Egyptian mythology
Egyptian artists represented the gods, goddesses and symbols of their mythology with immense creativity. Here is a discovery through the notices of the museums of France online on Joconde, their collective catalog.
Credits: this content was originally published on the Joconde website. It was designed and produced in 2000 by Marina Zveguinzoff of the French Museums Department and modified in 2011 by Laurent Manœuvre of the French Museums Department, to be linked to the collective catalogue of the collections of the French museums. The records of the mentioned collections are online on POP, open platform of the heritage.
Presentation
A strong creativity
Egyptian art, essentially hieratic, serves beliefs and rites by obeying ancestral conventions that govern drawing and everything related to the scriptures. Despite the weight of these conventions, Egyptian artists have managed to take advantage of these laws to represent the gods, goddesses and symbols of their mythology with great creativity.
A civilization imbued with religiosity
Compared to other civilizations, ancient Egypt is distinguished by a relative permanence. However, during the three millennia that separate the advent of the First Dynasty (3100 BC) from the end of the Hellenistic period (death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC), this civilization knows evolutions. In a society where each component, from the Pharaoh to the lowest social classes (porchers...), is very strongly impregnated with religiosity ("compared to other peoples, the Egyptians are religious to excess" notes Herodotus), these evolutions necessarily impact the universe of the gods. The Amarnian revolution, during which Amenophis IV (1352-1336 BC) freed himself from the powerful clergy of Amon and imposed the state cult of Aton, is the best known example.
A vast and complex pantheon
"The Egyptians are also the first to have used particular names to designate the twelve gods [...], the first to have dedicated altars, statues and temples to them, and to sculpt animals in stone" (Herodotus). In reality, the Egyptian pantheon is not limited to twelve gods. It is much larger, relatively complex, and it evolves over time. They would have worshipped several hundred gods, often local deities. The Egyptian pantheon allows to read in filigree the efforts of a single and centralized government to assimilate somehow powerful local feudalities. Some of the gods, at first linked to a city, and of mediocre importance, see their cult spread, sometimes going as far as imposing themselves on the entire kingdom (Amon). Their functions, like their attributes, can then change.
A frequently animal appearance
One of the peculiarities of this pantheon is the importance played by animal forms, total or partial. Whether Hathor, goddess with the body of cow, Bastet with the head of pussy or Sekhmet with the head of lioness, Thot with the head of ibis, Khnoum or Amon the ram, Anubis, the young dog, the examples are not lacking. Sometimes the animal is only the manifestation and support of the god, so the bull Apis for the god Ptah.
These animal forms testify to the importance played by nature in Egyptian civilization. The Greek writer Heliodorus shows the strong footprint of the environment on Egyptian mythology: "They think that the creation and life of men results mainly from the conjunction of the wet principle and the drought principle, assuring that the other elements must exist and appear to them, and they add that the wet principle is represented by the Nile, the other, by their own land. Such is the popular doctrine, but the initiates learn that Isis is the earth and Osiris the Nile, thus expressing, by these names, the true reality of objects. In short, the goddess desires the absent god, is happy to unite with him, mourns him when he disappears and experiences hatred against Typhon, his enemy. But the scientists in the things of nature and those of the gods naturally do not reveal to the laymen the hidden meaning of these legends, they give them a brief instruction in the form of myths, reserving to the initiates of higher degree, inside the sanctuary, a clearer teaching" ("Ethiopia", 1958, p. 139-740)."
By borrowing the partial or total appearance of the animal, the deities attribute character to themselves. Khnum, the ram, presides over fertility. Bastet has the calm and serenity of pussy. Because they symbolize similar principles, two or more deities may share the same animal appearance. Symbol of fertility, the ram is associated with Khnum and Amon.
A strong duality
Another characteristic of this pantheon is the strong duality of divinities. Hathor and Sekhmet, for example, symbolize two facets of the same feminine principle, the first related to procreation, the second to the protection of offspring. But this duality can be present in the same divinity. In this case, it manifests itself under different appearances. Thus, in its leonine form Hathor presides over destruction, when in its bovine form it evokes music, dance and sexuality.
The symbolism of the triad
The triads (of Abydos, Thebes, Elephantine...) are the last element of Egyptian mythology. A triad usually includes a father, a mother (the female principle that constitutes the pivot) and a son. It symbolizes the cycle of life.
An illustrated index of some Egyptian gods and goddesses
This presentation is not intended to be exhaustive. For a deeper knowledge of the Egyptian pantheon, we will refer to a mythological dictionary, and in particular: Isabelle Franco, "Nouveau dictionnaire de mythologie égyptienne", Paris, 1999.
Only the main gods and symbols of Egyptian mythology are presented here, from the collections of the museums of France integrated into the collective catalogue.
Goddesses
Egyptian goddesses are relatively numerous. This presentation, not exhaustive, is based on the collections currently included in the catalogue of the collections of the museums of France.
Bastet
She can be depicted with a woman’s body and a cat’s head, or in the form of a cat, sometimes nursing her litter of kittens. Goddess of femininity, home and music, she sometimes carries a sisterhood in her hand. She presides over the return of the flood. It always retains a background of aggressiveness and can then take the appearance of a lioness.
She is often said to be the wife of Atoum and mother of the lion Miysis.
Its main temple was located in the Delta, in Bubastis.
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Hathor, new empire, Bourges, Berry Museum, © F Lauginie
Hathor
It comes in the form of a cow-headed woman or a cow herself. It can also take the features of a human face with cow ears (especially on the so-called hathoric pillars). Her face can be framed by two curved, sometimes cobra-shaped bushes. She carries on her head two horns encircling a solar disk. Its emblems are the sistra and the necklace Ménat, symbols of fertility.
It was originally associated with the sky where the sun moves. Associated with erotic pleasure, it presides over the renewal of all life. It is responsible for welcoming the deceased into the other world.
Its personality is twofold: in its leonine form (related to Sekhmet, it symbolizes revolt and destruction; in its bovine form, it represents joy, music, dance and sexuality.
Daughter of Ra and often linked to Horus, Hathor would have had his main temple at Denderah.
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Isis
It has the appearance of a woman bearing a throne on her head, a hieroglyphic sign used to write her name.
Daughter of Nout and Geb, sister and wife of Osiris, she brings civilsation to earth. Magician, she gathers the dismembered body of her husband to which she gives life again, following which she begets Horus.
She represents the faithful wife and is the protector of children. She is, with Nephthys, Neith and Selkis, charged with protecting one of the four canopic vessels, that of Amsèt, with head of man and containing the liver.
His cult is revered in many places in Egypt, especially on the island of Philæ. In the late period, his cult spread throughout the Mediterranean world. The representation of Isis nursing Horus will inspire the Coptic Christian iconography of the Virgin and Child.
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Maat
She is depicted as a woman with an ostrich feather on her head, which is used to write her name.
She is the goddess of different orders (cosmic, political and social) and, by extension, of truth and justice. It is in Mâat that the deceased, whatever his social rank, must account for his actions and efforts to maintain divine harmony and repel disorder. When the deceased appears before Osiris, Anubis places the heart of the dead on one of the scales and the pen of Ma'at on the other. Thus is measured the contribution of the deceased to the observance of the order. Thoth notes the result. From this depends the right of the deceased to access the afterlife.
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Nephthys
Its name means "the lady of the castle".
It has the appearance of a woman wearing the hieroglyph of her name: a basket supported by a representation of the house.
Sister of Isis and Osiris, she is the wife of Seth. In the struggle between Seth and Osiris, she sided with him and contributed to his resurrection. She is sometimes thought to be the mother of Anubis, the adulterous son of Osiris.
She is in charge of protecting, with Neith, Selkis and Isis, one of the four canopic vases, the one with the baboon head that contains the lungs.
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Nout
It symbolizes the sky, swallows the sun in the evening to give birth in the morning. Associated with the cult of the dead, it is often found depicted on the ceiling of graves or inside the lid of sarcophagi, usually under the apparnec of a woman with the body covered with stars, sometimes split to show her daytime and nocturnal appearances.
She joins her brother Geb (the earth), to give birth to Ra (the sun). Nout is also the mother of Osiris, Isis, Seth, Nephthys, and Horus the Elder.
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Sekhmèt
His name means "the powerful".
Usually depicted as a woman with the head of a lioness, it symbolizes the sun in its evil aspect; it brings diseases when the level of stagnant water is at its lowest, before the return of the flood.
In the Memphis triad, she is associated with Path and gives birth to Nefertum.
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Touéris (Touarèt)
His name means "the big one".
It is represented as a pregnant female hippopotamus, standing on its hind legs in the shape of lion’s legs, and with a crocodile back.
Symbol of fertility, reproduction and protection, it watches over pregnant women.
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Gods
The Egyptian gods are extremely numerous. This presentation, not exhaustive, is based on the collections currently included in the catalogue of the collections of the museums of France.
Amon
His name means "the hidden one".
Originally a god of the wind, it has two high feathers (Atef crown). It can also be represented as a goose or a ram.
His cult developed from the Middle Kingdom and Amon eventually became patron of the monarchy. In order to establish its universal functions, it is associated with other gods, such as Min (ityphallic god) or Ra (demiurge and source of life).
With his wife Moutet his son Khonsou (a lunar god with child hair), they form the Theban triad. It will also be integrated into the Ogdoad of Hermopolis: group of eight gods forming four pairs of elementary forces: Nun and Naunet (the primitive waters), Hehou and Hehet (space), Kek and Keket (darkness), Amon and Amonet (the "hidden"), and corresponding to the personification of the elements of chaos that precedes creation.
Karnak’s cult complex in Thebes will be its main temple. His clergy would become powerful enough to usurp the royal titulary and rule Upper Egypt.
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Amsèt (Imsèt)
One of Horus' four sons, with Douamoutef, Hâpy and Qebehsenouf.
In compagine of Isis, he watches over the canopic vase containing the liver.
His cult was in Bouto.
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Anubis (Inpou)
Its Egyptian name, Inpou, means "the young dog".
It is represented as a man with a canine head, or a black canine. Adulterated son of Osiris and Nephtys, he contributes, with Horus, to give life to his father by creating the first mummy. He is therefore the patron saint of embalmers. Associated with the stray dogs who had taken up residence in the necropolis, he becomes the guardian. God extremely popular, he passes to welcome the deceased in the afterlife and watch over them. When the deceased appears before Osiris, Anubis places the heart of the dead on one of the scales and the pen of Ma'at on the other. Thus is measured the contribution of the deceased to the observance of the order. Thoth notes the result. From this depends the right of the deceased to access the afterlife.
Although his cult was extremely widespread, a temple was specially dedicated to him in Cynopolis.
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Apis
Sacred bull considered the manifestation of the god Ptah and the sun. Its worship dates back to the 1st dynasty. It is associated with the return of the flood and the royal person, in connection with Osiris. Carefully chosen by the priests of Memphis, the Apis made oracles. Upon his death, he was embalmed and buried in Saqqarah, Seraphim.
The bull was considered a model of power and sexual vigor. It symbolized the invincible sun. His image was often associated with that of the sovereign.
Other deities took the bull for a receptacle: Montou incarnated in Bouhis, in Ermant, and Re in Mnévis, in Heliopolis.
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Aton
Solar disk considered the generator of any existance.
He is worshipped in open shrines, for example in Amarna. Amenophish IV will make him the only visible manifestation of the sun.
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Bes
Beneficent deity depicted as a bearded dwarf with a leonine face. He is the protector of women in childbirth.
Its cult was extremely popular and its shrines very numerous.
He is the only one, with Hathor, to be represented from the front: this seems to indicate that Bes would be an avatar of the sun.
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Douamoutef
One of Horus' four sons, along with Amsèt, Hâpy and Qebehsenouf. He is usually depicted with a dog’s head
With Neith, he watches over the canopic vase containing the stomach.
His worship was in Nekhen.
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Sons of Horus: see Amsèt, Douamoutef, Hâpy and Qebehsenouf
Together with the goddesses Isis, Selkis, Neith and Nephthys, they guard the viscera in the canopic vessels. They are associated with all four parts of the world.
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Hâpy
One of Horus' four sons, along with Amsèt, Douamoutef and Qebehsenouf. He is usually depicted with a baboon head. It should not be confused with its namesake, personifying the flood.
With Nephthys, he watches over the canopic vase containing the lungs.
His cult was in Bouto.
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Harpocrate (Horus child)
It is represented under the child’s characteristic appearance (shaved head and with a long strand of twisted hair), naked, with a finger on the mouth.
Son of Osiris and Isis, he received worship only from the New Kingdom. He wore a short wig, surmounted by the double crown (pschent). Its name is the epithet given to some formidable deities (Sobek, Khnum or Khonsou) in their beneficial manifestation.
He only became a full-fledged god in the late age. His worship was then rendered at Diospolis Parva.
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Horus
Its name means "the distant".
It is represented under the appearance of a falcon or a man with falcon head, wearing the double crown (pschent). It also appears as an infant, breastfed by Isis or as a child, assimilated to Harpocrate. It is also shown standing on a crocodile, winner of poisonous animals.
He is the son of Osiris and Isis. As the heir of Osiris, he is the mage of monarchical permanence.
He will receive a cult only from the New Kingdom.
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Imhotep
He is depicted as a seated scribe, a roll of papyrus on his knees and wearing the cap of the god Path.
Architect and doctor of King Djéser, he was divinized in the late period and then passed as the son of Ptah. Very popular, especially in Thebes, it receives a cult in several cities.
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Khnum
It is represented in the form of a man with ram’s head. While Atoum would have given life to the first divine couple by spitting or masturbation, Khnum was thought to have created living beings on a potter’s wheel.
The ram was considered a model of sexual vigor, just like the bull. It is therefore often associated, in the form of a ram with horizontal or curved horns, with divinities related to fertility and flooding (Ageb, Héryshef). Lord of Elephantine, he reigns over the first cataract and controls the coming of the flood.
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Khonsou
Often depicted as a falcon-headed man or a child with a shaved skull with the wick on its side. He holds in his hand the scepter of Ptah or Osiris. He can cause diseases as well as protect them.
In the Theban triad, it is associated with Amon and becomes its rejuvenated form.
His cult was attested in Thebes from the Middle Kingdom.
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Néferhotep
He can be depicted as a young or adult. He wears a short wig, topped with the double crown (pschent). Its name is the epithet given to some formidable deities (Sobek, Khnum or Khonsou) in their beneficial manifestation.
He only became a full-fledged god in the late age. His worship was then rendered at Diospolis Parva.
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Nefertum
It is represented as a man whose head is surmounted by a lotus flower. It is one of the receptacles of the original sun. It can take the appearance of a lion and then becomes guardian of the eastern borders. He belongs to the Memphis Triad, as the son of Path and Sekhmèt.
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Osiris
Originally god of fertility and vegetation, Osiris imposed himself on the whole "Black" (name given by the Egyptians to their country). He usually wears the crown hemmed (white mitre of Upper Egypt, flanked by two ostrich feathers), the scepter heqa and flagellum as well as the beard postiche.
Son of Geb and Nut, he is the brother and husband of Isis. Osiris and Isis receive Egypt to which they bring civilization. Osiris is the archetype of the sovereign and, as such, is associated with the royal person. Jealous, his brother Seth, who received the desert, kills Osiris and cuts his corpse. Isis gives back to her deceased husband the vital breath after which she will beget Horus. Osiris becomes lord of the underworld and protector of the deceased. This myth illustrates the process of apparent death and underground seed germination.
During the Old Kingdom, Osiris was worshipped in the shrines of Abydos and Busiris.
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Ptah
It is depicted as a man wrapped in a sticky garment, wearing a cap and holding a composite scepter, including the signs ânkh (sign of life representing a knotted cord) and djed (sign of stability representing the spine of Osiris) adorning the sevenfold (stick at the lower end forked and topped with an animal head).
Considered as the demiurge, he generates the world by conceiving it in his heart before realizing it by the verb. It guarantees the permanence of the royal function. It is also the patron of craftsmen. In the Memphis triad, he was associated with Sekhmèt and Nefertum. Lord of Memphis, he enjoyed worship in many other cities.
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Qebehsenouf
One of Horus' four sons, along with Amsèt, Douamoutef and Hâpy. He is usually depicted with a falcon head.
With Selqit, he watches over the canopic vase containing the intestines.
His worship was in Nekhen.
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Re
Representation of the sun source of life. It can be depicted as a falcon surmounted by a solar disk, or in the form of a boat, alluding to its journey in the sky.
It is the subject of many myths and is often associated with other gods whose importance one wants to increase (Amon-Re).
Originally and formerly located in Heliopolis, his cult developed rapidly throughout the kingdom.
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Serapis
He is represented under the appearance of a bearded man, clad in a breastplate, and wearing the calathos (basket, symbol of power and fertility), iconography of strong Greek inspiration.
This divinity appears late and it proceeds from an amalgam between Osiris and Zeus.
His cult, introduced by Polémée I (305 - 283 BC), was especially popular in Alexandria.
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Shou
Support of the sky, it is represented in the form of a man squatting, his arms raised and carrying the celestial vault, in an attitude similar to that of Heh. It embodies the invigorating breath emanating from the sun.
Son of Ra, he is the brother and husband of Tefnout.
Shou and Tefnout were worshipped in the form of a double lion in Leontopolis.
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Sokar
Ancient deity in the form of a mummified falcon. Patron of goldsmiths, he had funerary and chtonian functions. He was later associated with Ptah and Osiris to symbolize the cycle of creation, metamorphosis and rebirth
His cult was widespread in the Memphis area.
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Thoth
It is represented in the form of a man whose ibis head is surmounted by the lunar disk, and sometimes in the form of a monkey. Inventor of writing, magician, sometimes considered the language of Ptah, guardian of the moon and therefore master of time and cosmic cycles, vizier of Ra, he symbolizes wisdom. His main place of worship was in Hermopolis.
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The attributes of the gods
Egyptian gods often hold attributes that not only determine their divine nature, but express the virtues they bestow on Man. Here are some of these attributes, among the most widespread.
Horns
There are mainly bovine horns (attribute of Hathor) or straight sheep (attribute of Khnum) or curved (attribute of Amon). Some gods wear antelope horns. Hathor is at first alone to carry the solar disk framed with cow horns. This distinction is then extended to other goddesses, usually to evoke their solar dimension. In the depictions of Isis nursing, the solar disk framed with bovine horns represents a symbol of motherhood, alluding to the primordial cows Ihèt and Methyer who had placed the newborn star between their horns, in order to protect it.
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Crowns
They are, more than any other attribute, symbol of power. The gods share them with kings. The hedjet crown (adjet) white, shaped like an elongated miter, is the attribute of the kings of Upper Egypt. The red decheret crown, in the shape of a mortar, is the attribute of the kings of Lower Egypt. After the meeting of the two kingdoms in one, the royal crown will be composed of the white miter placed on the red mortar (pschent) and it will become the symbol of the unity of the empire. Only the gods Atoum, Horus and Mout can carry the pschent.
The crowns can be enriched with feathers. The crown of Osiris, known as the atef crown, is the bolster enriched with two ostrich feathers. They may also wear bovine or ovine horns or a uraeus. The more additional elements the crown bears, the greater the power of divinity.
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Ankh cross
It is an ansée cross. It represents a knotted cord, symbol of the vital breath. But this vital breath cannot develop without the solar force, Ouas. Ankh and Ouas are complementary.
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Disk
It can symbolize the sun (most often), but also the moon. It can have wings on either side, or carry a uraeus in the center. Placed between bovine horns, it can assign a solar dimension to the deity, or be a symbol of motherhood.
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Djed pillar
Originally, this symbol would represent a shaken tree. Subsequently, it would have been assimilated to the backbone of Osiris, preserved in Busiris. The four horizontal lines would be the god’s cervical vertebrae. The pillar was a symbol of stability and cohesion between Upper and Lower Egypt. It is the male counterpart of the Tit (knot of Isis).
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Ostrich feathers
The unique ostrich feather is worn by Maat and Shou. A pair of ostrich feathers is a symbol of solar presence. It is worn by Hathor, Horus or Osiris.
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Hawk feathers
The hawk being associated with the sun, its narrow and pointed remiges constitute the symbol of this star. They are worn, always by two, by Amon, Ra or Shou.
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Heqa and flagellum scepter
They are specific to Osiris. In the realm of men, they are attributes of royalty that are symbolically given to the new ruler. He will take them to his grave, as the future Osiris.
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Scepter ouas
It is a scepter surmounted by an animal head and at the lower forked end. Solar force, it allows the vital breath, ankh, to develop. Ankh and Ouas are complementary.
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Tit
Also called a knot, or buckle, of Isis. It is a red belt knot. According to the "Book of the Dead", which devotes an entire chapter to it, it symbolizes the blood and power of Isis. It is the female counterpart of the Djed pillar.
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Uraeus
It represents a trained cobra, the hood deployed. This snake embodies the life-giving power of the waters. Due to its ability to spit out venom, it has been associated with solar fire fighting chaos and rebels to divine order. It symbolizes the pact between the sun and humans, the cosmic balance and therefore the regularity of the flood. It is a monarchical badge that will become the symbol of the unity of the kingdom. It is commonly found in the centre of the lower part of the divine or royal crowns.
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Symbols of the Egyptian mythology
"Nature is a temple where living pillars
Sometimes leave out confused words;
Man passes through forests of symbols..."
Nowhere else but in Egypt these verses of Baudelaire seemed so true. It seems that, for the ancient Egyptians, all activity and all reality become pretexts with symbols. There are very few representations without symbolic intent. Thus, the heart, the only organ left in the mummy after evisceration, evokes the afterlife. It was thought to be the seat of organizing thought, memory and therefore the witness of past existence. When the deceased appears before Osiris, Anubis places the heart of the dead on one of the scales and the pen of Ma'at on the other. Thus is measured the contribution of the deceased to the observance of the order. Thoth notes the result. From this depends the right of the deceased to access the afterlife.
The Egyptians had the talent to translate the world into images, becoming the symbols of different phenomena. Geographical reality (Seth represents the desert) and cosmic (the race of the sun), natural phenomena (flooding, vegetation) were erected as symbols.
They usually proceed not association. For example, the slow course of the sun in the sky can be compared to the movement of the boat on a river.
Most of the symbols reflect the reality of an agrarian society, whose flourishing is based on precise observation of meteorological phenomena, as well as animal behavior and plant development. There is no hierarchy, with creatures considered noble or others not. The beetle beetle is a symbol of the rising sun, birth and becoming. Confronted with an extremely contrasting environment, this society, which advocates harmony, knows the role played by each species in maintaining an ecological balance, and therefore social and political. In this context, the smallest animals are likely to be erected as symbols. Thus, the frog becomes a symbol of the renewal of life, because of its multiple metamorphoses. As for the tadpole, its swarm in stagnant waters justifies its use in hieroglyphic writing, with the meaning "100,000".
These images are not limited to the material world alone. The great moral (truth) or political (good government) principles are also illustrated, or even reduced to an image. The ostrich feather is the symbol of Maat, goddess of the cosmic, political and social order. The ability of Egyptians to represent abstractions in the form of symbols is particularly remarkable with ba, (energy of displacement, communication and transformation), ka (true and immaterial personality of the individual) and akh (immortal luminous principle), invisible spitritual components of the individual. The ba is usually represented as a human-headed bird.
Artists have played an important role in this process. With a remarkable spirit of simplification, they were able to release the essence of things, to reduce them to their essential and timeless forms. Bastet is not represented in the form of a particular cat, but of the cat, in its most perfect morphology. The risk of such an approach was the perpetuation of an art of convention, emptied of all substance. Egyptian art has not always escaped this danger.
The various symbols are essentially known by the representations made of them on paintings, sculptures or various objects. Given the importance played by religion for all social classes, it is logical that the presence of the gods manifested itself, in the form of symbols, on many objects of daily life. Nevertheless, we must not forget that most of the objects preserved today emanate from a funerary context or religious shrines, in which the divine presence is destined to be present in all its forms, including symbolic.
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