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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Nectanbo the Falcon

This piece is named โ€œGod Horus Protecting King Nectanbo II.โ€ Nectanbo II ๐“ž๐“ฉ๐“‹ด๐“‡›๐“„ฃ๐“บ๐“‰๐“ˆ– was the last pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป of the short lived 30th Dynasty and he made himself the focus of a religious cult called โ€œNectanbo the Falcon,โ€ which was a merging of himself with the god ๐“Šน Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ. Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ was the god ๐“Šน of kingship!ย 

Nectanbo the Falcon
Me with Nectanbo the Falcon!

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

Thereโ€™s a small inscription at the base of the statue, and the inscription is a mirrored one – this means you start in the middle and read Middle to left or middle to right depending on the direction of the symbols! The โ€œ๐“‹นโ€ is the middle so that is where we are going to start!ย 

Nectanbo the Falcon
A closeup of the hieroglyphs at the base of the statue.

Middle to Left:

๐“‹น – Life 

๐“†ฅ – King of Upper and Lower Egypt 

๐“ž๐“ฉ๐“‹ด๐“‡›๐“„ฃ๐“บ๐“‰๐“ˆ– – Nectanbo II โ€œPleasing to the Heart of Ra, Chosen of Amunโ€ (throne name)

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“Šน๐“‰•๐“…จ๐“‚‹- Osiris Mnevis

๐“Œป – Beloved

Middle to Right:ย 

๐“‹น – Life

๐“…ญ๐“‡ณ – Son of Ra

๐“ฅX๐“†‡๐“ˆ˜๐“‚ก๐“…ƒ๐“Žณ๐“๐“Š– – Nectanbo II โ€œNakht Hor Hebitโ€ (birth name) [the X is a symbol I donโ€™t have]

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“Šน๐“‰•๐“…จ๐“‚‹๐“Œป – Osiris Mnevis

Interesting Interpretation of the Hieroglyphs:

Whatโ€™s interesting about this inscription is that I canโ€™t tell if itโ€™s supposed to be โ€œ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“Šน๐“‰•๐“…จ๐“‚‹๐“Œป Osiris Mnevisโ€ or โ€œBeloved of Osiris Mnevisโ€ with โ€œ๐“Œปโ€ being โ€œbeloved.โ€ To me it makes more sense if it is  โ€œBeloved of Osiris Mnevis,โ€ but I translated it both ways! 

Osiris Mnevis ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“Šน๐“‰•๐“…จ๐“‚‹๐“Œป is a combination of the gods Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“Šน and Mnevis ๐“‰•๐“…จ๐“‚‹๐“Œป. Mnevis ๐“‰•๐“…จ๐“‚‹.  Mnevis ๐“‰•๐“…จ๐“‚‹ was one of the Bull gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน in ancient Egypt. 

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

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Relief of Rameses II and Horus

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

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at this fragmented relief from the Louvre which depicts the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– and the god ๐“Šน Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ! Horus is holding Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– hand and leading him. How do we know that this is a depiction of Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ since there are many falcon gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน? The word “Edfu ๐“„‘๐“‚ง๐“๐“Š–” in the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช is a major clue – Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ of the Winged Disc or โ€œBehdetiteโ€ was the chief god ๐“Šน of the city ๐“Š–!

Look at who is leading Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ- itโ€™s the god ๐“Šน Wepwawet ๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง who is the โ€œOpener of the Ways!โ€ Wepwawet ๐“„‹๐“ˆ๐“ฅ๐“๐“ƒง appears on a standard and is associated leading ritual processions.ย 

Rameses II and Horus
Relief showing Rameses II and Horus

Above the depiction is actually part of Rameses IIโ€™s royal titularly! Each pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป had five names, and the first one that appears is known as the โ€œHorus Name.โ€ Rameses II had many variants of his Horus Name, but we will look at the one that appears here: โ€œ๐“‚ก๐“ƒ’๐“ง๐“Œบ Strong Bull, Beloved of Maatโ€

๐“‚ก – Strong

๐“ƒ’ – Bull

๐“ง – Maat

๐“Œบ – Beloved

After that, the Nebty Name ๐“…’ is listed! The Nebty Name is distinguished by the Nebty or Two Ladies symbol โ€œ๐“…’.โ€ Only the partial name appears on the relief: โ€œ๐“…–๐“Žก๐“†Ž๐“๐“Š– Protector of Egypt.โ€

๐“…– – Protector 

๐“Žก๐“†Ž๐“๐“Š– – Egypt (Kemet) (most commonly, Kemet is written as โ€œ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–,โ€ however this is another variant).

The full name is as follows: ๐“…–๐“Žก๐“†Ž๐“๐“Š–๐“…ฑ๐“‚๐“†‘๐“ฒ๐“‚ก๐“ˆŠ๐“๐“ฆ โ€œProtector of Egypt Who Curbs Foreign Lands.โ€ย 

Rameses II and Horus
Relief showing Rameses II and Horus

Above Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ appears:ย 

๐“„‘๐“‚ง๐“๐“Š– – Edfu

๐“ŽŸ- Lord

๐“‡ฏ – Sky

๐“„ค – Perfect

๐“Šน – God 

๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– – Usermaatre setep en Ra (Throne Name of Rameses II which translates to โ€œThe Justice of Ra is powerful, Chosen of Ra.โ€)

๐“™ – Given

๐“‹น – Life 

๐“Œ€ – Strength

All together the inscription says: “Edfu, Lord of the Sky, the Perfect God Usermaatre setep en Ra Give Life and Strength.”

To the left of Rameses II: 

๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ– – It Is

๐“„ค – Perfect

๐“Šน – God 

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

All together the inscription says: “It Is the Pefect God Usermaatre setep en Ra.”

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

@ancientegyptblog

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Wedjat or “Eye of Horus”

The wedjat ๐“‚€ or the “Eye of Horus” was not only one of the most popular amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช in ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, but also one of the most popular religious symbols in general! 

The wedjat ๐“‚€ or the “Eye of Horus” is representative of the eye ๐“น๐“๐“ค that Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ lost when battling Seth ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„ก๐“ฃ. Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ restored Horus’ ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ eye, however, the single Eye of Horus became a symbol of rebirth ๐“„Ÿ๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ or healing ๐“‹ด๐“ˆ–๐“ƒ€๐“œ due to the nature of the myth. 

The wedjat ๐“‚€ was also common symbol of protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ and regeneration.ย  The Eye of Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ was an amulet ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…† used by both the living ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“€€๐“ช and the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ! The Eye of Horus was also associated with the moon ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“‡น!ย 

Wedjat or "Eye of Horus"
Two Wedjat or “Eye of Horus” amulets on display at the MET

These two ๐“ป faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ wedjat ๐“‚€ eye amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช from the Third Intermediate Period (c. 1070โ€“664 B.C.E.) are so detailed and beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹! 

The wedjat ๐“‚€ eye on the left has a wing ๐“‚ง๐“Œณ๐“๐“†ƒ, lion ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“„› (it looks like the hieroglyph symbol โ€œ๐“ƒญโ€), and and two ๐“ป Uraei ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†—๐“ช on it! All of the inlays are intact too! 

The wedjat ๐“‚€ eye on the right is missing some of the white inlay on the eye but it has the details of what looks like the bottom part of a falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„ (the tail and the legs), another eye ๐“น๐“๐“ค, and an arm ๐“‚๐“บ! 

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

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Horus as a Falcon

The god ๐“Šน Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ was one of the most important gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน in the Egyptian pantheon. One of Horusโ€™ ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ many roles was as a mythological representation of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป/heir to the throne of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. In this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ, Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ is depicted as a falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„ wearing the combined crown ๐“‹– which represents both the White Crown ๐“„ค๐“‹‘ of Upper Egypt ๐“‡“ and the Red Crown ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹” of Lower Egypt ๐“†ค!ย Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ as a falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„ was one of the most common ways he is represented in Egyptian art.

Horus as a Falcon
Horus as a Falcon on display at the MET

The Uraeus on the front ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— of the crown is in amazing condition! A Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— is usually depicted as an upright snake ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†™ and is a symbol of sovereignty, royalty, and divine authority in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– – all characteristics usually associated with the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, and also the god ๐“Šน Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ! 

Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ was also a sky ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ god ๐“Šน. Horusโ€™ ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– means โ€œThe Distant One,โ€ due to him residing in the sky ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ! 

Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ was the son ๐“…ญ of Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡ and Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ and will often be introduced in inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ as such! For example, you could see โ€œ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ๐“…ญ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡๐“…ญ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญโ€ on objects such as sarcophagi ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ๐“ฆ! 

Here are some variants of Horusโ€™ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–:

๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ (the most common way to write his name)

๐“…ƒ

๐“„‘๐“‚‹๐“…†

๐“…ƒ๐“…†

๐“ˆ๐“…ƒ

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

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Soul of Pe

This bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ kneeling statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of a falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„ deity ๐“Šน is referred to as the โ€œSoul of Peโ€ and it is actually another way to depict the god ๐“Šน Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ. Also known as โ€œHorus of Pe,โ€ these bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช became popular during the Late Period, after 600 B.C.E.ย 

Soul of Pe
Bronze Soul of Pe statue on display at the Brooklyn Museum

The Souls ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– and Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– were first mentioned in the Pyramid Texts and are referred to as the ancestors of the pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ. The Souls ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– and Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– symbolized the predynastic rulers of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. The Souls ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– and Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– were thought of as very powerful deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน that not only aided the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ, but also the current living ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“€€๐“ช pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. 

Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– and Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– were both cities in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– and were around as early as the predynastic period.  Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– was originally the cult center for the god ๐“Šน Horus in Upper Egypt ๐“‡“, however, Pe a town in Lower Egypt ๐“†ค, was awarded to Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ by Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› after his eye was injured during his battle with Seth ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„ก๐“ฃ for the throne of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. 

In this particular statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ, Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ/Soul of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– is shown in a characteristic kneeling position with one arm raised, with the other resting on his chest. This is known as a โ€œjubilation position,โ€ which is meant to show the Soul of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– celebrating the rising of the sun ๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“‡ถ. The Soul of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– is usually represented as Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ the Falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„, while the Soul of Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– is usually represented as a jackal ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ. 

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

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Coffin of Nespanetjerenpere (Part II)

This mummy case ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ belonged to a priest ๐“Šน๐“› named ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– Nespanetjerenpere and is on display at the Brooklyn Museum. Yesterday ๐“‹ด๐“†‘๐“‡ณ we looked at the front, and today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at the back!

Coffin of Nespanetjerenpere
Me with the back of the Coffin of Nespanetjerenpere at the Brooklyn Museum

On the back, the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ and Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ are depicted. On the left, the ibis ๐“‰”๐“ƒ€๐“…ค headed god ๐“Šน Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ, and the god ๐“Šน of writing is shown. On the right is Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ, who is the falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„ headed god ๐“Šน and the embodiment of divine kingship. He was considered to be the god ๐“Šน of the pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ and the โ€œLord of the Sky ๐“ŽŸ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ.โ€

Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ and Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ are seen holding a Djed pillar ๐“Šฝ, which is the symbol of stability. The Djed pillar ๐“Šฝ is thought to be the spine ๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“๐“„ฆ of Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ. The Djed pillar ๐“Šฝ, shown here is even wearing the Atef crown ๐“‹š, which is the crown that Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ wears.ย 

Coffin of Nespanetjerenpere
The back of the Coffin of Nespanetjerenpere, showing Thoth (left), the djed pillar (center) and Horus (right)

It is very symbolic that this image ๐“…ฑ๐“๐“…ฑ appears where the spine ๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“๐“„ฆ of the mummy ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ would be. It can be interpreted that Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ and Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญare supporting the spine ๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“๐“„ฆ of the deceased person. 

When a person died ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ and became โ€œThe Osiris,โ€ The Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ was then thought to represent their spine ๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“๐“„ฆ! The spine ๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“๐“„ฆ was thought to keep Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ upright and able to function as the primary god ๐“Šน of the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ. This is even referenced in the The Book of the Dead: โ€œRaise yourself up Osiris. You have your backbone once more, weary-hearted One; you have bones.โ€ 

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

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Video

Soul of Pe Statue – Video

@ancientegyptblog

This bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ kneeling statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of a falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„ deity ๐“Šน is referred to as the โ€œSoul of Peโ€ and it is actually another way to depict the god ๐“Šน Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ. Also known as โ€œHorus of Pe,โ€ these bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช became popular during the Late Period, after 600 B.C.E. The Souls ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– and Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– were first mentioned in the Pyramid Texts and are referred to as the ancestors of the pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ. The Souls ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– and Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– were thought of as very powerful deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน that not only aided the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ, but also the current living ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“€€๐“ช pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. In this particular statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ, Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ/Soul of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– is shown in a characteristic kneeling position with one arm raised, with the other resting on his chest. This is known as a โ€œjubilation position,โ€ which is meant to show the Soul of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– celebrating the rising of the sun ๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“‡ถ. The Soul of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– is usually represented as Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ the Falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„, while the Soul of Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– is usually represented as a jackal ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ. This is my personal video and original text. DO NOT repost. #ancientEgypt #egyptianhistory #egyptianmythology #ancientegyptblog #anticoegitto #egyptology #brooklynmuseum

โ™ฌ original sound – ancientegyptblog Nicole Lesar

This bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ kneeling statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of a falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„ deity ๐“Šน is referred to as the โ€œSoul of Peโ€ and it is actually another way to depict the god ๐“Šน Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ. Also known as โ€œHorus of Pe,โ€ these bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช became popular during the Late Period, after 600 B.C.E. 

The Souls ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– and Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– were first mentioned in the Pyramid Texts and are referred to as the ancestors of the pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ. The Souls ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– and Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– were thought of as very powerful deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน that not only aided the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ, but also the current living ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“€€๐“ช pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. 

In this particular statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ, Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ/Soul of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– is shown in a characteristic kneeling position with one arm raised, with the other resting on his chest. This is known as a โ€œjubilation position,โ€ which is meant to show the Soul of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– celebrating the rising of the sun ๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“‡ถ. The Soul of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– is usually represented as Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ the Falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„, while the Soul of Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– is usually represented as a jackal ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ.ย 

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

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Video

Video – Statues of Isis and Horus

@ancientegyptblog

Happy Motherโ€™s Day to all the moms – especially my mom who is my director/camerawoman! Anytime you see me on camera or a picture of me, my mom is the one who probably took it! In honor of Motherโ€™s Day, letโ€™s take a look at Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ and Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ! The image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ of Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ feeding Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ as a baby is one of the most popular images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ of the Third Intermediate Period, Late Period and even through the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods. This image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ appeared in bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ, stone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช, and even as small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช! My Nonno would always point out these pieces of Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ feeding Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ as a baby because he felt they were so significant to the evolution of religious art through time. While my Nonno loved Egyptian ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“ and Roman art, he also loved Christian/Biblical art, so these Egyptian ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“ statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช were kind of a natural connection between his area of interests! I always make sure to look for statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช like this in museums whenever I visit! Symbolically, Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ was thought to be the mother ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, and was often associated with motherhood, the protection of women ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“, and a user of magic ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œ. As Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ became a more popular religious figure, she was associated with cosmological order and was considered to be the embodiment of fate by the Romans. Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ was widely worshipped during the Roman times, and Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ feeding Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ as a baby has even appeared on the back of Roman coins. This image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ of a mother ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“ holding a child ๐“๐“‡Œ๐“€• is thought to have inspired the well known Catholic images of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus as a baby. Follow me to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, Egyptian mythology, art, culture and more! This is my personal video and original text. DO NOT repost. #ancientEgypt #egyptology #mothersday #egyptianhistory #egyptianmythology #anticoegitto #metropolitanmuseumofart #metmuseum #ancientegyptblog #horus

โ™ฌ original sound – ancientegyptblog Nicole Lesar

The image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ of Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ feeding Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ as a baby is one of the most popular images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ of the Third Intermediate Period, Late Period and even through the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods.  This video examines the significance of the statues of Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ feeding Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ!

This image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ appeared in bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ, stone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช, and even as small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช! My Nonno would always point out these pieces of Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ feeding Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ as a baby because he felt they were so significant to the evolution of religious art through time. 

While my Nonno loved Egyptian ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“ and Roman art, he also loved Christian/Biblical art, so these Egyptian ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“ statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช were kind of a natural connection between his area of interests! I always make sure to look for statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช like this in museums whenever I visit! 

Symbolically, Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ was thought to be the mother ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, and was often associated with motherhood, the protection of women ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“, and a user of magic ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œ.  As Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ became a more popular religious figure, she was associated with cosmological order and was considered to be the embodiment of fate by the Romans.  Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ was widely worshipped during the Roman times, and Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ feeding Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ as a baby has even appeared on the back of Roman coins.

This image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ of a mother ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“ holding a child ๐“๐“‡Œ๐“€• is thought to have inspired the well known Catholic images of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus as a baby. 

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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

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