Egyptomania

Seth was also known as Sutekh or Set. He was often associated with the negative aspects of chaos, violence, disorder, war, storms, and foreign lands. He was the brother and husband of Nephthys and the brother of Isis and Osiris. This makes him the son of Geb (the Earth) and Nut (the Sky) and the main antagonist in the famous myth of Osiris.  His name in hieroglyphs is translated as "instigator of confusion" and "destroyer". It is believed that Seth was one of the two gods who gave the power and authority to the pharaohs and that’s why he was respected for his chaotic powers. Some kings used the animal that represented Seth as part of their emblem to evince their dominance and frightening power. Different forms of Seth The physical representation of Seth is different from any other Egyptian deity, whose physical representations were based on known animals, because the animal that represented him is so far unidentified. Seth was usually depicted as a man with an anima...

Ancient Egyptians believed in the afterlife in the form of a heavenly Field of Reeds (A'aru) that exactly mirrored their lives, albeit in a more perfect, immortal form.  This naturally makes funerary practices one of the most important, if not the most important, rituals in Ancient Egypt. The aim here was to preserve the different aspects of the deceased's life so that they may later relive it in peace after waking up from their temporary slumber. These funerals warranted the survival of the spirit in the Netherworld and so the mummification of the body was a central part in these rituals. For the body (khet) is the main vessel of the soul (Ka and Ba).  The family of the deceased had one of three options for the mummification and making of the coffin. This was a quality for money deal as families would strive for the second best or best option to ensure the safe journey for the deceased and avoid getting haunted by their trapped ghost. Funerary Processions were a given ev...

Hathor is one of the most complex and mysterious of ancient Egyptian gods. She has been present ever since prehistoric times until the late period. Unlike other gods, goddess Hathour's cult had never witnessed a decline. Hathor was always shining like a sun only setting with the last traces of the Ancient Egyptian empire.  Hathor is symbolic of many different things: Animals (cows, cats , lions). Vegetation (Lotus, Papyrus, Rosetta). Sky (associated with the sky of the morning and the sky of the night). The sun (associated with Re of the morning, Atum of the night). Trees (also personified as a tree giving food to the dead in the netherworld). Minerals (Hathor was the goddess of gold, copper, Lapis Lazuli). Love, sex, creation and fertility. At earlier times, Hathor had no features since her most important symbolism were the horns associated with fertility.  Goddess Hathor could appear in 3 forms: A cow: she was represented as a cow from the prehistoric times. At such times, w...

 Amenhottep IV  was an unusual king of ancient Egypt of the 18 th dynasty, New kingdom. There was probably a co-regency between Amenhotep IV and his father, Amenhotep III. That way, it would have begun in the twenty-eighth or twenty-ninth year of Amenhotep III’s reign. Others had suggested that this co-regency was in the thirty-seventh or thirty-ninth year. Amenhotep IV became a sole ruler from 1378/1352 BC onwards. From normal beginnings: The Pharoah Akhenaten started his rule with the name of (Amenhotep) like his father which means: the god Amun is satisfied. His coronation name was Nefer Kheperu Re (the transformations of Ra are perfect). Amenhotep IV married his cousin Nefertiti, who was the daughter of Ay and Tiy II and the granddaughter of Yuya and Tuya. He had probably six daughters from her. Amenhotep IV had a secondary wife, Kiya, who was the mother of Tutankhamun. At the beginning of his reign, the young king, Amenhotep IV worshipped the old gods, especially...

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...

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...