The functions of Qetesh in Egyptian religion are hard to determine due to lack of direct references, but her epithets (especially the default one, “lady of heaven”) might point at an astral character, and lack of presence in royal cult might mean that she was regarded as a protective goddess mostly by commoners. Known sources...
![This votive stela, dated from the reign of Amenhotep III and found at Deir el-Medina, is dedicated to the goddesses Taweret and Mut of Isheru, both female deities of motherhood and femininity. It was commissioned and dedicated by a man “[ … ] of [the house of] Amun, Khonsu“, in hopes for a woman’s safe and successful pregnancy and childbirth.](https://i0.wp.com/egypt-museum.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/This-votive-stela-dated-from-the-reign-of-Amenhotep-III-and-found-at-Deir-el-Medina-is-dedicated-to-the-goddesses-Taweret-and-Mut-of-Isheru.jpg?resize=320%2C320&ssl=1)
This votive stela, dated from the reign of Amenhotep III and found at Deir el-Medina, is dedicated to the goddesses Taweret and Mut of Isheru, both female deities of motherhood and femininity. It was commissioned and dedicated by a man “[ … ] of [the house of] Amun, Khonsu“, in hopes for a woman’s safe and successful pregnancy and childbirth.
The Scribe of the Place of Truth, Amennakht (New Kingdom, 20th Dynasty, c. 1170 B.C.) kneels before the goddess Meretseger, “She who loves silence”. Amennakht, is in praise of Meretseger who sits before him on a throne of red, blue and orange. She is wearing a red dress and a cuff on her upper left...
Ahmose Nefertari was the sister and Great Royal Wife of king Ahmose I, the first king of the 18th Dynasty. After taking the reins from the Hyksos’s hands and unifying a dismantled Egypt, Ahmose I was the first ruler of Egyptian origin to bring Egypt into what is referred to as it’s Golden Age, also...
Scribe Ramose from Deir el-Medina New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, c. 1279-1213 B.C. Musée du Louvre. E 16346 This painted limestone figure of the Scribe Ramose, shows the Scribe with a beautifully detailed thick wig. His shoulders are adorned with the cartouches of Ramesses II, Thutmose IV and Horemheb. Ramose (scribe in the Place of truth,...
A fine painted limestone statue depicting King Amenhotep I. After his death, Amenhotep I was deified and became a source of law and order for centuries. This piece is likely a cult sculpture dating to the 19th Dynasty. King Amenhotep I was celebrated as the founder of the village of Deir el-Medina and divinized by...
The first workers strike in recorded history took place in the 12th Century BC in Egypt. Even though they regarded the king as a kind of living god, Egyptian workers were not afraid to protest for better working conditions. The most famous example came in the 12th century BC during the reign of the New...
This round-topped stele of the foreman Baki is carved in low relief and painted in several colors. The pictorial plane is divided into two registers, the upper one containing two rams facing each other. The animals, with cobras rising on their foreheads, wear tall headdresses composed of two tall plumes with a solar disk at...
Aker appears as a pair of twin lions, one named Duaj (meaning “yesterday”) and the other Sefer (meaning “tomorrow”). Aker was thus often titled “He who’s looking forward and behind”. Lions were widespread in prehistoric times and still present in the Nile Valley in the late Pharaonic history. The lion was an important element in...
Tomb painting of Inherkhau worshiping the serpent god Sata, son of the earth and guardian of the underworld. Snakes were dominantly present in ancient Egyptian mythology. They played a double role, benevolent and malevolent. They could be evoked for curing, protecting and healing but at the very same time cursing and inflicting danger. Sata belonged...
