Author: ancientegyptblog7

Fragment of Akhenaten

Post author By ancientegyptblog7
Post date February 19, 2024

This is a fragment of what used to be a limestone 𓇋𓈖𓈙𓌉 statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 of the pharaoh Akhenaten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖! This (and many others like it) were found during Flinders Petrie and Howard Carter’s excavation at present-day Amarna in 1891, which in ancient times was called Akhetaten 𓈌𓏏𓉐𓇋𓏏𓈖𓊖. Akhetaten 𓈌𓏏𓉐𓇋𓏏𓈖𓊖 was the capital of Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 during the reign 𓋾𓈎𓏏 of Akhenaten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖.

A Fragment of Akhenaten – many of Akhenaten’s statues were intentionally destroyed after his reign

Many of Akhenaten’s 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 not only have the faces destroyed, but are also in hundreds of pieces. This deliberate destruction of his statuary was an attempt to destroy his image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 so he would be forgotten from history. Images/statues of a person, and the name 𓂋𓈖 of a person held immense power in ancient Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 so if a name 𓂋𓈖 and image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 was destroyed, its power was removed!

A Fragment of Akhenaten – a front view of the statue where the extent of the damage to his face can be clearly seen.

Why did Akhenaten’s 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 successors want his image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 destroyed? Akhenaten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 is infamous for completely changing the Egyptian pantheon from polytheistic worship of the traditional gods 𓊹𓊹𓊹 to the monotheistic worship of the Aten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳 and people definitely did not like that! When Akhenaten’s 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 son, Tutankhamun 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓏏𓅱𓏏𓋹𓋾𓉺𓇓 became the pharaoh, he reinstated the old religion and moved the capital of Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 back to Thebes 𓌀𓏏𓊖.

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

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Tags akhenaten, amarna, artifact, the met

Blog

In Memory of Nonno

Post author By ancientegyptblog7
Post date February 19, 2024

February 12th is an extremely difficult day for me, as it has been four years since my Nonno passed away. Everything I do is in memory of Nonno. Below is an excerpt of a speech I gave honoring my Nonno at one of his services:

I have always told people that my Nonno is my favorite person and my favorite teacher. I’ll tell everyone I meet how much I love my Nonno and Nonna. Nonno and I shared a love of ancient Egyptian history and this common interest created such a bond between us. My best childhood memories are the two of us looking through one of his hundreds of books in the basement while we sat at his desk or on the couch. Half of the books in my own collection are actually his. Either because he gave them to me, or because I just took them.

Nonno and I in September 2013

The best day of my life was when we finally got to walk the streets of Pompeii together. I had been waiting my whole life for those couple of hours. My sister said to me “he had been waiting his whole life for someone to care about that stuff as much as him” and she was so right.

Nonno and I walking the streets of Pompeii together. This is my favorite picture of us.

My cousin said to me “eravete – e sempre sarete un team bellissimo.” You have been and always will be the most beautiful team. And we are. We are the book hoarding, history loving, rock collecting, Italian speaking, Pompeii exploring, drive the rest of the family crazy in museums team. And we always will be.

Nonno and I outside of Circus Maximus in Rome. My Nonno loved Roman chariots and chariot races!

While there are no words to describe my Nonno, I want to share something I wrote over 25 years ago, that he still has proudly displayed:

My Nonno

My Nonno is so funny

He is very very silly

I love my Nonno very much

A poem I wrote about my Nonno on his cabinet.

——

I’ve been listening to the song “Il tuo sguardo manca” by Il Volo a lot leading up to today because the song really describes a lot of my emotions about my Nonno’s death. This line in particular: “ma non passa un attimo, che il tuo sguardo manca in ogni strada, ogni città, dovunque vado” hits especially hard because it is so true.

This whole website, my Instagram page, and everything I do is in memory of Nonno.

Tags blog, nonno

Egyptian Artifacts

Tyet Knot and Djed Pillar

Post author By ancientegyptblog7
Post date February 19, 2024

This beautiful 𓄤𓆑𓂋 art is from a Roman Period mummy mask of a woman and is dated to 60 – 70 A.D. It’s always incredible to me how art that is just about 2000 years old has paint 𓇨𓂋𓅱𓏭𓏸𓏦 and colors that still look brand new! This art shows two Tyet Knots 𓎬 and a Djed Pillar 𓊽 (middle).

Two Tyet Knots (right and left) and a Djed Pillar (middle) on a Roman mummy mask

The origin of the Djed Pillar 𓊽 is most likely from the predynastic times while Tyet Knot 𓎬 is from the First Dynasty/Early Dynastic Period. This means that these symbols were over 3000 years old when this mask was made! It always amazes me how the same religious symbols just persisted through Egyptian history!

The Tyet Knot 𓎬, also known as the Isis knot 𓎬, was considered a very strong symbol of protection 𓅓𓂝𓎡𓀜 and came to be associated with Isis 𓊨𓏏𓁥. The Egyptians 𓆎𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏪 believed that knots 𓎬 were able to bind and then release magic 𓎛𓂓𓄿𓏜.

The Djed Pillar 𓊽 represents the word and concept of Stability in ancient Egypt. The Djed pillar 𓊽 is thought to be the spine 𓇋𓄿𓏏𓄦 of Osiris 𓁹𓊨𓀭, hence why it takes on the meaning of “stability.”

The Isis Knots 𓎬 and the Djed Pillar 𓊽 were also mostly used in a funerary context, such as amulets 𓊐𓊪𓅆𓏦 that were placed on mummies 𓇋𓁹𓅱𓀾𓏪 or as part of spells 𓎛𓂓𓏛𓏦 in the Book of the Dead 𓉐𓂋𓏏𓂻𓅓𓉔𓂋𓏲𓇳𓏺𓍼𓏺.

While both the Tyet Knot 𓎬 and Djed Pillar appear in art frequently, they are also both hieroglyphic symbols and appear in inscriptions!

The “reed column 𓊽” more commonly known as the “Djed Pillar” is a biliteral phonogram that has the sound “ḏd” which sounds like “Djed.” It also functions as an ideogram for “Stability.”

The “tie 𓎬” is an ideogram for “Tyet Knot 𓎬” or “Isis Knot 𓎬” and is a triliteral phonogram associated with the sound “tjt” which would be pronounced like “tyet.”

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

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Tags artifact, roman, the met

Reading Hieroglyphs

“Everything Perfect and Pure Which a God Lives On”

Post author By ancientegyptblog7
Post date February 19, 2024

Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!

Today 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳 we are going to be looking at an inscription 𓎘𓅱𓎖 that appears along the top line on a Middle Kingdom era coffin 𓋴𓅱𓎛𓏏𓆱! This phrase does appear pretty frequently across funerary equipment (stelae, coffin) so it is definitely a good one to know!

We will start reading the inscription 𓎘𓅱𓎖 on the right since the directional symbols point to the right!

The phrase “Everything Perfect and Pure Which a God Lives On” on a Middle Kingdom era sarcophagus

This is the full phrase: 𓐍𓏏𓊵𓏦𓎟𓄤𓃂𓏏𓋹𓏏𓊹𓇋𓅓. Let’s break down each word!

𓐍𓏏𓏛𓏦𓎟 – Everything

𓄤 – Perfect/Beautiful/Good

𓃂𓏏 – Pure

𓋹𓏏 – Life/Live

𓊹 – God

𓇋𓅓- On (In, There, Among, etc.)

So all 𓎟 together 𓈖𓊗, the phrase translates to: “Everything perfect and pure which a god lives on.”

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

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Tags hieroglyph lessons, hieroglyphs

Reading Hieroglyphs

Name in Hieroglyphs

Post author By ancientegyptblog7
Post date February 19, 2024

Today 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳 we are going to look at the word for “name 𓂋𓈖” in hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 and the religious/cultural significance that a person’s name had in ancient Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖!

Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!

The word “Name” in Hieroglyphs as depicted on a relief in an Old Kingdom tomb

In order to exist, a person needed to have five 𓏾 essential elements: the body 𓎛𓂝𓄼, the shadow 𓆄𓏏𓅱𓋼, the Ba 𓅡𓏤, the Ka (soul/life force) 𓂓𓏤, and most importantly, the name 𓂋𓈖. Without a name 𓂋𓈖, the other four elements could not exist!

When a person’s name 𓂋𓈖 was written in hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪, it meant that the person would live 𓋹 forever 𓎛𓇳𓎛. The visual representation of a person’s name 𓂋𓈖 had the power to give the person eternal 𓆖 life 𓋹. This is why pharaohs wanted their name 𓂋𓈖 on as many monuments as possible – their name 𓂋𓈖 in hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 had immense power!

This ancient belief about a person’s name 𓂋𓈖 having such significance is why I feel like I need to write about my Nonno and speak about him. My entire page is dedicated to his memory, and I feel like sharing his name 𓂋𓈖 and image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 helps me to keep him alive even though he is no longer here.

Let’s break down each of the symbols!

The “mouth 𓂋” symbol functions most commonly as a uniliteral phonogram and is used to represent the sound “r.” It can also be used as an ideogram for the word “mouth 𓂋𓏺.”

The “ripple of water 𓈖” is a phonogram sign, and it functions as a uniliteral sign. The “𓈖” is associated with the sound of “n!” The 𓈖 has many grammatical functions on its own, and it can mean “to,” “of,” “for,” “we/us/our,” “in,” “because,” “through,” and some others!

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

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Tags hieroglyph lessons, hieroglyphs

Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Sistrums with Hathor

Post author By ancientegyptblog7
Post date February 7, 2024

Music 𓉔𓇌𓆸 and musicians were highly regarded in ancient Egyptian culture. I love music 𓉔𓇌𓆸, and music 𓇋𓎛𓇌 is something that I cannot live without! This is a sistrum 𓊃𓈙𓈙𓏏𓏣, which is a musical instrument from ancient Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 that is similar to a modern rattle or tambourine.

A faience sistrum with Hathor from the Ptolemaic Period

Since Hathor 𓉡 was the goddess 𓊹𓏏 of music 𓇋𓎛𓇌, she was portrayed on most sistrums 𓊃𓈙𓈙𓏏𓏣𓏪 in her human form! However, even though Hathor 𓉡 is represented as a woman 𓊃𓏏𓂑𓏏𓁐, she is recognized easily because of her characteristic cow 𓄤𓆑𓂋𓏏𓃒 ears!

A closeup view of the sistrum with Hathor’s face! See if you can spot her cow ears!

I love these two sistrums 𓊃𓈙𓈙𓏏𓏣𓏪 pictured below because while they are both from the Ptolemaic Period, they look so different! One of the sistrums 𓊃𓈙𓈙𓏏𓏣𓏪 is made of blue 𓇅𓆓𓏛 faience 𓋣𓈖𓏏𓏸𓏼 while the other is made of silver 𓌉𓋞𓃉𓃉𓃉.

A blue faience sistrum (front) and a silver sistrum (back) both with Hathor’s face on it from the Ptolemaic Period.

Fun fact: in ancient Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖, silver 𓌉𓋞𓃉𓃉𓃉 was actually considered to be more valuable because it was harder to obtain through trade! Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 does not naturally have a lot of silver 𓌉𓋞𓃉𓃉𓃉!

The silver 𓌉𓋞𓃉𓃉𓃉 sistrum 𓊃𓈙𓈙𓏏𓏣 has hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 on the handle, however they are very hard to read due to cracks and natural wear. The blue 𓇅𓆓𓏛 faience 𓋣𓈖𓏏𓏸𓏼 one has hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 that are much easier to read!

Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!

𓅭𓇳 – Son of Ra

𓎟𓈍𓈍𓈍 – Lord of Appearances

𓊪𓏏𓍯𓃭𓐝𓇌𓋴 – Ptolemaios (Ptolemy I)

𓋹 – Life

𓏇 – Like

𓇳𓏺 – Ra

𓎛𓇳𓎛 – Eternity

𓆖 – Eternity

When 𓎛𓇳𓎛 and 𓆖 are used in the same phrase, it’s usually translated as “Everlasting Eternity” instead of “Eternity Eternity.”

Another way to write “Lord of Appearances” is like this – 𓎟𓈍𓏥 – using three strokes “𓏥” instead of repeating the “sun over the horizon 𓎟𓈍𓈍𓈍” hieroglyph three times! Both of these ways are the correct way to write the phrase, however the three strokes “𓏥” is usually used more because it takes up less space!

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

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Tags artifact, gods and goddesses, hathor, hieroglyph lessons, hieroglyphs, the met

Egyptian Artifacts

Wooden Model Boat

Post author By ancientegyptblog7
Post date February 7, 2024

This is my favorite wooden 𓆱𓏏𓏺 boat 𓂧𓊪𓏏𓊞 model that I have seen in any museum!

Wooden Model Boat of Ukhotep at the MET

This wooden 𓆱𓏏𓏺 model boat 𓂧𓊪𓏏𓊞 is from the tomb 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐 of a man named 𓂋𓈖 Ukhhotep 𓋂𓊵𓏏𓊪. Ukhotep 𓋂𓊵𓏏𓊪 was the chief treasurer 𓋨𓅱, which is why he probably received such gorgeous 𓄤 funerary equipment 𓈎𓂋𓋴𓏏𓏏𓊭.

This is one of two 𓏻 funerary boats that were found in his tomb 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐 – most Middle Kingdom tombs 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐𓏦 that had wooden 𓆱𓏏𓏺 models always contained two 𓏻 boats 𓂧𓊪𓏏𓊞𓏦. In the tomb 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐, one boat 𓂧𓊪𓏏𓊞 was oriented to the north 𓎔𓏏 and the other towards the south 𓇔𓅱𓏏.

During the actual funeral, the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 would take one last journey across the Nile River 𓇋𓏏𓂋𓅱𓈗𓈘𓈇𓏺. Models of boats 𓂧𓊪𓏏𓊞𓏦 (usually funerary boats), were usually found in tombs 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐𓏦 as a way to symbolically bring the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 into the afterlife 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐.

Wooden Model Boat of Ukhotep at the MET showing the mummy and the two women on either side representing Isis and Nephthys.

I really love this model because of the mummy 𓇋𓁹𓅱𓀾 that you can see underneath the canopy! As a kid I always loved that! The canopy also has a leopard 𓍋𓃀𓇌𓃮 skin on the top, and the details on the leopard 𓍋𓃀𓇌𓃮 are just gorgeous!

Wooden Model Boat of Ukhotep at the MET showing the priests wearing leopard skins.

The mummy 𓇋𓁹𓅱𓀾 is accompanied by two 𓏻 women 𓊃𓏏𓂑𓏏𓁐𓏪 mourners – they are probably meant to represent Isis 𓊨𓏏𓁥 and Nephthys 𓉠𓏏𓆇. There is also a priest 𓊹𓍛 (dressed in the leopard 𓍋𓃀𓇌𓃮 skin) who holds a scroll 𓅓𓍑𓏏𓏛 with a funerary offering 𓊵𓏏𓊪𓏏𓏔𓏦 on it. There is a second priest 𓊹𓍛, also dressed in leopard 𓍋𓃀𓇌𓃮 skin with his arm 𓂝𓏺 extended outward in a mourning gesture.

Wooden Model Boat of Ukhotep at the MET highlighting the detailed leopard on the canopy.

Wooden 𓆱𓏏𓏺 models were very popular amongst Middle Kingdom tombs 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐𓏦. This particular boat 𓂧𓊪𓏏𓊞 is dated to the 12th Dynasty (c. 1981–1802 B.C.E.)

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

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Tags artifact, the met, wooden models

Egyptian Artifacts

Clay Donkey

Post author By ancientegyptblog7
Post date February 7, 2024

This little 𓈖𓆓𓋴𓅩 clay 𓊪𓈖𓋴𓈇 donkey 𓃘𓏺 is easy to miss in the display cabinets of the galleries at the MET, but he is just so cute!

This piece was is very rudimentary but I love how it shows a different level of ancient Egyptian artistry. There are four little sticks in the donkey 𓃘𓏺 which are used to hold the little clay 𓊪𓈖𓋴𓈇 balls which are probably representing sacks of grain 𓈎𓄿𓅱𓏸𓏦. This little 𓈖𓆓𓋴𓅩 clay 𓊪𓈖𓋴𓈇 donkey 𓃘𓏺 was actually found by Howard Carter when he was excavating near Hatshepsut’s 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 temple!

While horses 𓋴𓋴𓅓𓏏𓃗𓏪 weren’t introduced into Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 until the Second Intermediate Period (around 1600 B.C.E.), donkeys 𓃘𓃘𓃘 seem to have been in Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 since around 4500 B.C.E. (based on bone evidence). However, the first artistic representation of a donkey 𓆄𓅱𓃘 is from a palette dated to 3100 B.C.E., which is around the end of the Predynastic Period and the start of the Archaic Period (1st and 2nd Dynasties).

Another distinction between donkeys 𓃘𓃘𓃘 and horses 𓋴𓋴𓅓𓏏𓃗𓏪 in ancient Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 were that donkeys 𓃘𓏪 were used mainly for work and for hauling goods/materials in carts (as seen in this clay 𓊪𓈖𓋴𓈇 representation) while horses 𓋴𓋴𓅓𓏏𓃗𓏪 were only used for pulling chariots 𓅨𓂋𓂋𓏏𓌝𓏦 and were reserved solely for the military and pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏥.

This piece is dated to the Second Intermediate Period – Early New Kingdom (13th-18th Dynasties, 1991–1450 B.C.E.).

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

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Tags artifact, the met

Reading Hieroglyphs

“To Rule” in Hieroglyphs

Post author By ancientegyptblog7
Post date February 7, 2024

Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!

Today 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳 we are going to be looking at the word “𓁷𓁶,” which has a bunch of different (but seemingly related) meanings in Middle Egyptian!

“To Rule” in raised relief from a Middle Kingdom relief at the MET

Here is a list of some of the meanings of the word “𓁷𓁶”:

-To Rule

-Who is Upon

-Nomarch (kind of like a governor who was appointed by the pharaoh)

-Governor (this would be a more modern interpretation of the word)

-Leader

-Magician

Let’s take a closer look at the two symbols which comprise this word!

The “face 𓁷” symbol is a biliteral phonogram for the sound ḥr and is an ideogram for the word “face.”

The “head 𓁶” symbol is a biliteral phonogram for the sound “tp” and is an ideogram/determinative for the word “head.”

So all together the word “𓁷𓁶” would have a sound value of “ḥr-tp.”

The “face 𓁷” symbol is always fascinating to see because it’s artistically different from most of the other 750+ hieroglyphic symbols. The “face 𓁷” symbol is so different because it is a front view of a face instead of a profile view. Most ancient Egyptian art is done in profile, so this symbol really stands out to me amongst other hieroglyphic symbols.

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

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Tags hieroglyph lessons, hieroglyphs, the met

Egyptian Artifacts

Roman Mosaic

Post author By ancientegyptblog7
Post date February 7, 2024

While this beautiful 𓄤𓆑𓂋 Roman mosaic is not Egyptian, it is inspired by ancient Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖! The global fascination and love of ancient Egyptian art didn’t start in modern times; in fact, the Romans were enamored with ancient Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 too! The Romans saw Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 as a “land of wealth and antiquity.”

An Egyptian inspired Roman Mosaic at the MET

Mosaics are a Roman art form, but if you look at the center you will see Egyptian figures! The figure on the left has blue skin and the sun/horn headdress that is typical of the goddess 𓊹𓏏 Isis 𓊨𓏏𓁥 during this time period, while the seared figure on the right is wearing the nemes 𓈖𓅓𓋴 head cloth which is typical dress for a pharaoh 𓉐𓉻.

The scene is definitely strange because a goddess 𓊹𓏏 would never be making an offering to a pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 – the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 would always be making an offering to a god 𓊹 or goddess 𓊹𓏏! This scene was clearly meant to convey what the Roman’s felt as an Egyptian atmosphere and it’s interesting to see the Roman interpretation of Egyptian culture despite its inaccuracies.

Fun Fact: Roman Emperors liked Egyptian art, and some (like Caligula 𓁈𓋾𓏩𓄿𓏲𓏏𓎼𓃭𓂧𓂋𓁰 and Hadrian 𓉔𓏏𓂋𓂝𓈖𓊃𓈎𓊃𓂋) had pieces from ancient Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 brought to Rome to adorn their gardens 𓎛𓊃𓊪𓈈𓏥 or estates.

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

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Tags artifact, roman, the met

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