were found during Flinders Petrie and Howard Carterโ€™s excavation at present-day Amarna in 1891, which in ancient times was called Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š–. Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š– was the capital of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–.ย 

Fragment of Akhenaten
A Fragment of Akhenaten – many of Akhenaten’s statues were intentionally destroyed after his reign

Many of Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช not only have the faces destroyed, but are also in hundreds of pieces. This deliberate destruction of his statuary was an attempt to destroy his image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ so he would be forgotten from history. Images/statues of a person, and the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of a person held immense power in ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– so if a name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– and image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ was destroyed, its power was removed!ย 

A Fragment of Akhenaten – a front view of the statue where the extent of the damage to his face can be clearly seen.

Why did Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– successors want his image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ destroyed? Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– is infamous for completely changing the Egyptian pantheon from polytheistic worship of the traditional gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน to the monotheistic worship of the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ and people definitely did not like that! When Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– son, Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ became the pharaoh, he reinstated the old religion and moved the capital of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– back to Thebes ๐“Œ€๐“๐“Š–. 

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

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Egyptian Artifacts

Tyet Knot and Djed Pillar

This beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ art is from a Roman Period mummy mask of a woman and is dated to 60 – 70 A.D. Itโ€™s always incredible to me how art that is just about 2000 years old has paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ and colors that still look brand new! This art shows two Tyet Knots ๐“Žฌ and a Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ (middle).ย 

Tyet Knot and Djed Pillar
Two Tyet Knots (right and left) and a Djed Pillar (middle) on a Roman mummy mask

The origin of the Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ is most likely from the predynastic times while Tyet Knot ๐“Žฌ is from the First Dynasty/Early Dynastic Period. This means that these symbols were over 3000 years old when this mask was made! It always amazes me how the same religious symbols just persisted through Egyptian history! 

The Tyet Knot ๐“Žฌ, also known as the Isis knot ๐“Žฌ, was considered a very strong symbol of protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ and came to be associated with Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ. The Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช believed that knots ๐“Žฌ were able to bind and then release magic ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œ.

The Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ represents the word and concept of Stability in ancient Egypt. The Djed pillar ๐“Šฝ is thought to be the spine ๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“๐“„ฆ of Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ, hence why it takes on the meaning of โ€œstability.โ€ 

The Isis Knots ๐“Žฌ  and the Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ were also mostly used in a funerary context, such as amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ฆ that were placed on mummies ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ๐“ช or as part of spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ in the Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ. 

While both the Tyet Knot ๐“Žฌ and Djed Pillar appear in art frequently, they are also both hieroglyphic symbols and appear in inscriptions! 

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€ 

The โ€œtie ๐“Žฌโ€ is an ideogram for โ€œTyet Knot ๐“Žฌโ€ or โ€œIsis Knot ๐“Žฌโ€ and is a triliteral phonogram associated with the sound โ€œtjtโ€ which would be pronounced like โ€œtyet.โ€ย 

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Sistrums with Hathor

Music ๐“‰”๐“‡Œ๐“†ธ and musicians were highly regarded in ancient Egyptian culture. I love music ๐“‰”๐“‡Œ๐“†ธ, and music ๐“‡‹๐“Ž›๐“‡Œ is something that I cannot live without! This is a sistrum ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ, which is a musical instrument from ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– that is similar to a modern rattle or tambourine.ย 

Sistrums with Hathor
A faience sistrum with Hathor from the Ptolemaic Period

Since Hathor ๐“‰ก was the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ of music ๐“‡‹๐“Ž›๐“‡Œ, she was portrayed on most sistrums ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ๐“ช in her human form! However, even though Hathor ๐“‰ก is represented as a woman ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“, she is recognized easily because of her characteristic cow ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’ ears!ย 

Sistrums with Hathor
A closeup view of the sistrum with Hathor’s face! See if you can spot her cow ears!

I love these two sistrums ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ๐“ช pictured below because while they are both from the Ptolemaic Period, they look so different! One of the sistrums ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ๐“ช is made of blue ๐“‡…๐“†“๐“› faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ while the other is made of silver ๐“Œ‰๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰.ย 

Sistrums with Hathor
A blue faience sistrum (front) and a silver sistrum (back) both with Hathor’s face on it from the Ptolemaic Period.

Fun fact: in ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, silver ๐“Œ‰๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ was actually considered to be more valuable because it was harder to obtain through trade! Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– does not naturally have a lot of silver ๐“Œ‰๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰!

The silver ๐“Œ‰๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ sistrum ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ has hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช on the handle, however they are very hard to read due to cracks and natural wear. The blue ๐“‡…๐“†“๐“› faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ one has hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช that are much easier to read! 

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

๐“…ญ๐“‡ณ – Son of Ra

๐“ŽŸ๐“ˆ๐“ˆ๐“ˆ – Lord of Appearances

๐“Šช๐“๐“ฏ๐“ƒญ๐“๐“‡Œ๐“‹ด – Ptolemaios (Ptolemy I)

๐“‹น – Life

๐“‡ – Like

๐“‡ณ๐“บ – Ra 

๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› – Eternity

๐“†– – Eternity

When ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› and ๐“†– are used in the same phrase, itโ€™s usually translated as โ€œEverlasting Eternityโ€ instead of โ€œEternity Eternity.โ€ 

Another way to write โ€œLord of Appearancesโ€ is like this – ๐“ŽŸ๐“ˆ๐“ฅ – using three strokes โ€œ๐“ฅโ€ instead of repeating the โ€œsun over the horizon ๐“ŽŸ๐“ˆ๐“ˆ๐“ˆโ€ hieroglyph three times! Both of these ways are the correct way to write the phrase, however the three strokes โ€œ๐“ฅโ€ is usually used more because it takes up less space! 

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

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Egyptian Artifacts

Wooden Model Boat

This is my favorite wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž model that I have seen in any museum!ย 

Wooden Model Boat
Wooden Model Boat of Ukhotep at the MET

This wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ model boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž is from the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ of a man named ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– Ukhhotep ๐“‹‚๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช. Ukhotep ๐“‹‚๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช was the chief treasurer ๐“‹จ๐“…ฑ, which is why he probably received such gorgeous ๐“„ค funerary equipment ๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“‹ด๐“๐“๐“Šญ. 

This is one of two ๐“ป funerary boats that were found in his tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ – most Middle Kingdom tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ that had wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ models always contained two ๐“ป boats ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž๐“ฆ. In the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰,  one  boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž was oriented to the north ๐“Ž”๐“ and the other towards the south ๐“‡”๐“…ฑ๐“.

During the actual funeral, the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ would take one last journey across the Nile River ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ.ย  Models of boats ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž๐“ฆ (usually funerary boats), were usually found in tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ as a way to symbolically bring the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ into the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰.

Wooden Model Boat
Wooden Model Boat of Ukhotep at the MET showing the mummy and the two women on either side representing Isis and Nephthys.

I really love this model because of the mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ that you can see underneath the canopy! As a kid I always loved that! The canopy also has a leopard ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“‡Œ๐“ƒฎ skin on the top, and the details on the leopard ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“‡Œ๐“ƒฎ are just gorgeous!ย ย 

Wooden Model Boat
Wooden Model Boat of Ukhotep at the MET showing the priests wearing leopard skins.

The mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ is accompanied by two ๐“ป women ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“๐“ช mourners – they are probably meant to represent Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ and Nephthys ๐“‰ ๐“๐“†‡. There is also a priest ๐“Šน๐“› (dressed in the leopard ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“‡Œ๐“ƒฎ skin) who holds a scroll ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› with a funerary offering ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ on it. There is a second priest ๐“Šน๐“›, also dressed in leopard ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“‡Œ๐“ƒฎ skin with his arm ๐“‚๐“บ extended outward in a mourning gesture.

Wooden Model Boat
Wooden Model Boat of Ukhotep at the MET highlighting the detailed leopard on the canopy.

Wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ models were very popular amongst Middle Kingdom tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ. This particular boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž is dated to the 12th Dynasty (c. 1981โ€“1802 B.C.E.)

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Egyptian Artifacts

Clay Donkey

This little ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ clay ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“‹ด๐“ˆ‡ donkey ๐“ƒ˜๐“บ is easy to miss in the display cabinets of the galleries at the MET, but he is just so cute!ย 

Clay Donkey

This piece was is very rudimentary but I love how it shows a different level of ancient Egyptian artistry. There are four little sticks in the donkey ๐“ƒ˜๐“บ which are used to hold the little clay ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“‹ด๐“ˆ‡ balls which are probably representing sacks of grain ๐“ˆŽ๐“„ฟ๐“…ฑ๐“ธ๐“ฆ. This little ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ clay ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“‹ด๐“ˆ‡ donkey ๐“ƒ˜๐“บ was actually found by Howard Carter when he was excavating near Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช temple!  

While horses ๐“‹ด๐“‹ด๐“…“๐“๐“ƒ—๐“ช werenโ€™t introduced into Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– until the Second Intermediate Period (around 1600 B.C.E.), donkeys ๐“ƒ˜๐“ƒ˜๐“ƒ˜ seem to have been in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– since around 4500 B.C.E. (based on bone evidence). However, the first artistic representation of a donkey ๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“ƒ˜ is from a palette dated to 3100 B.C.E., which is around the end of the Predynastic Period and the start of the Archaic Period (1st and 2nd Dynasties). 

Another distinction between donkeys ๐“ƒ˜๐“ƒ˜๐“ƒ˜ and horses ๐“‹ด๐“‹ด๐“…“๐“๐“ƒ—๐“ช in ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– were that donkeys ๐“ƒ˜๐“ช were used mainly for work and for hauling goods/materials in carts (as seen in this clay ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“‹ด๐“ˆ‡ representation) while horses ๐“‹ด๐“‹ด๐“…“๐“๐“ƒ—๐“ช were only used for pulling chariots ๐“…จ๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“๐“Œ๐“ฆ and were reserved solely for the military and pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ. 

This piece is dated to the Second Intermediate Period โ€“ Early New Kingdom (13th-18th Dynasties, 1991โ€“1450 B.C.E.). 

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Reading Hieroglyphs

“To Rule” in Hieroglyphs

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

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to be looking at theย  word โ€œ๐“ท๐“ถ,โ€ which has a bunch of different (but seemingly related) meanings in Middle Egyptian!ย 

To Rule
“To Rule” in raised relief from a Middle Kingdom relief at the MET

Here is a list of some of the meanings of the word โ€œ๐“ท๐“ถโ€: 

-To Rule

-Who is Upon

-Nomarch (kind of like a governor who was appointed by the pharaoh)

-Governor (this would be a more modern interpretation of the word) 

-Leader

-Magician

Letโ€™s take a closer look at the two symbols which comprise this word! 

The โ€œface ๐“ทโ€ symbol is a biliteral phonogram for the sound แธฅr and is an ideogram for the word โ€œface.โ€ 

The โ€œhead ๐“ถโ€ symbol is a biliteral phonogram for the sound โ€œtpโ€ and is an ideogram/determinative for the word โ€œhead.โ€

So all together the word โ€œ๐“ท๐“ถโ€ would have a sound value of โ€œแธฅr-tp.โ€

The โ€œface ๐“ทโ€ symbol is always fascinating to see because itโ€™s artistically different from most of the other 750+ hieroglyphic symbols. The โ€œface ๐“ทโ€ symbol is so different because it is a front view of a face instead of a profile view. Most ancient Egyptian art is done in profile, so this symbol really stands out to me amongst other hieroglyphic symbols.  

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Egyptian Artifacts

Roman Mosaic

While this beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ Roman mosaic is not Egyptian, it is inspired by ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–! The global fascination and love of ancient Egyptian art didnโ€™t start in modern times; in fact, the Romans were enamored with ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– too! The Romans saw Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– as a โ€œland of wealth and antiquity.โ€ย 

Roman Mosaic
An Egyptian inspired Roman Mosaic at the MET

Mosaics are a Roman art form, but if you look at the center you will see Egyptian figures! The figure on the left has blue skin and the sun/horn headdress that is typical of the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ during this time period, while the seared figure on the right is wearing the nemes ๐“ˆ–๐“…“๐“‹ด head cloth which is typical dress for a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป.ย 

The scene is definitely strange because a goddess ๐“Šน๐“ would never be making an offering to a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป – the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป would always be making an offering to a god ๐“Šน or goddess ๐“Šน๐“! This scene was clearly meant to convey what the Romanโ€™s felt as an Egyptian atmosphere and itโ€™s interesting to see the Roman interpretation of Egyptian culture despite its inaccuracies. 

Fun Fact: Roman Emperors liked Egyptian art, and some (like Caligula ๐“ˆ๐“‹พ๐“ฉ๐“„ฟ๐“ฒ๐“๐“Žผ๐“ƒญ๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“ฐ and Hadrian ๐“‰”๐“๐“‚‹๐“‚๐“ˆ–๐“Šƒ๐“ˆŽ๐“Šƒ๐“‚‹) had pieces from ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– brought to Rome to adorn their gardens ๐“Ž›๐“Šƒ๐“Šช๐“ˆˆ๐“ฅ or estates.ย 

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

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Egyptian Artifacts

Imhotep and Khereduankh

Today, letโ€™s talk about some of the stories that surround Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช – including his mother! Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช was a real man that lived during Egyptโ€™s ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– third dynasty (around 2700 B.C.E.) during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Djoser ๐“‚ฆ๐“‚‹. While Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช is best known for being the architect of Djoserโ€™s Step Pyramid (and Egyptโ€™s first ever pyramid ๐“‹๐“…“๐“‚‹๐“‰ด), he was also a high priest ๐“Šน๐“› of Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“›! After his death, Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช became one of the few non-royal Egyptians to be deified.ย 

Imhotep and Khereduankh
Imhotep and Khereduankh on display at the MET

There is not much that is known about Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช as a person while he was alive; most of what we know about Imhotep was written at the earliest 1,200 years after his death! Referred to as โ€œSebayt ๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“‡Œ๐“๐“›โ€ in Middle Egyptian, these โ€œinstructionsโ€ or โ€œteachingsโ€ refer to Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช as a great physician and a writer! One text from the 20th Dynasty called โ€œEulogy of Dead Writersโ€ even states โ€œIs there another like Imhotep?โ€ 

Most statues of Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช are made of bronze and are dated to the Ptolemaic Period, because that was when Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช was widely worshipped. Imhotepโ€™s ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช mother, Khereduankh, even had statues made of her (she is on the right in my picture). Khereduankh is usually depicted as a seated woman wearing a short wig and the feathered crown with two Uraei ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†—๐“ช.ย 

Imhotep and Khereduankh
Imhotep and Khereduankh on display at the MET

There are even stories written about Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช, Khereduankh, Renpetneferet (his sister or wife depending on the story), and Djoser ๐“‚ฆ๐“‚‹! This story was written in Demotic on papyrus, and even includes Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช battling an Assyrian sorceress! Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช really could do everything! 

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

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Statue of Cleopatra VII

Iโ€™m going to make my first post of 2024 about one of my Nonnoโ€™s absolute favorite people from Egyptian history – Cleopatra VII! Even though Cleopatra VII ๐“ˆŽ๐“ƒญ๐“‡‹๐“ฏ๐“Šช๐“„ฟ๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“๐“„ฟ๐“†‡ was Greek, she is considered to be the last pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–.ย 

Cleopatra VII

One of the interesting features about this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ is that on her forehead there are three Uraei ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†—๐“ช instead of the standard two! During the Ptolemaic Period, rulers ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“‹พ๐“ช had three Uraei ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†—๐“ช on their forehead, with the third possibly representing the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ. 

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! The cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท seen on the shoulder is actually a later addition and not an original part of the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ, so Egyptologists do not know if this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ was originally meant to represent Cleopatra VII ๐“ˆŽ๐“ƒญ๐“‡‹๐“ฏ๐“Šช๐“„ฟ๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“๐“„ฟ๐“†‡!ย 

Cleopatra VII

The picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ above shows the birth name cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท of Cleopatra VII ๐“ˆŽ๐“ƒญ๐“‡‹๐“ฏ๐“Šช๐“„ฟ๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“๐“„ฟ๐“†‡! Since Cleopatra VII ๐“ˆŽ๐“ƒญ๐“‡‹๐“ฏ๐“Šช๐“„ฟ๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“๐“„ฟ๐“†‡ was Greek and not native Egyptian, this cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท of hers is very phonetic – most of the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช used are uniliteral signs, which means that they correspond to a single sound, just like a letter in the alphabet.

This statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ is made out of limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ and is dated to the Ptolemaic Period (200-30 B.C.E.). 

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

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