Egyptomania

Menkaure was the fifth Egyptian pharaoh of the fourth dynasty during the Old Kingdom. Egyptian transliteration of his name is (mn-k3w-R`) which means ( Eternal like the soul of Re ). Herodotus named him Mykerinos under the Hellenistic period (Greek) while Manetho named him Menkheres. According to Manetho, he was the successor of king Bikheris but this turned out to be false. According to more sound archaeological evidence, he was the successor of king Khafre who was his father. Menkaure died after at least 26 years of his rule leaving his complex unfinished while the work was completed by his successor, Shepseskaf in mud brick. The Pyramid of Menkaure   It was the last and the smallest pyramid of the three main pyramids, located on the Giza plateau in the southwestern outskirts of Cairo. Herdotus wrote that there once was a very rich woman called Rhodopis who claimed that the pyramid of Menkaure belonged to her. This was almost believed until it was disproved because of the disco

Understanding the pivotal concepts of Egyptian identity is a necessity to understand hieroglyphic writing. The Ka and the Ba are among the most important and complex hieroglyphic ideograms. "Ka" is a concept deeply rooted in the Ancient Egyptian Persona. In the simplest terms, it is the idea that each one of us has a soul consort mirroring our own souls, our spiritual double. This double takes after our own bodies "ghet" for it can only materialise with it to form us as a whole. This consort lives on even after our own death. Offerings to the Ka were a necessity since, like the person's physical body, the Ka needed nourishment. The idea is a bit similar to the Qareen in Islamic religion, however the nature of the Ka remains much more ambiguous. The phonetic biliteral sign with the predominant ideogram of the Ka represents the breast and outstretched arms of a person pictorially. Ka can also mean personality, individuality and even a man's fortune or his posi

Jason and the Golden Fleece  One day there was a king named Aeson who was ruling the province “Iolcus” in Thessaly. Until, Pelias, the half-brother of Aeson deposed him and took the throne of Iolcus, threatening to kill any who disputed his claim.  Meanwhile the queen Alcimede , wife of Aeson was pregnant with a boy. She claimed that the boy died as she was giving birth to protect the child.  Aeson sent his son Jason (Iason in Greek) to the old Centaur Chiron who was living on the mountain of Pelion in Thessaly. Chiron brought up Jason and taught him how to fight and use all kinds of weapons until Jason became a strong, well-built young man.  After many years, Jason decided to return to Iolcus to regain his kingdom from Pelias.  Pelias felt guilty for what he had committed against his half-brother, so he asked his Oracle about the fate of his throne. The Oracle gave him a prophecy warning him of (a man with one shoe). This man was no other than Jason who helped an old woman to cross t

The Westcare papyrus recorded the sacred birth of the fifth dynasty of Ancient Egypt, it tells us that the first three kings of the fifth dynasty were begotten from the sun God himself who married the wife of the high priest of Heliopolis whose name is"rdi djt". The true origin of the kings of the fifth dynasty : The true origin of the fifth dynasty is a mystery very difficult to solve, but we will explore different points of view from scholars. Queen Khentkawes   She is the daughter of Menkaure according to Selim Hassan, as he found an offering table holding the title Khentkawes at the valley temple of Menkaure. It held the title "sa ntr" so Selim Hassan suggested that she was the daughter of King Menkaure and she married King Shepseskaf before marrying Userkaf. She was probably the mother of the two kings (Sahure and Neferirkare). Queen Khentkawes held an unusual title and some scholars are debating about the reading of the title, Selim Hassan   translate

Coptic art is now present in many variations in different churches all around the world but little is known about its Egyptian origins. Jesus Christ Icon depicting Jesus Christ sitting on the throne of glory, with four figures around him refer to the four gospels; the face of the lion that refers to the gospel of "Mark", The human face that refers to the Gospel of "Matthew", the face of the eagle that refers to the gospel of "John" and the face of the bull that refers to the gospel of "Luke." Jesus Christ holds an open book. and is written on his head in red ink: "O Lord, make up for him who has trouble." The icon was made by the artists Ibrahim and Yohanna Al-Armani, and it dates back to the 18th century. It’s located in the Coptic museum, Cairo. Origin: The Christian art originated from the Egyptian churches during the Byzantine, Greco-Roman era in Egypt and it was a mixture of old Egyptian and Greco-Roman mythology art. The fasci

If you are visiting the Egyptian museum, this app by tagipedia will provide you with a nice guided tour, so you can explore the museum and enjoy the trip without wasting time or getting lost. If you're not visiting the Museum soon, this app give you a good summary and a lot of things to look forward to.  The app provides a simple mini map to all of the rooms in the museum besides information on the most important pieces and collections. It contains a highlighted tour that will introduce you to some of the highlights of the museum's collection including some significant pieces like: Replica of   the Rosseta Stone and the Narmer Palette Statue of Hetepdief and the Statue of Djoser The Menkaure triads The treasures of Hetepheres The sphinx of Hatshepsut The Royal mummies Features 36 Highlight tour of the Egyptian museum  Artefact search and locator Entrance fees Museum Operation hours Current events Simple map of the rooms and collections Supports 2 languages (Arabic and En

Khonsu was considered as the son of Amun and Mut, with whom he formed the Theban triad. He was a god of fertility and healing, as is recorded in the story of the “Princess of Bekheten”. Khonsu was believed to have the ability to drive out evil spirits. His name is derived from the Egyptian word "khenes" meaning "to travel" and this probably alluding to his nightly journey across the sky. A great temple was built for Khonsu in the Karnak complex at Thebes. It was begun by Ramesses III, in the New Kingdom but enlarged by later rulers. Although the good epithets that konsu got, he also had a dark side. Khonsu the devourer Khonsu was a benevolent god in the New Kingdom, but in early times specifically the Old Kingdom, he was not benevolent, but violent and horrible. There is a part of the Pyramid Texts described Khonsu as a bloodthirsty maniac, who killed and ate other gods’ hearts in order to absorb their powers. In other texts, he was described as “Khonsu who li

The term “Ennead” is of Greek origin, it means "nine" and is (Pesedjet) in the Ancient Egyptian Language.This term refers to a group of nine deities who act together. However, Ennead's nine is sometimes used as general term that doesn’t literally express the number nine in some cases.  The most famous Ennead is The Great Ennead of Heliopolis which consists of : • Atum “father of The Ennead” • Shu & Tefnut “Atum’s children” • Geb & Nut “ Atum’s grandchildren” • Osiris , Isis , Seth , Nephthys “The great –grandchildren” The Myth of creation in Heliopolis & Atum “The creator god” The primeval mound was the first land to appear above the primeval ocean (Nun) from which all life came. This mound remained the centre of the cosmos taking a pyramidion shape (benben). Atum was identified with this mound as the creator god who began and ended the world, imagined as a bird such as a phoenix, a goose or an ibis. One day Atum felt very lonely, so he impregnated him

The Ummayad Caliphate was remarkable for many reasons. I t was the second caliphate in the Islamic history and one of the largest ruling empires known in all of history. Ummayad art was very distinctive Under the Umayyad Caliphate, the first School of the Islamic art was established. Art was influenced by Syrians, Sassanians (Iranians) and Byzantines producing this rich infuse of Artefacts where a lot of different art styles meet. These artefacts are, therefore, very difficult to date except the pieces written in Kufic ( oldest typeface of the Arabic language ) since it most certainly relates to the Islamic era. Pristine artefacts   of the Umayyad Caliphate are now displayed in The Museum of Islamic art in Cairo, Bab Al-Khlaq. The collection spans the floral, animal motifs as well as full on nature-inspired scenery. The most impressive artefact of Umayyad Caliphate was the Ewer of Marwan Ibn Mohamed, found at Abu Sir. It is currently  displayed in the museum of Islamic art in Cairo,

Egypt is the Land of magic and mystery. Magic was not a delusion or trick to the Ancient Egyptians, magic was an integral part of this world the world had been created through magic.   Egyptians translated magic as Heka.  Magic was used to heal the people when they were sick, gave when the man had nothing, and assured them of eternal life after death.  Magic was used by the gods , magician-priests, some special people such as the kings, dwarfs, or those who were believed to inhabit the Netherworld. The God of magic Heka was the God of magic as well as medicine. For magic and medicine were inseparable to ancient Egyptians. Heka is the oldest God in ancient Egypt. As old as creation, he is this secret power holding the Universe together and driving the Gods. Heka can be seen living on in Greek culture under the term logos. He is the most important God in ancient Egypt. H e was represented in human form and sometimes as a child. In the funerary texts he is seen leading the soul of th

A curse that is casted upon anyone who disturbs the sleep of a king's mummy and is believed to cause illness, bad luck or even death! The curse shall befall he who disturbs the King's sleep The origin of the myth The gossip surrounding the mummy’s curse started around the 1920s when the king Tutankamun’s tomb was discovered by the famed archaeologist Howard Carter, the great discovery was followed by a series of unusual incidents and mysterious deaths amongst Carter’s team members and many people who came in contact with Tut’s burial objects later. The first unusual incident was reported when Carter sent his messenger on an errand to his house, the messenger claimed to have heard a “human cry” at the entrance and then he spotted a cobra snake inside Carter’s birdcage eating his canary. In ancient Egypt the cobra snake represents the symbol of goddess Wadjet (protective deity in ancient Egypt and was worn on a king’s crown as if to strike his enemies). Mysterious deaths

We aren’t exaggerating when we say that most of our knowledge of ancient Egypt is owed to the hard work of the scribes. It is a fact. Scribes used to work for the Pharaohs or temple priests. They wrote everything down starting from the procedures in courts, magic spells, legal contracts, all the way to tax records for the government. They wrote on different mediums like obelisks, pyramids, tombs, sarcophagi, statues, and papyrus scrolls . The scribe’s equipment The scribes used specific equipment to help them write easily. This kit is called "sesh" in hieroglyphics. The term is more accurately translated as “to draw” or “to create” rather than “to write”. The most common equipment was a rectangular palette or a case with a very small leather bag to hold pigments and a long pen case to hold reed pens. The scribes also used a pot of water to wet the pigments and the reed pens. We can also see small circular cavities to hold the pigment on the palette itself. We found m