 Ankh
Symbol of eternal life. The gods are often seen holding an ankh to
someone's lips this is considered to be an offering of "The Breath of
Life". The breath you will need in the afterlife. |
 Amenta
This symbol represents the Underworld or Land of the Dead. Originally
it meant the horizon of the sun set. Later, it became the symbol of the
west bank of the Nile, where the sun set and also where the Egyptians
traditionally buried their dead. |
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|
 Ba
The Ba is what we might call someones personality. It would leave the
body at the time of death. During the days the Ba would make itself
useful, at night it would return to the tomb. At this time, it would
look for the person to which it belonged. This would be the mummy,
however, often the egyptians would supply the Ba with a statue in the
likeness of the deceased in case the mummy was lost or damaged. |
 Deshret
The Red Crown. This was the crown that represented Lower Egypt
(northern). |
 Nemes
A striped headcloth worn by Pharaohs. |
 Was
This is a symbol of power and dominion. The Was scepter is carried by
deities as a sign of their power. It is also seen being carried by
kings and later by people of lesser stature in mortuary scenes |
 Hedjet
The White Crown. This was the crown of Upper Egypt (southern). |
 Shenu
More commonly know as a cartouche. The shape represents a loop of rope
in which a name is written. A protector of that name. |
 Uraeus
The cobra is an emblem of Lower Egypt. It is
associated with the king, and kingdom of Lower Egypt. It is also
associated with the sun and with many deities. The cobra represented
the "fiery eye of Re", in which two uraei can be seen on either side of
a winged solar disk. Starting in Middle Kingdom The uraeus appears as a
symbol worn on the crown or headdress of royalty. It is used as a
protective symbol, the Egyptians believed that the cobra would spit
fire at any approaching enemies.
|
 Maat
Represents truth, justice, morality and balance. Deities are often seen
standing on this symbol, as if standing on a foundation of Maat. |
 Scarab
Called the dung beetle because of its practice of rolling a ball of
dung across the ground. The Egyptians observed this behavior and
equated it with the ball of the sun being rolled across the sky. They
confused this balled food source with the egg sack that the female dung
beetle laid and buried in the sand. When the eggs hatched the dung
beetles would seem to appear from nowhere, making it a symbol of
spontaneous creation. In this role it was associated with the sunrise.
Khepri was the scarab headed god. |
 Djed
It is believed that the Djed is a rendering of a human backbone. It
represents stability and strength. It was originally associated with
the creation god Ptah. Himself being called the "Noble Djed". As the
Osiris cults took hold it became known as the backbone of Osiris . A
djed column is often painted on the bottom of coffins, where the
backbone of the deceased would lay, this identified the person with the
king of the underworld, Osiris. It also acts as a sign of stability for
the deceased' journey into the afterlife. |
 Sema
This is a rendering of the lungs attached to the windpipe. As a
hieroglyph this symbol represents the unification of Upper and Lower
Egypt. Other symbols are often added to further illustrate unification.
|
 Feather of Maat
Represents truth, justice, morality and balance. It was pharaoh's job
to uphold Maat. When a pharaoh died, Maat was lost and the world was
flung into chaos, only the coronation of a new pharaoh could restore
Maat. |
