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...
Statue of the goddess Isis, so-called “Isis of Coptos”. She wears a tripartite wig with uraeus. The sun disc and cow’s horns identify the sculpture as Isis or Hathor. Her dress is Egyptian in style and sheath-like in appearance, and around her neck she wears an incised collar of beads.
One of the best-known vignettes in the Book of the Dead of Taysnakht is that of the weighing of the heart (“psychostasia”) in the tribunal of the Double Truth, in the presence of Osiris and other gods of the netherworld. The heart of the deceased is placed on one pan of a pair of scales,...
The so-called “heart scarabs” had to protect the heart of the deceased. According to ancient Egyptians, the heart contained the intellect and emotions. For this reason, it should have been preserved in the Afterlife as well. Heart scarabs were very popular amulets. Positioned on the chest of the mummy, they usually take the shape of...
Horemheb stands beside the god Amun, who is taller to indicate that he is more important than the king himself. The style of the statue is typical of the period immediately following the religious and artistic revolution of king Akhenaten. The muscles are not emphasized, the contours are soft, the belly and hips rounded, the...
The chest of the sarcophagus of the vizier Gemenefherbak is protected by a winged scarab, a personification of the reborn morning sun. On the back of the box, the deceased is shown twice worshiping the djed pillar, a symbol of Osiris, lord of the netherworld. In spite of the size of the object and the...
This seated triad statue of king Ramesses II, sat between the deities, and immortal consorts Amun and Mut, is made from solid granite and comes from the Temple of Amun at Karnak, modern Luxor, and dates from c. 1279–1213 B.C. The three sit eternally in each other’s company, embracing as they smile ahead. Ramesses, is...
Granodiorite statue of the goddess sekhmet, the avenging lion-headed goddess. Like the combative fire spitting goddess the king vanquished Egypt’s enemies. Through her fire Sekhmet was associated with the royal uraeus cobra and the eye of the sun god Re. As the city of Thebes gained power, the priests gave Mut, consort of the God...
The ear stele of Usersatet was dedicated to the goddess Nebethetepet, “she who listens to prayers”. It is decorated with four ears in the hope that the deity would hear and answer to the requests of the dedicator. Originally from Heliopolis, Nebethetepet was a deity who was associated with Hathor and there is even evidence...
In this statue, King Amenhotep II is shown kneeling in a pose of worship, offering two Nu vases for libation to Amun-Re. His body is well modeled with defined muscles. He wears the royal nemes headdress, surmounted by the uraeus, or rearing cobra. One type of statue, adopted by both individuals and rulers, is that...
