Tag: geb

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Geb’s Laughter and Earthquakes

Yesterday 𓋴𓆑𓇳 was quite the interesting day in NY as we experienced an earthquake π“Œπ“…©π“‚‹π“‡Ύ in the morning and an aftershock in the evening! We don’t have earthquakes π“Œπ“…©π“‚‹π“‡Ύπ“¦ in NY very often so it was quite the experience for many of us! 

The ancient Egyptians believed that Geb’s 𓅬𓃀𓀭 laughter is what caused earthquakes π“Œπ“…©π“‚‹π“‡Ύπ“¦ to happen! Geb 𓅬𓃀𓀭 is the god π“ŠΉ of the Earth’s 𓇾𓇾 surface, which the ancient Egyptians called the Upper Earth. Anything that occurred on the Earth’s 𓇾𓇾 surface was considered to be Geb’s 𓅬𓃀𓀭 domain! 

The deity Tatanen 𓁯 is often associated with things that come from the interior of the Earth 𓇾𓇾 (Lower Earth) such as minerals, rocks π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‚‹π“ˆ™π“¦, and plants 𓆾𓆰𓆰𓆰! While today we know that earthquakes π“Œπ“…©π“‚‹π“‡Ύπ“¦ come from the interior of the Earth, the ancient Egyptians didn’t know that but it’s still so cool they made this distinction!

The god Geb 𓅬𓃀𓀭 can be depicted in art in a couple of different ways!Β 

Geb's
Wereshnefer’s sarcophagus at the MET showing Geb and Nut

On Wereshnefer’s sarcophagus is one depiction: Nut π“Œπ“π“‡―π“€­, the goddess π“ŠΉπ“ of the sky/cosmos π“Šͺ𓏏𓇯, is seen as a woman arched over the rounded Earth 𓇾𓇾 and is supported by Shu 𓇋𓅱𓀭, the god π“ŠΉ of the atmosphere.Β  At Nut’s π“Œπ“π“‡―π“€­ feet is Geb 𓅬𓃀𓀭 who is represented by feet with two arms holding the rounded Earth 𓇾𓇾!Β 

Geb's
Wereshnefer’s sarcophagus at the MET showing Geb and Nut labeled with their names in heiroglyphs

On the painted depiction, Geb 𓅬𓃀𓀭 is seen lying underneath the rest of the figures such as Nut π“Œπ“π“‡―π“€­ and Shu 𓆄𓅱𓀭, the god π“ŠΉ of the atmosphere.Β 

Geb's
A painted sarcophagus at the Brooklyn Museum depicting Nut, Shu, Geb and Khnum
Geb's
A painted sarcophagus at the Brooklyn Museum depicting Nut, Shu, Geb and Khnum with their names labeled in hieroglyphs

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost.Β 

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more!

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Geb in Hieroglyphs

Let’s read some Hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ!Β Today π“‡π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‡³ we are going to learn about the god π“ŠΉ β€œGeb 𓅬𓃀𓀭!”

These hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ pictured below spell out the name π“‚‹π“ˆ– of the god π“ŠΉ β€œGeb 𓅬𓃀𓀭.” Geb 𓅬𓃀𓀭 is the god π“ŠΉ of the Earth’s 𓇾𓇾 surface, which the ancient Egyptians called the Upper Earth. Anything that occurred on the Earth’s surface was considered to be Geb’s 𓅬𓃀𓀭 domain! For example, it is said that Geb’s 𓅬𓃀𓀭 laughter is what caused earthquakes to happen! Geb 𓅬𓃀𓀭 was also responsible for allowing crops to grow!Β 

Geb in Hieroglyphs
The name of the god Geb in Hieroglyphs on a sarcophagus at the Brooklyn Museum

Here are the two most common ways to write Geb’s name π“‚‹π“ˆ– in hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ: 

𓅬𓃀𓀭

𓅬𓃀

Let’s break down each of the symbols! 

The β€œgoose 𓅬” is a biliteral phonogram that represents the sound β€œgb” which would have possibly been pronounced like β€œGeb.” It can also act as a determinative in certain cases.  

The β€œfoot 𓃀” symbol is a uniliteral phonogram that represents the sound β€œb.” Here, the β€œfoot 𓃀” symbol is acting as a phonetic complement, meaning it’s emphasizing the β€œb” sound from the previous symbol, and was most likely not pronounced. 

The β€œseated god 𓀭” is a determinative symbol and isn’t pronounced! It acts as β€œpunctuation” at the end of the name of a male god!

The hardest part about some of the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ is distinguishing them from each other! The β€œgoose 𓅬” and the very popular β€œpintail duck 𓅭” symbols are almost indistinguishable from each other! Not going to lie, sometimes I have difficulty telling the two symbols apart!Β Β 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more! 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Ancient Egyptian Earth Day!

Yesterday was Earth Day and I forgot about it but I have a good excuse I promise – I’m an Earth Science teacher and for me, everyday is Earth Day!!Β 

It’s incredible to me how much the ancient Egyptians π“†Žπ“π“€€π“π“ͺ knew about our beautiful 𓄀𓆑𓂋 planet, and how that knowledge was reflected in their intricate mythology. The Earth 𓇾𓇾 itself is differentiated (interior is divided into layers), has an atmosphere, and that atmosphere fades and thins away until space is reached. We can see all of these different β€œlayers” in this art from a sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­ which is showing part of the creation myth! Let’s take a closer look!Β 

Earth Day
A close-up image of a sarcophagus at the Brooklyn Museum depicts (from top): Nut, Shu, Khnum and Geb!

The goddess π“ŠΉπ“ of the cosmos, Nut π“Œπ“π“‡―π“€­, is depicted as a woman 𓂑𓏏𓁐 arched over the rest of the figures, because as the goddess π“ŠΉπ“ of the cosmos, she surrounds the Earth 𓇾𓇾 – just like space actually does! Directly underneath Nut π“Œπ“π“‡―π“€­ is Shu 𓆄𓅱𓀭, the god π“ŠΉ of the atmosphere. Shu 𓆄𓅱𓀭 is seen holding up the sky π“Šͺ𓏏𓇯 (which is depicted as the sky 𓇯 hieroglyph). Shu 𓆄𓅱𓀭 is responsible for raising the atmosphere from the Earth’s 𓇾𓇾 surface! 

Underneath Shu 𓆄𓅱𓀭 is Geb 𓅭𓃀𓀭, the god π“ŠΉ of the Earth’s 𓇾𓇾 surface, which the ancient Egyptians called the Upper Earth. Tantanen (not pictured) is the god π“ŠΉ of the Lower Earth (aka Earth’s interior). I still think it’s amazing that the ancient Egyptians knew there was an interior to the Earth 𓇾𓇾, and the mythology is how they conceptualized that. 

Khnum π“ŽΈπ“€­/π“ŽΈπ“π“€­, the ram headed creator god, is also pictured. Khnum π“ŽΈπ“π“€­ is one of the oldest deities; he is the god π“ŠΉ of the source of the Nile π“‡‹π“π“‚‹π“…±π“ˆ—π“ˆ˜π“ˆ‡π“Ί, fertility and was thought to have made humans out of clay from his potters wheel! 

Take a closer look at the picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 and see if you can see the names π“‚‹π“ˆ–π“¦ of all of these gods π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉ in the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ! 

So in this beautiful 𓄀𓆑𓂋 image 𓏏𓅱𓏏, we have a representation of Space (Nut π“Œπ“π“‡―π“€­), the atmosphere (Shu 𓆄𓅱𓀭), the Earth’s surface (Geb 𓅭𓃀𓀭) and the source of the Nile (Khnum π“ŽΈπ“€­). This is how the Egyptians saw Earth 𓇾𓇾 and I think it’s incredible!! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.