Tag: artifact

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Egyptian Artifacts

Nefertem

Here is a bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of the god ๐“Šน Nefertem ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ๐“€ฏ!

Nefertem ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ๐“€ฏ is usually associated with perfumes, but this role is secondary to his role as the god ๐“Šน of the lotus flower ๐“†ธ that rose out of the primeval waters ๐“ˆ— in the Egyptian ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“ creation myth. However, in the Pyramid Texts (from the Old Kingdom), Nefertem ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ๐“€ฏ is actually described as โ€œThe lotus blossom which is before the nose of Ra,โ€ so he was clearly always associated with both lotus flowers ๐“†ธ and perfumes/scents!

Nefertem ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ๐“€ฏ is always depicted as a young man ๐“Šƒ๐“€€๐“ค with a large lotus flower ๐“†ธ on his head ๐“ถ๐“บ! Less commonly, he can be shown as a human body with a lion ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“„› head ๐“ถ๐“บ wearing the lotus ๐“†ธ headdress.

In Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š–, Nefertem ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ๐“€ฏ was part of the triad with Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ and Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“…“๐“๐“, and was often portrayed as their child ๐“๐“‡Œ๐“€•. Father ๐“‡‹๐“๐“€€-Mother ๐“…๐“๐“-Child ๐“๐“‡Œ๐“€• triads and family ๐“…•๐“‰”๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ฆ units were extremely important to Egyptian culture! Nefertem ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ๐“€ฏ wasnโ€™t commonly worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข by the masses because he was usually associated with royal monuments. His association with Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“…“๐“๐“ also made him somewhat feared because she was a strong and ferocious goddess ๐“Šน๐“!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Duamutef – Canopic Jar

While Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ may be the most common jackal ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ-headed god ๐“Šน in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, there are other gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน that have the head ๐“ถ๐“บ of a jackal ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ as well! This is a faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ canopic jar with the head of the god ๐“Šน Duamutef ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘!

Duamutef ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘, whose name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– can also be written as ๐“‚ง๐“ฏ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘, was one of the four Sons of Horus. Duamutefโ€™s ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘ job was to protect ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ the stomach ๐“‚‹๐“„ฃ๐“ป of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ which is why he is commonly represented on the lid of canopic jars. The function of the canopic jar was to hold the organs ๐“‡‹๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“„น๐“ฆ that were removed during the process of mummification.

Duamutef ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘ is associated with the west ๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ, and all four Sons of Horus are associated with a cardinal direction. The goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Neith ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹Œ๐“€ญ was tasked with protecting ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ Duamutef ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘. The name Duamutef ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘ means โ€œHe who adores his mother.โ€

This canopic jar is dated to the Ramesside period (19th Dynasty, c. 1295โ€“1185 B.C.E.).

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Egyptian Artifacts

Wepwawet

Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is not the only jackal ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ-headed god ๐“Šน in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– and it can be easy to get some of them confused because they look similar! Even in ancient texts Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ and Wepwawet ๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง can be confused with each other but they are separate deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน! This is a bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of the god ๐“Šน Wepwawet ๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง! While the head is cut off, the Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— is in front of Wepwawet ๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง on this piece!

This piece was likely used in a royal procession, as Wepwawet ๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง was one of the symbols carried in front of a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป during certain rituals/ceremonies. Wepwawetโ€™s ๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– translates to โ€œopener of the ways,โ€ and he was even associated with clearing the path for the sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ to rise in the sky ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ! This is probably why he was carried in front of a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป during processions!

Wepwawet ๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง is associated with Abydos ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“ˆ‹๐“Š– and is likely the oldest god ๐“Šน associated with the jackal ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ! Wepwawet ๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง has been depicted on objects that even pre-date the Narmer ๐“†ข๐“‹ Palette ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“๐“†ฑ! Wepwawet ๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง is associated with war and conquest, and leading ritual processions.

There are a couple of different variations of Wepwawetโ€™s ๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช:
๐“ƒง
๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง
๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ข

The first way the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– is written is just the determinative symbol, while the other two ๐“ป ways show the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– spelled out the same, but the determinative at the end is different!

This piece is dated to the Late Periodโ€“Ptolemaic Period (c. 664โ€“30 B.C.E.).

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Egyptian Artifacts

Khonsu

Letโ€™s talk about Khonsu ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡“๐“…ฑ๐“€ฏ!

The god ๐“Šน Khonsu ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡“๐“…ฑ๐“€ฏ is definitely getting some media attention due to Moon Knight! While this gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ pendant may look like Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› at quick glance, this is actually the god ๐“Šน Khonsu ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡“๐“…ฑ๐“€ฏ! When they are both in their falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„ form, they might be mistaken with each other, especially since Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› is represented with the sun disk ๐“‡ณ๐“บ on his head ๐“ถ๐“บ, while Khonsu ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡“๐“…ฑ๐“€ฏ is represented with the moon ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“‡น on his head ๐“ถ๐“บ – since both are circles, they do look similar!

Khonsuโ€™s ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡“๐“…ฑ๐“€ฏ role in the pantheon has changed throughout time, and he was quite the bloodthirsty god ๐“Šน in the Pyramid Texts, however in the New Kingdom he was a more peaceful god ๐“Šน of the moon ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“‡น. He was considered to be the son ๐“…ญ of Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ and Mut ๐“๐“„ฟ๐“€ญ, and together the three of them made up the Theban triad.

While Khonsu ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡“๐“…ฑ๐“€ฏ does take the form of a falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„, he is usually represented as a man ๐“Šƒ๐“€€๐“ค wrapped in mummy bandages and wearing a crescent ๐“‡น shaped necklace! He can also be depicted with his hands/arms ๐“‚๐“ฆ restrained. That representation sounds familiar, doesnโ€™t it?! The anthropomorphic form of Khonsu ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡“๐“…ฑ๐“€ฏ definitely inspired parts of the Moon Knight comics and tv show!

The name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– โ€œKhonsu ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡“๐“…ฑ๐“€ฏโ€œ is thought to come from the verb โ€œto traverseโ€ and it means โ€œhe who traverses (the sky).โ€ This piece is dated to the 19th-20th Dynasties (c. 1295โ€“1070 B.C.E).

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Egyptian Artifacts

The Winged Scarab

The Winged Scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ is a large faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ amulet ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…† that consists of three ๐“ผ separate pieces; the scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ itself and the two ๐“ป wings ๐“‚ง๐“Œณ๐“๐“†ƒ๐“ฆ that go on either side. These amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช were placed usually on the chest of a mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ, and sometimes were even sewn into the beaded shrouds that would cover the wrapped mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ in the sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ. There are even holes in the amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช to allow for them to be attached securely! Most of the time, the pieces were integrated right into the mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ bandages just like the other funerary amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช. I love this type of amulet ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…† so much!

The wings ๐“‚ง๐“Œณ๐“๐“†ƒ๐“ฆ are not those fo a beetle, but are actually the wings ๐“‚ง๐“Œณ๐“๐“†ƒ๐“ฆ of a bird! The wings ๐“‚ง๐“Œณ๐“๐“†ƒ๐“ฆ allowed the scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ to join the rising and setting of the sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ each day – which to the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช represented the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The cycle was central to the ancient Egyptian ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“ religion! As a god ๐“Šน who was constantly reborn, Khepri ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“‡‹๐“› was associated with resurrection!

Khepri ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“‡‹๐“› is the god ๐“Šน that is associated with scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช and he is the god ๐“Šน of the rising sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ in the east ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ. The name โ€œ Khepri ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“‡‹๐“›โ€ is pronounced pretty much the same as โ€œscarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃโ€ even though they are spelled differently!

In this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ are also the four Sons of Horus amulets, which I have posted about previously! The four Sons of Horus were usually placed below the winged scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ on the mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ, just like in this display!

The Winged Scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ also showed up in the Marvel show Moon Knight a lot! What did you think of Laylaโ€™s outfit in the last episode?!?! I loved it! If I was a superhero I would want that to be my costume!!!

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Faience Foundation Brick of Thutmosis III

โ€œThe Great God, Menkheperra, Beloved of Osiris.โ€

This faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ piece is most likely a foundation deposit brick of a building that was built during the reign ๐“‹พ of Thutmosis III ๐“…๐“„ ๐“‹ด.

Foundation deposit bricks were ceremonial offerings that were placed at the corners of buildings, courts, temples ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰๐“ฆ , tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ, and pretty much the foundation of any building. They can almost be thought of as the ancient version of a ground-breaking ceremony. The foundation deposit bricks usually contained the cartouche of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป that the building was constructed under on it!

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

๐“Šน๐“„ค – [The] Great God
(๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ) – Menkheperra [Throne name of Thutmosis III]
๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ – Osiris
๐“Œน๐“‡Œ – Beloved

So the full inscription reads: โ€œThe Great God, Menkheperra, Beloved of Osiris.โ€

โ€œBeloved ๐“Œน๐“‡Œโ€ is a word that pops up a lot in inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ so it is a good one to know! It is also popular as the first part of a personโ€™s name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–. For example the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– โ€œMeryamunโ€ or โ€œBeloved of Amunโ€ was a very popular name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–!

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Egyptian Artifacts

“Small Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut”

Nicole (me) with Hatshepsut!

Here I am with a small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ โ€œKneeling Statue of Hatshepsut.โ€ This statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is in the โ€œHatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช Roomโ€ at the MET – aka Gallery 115, which is my absolute favorite room in any museum I have ever been to! I love the details on this statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ – especially the black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ around the eyes ๐“น๐“๐“ฆ!

Small State of Hatshepsut that shows the painted details around the eyes

This statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is made out of black/pink granite ๐“…“๐“Œณ๐“๐“Žถ (also called red granite by geologists)! The black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ and pink granite ๐“…“๐“Œณ๐“๐“Žถ is traditionally found in Aswan ๐“‹ด๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“Œ๐“ฒ๐“Š– (Upper Egypt ๐“‡“). In the USA, black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ and pink granite is commonly found in Nevada and other western ๐“‹€๐“๐“ญ states!

While not as grand as some of her other statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช that adorned her temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ at Deir el-Bahri ๐“‚ฆ๐“‚‹๐“‚ฆ๐“ฅ๐“‰, this one makes quite an impression. There are at least eight of these statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช, and many of them are in the MET. They were most likely used to line the upper court at her temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰, and are thought to be intended for her Heb Sed festival (a festival used to celebrate 30 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž† years of rule, and then celebrated every three ๐“ผ years after the initial 30 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†). Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช, ever the Pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป to break from tradition, instead celebrated hers in the 16th ๐“Ž†๐“ฟ year of her rule!

In this statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ, Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช is kneeling and is seen holding the nemset jar ๐“Œ. The jar ๐“Œ has the djed pillar ๐“Šฝ adorning the front. The djed pillar ๐“Šฝ is thought to be the spine of Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ, and it represents stability and endurance – both are attributes a Pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป needed in order to be a successful ruler ๐“‹พ!

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Egyptian Artifacts

The Cartouche of Seti I

A wooden Ushabti and Scarabs that contain the cartouche of Seti I (The MET)

These are pieces that contain the cartouche of Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ ! There is a wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ and a bunch of scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช – some of my favorite types of artifacts!

One of my favorite things to see in museums are the wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ figures of Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ . While only about 700 ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ of these wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ figures remain, it is estimated that Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  had over 1000 ๐“†ผ of them. What happened to the ones that are missing? They were used for firewood when Belzoni was excavating the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰!

My Nonno frequently told me about this – he was not happy that artifacts were destroyed! Anytime Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  came up in conversation (which was often because he was one of my Nonnoโ€™s favorite pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ) my Nonno would say โ€œcan you believe some idiots used his ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ as torches??!!โ€

Seti Iโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  remaining ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ are in museums throughout the world ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ and I have always been on the lookout for them whenever I go to a museum! Originally, my Nonno and I would always point them out to each other. Now whenever I see them, they are a reminder of my Nonno.

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Egyptian Artifacts

Bronze Statue of Imhotep

Small Bronze Statue of Imhotep at The MET

Seeing the small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช of Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช are one of my favorite parts of going to the museum! My Nonno loved Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช and always pointed him out to us! We even played a game as to who could find Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช first!ย I had to get a picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ of me with the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ!

Nicole (me) with Imhotep at The MET

Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช, whose name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– means โ€œhe who comes in peace,โ€ was a high official ๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“€€ (โ€œoverseer of the worksโ€ and a priest ๐“Šน๐“› of Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ) during the reign ๐“‹พ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Djoser ๐“‚ฆ during the 3rd Dynasty. Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช is most famous for constructing the Step Pyramid ๐“‹๐“…“๐“‚‹๐“‰ด at Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š– (modern day Saqqara). In addition to being a priest ๐“Šน๐“› and architect, he is also connected with medicine, even though no written evidence of his achievements in medicine has been found.

Even though Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช lived during the Old Kingdom and reached demigod status (he is thought to be the son ๐“…ญ of Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ) within a century of his death, it wasnโ€™t until the Late Period/Ptolemaic Period that the worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข of Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช reached its peak. Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช is one of the few commoners to ever reach godly status and cult centers dedicated to his worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข were located at Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š–, Philae, and Thebes ๐“Œ€๐“๐“Š–. His tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ has never been found, though if I had to guess, I would think it would be at Saqqara – near the Step Pyramid ๐“‹๐“…“๐“‚‹๐“‰ด!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Amulets of Ra-Horakhty, Amun, and Taweret

I love tiny ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ things and amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช are no exception! Here are three ๐“ผ beautiful ๐“„ค faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช of Ra-Horakhty ๐“…Š๐“”๐“”๐“ค, Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ, and Taweret ๐“๐“„ฟ๐“…ฉ๐“‚‹๐“๐“†—!

Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› is considered by historians to be Egyptโ€™s most important deity ๐“Šน. Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› is an ancient deity ๐“Šน who combined with many different solar and cosmic gods throughout Egyptian history. Ra-Horakhty ๐“…Š๐“”๐“”๐“ค is the combination of Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› and Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ. Ra-Horakhty ๐“…Š๐“”๐“”๐“ค is the god ๐“Šน of the morning sun ๐“…ƒ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ. Images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ and depictions of Ra-Horakhty ๐“…Š๐“”๐“”๐“ค became more prominent during the Late Period.

Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ is also considered to be one of the most important gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน in the Egyptian pantheon and was first mentioned in the Pyramid Texts. Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ had many different roles and was worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข as a creator god, solar god, fertility god, warrior god, and king of the gods. Amunโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ is also considered the โ€œuniversal godโ€ meaning that his power permeated the cosmos and all that the cosmos contained!

While the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช both feared and revered ๐“‡‹๐“Œด๐“„ช hippos ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ๐“ฆ due to their strength and power, Taweret ๐“๐“„ฟ๐“…ฉ๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— was a goddess ๐“Šน๐“ who was a protector ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ of women ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“๐“ช and children ๐“๐“‡Œ๐“€•๐“ช! The name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– Taweret ๐“๐“„ฟ๐“…ฉ๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— actually means โ€œthe great (female) one!โ€ That is certainly a name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– that suits her!