Tag: gods and goddesses

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Hathor in Hieroglyphs

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

This is the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Hathor ๐“‰ก in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Iโ€™m sure you can see this, but Hathorโ€™s name is unique compared to that of the other deities! This is because her name is written with a composite hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ! A composite hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ is the combination of many symbols into one symbol! Hathorโ€™s ๐“‰ก name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– is the combination of an enclosure ๐“‰— and the falcon ๐“…ƒ.

๐“‰— +๐“…ƒ = ๐“‰ก

If the two ๐“ป symbols were written separately, we would actually read Hathorโ€™s ๐“‰ก name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– as โ€œHouse of Horusโ€ or โ€œEstate of Horusโ€ (depending on how you translated the ๐“‰— hieroglyph) – so that is the literal translation of her name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–!

Just like other deities, there are many ways to write Hathorโ€™s ๐“‰ก name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Here are some of ways:
๐“ฅ
๐“‰ก๐“ฅ
๐“‰—๐“ท๐“‚‹๐“†— ๐“‰ก

Also, just look at how beautifully ๐“„ค carved this hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ is! I will never not be amazed at the incredible craftsmanship of the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Granodiorite Statue of Amun

This is a beautiful ๐“„ค granodiorite statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of the god ๐“Šน Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ. Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ was the most popularly worshipped god ๐“Šน during the 18th Dynasty amongst the pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ and the elite.

This statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ is special because it was made during the reign of pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ (18th Dynasty, c. 1336โ€“1327 B.C.E.). After Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– rule, Tutankamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ was responsible for moving the capital of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– back to Thebes ๐“Œ€๐“๐“Š– and reestablishing the traditional Egyptian pantheon. Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ commissioned a lot of statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช of Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ to be made, most likely as a way to show that the old religion was once again free to be worshipped. Egyptologists believe that this statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ was specifically sculpted to be placed in the Temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ of Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ at Karnak.

Something else that is interesting about the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is that it does still have some Amarna-style features, which suggests that some of the sculptors that worked in the Amarna workshops went to Thebes ๐“Œ€๐“๐“Š– with Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ after Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– reign. Some of the facial features of the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ are also similar to other representations of Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ (for example, the full lips, the drooping chin). The braided beard and the crown, however, make it unquestionable that this statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is meant to represent Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ.

Nicole (me) with the statue of Amun

Geology Lesson!!!! Granodiorite is an igneous rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ that is a โ€œin betweenโ€ granite ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ–๐“Œณ๐“ฟ and diorite in terms of mineral composition. Granite ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ–๐“Œณ๐“ฟ contains mostly quartz ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œ๐“ˆ™, while diorite contains a lot of plagioclase/potassium feldspars. Granodiorite contains both, hence it is an โ€œin-betweenโ€ rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Bronze Statue of the Goddess Neith

My Nonno loved bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช, and would always point them out to us in museums! Bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statuary ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ became very popular in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– starting around the Third Intermediate Period (26th Dynasty), and became very abundant in the Ptolemaic Period. However, the demand for bronze statues during this period resulted in mass production and a loss of craftsmanship and quality over time.

The Bronze Age started due to the rise in the Sumerian civilization in Mesopotamia. Due to war and trade, bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ was able to come to Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– around 700 B.C.E. and replace the traditional stone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช and clay statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช.

The bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ pieces are great antiquities because they can preserve small details over long periods of time. On this statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of Neith ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹Œ๐“€ญ, the broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ around her neck is still perfectly painted on, along with the design on the Red Crown ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹”! Beautiful ๐“„ค bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ pieces can be seen in museums around the world ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ!

Neith ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹Œ๐“€ญ was one of the goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“ of war and rose to popularity during the 16th Dynasty because her central city of worship, Sais, was the capital of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– at the time. She is also the protector of Duamutef ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘, the son ๐“…ญ of Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ whose canopic jar contains the stomach ๐“‚‹๐“„ฃ๐“ป. Due to this, she was seen as a protector ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ of the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ along with Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ, Nephytys ๐“‰ ๐“๐“†‡, and Selket ๐“Šƒ๐“‚‹๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“. She is usually seen wearing the Red Crown ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹” of Lower Egypt ๐“†ค or with a shield and crossed arrows on her head.

Along with Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“…“๐“๐“, Neith ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹Œ๐“€ญ was one of my Nonnoโ€™s favorite deities! He always made sure to point her out in museums, and bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช of Neith ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹Œ๐“€ญ are abundant because she was a very popular goddess ๐“Šน๐“ during the Bronze Age!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Bronze Statues of Sekhmet and Imhotep

This setup at the MET reminded me so much of my Nonno because Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“…“๐“๐“ and Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช were two of his favorite ancient Egyptian figures! Even better, is they these are both bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช; he loved all of the bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช so much! Seeing the two ๐“ป statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช next to each other made me miss my Nonno so much.

Sekhmet (left) and Imhotep (right)

Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช, meaning โ€œHe who comes in peace,โ€ was a non-royal man who became deified. This is a very rare occurrence, as it was thought by the Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช that the Pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป was the only god ๐“Šน on the Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ. Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช was not deified in his lifetime – it was 2,000 years after his death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ that he began to be worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข as a god ๐“Šน. Not much is known about Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช from his lifetime – much information about Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช is from Demotic texts or stelae ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ๐“ช that were written thousands ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ of years after his death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ.

Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช was regarded as the Son ๐“…ญ of Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ, who was the creator god ๐“Šน of craftsmen and architects. He was also part of the โ€œMemphis Triad,โ€ which consisted of Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“€ญ, Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“…“๐“๐“ and Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช.

Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“๐“ was the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ of war, but she is usually pictured with the sun disc ๐“‡ณ๐“ค on her head ๐“ถ๐“ค because she was also associated with the destructive aspects of the sun ๐“‡ณ๐“ค – such as the extreme heat of the desert ๐“…Ÿ๐“‚‹๐“๐“ˆŠ! Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“๐“ was one powerful lady, and the Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช had many festivals dedicated to her in order to keep her happy!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Canopic Jars

Here are some very plain, but very cool canopic jars! While the Sons of Horus were first mentioned in the Pyramid Texts, after the 18th Dynasty, the Four Sons of Horus were associated with being the heads ๐“ถ๐“ฆ on canopic jars which would guard the organs ๐“‡‹๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“„น๐“ฆ of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ. During the mummification process, certain organs ๐“‡‹๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“„น๐“ฆ were removed, dried out with natron salt, and then placed in these canopic jars. The heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ was not removed because the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ needed their heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ to be weighed by Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ in the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰!

While each Son of Horus was associated with an organ ๐“‡‹๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“„น, they were also each associated with a cardinal direction and were protected by a funerary goddess๐“Šน๐“.

Imsety ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ด๐“˜๐“‡‹ had the head of a human, protected the liver ๐“…“๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„น๐“ธ๐“ธ๐“ธ, was associated with the South ๐“‡”๐“…ฑ๐“ and was protected by Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ.

Duamutef ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘ had the head of a jackal, protected the stomach ๐“‚‹๐“„ฃ๐“ป, was associated with the East ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ, and was protected by Neith ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹Œ๐“€ญ.

Qebehsenuef ๐“๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“†‘ had the head of a falcon, protected the intestines ๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฎ๐“„ฟ๐“ฒ๐“ผ, was associated with the West ๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ, and was protected by Selket ๐“Šƒ๐“‚‹๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“.

Hapy ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“‡Œ had the head of a baboon, protected the lungs ๐“Šƒ๐“Œด๐“„ฅ๐“…ฑ๐“„บ, was associated with the North ๐“Ž”๐“, and was protected by Nephthys ๐“‰ ๐“๐“†‡.

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Amun in Hieroglyphs

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

The inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ that you see in the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ spells out the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the god ๐“Šน Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ! While many gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน had different variations on how to write their name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in hieroglyphs, the spelling of Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ was pretty consistent, which makes it an easy name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– to recognize!

Letโ€™s breakdown Amun-Raโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– into each individual symbol!

๐“‡‹ – phonogram symbols for โ€œjโ€
๐“  – phonogram for โ€œmnโ€
๐“ˆ– – phonogram symbols for โ€œnโ€
๐“‡ณ – ideogram for โ€œRaโ€ (๐“‡ณ can also be a determinative for sun, day, and time)
๐“บ – not pronounced! The โ€œ๐“บโ€ is there for spacing/aesthetic purposes!

Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ is the combination of the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ (originally god ๐“Šน of the air, then evolved to become chief of the Egyptian gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน) and Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› (god ๐“Šน of the sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ). During the New Kingdom, Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ and Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› were merged to create the single deity Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ. Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ was considered to be the father ๐“‡‹๐“๐“€€ and protector ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. The worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข of Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ was extremely popular and took on a cult-like following.

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Osiris in Hieroglyphs

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

The inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ that you see in the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ spells out the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the god ๐“Šน Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ. โ€œOsirisโ€ is actually the Greek version of the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–; the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช probably would have pronounced his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– like โ€œIsr.โ€

There are a couple of different ways to write Osirisโ€™ ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–, but โ€œ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญโ€ is the most common way! Other variations are:
๐“‡ฌ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“€ญ
๐“Šฉ๐“น

Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ is considered one of the most important deities in ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. While he is mostly known as the god ๐“Šน of the underworld/afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰ (Duat), but that he also controlled all life ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“ from the underworld ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. This means that Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ was associated with the annual flooding of the Nile River ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ but also the growing vegetation and annual harvest. This makes sense since Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ is strongly connected with regeneration and rebirth, and the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช also associated the Nile ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ with these characteristics. Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ was even thrown into the Nile ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ after he was cut up by his brother ๐“Œข๐“ˆ– Seth ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„ก๐“ฃ!

It was believed that every person, not just deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ pharaohs, became associated with Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ when they died! However people were not resurrected in this life ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“ (even Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ himself wasnโ€™t technically resurrected), instead, the person was reborn into the next life and lived in the Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Djed Pillar Amulets

I absolutely love amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช because I love tiny ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ things! The MET has an incredible collection of amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช, and I feel like most people just walk by them because they’re so small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ! But even small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ objects can tell incredible stories about history!

In ancient Egyptian religion and culture, amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช were thought to have magical ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œ powers and bestow them upon its wearer. Worn by both the living and the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ, different amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช served various religious and protective functions. Amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช were usually made of faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ, which is a cheap and easy material to work with. Most faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ pieces have a green/blue ๐“‡…๐“†“๐“› color. This is because these colors were thought to represent life ๐“‹น and regeneration.

The djed pillar ๐“Šฝ was associated with Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ and his regenerative powers and is thus considered an amulet ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…† of power. The djed pillars ๐“Šฝ are usually blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ or green ๐“‡…๐“„ฟ๐“†“๐“› in color to represent the Nile River ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ. These amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช date back to the Old Kingdom, and were used throughout Egyptian history. In the New Kingdom, they were strung around the neck of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ. In hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, the djed ๐“Šฝ symbol means โ€œstabilityโ€ or โ€œenduring.โ€

The djed pillar ๐“Šฝ has also been thought to represent the spine of Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ, as referenced in The Book of the Dead: โ€œRaise yourself up Osiris. You have your backbone once more, weary-hearted One; you have bones.โ€

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

The Weighing of the Heart

The Weighing of the Heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ is my absolute favorite scene from the Book of the Dead, and just one of my favorite scenes from literature in general! I have been so fortunate to see many different version of the Book of the Dead in various museums! While this is a simplified version of the scene, I still love it! This papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› is kinda hidden amongst many other papyri ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“›๐“ฆ at the MET, and Iโ€™ve definitely missed it during other visits!

Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is the center of the scene so of course it is my favorite! Here, Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ข weighs the heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ against Maatโ€™s ๐“Œด๐“™๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ฆ feather. If Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ determines thereโ€™s balance between the two ๐“ป, then the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ would be presented to Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ ๐“€ญ by Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ. The deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ would then enter the Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰, or the afterlife.

Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ records the findings. While Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ is usually represented in his human body/ibis ๐“‰”๐“ƒ€๐“…ค head form during this scene, that is not the case here! Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ is in his baboon form and is sitting on top of the scale! Ammit ๐“‚๐“…“๐“…“๐“(the Devourer of the Dead/Eater of Hearts) is also absent from this version! Itโ€™s always so interesting to see different versions of the same scene!

In the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, itโ€™s interesting to see Osiris spelled like โ€œ๐“Šฉ๐“นโ€ instead of the common form โ€œ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ.โ€ For some reason Iโ€™m always fascinated when I see alternate spellings; I donโ€™t know why!

In the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, the phrase โ€œ๐“Šฉ๐“น๐“ŽŸ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž›โ€ or โ€œOsiris, Lord of Eternityโ€ is written! We have learned all of those words through other posts!! Can you find it?!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Was Anubis Mentioned in the Bible?

As we all know, Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is the Egyptian god ๐“Šน of embalming and tombs/cemeteries. This means that Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ was the main protector ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ of the recently deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ! During the New Kingdom, more specifically the 18th Dynasty, it became common for statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ to be placed in tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ as a sort of protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ for the dead! The most famous example is the โ€œAnubis Shrine ๐“ƒฃโ€ that was found in Tutankhamunโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰! The statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ in this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is from the Late Period.

Since I am in the process of reading the Bible, hereโ€™s something very interesting about Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ I just learned recently! Did you know that some Bible/religious scholars believe that Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is actually mentioned in Exodus!? When I was reading Exodus, and I caught what I thought was a reference to Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ, I was shocked and immediately had to start researching!

โ€œBut not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.โ€ (Exodus 11:7, English Standard Version) Another translation is “But against all the Israelites, whether man or beast, not even a dog will snarl.”

The plagues of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– can be interpreted as the Egyptian gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน being powerless against God himself – such as when God blocked the Sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ for three ๐“ผ days during the ninth plague, Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› was powerless to stop it. So, the mention of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ can be interpreted as Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ having no power over life and death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ, or that Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ will have no power over the death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ of the people of Israel (Canaan ๐“‘๐“„ฟ๐“‰”๐“ˆŠ๐“ญ in The Bible). It can also be taken as God (not Anubis) would bring death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ to Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, but not Israel ๐“‘๐“„ฟ๐“‰”๐“ˆŠ๐“ญ.

Again, these are interpretations of the Bible (including some of my own), and Iโ€™m sure many scholars and other readers have their own interpretations that are different and just as valid!