I’ve had this written for a while but haven’t posted it because it is very feelings-y and very different from my usual posts. I am a huge fan of the group BTS. They are a Korean boy band whose music has basically gotten me through 2020. While I love all of their music, one of their songs has really struck a chord with me because it basically puts my feelings about ancient Egypt into words. The song is called “First Love” and it is written and performed by Min Yoongi (aka SUGA). While you would expect a song with this title to be about a person, it is in fact about Yoongi’s love for the piano from a very young age and his lifelong journey with his childhood piano.
I have always called Ancient Egypt my “first love” so when I listened to the song and I read the translation I immediately related to it. While I am passionate about many things, Egypt is always the thing that I will return to because Egypt’s history is just something I love so deeply. Throughout my life, I have so many beautiful memories in my Nonno‘s basement looking through his books and staring up at the bookcases hoping to one day be able to read every single word that they contain. So many memories of listening to my Nonno explain the significance of each piece in museums. These feelings of childish wonder are emotions that I always wish to return to.
“When I was fed up and lost, Back then when I fell into a pit of despair, Even when I pushed you away, Even when I resented meeting you, You were firmly by my side, You didn’t have to say anything, So don’t ever let go of my hand, I won’t let you go ever again either, My birth and the end of my life, You will be there to watch over it all” -First Love
I feel like a picture of me with my favorite Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 statue is appropriate for this type of post! I’m 16 in this picture!
The Temple of Dendur is gorgeous 𓄤 – the room that it is located in makes it actually feel like you are along the Nile River 𓇋𓏏𓂋𓅱𓈗𓈘𓈇𓏺 in Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖!
This room is one of my absolute favorite places – sometimes I like to sit on one of the benches and just enjoy the atmosphere of it! Visiting the temple only makes me want to go to Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 more!
The temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐 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 𓉟𓏏𓉐 was built by Augustus, it definitely follows Egyptian style and not Roman style. The emperor is actually presented as a pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 worshipping Egyptian gods 𓊹𓊹𓊹 on the walls of the temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐. The temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐 was primarily used to worship the goddess 𓊹𓏏 Isis 𓊨𓏏𓁥.
Ostraca are basically the ancient Egyptian version of a sketch pad or scrap paper! They were used by scribes 𓏟𓀀𓏪 or artists to practice their craft! The ostraca were usually chips of limestone or broken pottery.
These ostraca at the MET are very awesome because they depict Senemut 𓌢𓈖𓅐𓀼!! Senemut 𓌢𓈖𓅐𓀼 was Hatshepsut’s 𓇳𓁦𓂓 most trusted advisor (and in my opinion, they were definitely much closer than that 😜). Senemut 𓌢𓈖𓅐𓀼 was not only the tutor for Hatshepsut’s 𓇳𓁦𓂓 daughter 𓅭𓏏 Neferure 𓇳𓄤 𓄤 𓄤, the royal architect in charge of Deir el-Bahri, but he was also the Steward to Amun 𓆓𓉐𓏺𓇋𓏠𓈖 at Karnak.
The sketch of Senemut 𓌢𓈖𓅐𓀼 on these ostraca are very similar to the sketches of Senemut 𓌢𓈖𓅐𓀼 that are seen in his tomb!
These were always some of my favorite pieces to see as a kid! Not only because it was Senemut 𓌢𓈖𓅐𓀼, but also I loved seeing how the Egyptians 𓆎𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏪 used to do things!! Seeing the grids and seeing their “sketch pads” allowed me a glimpse into just how some of this incredible art was created!
This bronze statue at the MET is from the Ptolemaic Period (664 – 31 B.C.E.) represents Isis 𓊨𓏏𓁥, Osiris 𓁹𓊨𓀭 and Horus 𓅃𓀭- the main triad of the Egyptian pantheon.
Here, Horus 𓅃𓀭 is represented in his Greek form Harpokrates, with his trademarked “finger to lips” pose. This pose represents the “be quiet” gesture because to the Greeks Harpokrates was the god 𓊹 of silence. What is interesting about this piece is that there are suspension loops on the back of Osiris 𓁹𓊨𓀭 and Harpokrates – this piece is probably too big to be worn as a necklace, so the loops may have some type of unknown symbolic significance.
Many gods 𓊹𓊹𓊹 in the Egyptian pantheon appeared in groups of threes 𓏼, which were known as Triads. They were groups of gods 𓊹𓊹𓊹 that usually have some type of familial significance to each other. For example, one of the Memphis triads during this period was Ptah 𓊪𓏏𓎛𓁱, Sekhmet 𓌂𓐍𓅓𓏏𓁐, and Nefertem 𓄤𓆑𓂋𓏏𓍃𓀯. Nefertem 𓄤𓆑𓂋𓏏𓍃𓀯 is the son of Ptah 𓊪𓏏𓎛𓁱 and Sekhmet 𓌂𓐍𓅓𓏏𓁐, just like Horus 𓅃𓀭 is the son of Isis 𓊨𓏏𓁥 and Osiris 𓁹𓊨𓀭!!
This is one of the grand, large kneeling statues 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾𓏪 of Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 that were found during excavations of her temple at Deir el-Bahri. The excavations were a joint operation between the MET and the Egyptian government.
In this statue 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾, Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 is depicted wearing the nemes headcloth, a false beard on her chin, and is kneeling with a nemset jar 𓏌 in each hand 𓂧𓏏𓏺. These were meant to be offerings to the god 𓊹 Amun 𓇋𓏠𓈖- an inscription on the statue 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾 states that Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 is offering “maat” to Amun 𓇋𓏠𓈖- while Maat 𓐙𓌴𓂣𓏏𓁦 was the goddess of truth, “maat” was also a concept held dearly by Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪. Her reign was guided by order, truth, and justice – all the principles of maat.
Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 is seen kneeling, which is not too common for a Pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 since they were considered to be gods 𓊹𓊹𓊹 on Earth. However, since Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 was making an offering to the god 𓊹 Amun 𓇋𓏠𓈖, she did this in a kneeling position. A pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 kneeled for no one – except for another god 𓊹.
From this angle, the statue 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾 looks even more grand! I also love pink granite, which many of Hatshepsut’s 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 statues 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾𓏪 are made out of. Granite is an extremely dense and durable rock (hence why it is used for countertops today), and these statues 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾𓏪 of Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 were definitely built to last.
The image above is of the cartouches of Hatshepsut’s throne name, Maatkare 𓇳𓁦𓂓.
This is a small, kneeling statue 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾 of Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 made out of black/pink granite! The black and pink granite is traditionally found in Aswan (Upper Egypt). In the USA, black and pink granite is commonly found in Nevada and other western states! This piece is in the MET.
While not as grand as some of her other statues 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾𓏪 that adorned her temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐 at Deir el-Bahri, this one makes quite an impression. There are at least eight of these statues 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾𓏪, and many of them are in the MET. They were most likely used to line the upper court at her temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐, and are thought to be intended for her Heb Sed festival (a festival used to celebrate 30 𓎆𓎆𓎆 years of rule, and then celebrated every three 𓏼 years after the initial 30 𓎆𓎆𓎆). Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪, ever the Pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 to break from tradition, instead celebrated hers in the 16th 𓎆𓏿 year of her rule!
In this statue, Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 is kneeling and is seen holding the nemset jar 𓏌. The jar 𓏌 has the djed pillar 𓊽 adorning the front. The djed pillar 𓊽 is thought to be the spine of Osiris 𓁹𓊨𓀭, and it represents stability and endurance – both are attributes a Pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 needed in order to be a successful ruler!
“The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt” was one of my best book purchases of 2020! I have only just been able to read through most of it, and this is probably one of the most complete books that I have in regards to the Egyptian pantheon. I love how the book was organized, and how it also paid attention to the lesser known gods𓊹𓊹𓊹 and goddesses𓊹𓏏𓏪 in Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖. The pictures were also spectacular and really added value to the text by only emphasizing the written words.
I have learned quite a few things from this book, and it is one I definitely recommend if you are interested in Egyptian mythology and religion. I wish I had gotten this book sooner – I got it on a trip to the MET in September 2020. I’m the type of person that likes to see my books before I purchase them, which is why I hadn’t gotten the book sooner.
I actually brought this book with money my Nonno had given me, so it still felt like he was the one that brought it for me ❤️.
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The sarcophagus of Wereshnefer is a really interesting piece in the MET. Wereshnefer was a priest of the goddesses 𓊹𓏏𓏪 Mut 𓏏𓄿𓀭, Nephytys 𓉠𓏏𓆇, Satis 𓋴𓄝𓏏𓏏𓀭 and Neith 𓈖𓏏𓋌𓀭 and he lived during the 30th Dynasty to the early Ptolemaic Period. Despite being a priest 𓊹𓍛 in Upper Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖, his sarcophagus was found at Saqqara.
One of the interesting things about his very large coffin is that the funerary/religious texts that are engraved into the stone are from writings that predate Wereshnefer by about one thousand years! The lid (which is pictured) shows images and texts related to the sun’s journey through the sky 𓊪𓏏𓇯 during the day 𓉔𓂋𓏺𓇳, which in Egyptian religion, acts as a metaphor for the journey from death 𓅓𓏏𓏱 to life 𓋹 that one would take while accompanying the sun 𓇳𓏺.
What is so interesting about Wereshnefer’s sarcophagus is that it shows the Earth 𓇾𓇾 as being round. This is the first evidence that scientists and historians have of the Earth 𓇾𓇾 being depicted as a round object (as we know, most people thought that the Earth 𓇾𓇾 was flat). Nut 𓏌𓏏𓇯𓀭, the goddess 𓊹𓏏 of the sky 𓊪𓏏𓇯, is seen arched over the rounded Earth 𓇾𓇾 and is supported by Shu 𓇋𓅱𓀭, the god 𓊹 of the atmosphere. At Nut’s 𓏌𓏏𓇯𓀭 feet is Geb 𓅭𓃀𓀭, the god 𓊹 of the Earth 𓇾𓇾. It is fascinating to me that the Egyptians 𓆎𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏪 would depict the Earth as being round!
This copy of the Book of the Dead (known to the Egyptians as the Book of Coming Forth By Day) belonged to a priest 𓊹𓍛 of Horus 𓅃𓀭 named Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪! Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪, Priest 𓊹𓍛 of Horus 𓅃𓀭, lived during the early Ptolemaic Period (between 332-200 B.C.E.) Fun fact: the word priest 𓊹𓍛 actually translates to “god’s servant”!!!
Now, this is definitely not that Imhotep from “The Mummy” (1999), however, this is still a funny coincidence! I always get a laugh when I see this in the museum! The Book of the Dead was created for Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 so he could have a successful journey into the afterlife 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐. The spells on the papyrus 𓅓𓍑𓏏𓏛 were also meant to ensure his safety and well-being in the duat 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐(realm of the dead).
The Book of the Dead is interesting because it doesn’t follow a particular story. The spells do seem to be grouped by theme, and sometimes pictures 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 can be representative of the spells as well. The scene shown here is the Weighing of the Heart, in which the deceased’s heart 𓇋𓃀𓄣 was weighed against Maat’s 𓐙𓌴𓂣𓏏𓁦 feather. More details on that scene later in the post!
Imhotep’s version of the Book of the Dead is complete, and is over 70 feet long!
This page illustrates spell 110, which gives Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 the ability to enjoy various earthly activities. This takes place in the Field of Reeds, which is also known as The Field of Offerings. Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 is actually seen doing work in the field 𓇏𓏏𓈇 – he can be seen using a scythe to harvest grain, plowing the field, and doing other various activities. In the top left, there are hieroglyphs “𓃹𓈖𓈖𓆑𓄿𓇏𓏛𓐝𓏭𓏏” that translate to “it is he in the Field of Offerings.” The Field of Reeds could also be written as 𓇏𓏏𓈅𓇋𓄿𓂋𓅱𓆰𓊖
I have provided some close up images of some of the aspects of the image that I mentioned in the caption above!
Let’s take a look at some other portions of the Book of the Dead!
I only have the drawings in this photograph, but to the left of the images would be the Hieratic script which would spell out the Sun Hymns. The Sun Hymns would allow Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 to be turned into a spirit and join the Khepri 𓆣𓂋𓇋𓁛 in the daily cycle of death and rebirth (rising and setting of the sun). During the night 𓎼𓂋𓎛𓄛, Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 would travel through the Duat 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐 underworld/netherworld) and be born again the next morning in the form of ba 𓅡𓏺 (individual’s soul that was depicted as a human headed bird).
The top image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 shows the goddesses 𓊹𓊹𓊹𓏏 Isis 𓊨𓏏𓁥 and Nephytys 𓉠𓏏𓆇 attending to the sun god Khepri 𓆣𓂋𓇋𓁛, who is in the form of a scarab 𓆣. The middle image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 shows the sun 𓇳𓏺 in human form and is attended by two 𓏻 ba 𓅡𓏺 and baboons. The bottom image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 shows Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 and his wife* receiving offerings.
*Since Imhotep’s 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 mother 𓅐𓏏𓁐 is mentioned a lot throughout his Book of the Dead, many people think that the woman who always accompanies Imhotep in the images 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 is his mother 𓅐𓏏𓁐 and not his wife!
Fun fact! The words for “night 𓎼𓂋𓎛𓄛“ and “end 𓎼𓂋𓎛𓂝𓏛“ were very similar in hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!!!
Now on to my favorite scene from the Book of the Dead (in more detail)!
While I have already posted a pic of the Weighing of the Heart, I wanted to post some alternative angles because this series of images is my absolute favorite – no matter whos Book of the Dead it is from!
Here, Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓁢 weighs the heart 𓇋𓃀𓄣 of the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 against Maat’s 𓌴𓐙𓂣𓏏𓁦 feather. If Anubis determines there’s balance between the two, then the deceased would be presented to Osiris 𓁹𓊨 𓀭 by Horus 𓅃𓀭. Thoth 𓅤𓀭 records the findings. Ammit waits to eat the heart if it’s unworthy!
Here we can see that Imhotep’s 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 heart 𓇋𓃀𓄣 is balanced against the feather! There are some really cool images in this particular scene – instead of just being a feather on the scale, it is the hieroglyph determinative for Maat (𓁧). Also, in the last picture, Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 is accompanied by a feather with a human body! This is probably a representation of Maat 𓌴𓐙𓂣𓏏𓁦, though she is usually depicted as a woman with a feather on her head and rarely as just a human body with a feather.
This is the last picture I have from Imhotep’s 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 Book of the Dead. Due to the way that the papyri 𓅓𓍑𓏏𓏛𓏦 are displayed at the MET, it can be very difficult to get clear pictures 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏥. I’m happy that I went back through my pictures 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏥 because I had taken some better ones than I initially thought!
In this image, you can see some of the hieratic script that the Book of the Dead is written in – don’t ask me to translate, because I can’t read hieratic! I can only read hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! I would love to learn hieratic though! Some of the hieratic is in black ink while some of it is in red. The red ink seems to symbolize either the beginning or the end 𓎼𓂋𓎛𓂝𓏛 of a spell, or it could highlight a word for a noun that was considered “bad” in Egyptian culture. However, sometimes even “offering table” could have been written/drawn in red and offering tables were not bad at all! So, some of the red ink seems kinda random.
Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 is seen here with Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣, who is seated on top of a shrine. As you all know, Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣 is my favorite Egyptian god (he is the god of mummification and cemeteries) so I was very excited to see I got an image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 with Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣! I like this image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 because it reminds me of the Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣 shrine that was found in Tutankhamun’s 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓏏𓅱𓏏𓋹𓋾𓉺𓇓 tomb – that is one of my absolute favorite pieces of all time! The drawing is also like the hieroglyph determinative “𓃣” for Anubis!
Happy Anniversary to the deciphering of Egyptian Hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! Seeing the Rosetta Stone in person was a dream come true for me!
Jean-François Champollion was just a teenager in September 1822 when he discovered how to read hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 based off of the Rosetta Stone! The Rosetta Stone is actually a decree issued by priests 𓊹𓍛𓏪 in 196 B.C.E. that affirmed the cult of Ptolemy V 𓊪𓏏𓍯𓃭𓐝𓇌𓋴. Identical decrees were supposed to be placed in every temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐 in Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖!
During the Christian period in Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖, the use of hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 began to wane and finally disappeared at the beginning of the 4th Century. The Rosetta Stone contains three 𓏼 languages 𓂋𓏦: Hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪, Greek and Demotic. Since Greek was a known language 𓂋𓏺, scholars began to try to use the Greek section of the Rosetta Stone to translate the portion in hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪.
Thomas Young was the first person to show that the name 𓂋𓈖 in the cartouche (𓊪𓏏𓍯𓃭𓐝𓇌𓋴) actually spelled out “Ptolemy,” however, Champollion gets the credit for deciphering hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 because he showed that the phonetic symbols were also used for Egyptian 𓆎𓏏𓀀𓁐 names 𓂋𓈖𓏦 and not just foreign names 𓂋𓈖𓏦. With his extensive knowledge of Coptic, Champollion was able to begin reading the hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 fully!
I am thankful for the early works of scholars like Champollion because I would not be reading hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 without it!
