Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Ahmose I

Despite the 500 ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ years separating their reigns, the pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ Montuhotep II ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช (Dynasty 11) and Ahmose I ๐“‡บ๐“„Ÿ (Dynasty 18) are considered to be two ๐“ป of Egyptโ€™s ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– greatest pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ for a very similar reason. They were both responsible for reunifying Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–!

Ahmose I
Me with the head of the pharaoh Ahmose I at the MET

Ahmose I ๐“‡บ๐“„Ÿ defeated the Hyksos and founded the 18th Dynasty, which is the start of the New Kingdom (this is my favorite part of Egyptian history)! This is the time period when Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– not only reached its peak power politically, but also a golden age in arts and building projects. Ahmose I ๐“‡บ๐“„Ÿ is responsible for jump-starting all of this by opening quarries ๐“Ž›๐“๐“๐“‰๐“ฅ, mines, and trade routes in order to undertake these large construction programs.

This beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of Ahmose I ๐“‡บ๐“„Ÿ shows him wearing the White Crown ๐“„ค๐“‹‘ of Upper Egypt ๐“‡“. It is estimated that Ahmose I ruled for around 25 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“พ years.

Ahmose I
A closer view of the head of a statue of pharaoh Ahmose I at the MET.

What does Ahmose Iโ€™s name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– mean? Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! This is what the individual symbols mean:
๐“‡บ – Iah (The Moon)
๐“„Ÿ – Born/Birth
All together, the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– means โ€œThe Moon is Bornโ€ which is such a wonderful name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–! I love it!

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

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more!

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

The Sedge Hieroglyph

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

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ, we are going to be looking at another popular hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ! This is the โ€œsedge ๐“‡“โ€ Hieroglyph, which has multiple uses and one you have definitely seen in inscriptions before!

Sedge Hieroglyph

The ๐“‡“ can function as a biliteral phonogram and represents the sound of โ€œsw.โ€ The sedge ๐“‡“ is also the symbol to represent Upper Egypt! 

The ๐“‡“ symbol can also function as an ideogram for both the words โ€œking (nswt)โ€ and โ€œsedge (swt).โ€ This is the most popular way that the symbol is used in Middle Egyptian! 

Letโ€™s take a look at some examples of how ๐“‡“ can be used in words!

๐“‡“ – King

๐“‡“๐“๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ – King

๐“‡“๐“๐“ˆ–๐“€ฒ – King

๐“‡“๐“๐“‡Œ๐“›/๐“‡“๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡Œ๐“› – To Be King

๐“‡“๐“‡Œ – Kingship

๐“‡“๐“๐“๐“ˆž Kingโ€™s Wife 

๐“‡“๐“‚‹๐“๐“ – Kingโ€™s Acquaintance (literally โ€œKingโ€™s ๐“‡“ Knowledge ๐“‚‹๐“๐“(๐“œ)โ€)

๐“‡“๐“Šน๐“ช – King of the Gods (epithet of Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–)

Now, letโ€™s take a look at some examples of how ๐“‡“ can be used in popular phrases:

๐“†ฅ – He of the Sedge and the Bee / King of Upper and Lower Egypt

๐“‡“๐“๐“Šต๐“™ – An Offering the King Gives (๐“‡“ – King, ๐“๐“Šต- Offering, ๐“™ – Gives)

As you can see, the sedge ๐“‡“ hieroglyph has many uses, and they mostly have to do with the word โ€œking!โ€ So if you see the ๐“‡“, in most cases youโ€™re going to be dealing with something to do with the king ๐“‡“๐“๐“ˆ–๐“€ฒ/pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป!ย 

I have provided different examples of what the โ€œsedge ๐“‡“โ€ symbol can look like in different forms of hieroglyphic writing! Across all different mediums, the โ€œsedge ๐“‡“โ€ hieroglyph definitely maintains its form which allows it to be a very easily recognized symbol!

Sedge Hieroglyph

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

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more! 

Categories
Video

Ushabtis of Nauny – Video

Watch the video about the Ushabtis of Nauny !

Letโ€™s look at some ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures! Gallery 126 at the MET has lot of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ on display and I LOVE being in this room!ย These ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures and shabti boxes belong to a woman ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“ named Nauny, 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–.ย 

The ushabti figures ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that Nauny was buried with are made of blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ and have featured and inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on them that are painted ๐“ž๐“œ with black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ.

Nauny was buried with a total of 393 ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures that were divided amongst seven ๐“€ shabti boxes. The shabti boxes are made of sycamore ๐“ˆ–๐“‰”๐“๐“†ญ wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ and painted ๐“ž๐“œ with stucco. As demonstrated in the video ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, the ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช are stored in an upright position in the box! 

Normally a person was buried with 365 ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures – one for each day of the year, however, there were also overseer ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ who would make sure the โ€œregular ushabtisโ€ (which are actually known as โ€œworker ushabtisโ€) weโ€™re doing their jobs!ย 

You can also watch the video on TikTok!

@ancientegyptblog

Letโ€™s look at some ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures! Gallery 126 at the MET has lot of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ on display and I LOVE being in this room! These ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures and shabti boxes belong to a woman ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“ named Nauny, 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–. The ushabti figures ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that Nauny was buried with are made of blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ and have featured and inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on them that are painted ๐“ž๐“œ with black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ. Nauny was buried with a total of 393 ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures that were divided amongst seven ๐“€ shabti boxes. The shabti boxes are made of sycamore ๐“ˆ–๐“‰”๐“๐“†ญ wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ and painted ๐“ž๐“œ with stucco. As demonstrated in the video ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, the ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช are stored in an upright position in the box! Normally a person was buried with 365 ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures – one for each day of the year, however, there were also overseer ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ who would make sure the โ€œregular ushabtisโ€ (which are actually known as โ€œworker ushabtisโ€) weโ€™re doing their jobs! Follow me to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, Egyptian mythology, art, culture and more! This is my personal video and original text. DO NOT repost. @ancientegyptblog #ancientEgypt #egyptology #ancientegyptblog #hieroglyphics #egitto #์ด์ง‘ํŠธ #egyptianhistory #anticoegitto #egyptologist #egyptianmythology #letsreadsomehieroglyphs #metropolitanmuseumofart #metmuseum #ushabti #shabti

โ™ฌ original sound – ancientegyptblog Nicole Lesar

Follow me @ancientegyptblogย onย Instagramย andย TikTokย to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more!ย 

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

May He Live Every Day Like Ra

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

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at one of my absolute favorite  wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ coffins ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ from the Middle Kingdom! The art of ancient Egypt really started to develop during the Middle Kingdom times, and the beautifully ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ painted wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ coffins ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ and their hieroglyphic ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ are just captivating! The paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ and the colors are just exquisite and have really stood the test of time! 

When I go to the MET, sometimes I just sit on the floor in front of this coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ to 1) just stare at its beauty ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ and 2) to take a break!

This coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ belonged to Khnumnakht, an individual who lived during the 12th-13th Dynasties (c. 1850-1750B.C.E.). Khnumnakht is known only by the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– on his coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ; Egyptologists donโ€™t know anything else about him or his life ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“!ย 

May He Live Every Day Like Ra
May He Live Every Day Like Ra

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Here is what the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– says: 

๐“‹น๐“˜ – May He Live 

๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ŽŸ – Every Day

๐“‡๐“‡ณ๐“บ – Like Ra

The little โ€œstrokes ๐“บโ€ within the symbols are not technically part of the words and they are not pronounced! They are there for aesthetic purposes to make sure all of the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are spaced out correctly and appear in even lines on the coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ! 

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

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more! 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Magical Stela or Cippus

This magnificent piece is known as a โ€œMagical Stela,โ€ or a โ€œCippus of Horus.โ€ Normally, stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ were used to commemorate the dead but Cippus pieces are like a protective amulet ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…† in the shape of a stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ.ย 

Me with the Cippus at the MET

This cippus was used by the living for protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ. Since the Old Kingdom, Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ was called upon as a defender against snake or scorpion bites. Placing the cippus on a wound would evoke its magical and healing powers. 

Smaller versions of Cippus stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ were usually kept in homes ๐“‰๐“บ, but this one here at the MET is a lot more elaborate and was actually commissioned by a priest ๐“Šน๐“› to be displayed in public! Itโ€™s difficult to see in pictures, but the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are carved so exquisitely and I love just looking at them!ย 

A closeup of the top of the Cippus at the MET

The top panel on the front of the Cippus depicts Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ standing on two ๐“ป crocodiles ๐“…“๐“‹ด๐“Ž›๐“†Œ๐“ฅ and holding other dangerous animals such as snakes ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†˜๐“ช, a lion ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“„›, an antelope ๐“ƒฒ๐“บ and scorpions ๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“†ซ๐“ช in each hand. Surrounding Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ are other deities. On Horusโ€™ ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ left there is Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ, Ra-Horakhty ๐“…Š๐“”๐“”๐“ค, and then on Horusโ€™ ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ right is Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ. The god ๐“Šน Bes ๐“ƒ€๐“‹ด๐“„œ also appears above Horusโ€™ ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ head ๐“ถ๐“บ. Bes ๐“ƒ€๐“‹ด๐“„œ was known to ward off evil ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…จ and bad luck. 

This piece is dated to the Late Period (30th Dynasty). Considering everything, I figured this would be a fitting post for today! 

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

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more! 

Categories
Video

Ushabtis are My Favorite – Video

Nonno and I are co-presidents of the Ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ fan club! As much as I also love the Temple of Dendur at the MET, nothing beats seeing all of the different types of ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ figures on display! Seeing the ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ makes me so happy!ย 

@ancientegyptblog

Nonno and I are co-presidents of the Ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ fan club! As much as I also love the Temple of Dendur at the MET, nothing beats seeing all of the different types of ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ figures on display! Seeing the ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ makes me so happy! Fun Facts about Ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures: 1. The ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ served as substitutes for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ and would perform labor or jobs for them in the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. 2. Ushabtis are usually inscribed with specific spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ which assigned each ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ to a certain task! The most popular one is the โ€œShabti Spell.โ€ 3. Ushabtis can be made of many different types of materials such as faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ, wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ, clay ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“‹ด๐“ˆ‡, limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ and rarely even bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ! 4. People who could afford it were buried with over 400 ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช! Usually there were 365 ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“พ worker ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช (one for each day of the year) and then overseer ushabtis! My Nonno loved ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช so much and would tell my sister ๐“Œข๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ and I stories about them! I love these statues so much and I may be among their biggest fans – I cannot get enough of them! Follow me to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, Egyptian mythology, art, culture and more! This is my personal ideo and original text. DO NOT repost. #ancientegypt #egyptianhistory #egyptologist #ancient_egypt #metropolitanmuseumofart #ushabti #ushabtis #shabti #shabtis #templeofdendur #historytok #egyptology

โ™ฌ Le Monde – From Talk to Me – Richard Carter

Fun Facts about Ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures: 

  1. The ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ served as substitutes for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ and would perform labor or jobs for them in the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. 
  2. Ushabtis are usually inscribed with specific spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ which assigned each ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ to a certain task! The most popular one is the โ€œShabti Spell.โ€ 
  3. Ushabtis can be made of many different types of materials such as faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ, wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ, clay ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“‹ด๐“ˆ‡, limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ and rarely even bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ! 
  4. People who could afford it were buried with over 400 ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ ushabtis  ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช! Usually there were 365 ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“พ worker ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช (one for each day of the year) and then overseer ushabtis!

My Nonno loved ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช so much and would tell my sister ๐“Œข๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ and I stories about them! I love these statues so much and I may be among their biggest fans – I cannot get enough of them!ย 

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

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more! 

Categories
Blog

God’s Mother

Letโ€™s read some Hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! What does the popular Middle Egyptian phrase โ€œGodโ€™s Mother ๐“Šน๐“…โ€ mean? Before we delve into the meaning, letโ€™s break down the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!ย 

God's Mother
“God’s Mother” in raised relief on display at the MET

โ€œGodโ€™s Motherโ€ can be written three ways in hieroglyphs: 

๐“Šน๐“๐“…

๐“Šน๐“…๐“

๐“Šน๐“…

This phrase is a combination of two different words: the word โ€œGod ๐“Šนโ€ and the word โ€œMother ๐“…๐“๐“/๐“…๐“/๐“๐“…๐“.โ€ 

The โ€œcloth on a pole ๐“Šนโ€œ hieroglyph is an ideogram for the word god. ๐“Šน is also a triliteral phonogram, and represents the letters โ€œntrโ€ which may have been pronounced like โ€œneterโ€ or โ€œnetjer.โ€ ๐“Šน Is also a determinative for โ€œgod.โ€ So the โ€œcloth on a pole ๐“Šนโ€œ symbol can function as all three types of hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! If you see this symbol, you are most likely looking at a word that has to do with the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน!

The โ€œvulture ๐“…โ€ is a triliteral phonogram and represents the sounds โ€œmjt/mwtโ€ which we infer would be pronounced like โ€œmut.โ€ 

The โ€œflat loaf of bread ๐“โ€ is a uniliteral phonogram used to represent the sound โ€œt.โ€

The phrase โ€œGodโ€™s Mother ๐“Šน๐“…โ€ can have two different (but related) meanings in Middle Egyptian inscriptions. It can be used to refer to the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ and will usually appear after her name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in inscriptions. This is in reference to the fact that Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ is the mother ๐“…๐“๐“ of Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ, who is the mythological ruler of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– and the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป was thought to be a representation of Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ on Earth. 

This brings us to the next meaning of this phrase! The phrase โ€œGodโ€™s Mother ๐“Šน๐“…โ€ was an honorific title held by the woman who gave birth to the current pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป! Since the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป was a god on Earth, the woman who gave birth to him/her was quite literally the Godโ€™s Mother ๐“Šน๐“…!ย 

God's Mother
Another variant of “God’s Mother” painted on a piece of a sarcophagus at the Brooklyn Museum

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

Follow me @ancientegyptblogย onย Instagramย andย TikTokย to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more!ย 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts Video

Talatat – Video

These small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ blocks are called โ€œTalatatโ€ and were used solely during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ–! These were used in the construction of the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ at Karnak (this construction started when he was still Amenhotep IV ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“Œ€) and the palace ๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“๐“‰ฅ๐“‰ at 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“…ž๐“๐“ˆ–.ย 

@ancientegyptblog

These small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ blocks are called โ€œTalatatโ€ and were used solely during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ–! These were used in the construction of the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ at Karnak (this construction started when he was still Amenhotep IV ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“Œ€) and the palace ๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“๐“‰ฅ๐“‰ at 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“…ž๐“๐“ˆ–. These limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ blocks were unique because they were so small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ a single worker could carry them and put it into place. This was meant to expedite construction and make building a lot faster. The Talatat are also unique because they were only used during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ–, and were never used again. Even though originally from Amarna ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š–, these Talatat were actually found at Hermopolis because after Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ– reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“, his monuments ๐“ ๐“ were destroyed and building materials were used by other pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ! These Talatat at the MET were once brightly painted in striking colors, as was most of the Egyptian monuments ๐“ ๐“. A lot of the colors you see on these blocks are restored and not necessarily the original colors. Tens of thousands of Talatat have been found across Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. Follow me to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, Egyptian mythology, art, culture and more! This is my personal video and original text. DO NOT repost. @ancientegyptblog #ancientegypt #egyptianhistory #egyptologist #historytok #egyptology #ancient_egypt #pharaoh #akhenaten #metropolitanmuseum #egypt

โ™ฌ Epic Music(863502) – Draganov89

These limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ blocks were unique because they were so small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ a single worker could carry them and put it into place. This was meant to expedite construction and make building a lot faster. The Talatat are also unique because they were only used during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ–, and were never used again. 

Even though originally from Amarna ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š–, these Talatat were actually found at Hermopolis because after Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ– reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“, his monuments ๐“ ๐“ were destroyed and building materials were used by other pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ! 

These Talatat at the MET were once brightly painted in striking colors, as was most of the Egyptian monuments ๐“ ๐“. A lot of the colors you see on these blocks are restored and not necessarily the original colors. 

Tens of thousands of Talatat have been found across Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. 

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

Follow me @ancientegyptblogย onย Instagramย andย TikTokย to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more!ย 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Animals in Ancient Egypt

Happy World Animal Day!ย Let’s learn about the significance of Animals in Ancient Egypt!

Animals in Ancient Egypt
Me with a blue faience hippo at the Brooklyn Museum! The blue faience hippos are one of my absolute favorite types of artifacts!

Believe it or not, there is no Middle Egyptian word for โ€œanimalโ€ – there was the word โ€œ๐“Œš๐“…“๐“„›โ€ but it translates more accurately to โ€œbeastโ€ than to all animals in general. What I love about language ๐“‚‹๐“บ is that even a small detail such as this can show us so much about the culture of the people who spoke it!ย 

Animals in Ancient Egypt
An ibis on display at the MET

In ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, Animals were usually referred to by their name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– instead of as a singular category. What I love about Middle Egyptian is that the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– the animal was given was sometimes very similar to the sound the animal made! For example, the Middle Egyptian word for cat is ๐“…“๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ๐“ƒ  (miu) which can be pronounced similarly to โ€œmeow.โ€ The word for dog is ๐“ƒ›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒ›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฅ (iwiw) which can almost sound like โ€œwoof woof.โ€

Animals in Ancient Egypt
A cat mummy on display at the MET

Why is this significant? It shows that the Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช didnโ€™t regard animals as different from humans or less than humans (unlike the Greeks and Romans, and eventually Western cultures). Animals were living things that contained a ba ๐“…ก๐“บ (part of the soul that is active in this world and the spiritual world). They could become gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน through death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ and mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž just like humans.ย 

Animals in Ancient Egypt
Hathor in her cow form from the Book of the Dead of Imhotep at the MET

Animals like cats ๐“…“๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ๐“ƒ ๐“ช, ibises ๐“‰”๐“ƒ€๐“…ค๐“ช, cows ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’๐“ฆ, snakes ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†˜๐“ช, hippos ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ๐“ฆ, and many others were held in high regard due to the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน and goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“ who could take the form of those animals!ย 

Animals in Ancient Egypt
A fish bowl on display at the Brooklyn Museum

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

@ancientegyptblogย onย Instagramย andย TikTok

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

“Image” 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 a word that I use frequently in my descriptions, โ€œ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“,โ€ which translates to โ€œimage,โ€ โ€œlikeness,โ€ โ€œstatue,โ€ or โ€œfigure.โ€

Image
The word “Image” in hieroglyphs from a papyrus on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

I also utilize this particular word to translate the words โ€œpictureโ€ and โ€œphotoโ€ because that would be the closest Middle Egyptian to English translation! For the word โ€œstatue,โ€ the โ€œ๐“€พโ€ determinative is put at the end of the word so it would be spelled like โ€œ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ.โ€ย 

The importance of the visual representation of the deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน was embedded in ancient Egyptian religion and culture. For example, when the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป was alive, he/she was thought to be the living image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น of the God ๐“Šน Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ. 

The Egyptians built temples ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰๐“ช and shrines ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“…“๐“‚œ๐“‰๐“ฆ to their gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน and goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“ because they believed that the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน could be approached and prayed to through the statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช that resided in these places of worship. The statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ช or โ€œimages of the godsโ€ were thought to be the actual deity and were thus treated with great reverence ๐“๐“„ช๐“…ฑ and respect. 

Another example is that when a personโ€™s name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– was written down in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, it meant that the person would live ๐“‹น forever ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž›. The visual representation of a personโ€™s name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– had the power to give the person eternal ๐“†– life ๐“‹น. This is why pharaohs wanted their name on as many monuments as possible – their name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช had immense power! 

Letโ€™s break down the symbols in the word โ€œ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“!โ€ 

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€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“บ.โ€

So why did I choose to highlight this particular word? โ€œ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“โ€ was one of the first words that I learned when I was first starting to read hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! The reason is because it is part of Tutankhamunโ€˜s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ cartouche, which translates to โ€œLiving Image of Amun!โ€ย 

Here is a breakdown of Tutankhamunโ€˜s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–:

๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– – Amun

๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ – Tut (image)

๐“‹น – Ankh (life/living)

๐“‹พ – Ruler

๐“‰บ – of/on

๐“‡“ – Upper Egypt

As a side note, I am a visual learner, and I think thatโ€™s why Iโ€™m really great at things like reading hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช and geology – both are topics which require the brain to use images and visuals over other types of processing. Even when I speak English and Italian I see the words in my head as if they are subtitles so I think my visual brain is why I am good at languages! Plus I always say that rocks are the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช of the Earth, so I am grouping geology in with languages too!ย Despite the auditory nature of languages, for me, they are actually more visual.

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

@ancientegyptblogย onย Instagramย andย TikTok!