Author: ancientegyptblog7

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Two Alabaster Monkey Vases

These are two ๐“ป alabaster vases at the MET which show a mother ๐“…๐“๐“ monkey holding a baby monkey!

These are dated to Dynasty Six of the Old Kingdom (c. 2289โ€“2246 B.C.E.). Archaeologists think that these vases allude to fertility because they were probably given to some of the pharaohโ€™s ๐“‰๐“‰ป favorite couriers during the jubilee. In the second picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, the vase on the left is inscribed with the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Merenre ๐“‡ณ๐“Œป๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– and the vase on the right is inscribed with the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Pepi I ๐“Šช๐“‡‹๐“Šช๐“‡‹ (you canโ€™t see it in my picture – sorry!).

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

๐“†ฅ – King of Upper and Lower Egypt (He of the Sedge and the Bee)

(๐“‡ณ๐“Œป๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–) – Merenre

๐“†– – Eternal

๐“‹น – Life

Iโ€™ve said this before (itโ€™s still true), that the names of the earlier pharaohs are a great way to practice reading phonogram hieroglyphs! Letโ€™s take a closer look at Merenre ๐“‡ณ๐“Œป๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–! 

The symbol โ€œ๐“‡ณ – sunโ€ is usually seen as an ideogram for โ€œRa/Re.โ€ The symbol โ€œ๐“‡ณ – sunโ€ can also be a determinative for sun, day, and time. โ€œRa ๐“‡ณโ€ is written in the cartouche first and said last due to honorific transposition.

The โ€œhoe ๐“Œปโ€ (and itโ€™s variants ๐“Œธ, ๐“Œบ, and ๐“Œธ) are biliteral phonograms that represent the sound โ€œmrโ€ (might have been pronounced like โ€œmerโ€). 

The โ€œ mouth – ๐“‚‹โ€ is a uniliteral phonogram for the sound โ€œrโ€ and can be an ideogram for the word โ€œmouth ๐“‚‹๐“บ.โ€ 

The โ€œripple of water ๐“ˆ–โ€ is also a phonogram sign, and it is also uniliteral sign. The โ€œ๐“ˆ–โ€ is associated with the sound of โ€œn!โ€ 

All together, the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– Merenre ๐“‡ณ๐“Œป๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– means โ€œThe Beloved of Reโ€ or โ€œThe One Re Loves.โ€ 

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

“Joy” and “Happiness”

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! This inscriptionย ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– is a new word for all of you! While I havenโ€™t seen it often, itโ€™s probably a good one to know!

โ€œ๐“„ซ๐“๐“„ฃโ€ is the Middle Egyptian word for โ€œjoyโ€ or โ€œhappiness!โ€ What I love about this word is that if we were going to literally translate it into English, instead of joy or happiness, it would translate directly to โ€œwide heart.โ€ How cute is that?!?! 

Letโ€™s break down each of the symbols! 

The โ€œspine and spinal cord ๐“„ซโ€ symbol is a biliteral phonogram that is used to represent the sound โ€œ3w.โ€ 

The โ€œflat loaf of bread ๐“โ€ symbol is a uniliteral phonogram used to represent the sound โ€œt.โ€ It also functions as the ideogram for the word โ€œbread ๐“๐“บโ€ and can be used to make words feminine! 

The โ€œheart ๐“„ฃโ€ symbol is an ideogram for heart and mind that can also be used to represent the sound โ€œฤฑอ—bโ€. The heart ๐“„ฃ can also be used as a determinative in the word for heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ. 

So all together, the transliteration of ๐“„ซ๐“๐“„ฃ would be 3wt-ฤฑอ—b. Other variations of the word are โ€œ ๐“„ซ๐“๐“„ฃ๐“บ,โ€ or โ€œ ๐“„ซ๐“„ฃ๐“บ.โ€ 

What makes my heart wide ๐“„ซ๐“๐“„ฃ? Going to museums, writing out my Instagram post each day, Marvel comic books, Harry Potter, and of course listening to BTS ๋ฐฉํƒ„์†Œ๋…„๋‹จ!!!!!

Letโ€™s all share something that makes us happy/our hearts wide ๐“„ซ๐“๐“„ฃ! 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Bust of Akhenaten at the Louvre

Letโ€™s take another look at an Amarna Period piece! This is a limestoneย ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ย bust of Akhenatenย ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–ย that is currently in the Louvre! While you all know Hatshepsutย ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ชย is my favorite pharaohย ๐“‰๐“‰ป, Akhenatenย ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–ย is my second favorite! I always refer to Akhenatenย ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–ย as โ€œmy favorite disasterโ€ because I think that is quite the succinct way to describe his 17 ๐“Ž†๐“€ year rule ๐“‹พ of Egyptย ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–!ย 

While it canโ€™t be seen in my pictures ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ, some of the paintย ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆย is still preserved on the bust! One of the places that still has traces of paint is the Blue Crown (Khepresh)ย ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“‹™ย that Akhenatenย ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–ย is wearing. Also, the ears and back of the neck still have traces of paint.ย 

The Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— is missing from the front of the Blue Crown ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“‹™, and it was probably lost in antiquity. The Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— symbolizes divine authority, royalty, supremacy, and also acted as protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ for the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. Fun Fact: no example of the Blue Crown (Khepresh) ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“‹™ has been found by archaeologists! 

The artistic style during Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– rule ๐“‹พ was very different than the traditional Egyptian art styles, which makes pieces like this bust so weird and wonderful in their own way! I will never get tired of studying Amarna art!ย 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Small Ivory Chair of Akhenaten

This tiny ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ ivory chair ๐“Ž›๐“Šจ๐“๐“†ฑ probably held a tiny ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ at one point! This chair ๐“Ž›๐“Šจ๐“๐“†ฑ is only about 5cm in height so it is very tiny! The amount of detail that the artist was able to carve into such a small piece is incredible! 

On the back of the chair ๐“Ž›๐“Šจ๐“๐“†ฑ, Akhenatenโ€™s nomen (birth name) and prenomen (throne name) are carved underneath the rays of the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ. Letโ€™s break down the names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ! 

๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– – Akhenaten โ€œLiving Spirit of the Atenโ€ – this is his โ€œbirth nameโ€ – though not really because Akhenaten changed his name to Akhenaten from Amenhotep IVย ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“Œ€!ย 

๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“†ฃ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“Œก๐“ˆ– – Neferkheperrua โ€œThe Beautiful One of the Manifestations of Raโ€ is the throne name, which was probably taken when he was still calling himself Amenhotep IV ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“Šน๐“‹พ, since the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– contains โ€œRa ๐“‡ณโ€ and not โ€œAten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ.โ€ 

๐“‹ โ€“ this symbol on the back of the chair ๐“Ž›๐“Šจ๐“๐“†ฑ is a combination of many different things! Most prominently, it is thought to be representative of the lungs ๐“Šƒ๐“Œด๐“„ฅ๐“…ฑ๐“„บ and the windpipe ๐“„ฅ. The lungs ๐“Šƒ๐“Œด๐“„ฅ๐“…ฑ๐“„บ are a symbol of Upper Egypt ๐“‡“ and the windpipe ๐“„ฅ was a symbol of Lower Egypt ๐“†ค. Just like how the lungs ๐“Šƒ๐“Œด๐“„ฅ๐“…ฑ๐“„บ and the windpipe ๐“„ฅ need to work together in order for a person to survive, Upper ๐“‡“ and Lower ๐“†ค Egypt needed to be unified in order for Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– to be a strong country!

The lung ๐“Šƒ๐“Œด๐“„ฅ๐“…ฑ๐“„บ and windpipe ๐“„ฅ design ๐“‹ was usually found on objects that belonged to the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป.

The three ๐“ผ men ๐“Šƒ๐“€€๐“ฆ on the side of the chair ๐“Ž›๐“Šจ๐“๐“†ฑ represent foreigners – a Libyan, an Asiatic, and a Nubian all of which are kneeling and raising their arms in a worshipping ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข stance. 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Doorjamb from a Temple of Rameses II

This large piece at the MET is referred to as a โ€œDoorjamb from a Temple of Rameses II.โ€ Basically, that means these blocks came from a gateway at a temple that was built in honor of one of Rameses IIโ€™sย ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ–ย royal jubilees.ย 

The offering scene that is on the doorjamb is Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– making an offering to the god ๐“Šน Ptah-Tatanen ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฏ, who was the patron god ๐“Šน of the jubilee. Ptah-Tatanen ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฏ is a combination of the deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ (the creator god ๐“Šน) and Tatanen ๐“ฏ, a lesser known deity who was the personification of the primordial mound that rose during the Egyptian creation myth. Tatanen ๐“ฏ is often compared to Geb ๐“…ญ๐“ƒ€๐“€ญ (the god ๐“Šน of the Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ), however Tatanen ๐“ฏ is often associated with things that come from the interior of the Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ such as minerals, rocks ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“ฆ, and plants ๐“†พ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ! 

So Geb ๐“…ญ๐“ƒ€๐“€ญ is the Earthโ€™s ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ surface (The Upper Earth), while Tatanen ๐“ฏ is the Earthโ€™s ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ interior (The Lower Earth)! As a geologist, I love how the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช were able to make this distinction between the spheres of the Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ in their mythology! They also recognized the atmosphere (another sphere of the Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ) as the god ๐“Šน Shu ๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“€ญ! Itโ€™s all so impressive to me! 

Ptah-Tatanen ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฏ in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช is broken down like this: 

๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž› – Ptah (spelled out with phonogram symbols)

๐“ฏ – Tatanen (the determinative/ideogram)

Ptahโ€™s ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ determinative was basically replaced with the determinative for Tatanen ๐“ฏ to make the godโ€™s ๐“Šน name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–! 

Can you spot Ptah-Tatanen ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฏ in the inscription on the doorjamb???

(Also Rameses IIIโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“ˆ˜๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– cartouches appear on this too on the bottom of the doorjamb – he clearly usurped this piece for his own use and didnโ€™t change all of the cartouches!)

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Mislabeled Canopic Jars

These canopic jars are very famous pieces from the British Museum! Any time you read a book on mummification or Egyptian funerary practices, these canopic jars will make an appearance! The first book on Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– my Nonno ever gave me was Carol Andrewsโ€™ book on the mummies at the British Museum, and of course these canopic jars were in the book! It was so exciting to see them in person! However, these are โ€œdummyโ€ canopic jars; they arenโ€™t even totally hollow inside so they definitely werenโ€™t used during the mummification process. 

But thatโ€™s not what is the most interesting here; whatโ€™s most interesting is in the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Each canopic jar has a lid that represents one of the Four Sons of Horus. Each one has the task of protecting a specific organย ๐“‡‹๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“„นย of the deceased!ย 

From the left: 

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

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

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

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

Now, if you take a closer look at the inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on the jars – Qebehsenuef ๐“๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“†‘๐“€ญ is labeled with Duamutefโ€™s ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘๐“€ญ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– and vice versa! 

Iโ€™m not sure if it is an ancient mistake or a mistake by the museum! Iโ€™m always so amused when I come across stuff like this!

The inscription above the names is a common one that we have gone over before:

๐“†“๐“Œƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ– – Words Spoken By

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“Šน – Osiris (the symbol for โ€œgod ๐“Šนโ€ is used as the determinative here instead of the usual โ€œ๐“€ญโ€ – I love seeing variation)!!

Categories
Blog

Hieroglyphs and Korean!

So something you might have guessed about me is that I love to learn!! Something else about me is that when I like something – I really REALLY like it and need to learn everything about it. Iโ€™m very passionate and enthusiastic about my hobbies and interests. My normally stoic/cold exterior completely changes when Iโ€™m talking about stuff I love! My Nonno always got similarly excited when speaking about topics he loved.

One of the things Iโ€™m learning right now is Korean! I already speak English, Italian, and can read/write hieroglyphs (I wouldโ€™ve failed as a scribe because I am awful at drawing the symbols – Iโ€™m kinda embarrassed to post my โ€œhandwritingโ€ ๐Ÿ˜‚) – so why do I want to learn Korean? Itโ€™s because of BTS!! I love their music and want to be able to understand it instead of reading translations!

One thing I noticed when I was learning the Korean alphabet (called Hangeul ํ•œ๊ธ€) was that my name (Nicole) is written โ€œsimilarlyโ€ in both hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช and ํ•œ๊ธ€!!!

๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“ฏ๐“ƒญ
๋‹ˆ์ฝœ

Now, obviously they donโ€™t look similar at all but both are written as โ€œNikolโ€ in romanized letters! When I was a kid I was insistent that my name in hieroglyphs be written as ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“ฏ๐“ƒญ๐“‡Œ so it would match the English as much as possible – I was stubborn and didnโ€™t care about phonetics.

Learning Korean has been so fun and so interesting (and very difficult) because it is so different from the other languages I know, however, I did like this similarity between hieroglyphs and Korean! It seems like I relate everything back to ancient Egypt in one way or another!

If you read this, ๊ฐ์‚ฌํ•ฉ๋‹ˆ๋‹ค!!!! (gam-sa-hab-ni-da AKA Thank You)!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Large Seated Statue of Hatshepsut

This is the large granite statue of Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช in comparison to me! This statue is tremendous in size and it so gorgeous to look at! Hateshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช really does look regal in it!

Here’s some family history about Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช, because I don’t think I have ever discussed it much on this page: Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช was the only child of her father, Thutmosis I ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“‚“ and his principal wife ๐“‡“๐“๐“๐“ˆž Ahmose.

After the death of Thutmosis I ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“‚“, Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช married her half brother, Thutmosis II ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“ˆ– who had become the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. While Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช was unable to produce a male heir, Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ was born to one of Thutmosis II’s ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“ˆ– lesser wives.

Thutmosis II died while Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ was still a child, so Hatsheput ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช became his co-regent until she declared herself the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. After Hatshepsut’s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช death, Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ assumed the role of pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป.

One of the many reasons I look up to Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช so much was because she was so intelligent and ambitious. Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช had an extremely prosperous reign because she was more concerned about expanding Egypt’s ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– economy and taking up new building projects as opposed to conquering new lands with her military.

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

The Temple of Dendur

The room at the MET that houses the Temple of Dendur doesnโ€™t feel like a gallery in a museum – it feels like you are in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. This is one of my absolute favorite places. I could literally just sit in this place for hours just taking in the atmosphere – sometimes just existing and taking in a place without rushing around or having a plan is the best.

The temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ was actually commissioned by Augustus and building was complete by 10 B.C. Dendur is located in Nubia, and is just south of Aswan. Even though the temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ was built by Augustus, it definitely follows Egyptian style and not Roman style. The emperor is actually presented as a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป worshipping Egyptian gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน on the walls of the temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰. The temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ was primarily used to worship the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ.

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Large Granite Sphinx of Hatshepsut

This large granite Sphinx of Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช is not in the โ€œHatshepsut Galleryโ€ (as I like to call it) at the MET – in fact, she is right next to the Temple of Dendur! I find it an interesting placement in the museum because the temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ and the Sphinx are from two very different time periods in Egyptian history. The temple of Dendur was built by Augustus while Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช ruled during the New Kingdom.

The Sphinx was one of six large sphinxes that would line her temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ at Deir el-Bahri. It is made of granite, which was mined at Aswan and then transported ~500 miles up the Nile ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ. Granite is a super dense rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช so this was no easy task!

This is a large and absolutely beautiful ๐“„ค piece in real life. Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช is depicted wearing the nemes ๐“ˆ–๐“…“๐“‹ด head cloth and the false beard – typical fashion for a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป!