Tag: louvre

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Cartouches of Rameses II

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!ย Today we are going to look at the cartouches ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท๐“ฆ of Rameses II ๐“ฉ๐“›๐“ˆ˜๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“!

It always felt like my Nonno took pictures ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ช of everything in museums – I definitely learned from the best! Iโ€™m so happy that the two ๐“ป of us did take pictures ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ช of everything because all of the pictures ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ช you see on this account were either taken by me, Nonno, or sometimes another family member! Even though the glass in front of the artifacts can cause a glare and make it more difficult to take a picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, Iโ€™m thankful for it now because you can see my Nonnoโ€™s reflection!ย 

This is a calcite ๐“ฑ (alabaster) vase ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹ with the cartouches ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท๐“ฆ of Rameses II on it.ย 

Cartouches of Rameses II
Cartouches of Rameses II on a calcite vase at the Louvre.

We are going to start with the cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท on the right! This is the throne name of Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ–, which is preceded by the normal royal title! 

๐“ŽŸ – Lord 

๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ – Two Lands

๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– – Usermaatre setep en Ra

The name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– โ€œUsermaatre setep en Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ–โ€ translates to โ€œThe Justice of Ra is powerful, Chosen of Ra.โ€ Letโ€™s look at the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– more closely:

๐“‡ณ – Ra

๐“„Š – Powerful

๐“ง – Justice (Maat)

๐“‡ณ – Ra

๐“‰๐“ˆ– – Chosen

Now letโ€™s look at the cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท on the right! This is the birth name of Rameses II ๐“ฉ๐“›๐“ˆ˜๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ which is also preceded by the normal royal title! 

๐“ŽŸ – Lord 

๐“ˆ๐“ฅ – Appearances 

๐“ฉ๐“›๐“ˆ˜๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ – Ramessu mery Amun

The name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– โ€œRamessu mery Amun ๐“ฉ๐“›๐“ˆ˜๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“โ€ translates to โ€œRa has fashioned him, beloved of Amun.โ€ The name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– could also be translated as โ€œRa Bore Him.โ€ Letโ€™s look at the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– more closely:

๐“ฉ – Amun

๐“› – Ra

๐“ˆ˜ – Beloved

๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ – Bore Him/Fashioned Him/Born Of

Rameses IIโ€™s birth name cartouche has many variants and can also be written like this: ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“. Certain symbols can be substituted for each other because ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– and ๐“ฉ both mean Amun ๐“œ and ๐“‡ณ๐“บ both mean Ra.ย 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Lion Game Pieces and Dice

These little lions ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“„›๐“ช arenโ€™t actually statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช – they are pieces to a game ๐“‡‹๐“ฒ๐“๐“Š‘๐“„›๐“ฆ! What really cool is that these lions ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“๐“„›๐“ช are dated to c. 3,000 B.C.E., which is considered to be part of the Early Dynastic Period/First Dynasty.ย  These particular lions ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“„›๐“ช are made out of ivory ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“…ฑ๐“ŒŸ, and there are many examples of these lions ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“„›๐“ช in museums all around the world ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ!ย 

Lion Game Pieces
Lion Game Pieces (left) and ancient Egyptian dice (right) at the Louvre

The game ๐“‡‹๐“ฒ๐“๐“Š‘๐“„›๐“ฆ that these lions ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“„›๐“ช are a part of us called โ€œMehen ๐“Ž”๐“ˆ–๐“†“/๐“Ž”๐“ˆ–๐“†—โ€ or โ€œSerpentโ€ in English! Mehen ๐“Ž”๐“ˆ–๐“†— was a popular game ๐“‡‹๐“ฒ๐“๐“Š‘๐“„›๐“ฆ during the Old Kingdom and persisted from c. 3,000 B.C.E. to about c. 2,300 B.C.E. The game board consists of a coiled snake ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†˜ while the game pieces are the lions ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“„›๐“ช (probably about six ๐“ฟ) and several marbles. 

There are also some dice in this display – it has always fascinated me that there really havenโ€™t been any changes to the look or even the function of dice since ancient Egyptian times! I believe the oldest set of dice were actually found in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–! Some believe that the dice could have been used to play the board game Senet ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“ . 

Why were game boards ๐“‡‹๐“ฒ๐“๐“Š‘๐“„›๐“ฆ and pieces placed in tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ? Was is so the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ could be entertained in the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰? Was it part of a ritual? We will probably never know!ย 

It’s truly amazing how things that amuse humans (such as board games) have not changed throughout the millennia! I love seeing artifacts like this because it creates a connection to the present, and I love seeing that.

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Egyptian Artifacts

Statue of Akhenaten and Nefertiti

The love story of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— is one that definitely captures the attention of Egyptologists and non-Egyptologists alike! I have always been fascinated by these two ๐“ป and I was so excited to see this painted limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of the two ๐“ป of them at the Louvre! It was one of my must-see pieces! This statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ reminds me of the popular โ€œcouples statuesโ€ that were prominent in burials during the Old Kingdom! โ€œCouple Statuesโ€ depict a husband and wife sitting together! 

Akhenaten and Nefertiti
Limestone statue depicting Nefertiti and Akhenaten

Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— was the โ€œGreat Royal Wife ๐“‡“๐“๐“ˆž๐“๐“…จโ€ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–. This statue depicts Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— (left) and Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– (right) holding hands and walking forward. We know they are walking forward because one foot is placed in front of the other in a striding position. I also love the detail of the sandals ๐“ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“‹ธ๐“ช on their feet! They are also both wearing broad collars ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹๐“ฆ, the necklace ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง of choice for royals and the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน. Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– is also wearing the blue Khepresh crown ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“‹™ on his head, while Nefertiti appears to be wearing what looks like the red crown ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹”, but there is blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ on it! The Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— is still present on the front of both crowns!ย 

What was the purpose of this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ? This came from a private home, where it was used in a shrine ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“…“๐“‚œ๐“‰ to worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“—. The common people would worship Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— because they were thought to be manifestations ๐“†ฃ๐“†ฃ๐“†ฃ of the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ here on Earth. 

The typical Amarna-style (elongated faces and limbs, more body fat in the stomach and thighs) is present here, which makes it very easy to identify these figures as Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— and Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–. The Amarna art revolution is so interesting because Egyptian art didnโ€™t change much until Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– rule, then there was this drastic change, and then once Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– died, the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช reverted back to the traditional art style and it stated that way for the rest of the civilization. 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Sarcophagus of Pharaoh Rameses III

This striking red granite ๐“…“๐“Œณ๐“๐“Žถ sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ belonged to the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Rameses III ๐“›๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‹ด๐“‹พ๐“‰บ. Rameses III ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“ˆ˜๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– was the second pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป of the 20th Dynasty and he ruled for 32 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“ป tumultuous years. His reign was marked by political, economic, and military issues. 

The most interesting part about Rameses IIIโ€™s ๐“›๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‹ด๐“‹พ๐“‰บ reign for me is what is known as the โ€œHarem Conspiracyโ€ – Rameses IIIโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“ˆ˜๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– secondary wife, Tiye ๐“˜๐“‡Œ๐“ญ๐“, plotted to have Rameses III ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“ˆ˜๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– killed so her son ๐“…ญ Pentawer ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“๐“„ฟ๐“…ฉ๐“‚‹๐“น could become pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป instead of the chosen heir, Rameses IV ๐“‡ณ๐“„Ÿ๐“Šƒ๐“Šƒ. While Tiye ๐“˜๐“‡Œ๐“ญ๐“ and her conspirators (other high officials) succeeded in killing Rameses III ๐“›๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‹ด๐“‹พ๐“‰บ, they did not succeed in establishing Pentawer ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“๐“„ฟ๐“…ฉ๐“‚‹๐“น as pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป.ย  All of the conspirators were caught and put to death and Rameses IV ๐“‡ณ๐“„Ÿ๐“Šƒ๐“Šƒ succeeded Rameses III ๐“›๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‹ด๐“‹พ๐“‰บ as the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป.ย 

Sarcophagus of Rameses III
The red granite sarcophagus of Pharaoh Rameses III, which depicts the goddess Isis

Here, on the sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ of Rameses III ๐“›๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‹ด๐“‹พ๐“‰บ, Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ is depicted where the feet of the deceased would be placed. Isisโ€™ ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ sister Nephthys ๐“‰ ๐“๐“†‡ is usually located where the deceasedโ€™s head would be located. Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ is easily recognized in Egyptian art because she is normally shown with the headdress of a throne, ๐“Šจ, which is also one of the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช in her name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–. Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ is shown with wings ๐“‚ง๐“Œณ๐“๐“†ƒ๐“ฆ and sitting on the hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ for โ€œgold ๐“‹ž.โ€ย 

Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ is known as a devoted wife ๐“‚‘๐“๐“ and mother ๐“…๐“๐“, but was also associated with resurrection ๐“„Ÿ๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ due to her role in piecing her brother/husband Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ back together after he was dismembered by their brother Seth ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„ก๐“ฃ. She is the mother ๐“…๐“๐“ of Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ, who was magically conceived after Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ brought Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ back to life ๐“‹น. 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Sistrum with the Face of Hathor

Hathor ๐“‰ก is one of the most prominent goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“ of the Egyptian pantheon. Along with Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ, she is regarded as the โ€œGodโ€™s mother ๐“…๐“๐“Šนโ€ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, but is also the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ of love ๐“ˆ˜๐“, joy ๐“„ซ๐“„ฃ๐“, music ๐“‡‹๐“Ž›๐“‡Œ, and dance ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“‚ป- basically the fun things in life!ย 

Sistrum
Two sistrums with Hathor’s face on them at the Louvre

In some variations of Egyptian mythology, Hathor ๐“‰ก is also the wife ๐“‚‘๐“๐“ of Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ, and the daughter ๐“…ญ๐“ of Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“›. Hathor ๐“‰ก is usually associated with cows ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’๐“ช and can take the form of a cow ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’ in many forms of Egyptian art. 

The piece above is a sistrum ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ, which is a musical instrument from ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. A sistrum ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ was a musical instrument that is similar to a modern rattle or tambourine. 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! 

Music ๐“‡‹๐“Ž›๐“‡Œ was essential to many religious rituals, so it was considered to be extremely important! There is even a word in Middle Egyptian just for โ€œSistrum Player/Music Priest: ๐“‡‹๐“Ž›๐“‡‹๐“Œ‚โ€!!! 

I love music ๐“‡‹๐“Ž›๐“‡Œ and it is something that brings me so much joy ๐“„ซ๐“„ฃ๐“! I love how Hathor ๐“‰ก is associated with both of these things, because I do truly think that music ๐“‡‹๐“Ž›๐“‡Œ and joy ๐“„ซ๐“„ฃ๐“ are linked together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š— – and I’m sure that the ancient Egyptian people did too!

BTS ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“‹ด and Il Volo ๐“‡‹๐“ƒญ ๐“†‘๐“ฏ๐“ƒญ๐“ฏ are my absolute favorite artists and I love ๐“ˆ˜๐“ listening to their music ๐“‡‹๐“Ž›๐“‡Œ! What I love ๐“ˆ˜๐“ about BTS ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“‹ด most are their lyrics – they have written some truly beautiful ๐“„ค songs!ย 

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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! 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Limestone Relief of Hathor as a Cow

This little limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ relief of Hathor ๐“‰ก as a cow ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’ at the Louvre is very small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ and simple but I love it! One of the reasons I love Hathor ๐“‰ก so much is because I love cows ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’๐“ฆ – not only they adorable, even today they are a life source for humans!ย 

Hathor as a cow, with her characteristic crown on her head!

In ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, cows ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’๐“ฆ were venerated ๐“„ช๐“๐“‡Œ and thought of as divine ๐“Šน long before 7000 B.C.E. – which is when archaeologists believe the domestication of cows ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’๐“ฆ took place. Some historians think that the reverence for cows ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’๐“ฆ in ancient Egypt started during the Neolithic times, and since cows ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’๐“ฆ were so vital to culture and life ๐“‹น, their importance persisted in the forms of early goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“ such as Hathor ๐“‰ก, Nut ๐“Œ๐“๐“‡ฏ๐“€ญ and Neith ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹Œ๐“€ญ. Cows ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’๐“ฆ gave milk, and thus life, just like women ๐“‚‘๐“๐“๐“ช, hence why they were so revered ๐“„ช๐“๐“‡Œ! 

Hathor ๐“‰ก can be easily recognized in Egyptian art because she will either be represented as a cow ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’, or as a beautiful woman with a solar disc ๐“‡ณ and cow horns ๐“„‹ as her crown. Even when she is in cow ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’ form, Hathor ๐“‰ก will have her characteristic crown on her head, as seen in this relief! As Egyptian religion evolved, the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ adopted this same crown, so it is difficult to tell them apart in later period art – that is where hieroglyphs come in handy ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! 

Even in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, the words for cow and beautiful are linked – look below at how similar โ€œcowโ€ and โ€œbeautifulโ€ are – even โ€œcowโ€ and โ€œbeautiful womanโ€ are the same word – only the determinative different so it would have been pronounced the same! I think this connection to language just demonstrates how important cows ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’๐“ฆ were to the Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช. 

๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’ – Cow

๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ – Beautiful Woman

๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ – Beautiful

The hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช on this particular relief are cut off, but โ€œ๐“ŽŸ๐“โ€ is the word for all, or Lady/Mistress!ย 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Imhotep Statues at the Louvre

I love ๐“ˆ˜๐“ seeing Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช in museums, and I am so lucky to have been able to see so many beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช in museums around the world with my Nonno! Due to my Nonnoโ€™s enthusiasm, itโ€™s not just me that loves Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช, but the whole family ๐“…•๐“‰”๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ฆ loves ๐“ˆ˜๐“ these statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช too and can point them out immediately! Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช is always depicted as a man ๐“Šƒ๐“€€๐“ค seated in a chair, usually with a piece of papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› in his lap, so he is quite easy to spot once you know what to look for!

These Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช are at the Louvre, and are dated to the Ptolemaic Period, which is when Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช was widely worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข as a god ๐“Šน, especially by the Greeks. Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช was one of the few non-royal Egyptians to be deified. During his lifetime (two thousand ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ years before the Ptolemaic Period), Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช is credited with designing the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Djoserโ€™s ๐“‚ฆ Step Pyramid (the first ever pyramid ๐“‹๐“…“๐“‚‹๐“‰ด) at Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š–.

The larger of these statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช is interesting because it is made of graywacke ๐“ท๐“‚‹๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ˆ– stone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช instead of bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ! Most Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช are made out of bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ, so it was so cool to see Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช depicted in a different medium (plus I love rocks ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“ฆ). There is also some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช on the papyrus scroll ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› on Imhotepโ€™s ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช lap, and while I canโ€™t read them all because itโ€™s hard to see, one part says โ€œFor the Soul of Imhotep ๐“ˆ–๐“‚“๐“ˆ–๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช.โ€ย 

What I love ๐“ˆ˜๐“ about the smaller ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ is that there is an inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on the base! Itโ€™s a little hard to see, but Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! 

๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช – Imhotep (his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–translates to โ€œHe Who Comes in Peace.โ€)

๐“™ – Given

๐“‹น – Life

๐“…ฑ๐“‘ – Prosperity/Wellbeing

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Egyptian Artifacts

Small Stela of the Vizier Paser

This tiny ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ and unassuming stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ at the Louvre is really important to me and my Nonno because it depicts Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ, who was my Nonnoโ€™s favorite non-royal Egyptian! Nonno and I would always make it a point to try and find something related to Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ in every museum we went to! 

Though he wasnโ€™t a royal, Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ was one of the most prominent men of his time and he was vizier ๐“…ท๐“๐“บ๐“€€ under two ๐“ป pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป – Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  and then Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ–.  Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ served many different roles over twenty-five ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“พ years! Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ was also an architect and one of his most famous works is the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ of Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  in the Valley of the Kings! 

A vizier ๐“…ท๐“๐“บ๐“€€ was the highest ranking official ๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“€€ and was the most powerful position in the government, besides the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. Not only was the vizier ๐“…ท๐“๐“บ๐“€€ the most trusted advisor to the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, but he also saw to the day-to-day operations of the government. The vizier ๐“…ท๐“๐“บ๐“€€ was in charge of architecture, taxation, agriculture, military, the judiciary, finances, and many other things. Honestly that sounds exhausting, however, his hard work got Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ a nice tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ for himself, so thatโ€™s how we know so much about him! I guess wanting to preserve his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– for eternity ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› was a success! 

Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ had many different titles, including โ€œHigh Preist of Amun ๐“Šน๐“›๐“Œ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ ,โ€ โ€œsuperintendent of every work of the king,โ€ โ€œprophet of Maat,โ€ โ€œmouth of Nekhenโ€ and โ€œchief of secrets of the hieroglyphs.โ€ This last title is probably why he is depicted with the god Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ on this small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ! 

I wish I could see the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช more clearly, but I can see Paserโ€™s ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– on the bottom part of the stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ! 

Sorry the first picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is a bit blurry – I wanted to get as close as I could! The second picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ shows how small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ the stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ is in relation to other objects!

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Alexander the Great in Hieroglyphs

In 332 BCE, Alexander the Great ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒญ๐“Žก๐“Šƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“Šƒ conquered Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– and became pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป! This was the beginning of the Hellenistic Period of Egyptian history. 

So why was Alexander ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒญ๐“Žก๐“Šƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“Šƒ recognized as a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป? The Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช saw him as the person who liberated them from the Persians! Alexander ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒญ๐“Žก๐“Šƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“Šƒ also restored many of the Egyptian temples ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰๐“ช and even built new monuments ๐“ ๐“ dedicated to the Egyptian gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน! Some of these monuments ๐“ ๐“ show him worshipping Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–, who basically wouldโ€™ve been the Egyptian version of Zeus. After Alexanderโ€™s ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒญ๐“Žก๐“Šƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“Šƒ death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ in Babylon, Ptolemy I ๐“Šช๐“๐“ฏ๐“ƒญ๐“๐“‡Œ๐“‹ด became pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป and founded the Ptolemaic Dynasty.

Since Alexander ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒญ๐“Žก๐“Šƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“Šƒ was Macedonian and not native Egyptian, his cartouche is very phonetic – all 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. Letโ€™s take a closer look! 

๐“„ฟ – The โ€œEgyptian Vulture ๐“„ฟโ€ represents the sound โ€œ3โ€ which would be pronounced like โ€œah.โ€ 

๐“ƒญ – the โ€œrecumbent lion ๐“ƒญโ€ was traditionally a biliteral phonogram for the sound โ€œrw,โ€ however, during the Hellenistic Period it adopted the sound of โ€œL.โ€ 

๐“Žก – The โ€œBasket with a Handle ๐“Žกโ€ symbol has the sound of โ€œk.โ€

๐“Šƒ – The โ€œdoorbolt ๐“Šƒโ€ symbol represents the sound โ€œzโ€ or โ€œs.โ€ Itโ€™s also the ideogram for the word โ€œdoorbolt.โ€ 

๐“‡‹ – The โ€œreed ๐“‡‹โ€ represents the sound of โ€œฤฑอ—,โ€ however it can also function as an ideogram for the word โ€œreed ๐“‡‹๐“บ.โ€ 

๐“ˆ– – The โ€œripple of water ๐“ˆ–โ€ is associated with the sound of โ€œn!โ€ 

๐“‚ง – The โ€œhand ๐“‚งโ€ represents the sound โ€œdโ€ and is also the ideogram for the word โ€œhand.โ€ 

๐“‚‹ – The โ€œmouth ๐“‚‹โ€ symbol is used to represent the sound โ€œr.โ€ It can also be used as an ideogram for the word โ€œmouth ๐“‚‹๐“บ.โ€ 

๐“Šƒ – see above! 

The hieroglyphs of โ€œ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒญ๐“Žก๐“Šƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“Šƒโ€ basically spell out โ€œAlksindrs.โ€ Itโ€™s pretty cool to see the versatility of the hieroglyphic ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช symbols with examples of foreign names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ!