Tag: anubis

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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
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Video

Video – Anubis Statue

This limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ was found near the Sacred Animal Necropolis at Saqqara (Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š–). The Sacred Animal Necropolis housed thousands ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ of mummified animals such as falcons ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„๐“ฆ, baboons, ibises ๐“‰”๐“ƒ€๐“…ค๐“ฆ and bulls/cows ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’๐“ฆ. This piece is dated to the Late Period – Ptolemaic Period (664โ€“30 B.C.E.). 

Although mummified jackals ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ๐“ฆ were not found in the area, statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ have been found most likely because Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is the god ๐“Šน of mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž and embalming ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž, so it would make sense that there would be statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช of him in the vicinity of this large necropolis. It is thought that Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช such as this were used to guard embalming tents. 

Interestingly, this piece was originally painted ๐“ž๐“œ black ๐“†Ž๐“…“, but through time it has lost its coloring! Itโ€™s hard to see in my pictures ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ (the MET really needs better lighting – the galleries are so dark) but you can still see remnants of some of the black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ on the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ! 

I was very excited to see this statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ, because there is a similar one in the Petrie Museum in London! I love seeing similar pieces in different museums around the world! It is really cool to see pieces that are similar across museum collections – I can’t explain why, but I just find it incredible! Also (no surprise), I love anything Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ, so of course I absolutely love this statue and I need to visit it every time I go to the MET!

Fun fact! There are no temples ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰๐“ฆ dedicated to Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ because all tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ and large burial areas were considered โ€œtemplesโ€ to worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ in! It makes so much sense because he is the god ๐“Šน of tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ and mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž!ย 

Anubis Statue
A picture of me with the Anubis statue!
Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Wooden Statue of Anubis

This wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is one of my favorites! One of the reasons it is so special is because the piece is in such good condition. The black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ is still clearly visible and the wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ is so well preserved. Wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ is an organic material, and even in the dry heat of the desert ๐“…Ÿ๐“‚‹๐“๐“ˆŠ it can still break down over thousands ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ of years! My Nonno always pointed out every wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ piece in a museum and told us how significant it was that the wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ was preserved. Now, it is something I always look for.ย 

This particular Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ piece is dated to the Ramesside Period, which was during the 19th-20th Dynasties of the New Kingdom. This style of statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ depicting Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ actually became very popular during the Ptolemaic Period, and there is a piece similar to this in the Brooklyn Museum too! 

This statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ shows Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ in his jackal ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ form. The kneeling position is representative of him guarding the necropolis ๐“‹ด๐“ˆ–๐“Šผ from high above on a hill ๐“ˆŽ๐“„ฟ๐“„ฟ๐“ŠŽ or mountain ๐“ˆ‹๐“…ณ- as was his role as the god ๐“Šน of cemeteries and mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž. One of his titles which is โ€œLord of the Sacred Land ๐“ŽŸ๐“‡พ๐“‚ฆ๐“ˆŠ,โ€ exemplifies and highlights this role. The โ€œsacred landโ€ mentioned in this title is another way to say โ€œnecropolis ๐“‹ด๐“ˆ–๐“Šผ!โ€ 

Another one of Anubisโ€™ ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ titles is โ€œupon his hill ๐“ถ๐“บ๐“ˆ‹๐“†‘โ€ and this hieroglyphic ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช phrase usually follows his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in dedication texts! Again, this is representative of Anubisโ€™ ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ role as protector ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ of the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ; he was always standing watch from above! 

I also love this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ because it is very similar to Anubisโ€™ ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ determinative hieroglyph ๐“ƒฃ (which is my favorite hieroglyphic ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช symbol) and itโ€™s almost identical to the โ€˜recumbent jackal ๐“ƒขโ€ sign! Basically, I love anything to do with Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ! Seeing a well preserved statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of him, or hieroglyphic ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช symbols of his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ makes me really happy ๐“„ซ๐“๐“„ฃ and excited. Itโ€™s like seeing an old friend ๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“€€๐“! 

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Stela with a Dedication to Anubis

This sandstone ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“‚ง๐“๐“Œ—๐“ˆ™ piece, located in one of the tiny ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ offshoot galleries at the MET is a stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ from the New Kingdom (c. 1400โ€“1390 B.C.E.) with two ๐“ป people, Siamun and Taruy, worshipping Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ! Usually on stelae ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ๐“ช, people are shown worshipping Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ, so seeing Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ on one makes me very happy! 

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! I’m going to start on the right, with the cartouche!

(๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ) – Thutmosis IV 

Now, above Anubis: 

๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ – Anubis

๐“ŽŸ – Lord

๐“‡พ๐“ค๐“ˆ…๐“‚ฆ – Sacred Land

Above the Two People: 

๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ž๐“€ข – Giving Praise

๐“‡‹๐“ˆ– – To

๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“ฒ – Anubis

๐“‡‹๐“ˆ– – by the 

๐“ƒ‚ – Wab Priest

(These hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are etched out, but probably read โ€œSiamunโ€)

๐“Œข๐“ˆ–๐“ – Sister

๐“ˆ˜๐“ – Beloved

๐“†‘ – His

๐“๐“„ฟ๐“‚‹๐“ค๐“ญ๐“…ฑ – Taruy

So all ๐“ŽŸ together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š—, the inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ reads: 

โ€œ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ŽŸ๐“‡พ๐“ค๐“ˆ…๐“‚ฆโ€ – Anubis, Lord of the Sacred Land

โ€œ๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ž๐“€ข๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“ฒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ƒ‚โ€ฆ๐“Œข๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ˆ˜๐“๐“†‘๐“๐“„ฟ๐“‚‹๐“ค๐“ญ๐“…ฑโ€ – Giving praise to Anubis, by the Wab Priest (Siamun) to his beloved sister Taruy.

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Relief of Anubis

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ I am going to be re-sharing one of my absolute favorite reliefs of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ! This relief of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is from a larger limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ piece that was made for Amenemhat Iโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“…“๐“„‚๐“ โ€œHeb Sedโ€ festival,ย  better known as the 30 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž† Year Jubilee!ย 

There are so many amazing facts about Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ข; I could probably write a book about him! Aptly named, โ€œLord of the Necropolis ๐“ŽŸ๐“‡พ๐“‚ฆ๐“ˆŠ,โ€ he was guardian of tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ and cemeteries. Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ข was the god ๐“Šน of mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž, and the title โ€œHe who is in the mummy wrappings ๐“‡‹๐“ถ๐“…ฑ๐“๐“Ž๐“Š–โ€œ signifies Anubisโ€™ ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ role in the mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž process, which is what he is most known for.ย 

Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ also could act as a guide to souls ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ in the Underworld ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰(referenced in the Pyramid Texts of Unas ๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹ด). One of his most famous roles is in the Weighing of the Heart, in which the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ personโ€™s heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ would be weighed against Maatโ€™s ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ฆ feather ๐“†„๐“บ by Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ.  Basically, Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ played a big role in all aspects of a personโ€™s death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ, and death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ was a huge part of the Egyptian religion. 

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช (the ones above Anubisโ€™ ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ head)! This is part of a much larger inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ!

๐“ถ๐“…ฑ๐“๐“Ž- He Who is in the Mummy Wrappings – (the first symbol is cut off in my picture, ๐“‡‹๐“ถ๐“…ฑ๐“๐“Ž๐“Š–, but it actually can be written both ways)

๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ – Lord of the Two Lands (we have seen this one many times before – part of the titles of the pharaoh)!

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Recumbent Jackal on Shrine Hieroglyph

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

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ, we are going to look at my favorite hieroglyphic symbol: Anubis ๐“ƒฃ! So out of all 700+ symbols, this symbol of Anubis on a shrine ๐“ƒฃ has always been (and will always be) my absolute favorite!

There are three ๐“ผ variants of this symbols: ๐“ƒข, ๐“ƒฃ, and ๐“ƒค. The variants just mean that all three symbols could be used in the same way to represent the same thing!

The official name of this symbol given by Egyptologists is โ€œrecumbent jackal on shrine ๐“ƒฃโ€ and it is used as both an ideogram and a determinative. ๐“ƒฃ is the determinative in the word โ€œAnubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃโ€ and also an ideogram for โ€œAnubis ๐“ƒฃ.โ€

When ๐“ƒฃ functions as an ideogram, the โ€œ๐“ƒฃโ€ would be pronounced the same as โ€œ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ.โ€ The proper way to say Anubis in Middle Egyptian is โ€œjnpwโ€ (pronounced like โ€œInpuโ€).
๐“‡‹ – j (i)
๐“ˆ– – n
๐“Šช – p
๐“…ฑ – w (u)
๐“ƒฃ – Determinative – not pronounced!

The name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– โ€œAnubisโ€ is actually the Greek version of his name, not the Middle Egyptian name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–, so that is why the hieroglyphs donโ€™t match up with how we are so used to saying Anubis/Inpuโ€™s name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–!

Since this is my absolute favorite symbol, when I was a kid, I was so mad that I could not use this symbol as part of my name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– (my name written out is ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“ฏ๐“ƒญ๐“€ญ).

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Anubis – Names and Titles in Hieroglyphs

Itโ€™s no secret that Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ (Inpu in Egyptian – the name Anubis is actually Greek) is my favorite of the Egyptian gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน! I have always been a fan of mummies ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ๐“ช, so it makes sense that the god of embalming, tombs, cemeteries, etc ended up being my favorite! Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ also could act as a guide to souls in the Underworld ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰(referenced in the Pyramid Texts of Unas).

The inscription (which is read from left to right on this particular text) states: ๐“‡“๐“๐“Šต๐“™๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ๐“ถ๐“บ๐“ˆ‹๐“†‘ ๐“‡‹๐“ถ๐“…ฑ๐“๐“Ž๐“Š–.

The translation is:
๐“‡“๐“๐“Šต๐“™ – An offering the king gives
๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ- Anubis
๐“ถ๐“บ๐“ˆ‹๐“†‘ – Upon his hill/mountain
๐“‡‹๐“ถ๐“…ฑ๐“๐“Ž๐“Š– – He who is in the mummy wrappings

The title โ€œ๐“ถ๐“บ๐“ˆ‹๐“†‘โ€ refers to Anubisโ€™ role as the protector of the tombs while โ€œ ๐“‡‹๐“ถ๐“…ฑ๐“๐“Ž๐“Š–โ€ refers to Anubisโ€™ importance as the god ๐“Šน of embalming/mummification.

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Egyptian Artifacts

Ptolemaic Statue of Anubis

This statueย ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พย of Anubisย ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃย is dated to the Ptolemaic Period (c.ย 332โ€“30 B.C.E.) and is quite beautiful ๐“„ค in person! I have never posted about this piece before because the lighting in the gallery is so bad that it makes it hard to get a good picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“!ย 

This statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is made of plaster and wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ, and has been painted ๐“ž๐“œ in many beautiful ๐“„ค colors! Anubisโ€™ ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ arms are raised in a protective ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ stance, as if he is welcoming the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ to the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. 

Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ held many important titles, all of which signify how important he was to not only embalming, but to all aspects of a personโ€™s death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ. The title โ€œUpon His Hill/Mountain ๐“ถ๐“บ๐“ˆ‹๐“†‘โ€ references the cliff that usually surrounded necropolises, which Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ (and jackals ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ๐“ฆ) would guard. The title โ€œHe who is in the mummy wrappings ๐“‡‹๐“ถ๐“…ฑ๐“๐“Ž๐“Š–โ€œ signifies Anubisโ€™ role in the mummification process, which is what he is most known for. 

The title โ€œIn front at the Godโ€™s booth ๐“…๐“Šน๐“‰ฑโ€ references Anubisโ€™ย ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃย place not only in the place of embalming, but in the burial chamberย ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‰ย of a tombย ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ย too! ย Before Osirisย ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญย became a much more major god ๐“Šน of the deadย ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ, Anubisย ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃย had that role and was known by the title โ€œForemost of the Westerners ๐“…๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“‹€๐“„ฟ๐“ฆย โ€ Since the sunย ๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“‡ณย set in the westย ๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ, the westย ๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠย was known as the land of the dead to the ancient Egyptiansย ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช.ย 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Graeco-Roman Stela

This is certainly an interesting stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ for sure!

This stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ is made of limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ but the craftsmanship is kind ofโ€ฆoff! This is very typical for work from the time period (1st Century B.C.E. – 4th Century A.D.). During the Greek and Roman periods, objects like amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช, stelae ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ๐“ช, statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช, and more were so mass produced that the craftsmanship suffered. Letโ€™s take a look at what is going on!ย 

The top section of the stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ seems to be trying to follow the traditional Egyptian way – the winged ๐“‚ง๐“Œณ๐“๐“†ƒ sun disc ๐“‡ณ๐“บ and the Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— are roughly carved but are definitely there! This design is known as โ€œ Horus the Behdetiteโ€ and is a representation of Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ that is popular on stelae ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ๐“ช. Under that, two ๐“ป jackals ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ๐“ฆ are depicted! 

In the middle section, from the left, Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is depicted holding an ankh ๐“‹น or key which most likely symbolizes his association with/ability to access the underworld (a very Graeco-Roman version of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ)! Then the four ๐“ฝ people to the right of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ are identified by the Greek inscription below: “Pekysis, son of Aruotes, and his brother Pachoumis; Tbaikis the elder and Tbaikis the younger.” Pekysis is thought to be the man holding the torch! Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ is depicted all the way on the right! 

Thanks to the MET for the Greek translation because I certainly donโ€™t speak Greek! 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Anubis – drawing, hieroglyph or both?

This is another closeup image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ from Imhotep’s ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช Book of the Dead (Early Ptolemaic Period) at the MET. While this image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is not part of an inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ, this is my favorite hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ; Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ on top of a shrine ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“…“๐“‚œ๐“‰!ย 

As many of you know, Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is my favorite Egyptian god ๐“Šน and he always has been! I get so excited whenever I see Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ in any form of Egyptian art! 

There are two ๐“ป variations of this particular hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ: ๐“ƒฃ and ๐“ƒค. Both can be used pretty much interchangeably and it was mostly style/aesthetics that determined which one was used in inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ. 

Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ can be written a bunch of different ways in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช: 

๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ข

๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ or ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒค

๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“ƒฃ or ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“ƒค

๐“ƒฃ or ๐“ƒค

๐“ข

Once again, style/aesthetics determined which variation was used in inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ. This is not all of the variations of the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–, but the ones you will see the most! 

Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is commonly associated with shrines, because he is a god ๐“Šน that is associated with themes surrounding death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ (mummification, places of burial). 

While the word in Middle Egyptian for shrine is ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“…“๐“‚œ๐“‰, shrines associated with Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ had their own word! A shrine associated with Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ was called ๐“‰ฑ๐“Šน, or the โ€œGodโ€™s Booth.โ€ 

One of Anubisโ€™ ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ titles that commonly appears after his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช is: ๐“…๐“Šน๐“‰ฑ or โ€œIn front at the Godโ€™s Booth.โ€