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Reading Hieroglyphs

“Beloved of Maat”

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

This inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ is very simple because it contains the shortened variant of both of the words! 

๐“Œบ – Beloved (๐“Œป๐“‚‹๐“‡Œ)

๐“ง – Maโ€™at (๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ง)

I havenโ€™t spoken about Maat ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ง in a while, so letโ€™s learn a bit more about her! So why would a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป want to be the โ€œBeloved of Maat ๐“Œบ๐“ง?โ€

Maat ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ง, the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ of truth ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„, justice ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„๐“œ, harmony and was an extremely important goddess ๐“Šน๐“ in the Egyptian pantheon. 

Maat ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ง was not only a goddess ๐“Šน๐“ but also a concept in ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– – to live ๐“‹น by Maโ€™at ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ง was to always act truthfully and with good intentions, as opposed to chaotically – which is how the ancient Egyptians viewed other societies at the time. The goddess Maat ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ง was the personification of these concepts and of cosmic order. 

Being a โ€œBeloved of Maat ๐“Œบ๐“งโ€ was the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป taking the place of Maat ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ง in the creation myth. When Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› emerged from the primeval mound, he set his daughter ๐“…ญ๐“ Maat ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ง in the place of chaos and to keep cosmic order. One of the roles of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป was to do the same. 

Maat ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ง is always portrayed as having a feather ๐“†„๐“บ on her head, whether in reliefs or even in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! You can always tell that an image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is of Maat ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ง by looking for the feather ๐“†„๐“บ! 

Maatโ€™s ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ง most important role was in the judgement of the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ.  The god ๐“Šน Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ข would weigh the heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ of the deceased against Maatโ€™s ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ฆ feather ๐“†„ to see if they lived a true ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„ and just life ๐“‹น. If the deceasedโ€™s heart  ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ was balanced with the feather ๐“†„, they were declared โ€œtrue of voice ๐“™๐“Šค,โ€ and could meet Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ. 

Also, notice the similarities between all of these words that have to do with Maat – the determinatives are different, which changed the meaning of the word, but they would have been pronounced the same! 

๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„ – Truth

๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„๐“œ – Justice

๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ง – Maat

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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)!

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Video

Canopic Jars (Video)

The Four Sons of Horus were an integral part of ancient Egyptian religion – usually in a funerary aspect. 

During the process of mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž (which took about 70 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž† days), the embalmers removed the internal organs ๐“‡‹๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“„น๐“ฆ and placed them in Canopic Jars. Each of the four ๐“ฝ jars was for one of the major internal organs ๐“‡‹๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“„น๐“ฆ and each jar had a different head which represented one of the four Sons of Horus.

Qebehsenuef ๐“๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“†‘๐“€ญ (falcon head) held/protected the intestines ๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฎ๐“„ฟ๐“ฒ๐“ผ. 

Hapi ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“‡Œ๐“€ญ (baboon head) held/protected the lungs ๐“Šƒ๐“Œด๐“„ฅ๐“…ฑ๐“„บ

Duamutef ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘๐“€ญ (jackal head) held/protected the stomach ๐“‚‹๐“„ฃ๐“ป

Imseti ๐“‡‹๐“…“๐“Šƒ๐“ฟ๐“€ญ (human head) held/protected the liver ๐“…“๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„น๐“ธ๐“ธ๐“ธ

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Reading Hieroglyphs – Stela of Irethoreru

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

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at a stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ for a man ๐“Šƒ๐“€€๐“ค named Irethoreru and it is dated to the 25th Dynasty (Third Intermediate Period, c. 775-663 B.C.E.). I have posted about the full stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ in the past, but today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to take a closer look at some of the inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on it! I like to highlight the titles/epithets associated with Gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน and Goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“, because they are inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ that you can easily recognize a lot!ย 

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! We are starting right underneath the solar disc!ย 

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ – Osiris

๐“‰ผ๐“Šน – Great God (this is actually written backwards and should be โ€œ๐“Šน๐“‰ผโ€)

๐“ŽŸ – Lord

๐“‡ฏ – Sky

๐“‹พ – Ruler

๐“†– – Eternity

All ๐“ŽŸ together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š—, this reads: โ€œOsiris, the Great God, Lord of the Sky, Ruler of Eternity.โ€ โ€œLord of the Sky ๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฏโ€ is usually Amunโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ title, so itโ€™s interesting to see it associated with Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ here! Also, โ€œ๐“‡ฏโ€ can mean the word โ€œabove,โ€ as โ€œskyโ€ is more commonly written as โ€œ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ.โ€ย 

Hereโ€™s the next inscription: 

๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡ – Isis

๐“…จ๐“‚‹ – Great One

๐“Šน๐“… – Godโ€™s Mother/Goddess

All ๐“ŽŸ together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š—, this reads: โ€œIsis, the Great One, the Godโ€™s Mother.โ€ 

Next to each Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†—, the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the city โ€œBehdet ๐“„‘๐“‚ง๐“๐“Š–โ€ (modern day Edfu) is written. Behdet ๐“„‘๐“‚ง๐“๐“Š– is an Egyptian city ๐“Š–๐“บ in Upper Egypt ๐“‡“. Horus of the Winged Disc or โ€œBehdetiteโ€ was the chief god ๐“Šน of the city ๐“Š–๐“บ. 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Gold Statuette of Amun

This gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ statuette ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of the god ๐“Šน Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ is so beautiful ๐“„ค to see in person! In the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ looks large but it is only about 7 inches (~18cm) tall! This statue is dated to the 22nd Dynasty (c. 945โ€“712 B.C.E.). While the artistic features of the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ definitely reflect this Third Intermediate Period, there are some callbacks to the 18th Dynasty artistic styles (the facial features in particular).ย 

This solid gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ is a very rare example of the statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช that filled the sanctuaries of the temples ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰. There is a trace of a loop on Amunโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ crown, which means that this statuette ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ could have been worn by a priest ๐“Šน๐“› or by another statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ. Or, the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ could have been mounted on top of a scepter or standard. The exact use is speculation right now! The color of gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ was often associated with the sun ๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“‡ถ, and the skin of the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน were thought to be made of gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰. 

Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ is depicted with his flat topped crown, with the characteristic feathers ๐“†„๐“†„๐“†„ having been lost in antiquity. He is wearing the false beard, and is carrying the Ankh ๐“‹น, a symbol of life ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“, in his hand. In the other hand he carries a scimitar ๐“Œ›๐“บ, which in temple reliefs, Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ is usually seen presenting to the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. This gift of a scimitar ๐“Œ›๐“บ is usually meant to ensure military victories!

The god ๐“Šน Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ gained popularity during the Middle Kingdom, however, it was during the New Kingdom (18th Dynasty in particular) that Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ became the most important/most prominent god ๐“Šน in the Egyptian pantheon. 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! 

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Reading Hieroglyphs

“King with a White Crown and Flail” Hieroglyph

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

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at the โ€œKing with a White Crown and Flail ๐“€ดโ€ symbol! This symbol can act as both a determinative and an ideogram! It can be used as a determinative in the word for โ€œKing ๐“‡“๐“€ดโ€ and also as a determinative for โ€œOsiris ๐“น๐“‡“๐“€ด.โ€

The โ€œKing with a White Crown and Flail ๐“€ดโ€ symbol is also one the many symbols that can be used as an ideogram to solely represent the word for โ€œKing ๐“€ดโ€ in both titles and phrases. 

The โ€œKing with a White Crown and Flail ๐“€ดโ€ symbol is a variant of the symbol โ€œKing With a White Crown ๐“€ฒโ€ and the two symbols can usually be used interchangeably with each other in inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ! 

Here are some ways we can use โ€œ๐“€ดโ€ in inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ! 

๐“‡“๐“๐“€ด – King of Upper Egypt/King

๐“†ค๐“๐“€ด/๐“†ค๐“๐“€ด๐“ฅ – King of Lower Egypt/King

๐“€ด – King

๐“น๐“‡“๐“€ด – Osiris/The Osiris King

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“‚‹๐“€ด – Osiris

So if you see the โ€œKing with a White Crown and Flail ๐“€ดโ€ symbol in an inscription, you are probably looking at a word that has to do with either a King or Osiris! 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Magical Stelae – “Cippus”

These pieces are known as Magical Stelae, or a Cippus.

The Cippus depicts Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ (or technically Harpokrates ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ๐“…ฎ๐“„ฟ๐“„ก๐“‚‹๐“‚ง๐“€”๐“€ญ, the Greek version of 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 and scorpions ๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“†ซ๐“ช in each hand. 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.ย 

Normally, stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ were used to commemorate the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ so a Cippus is almost like a protective amulet ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…† in the form of a stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ. This Cippus was used by the living ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“€€๐“ช for protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ. Since the Old Kingdom, Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ was called upon as a defender against snake ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†˜ or scorpion ๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“†ซ bites. Placing the Cippus on a wound would evoke its magical ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œ and healing powers. Cippus stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ like this were usually kept in homes ๐“‰๐“ฆ due to their protective nature.

Cippus pieces have also been found in tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ช, so we can assume that the Egyptians thought it not only would help protect ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ the living ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“€€๐“ช , but the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ too. 

One thing I love about this display at the Louvre is now all of the Cippus pieces are together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š— in one single case! I also think the one in the middle, the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of the man ๐“Šƒ๐“€€๐“ค holding a Cippus is very unique; this was the first time I saw a statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ like that! 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Large Scarab at the British Museum

This is definitely the largest scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ that I have ever seen!ย  I was shocked when I saw just how big it was in the British Museum! I have honestly never seen anything like it in any of the other museums I have visited!

This scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ represented Khepri ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“€ญ. Khepri ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“€ญ the god ๐“Šน that was associated with the โ€œrising of the sun ๐“…ƒ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญโ€ (these hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช translate to โ€œsun at dawnโ€) and thus he is associated with life ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“ and rebirth. Scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช were extremely popular as amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช, and were considered to have the strongest ๐“„‡๐“๐“‚๐“ญ protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ powers. 

The โ€œscarab beetle ๐“†ฃโ€ hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ symbol is a determinative, ideogram and phonogram symbol! It is associated with the sound แธซpr (like โ€œKheperโ€) is also used to write the words “evolve,โ€ โ€œmanifestation,โ€ and “become.”

From a geologic perspective, this scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ is made of the rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ diorite.  Diorite is an intrusive igneous rock (meaning it forms underground from the solidification of magma). Diorite is an extremely durable rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ (one of the strongest found on Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ), and is comparable to granite ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ–๐“Œณ๐“ฟ in terms of strength and method of formation.  

However, diorite usually doesn’t contain a lot quartz ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œ๐“ˆ™, a very strong ๐“„‡๐“๐“‚๐“ญ mineral which is abundant in granite ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ–๐“Œณ๐“ฟ, hence the difference between the two ๐“ป rocks ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“ฆ. One of the reasons why this scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ is so well preserved, is probably due to the strength of the diorite!  Diorite, like granite ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ–๐“Œณ๐“ฟ, was usually mined by the Egyptians in Aswan ๐“‹ด๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“Œ๐“ฒ๐“Œ•๐“Š–

As you all know, ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– is one of my biggest passions, however I actually have degrees in Earth and Environmental science! I love combining my passions for Egyptian history and geology together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š—! 

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Offering Table Dedicated to the God Seth

This piece is a large offering table ๐“‚๐“ƒ€๐“…ก๐“„ฟ๐“‹ƒ that was dedicated to the god ๐“Šน Seth ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„ก๐“ฃ by the 19th Dynasty pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ .

There is a lot going on with this piece! On the reliefs, Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  can be seen worshipping thegod Seth ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„ก๐“ฃ, whose likeness has been erased. During the Ramesside time period, many pharaohs had โ€œSethโ€ as part of their name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– because Sethโ€™s ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„ก๐“ฃ status was elevated at the time due to him being both a powerful aggressor and being associated with foreign lands. Once Seth ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„ก๐“ฃ fell out of favor, his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–/images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ were no longer used. Seth’s image is even removed, except for when he is mentioned in Seti I’s ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–! The image of the goddess ๐“Šน๐“Nephthys ๐“ŽŸ๐“๐“‰—๐“๐“‰๐“ has not been erased, because even though she is the consort of Seth ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„ก๐“ฃ, she was considered a favorable figure in Egyptian mythology.

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

In the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ above, we see Seti Iโ€™s Horus Name: ๐“…ƒ๐“ƒ’๐“‚ก๐“…“๐“ˆ๐“‹†๐“‹ด๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™ โ€œThe Strong bull who appeared in Thebes and sustains the Two Lands.โ€ 

In the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ above, we see Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  making an offering ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ to the goddess ๐“Šน๐“Nephthys ๐“ŽŸ๐“๐“‰—๐“๐“‰๐“ (her name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– is written above her), who is the consort of Seth ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„ก๐“ฃ. We can also see Seti Iโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  titles and cartouches: 

๐“†ฅ – King of Upper and Lower Egypt 

๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ – Lord of the Two Lands

(๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ ) – Menmaatra (throne name)

(๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ–) – Seti, Beloved of Ptah (birth name)

๐“™ – Given

๐“†– – Eternity

In the next picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ (above) we see the cartouches again, and Seti worshipping Seth. The hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช translate to:

๐“™ – Given

๐“‹น – Life

๐“†‘ – His

๐“Šฝ – Stability

๐“Œ€ – Strength

So all together, the inscription reads: “๐“™๐“‹น๐“†‘๐“Šฝ๐“Œ€ Given Life, His Stability and Strength.”

The last picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ (above) is another variant of the Horus name! 

I always find pieces such as these so fascinating, because upon first look, it looks like just a large slab of rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™. But in reality, there is so much to analyze and unpack when it comes to the images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ and the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, and how they relate to the time period, and even the time periods that came long after this piece was made. While it was made during the 19th Dynasty (reign of Seti I ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ–), it was definitely altered afterwards.

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Relief of Seti I and Hathor

This is such a beautiful ๐“„ค relief and it is actually from the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ of Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ ! The tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ of Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  is the largest in the Valley of the Kings and it is also my Nonnoโ€™s favorite of all the tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ช! This relief is now located at the Louvre in France.

The relief shows Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  and the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Hathor ๐“‰ก. Hathor ๐“‰ก was known as the Lady of the West ๐“ŽŸ๐“๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ (the underworld ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰). The West ๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ and the Underworld ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰ were equated by the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช because the sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ set in the west ๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ! This is why all of the Egyptian tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ช are located on the western ๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ side of the Nile!

Here, Hathor ๐“‰ก is seen welcoming Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  into her domain, while offering him a menat necklace ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง, which was a symbol of protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ. They are even holding hands ๐“‚ง๐“๐“บ!

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

๐“‰ก – Hathor
๐“ถ๐“ท๐“๐“๐“Š–๐“‹† – Chief one of Thebes
๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ – Lord of the Two Lands
(๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ ) – Menmaatra (throne name – โ€œEternal is the Truth of Raโ€)
๐“ŽŸ๐“ˆ๐“ฅ – Lord of Appearances
(๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ต๐“‡Œ๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ–) – Seti, Beloved of Ptah (birth name – this is an uncommon variant that uses the Osiris ๐“ต symbol instead of the Seth ๐“ฃ symbol)
๐“™๐“‹น๐“‡ณ๐“‡๐“บ๐“†– – Given Eternal Life, Like Ra