Sham Ennessim (Sham El-Nassim) (شم النسيم), celebrated each year in Egypt on the Monday following Coptic Easter, is a vibrant springtime festival that unites Egyptians of all faiths in a joyful celebration of nature’s renewal. Though today it is observed as a national holiday, its origins stretch far deeper, reaching back into the fertile soil...
The Egyptian military estimated the number of those killed in front of the king soon after combat ended by displaying the severed hands of the deceased enemy. This was all but a theory based upon ancient reliefs until 2012 when archaeologists excavating at the modern site of Avaris, Tell el-Daba, unearthed 16 human right hands...
In Ancient Egyptian art, when a king is depicted touching the Was sceptre, it is a symbolic gesture signifying his divine authority and legitimate rule. The Was sceptre, often held by gods such as Thoth or Osiris, represents power, dominion, and the control of chaos. By touching it, the king affirms his connection to the...
Egypt was one of the very first lands to embrace Christianity, long before it was sanctioned by the Roman Empire. Tradition holds that Saint Mark the Evangelist brought the Christian faith to Alexandria in the 1st century A.D., establishing one of the world’s earliest Christian communities. By the time Constantine issued the Edict of Milan...
The Ancient Egyptians held one of the most sophisticated and enduring beliefs regarding the soul in the ancient world. Far from being a singular, indivisible entity, the soul in Ancient Egyptian thought was composed of multiple interconnected parts, each fulfilling a specific role in both life and the afterlife. These concepts, deeply rooted in religious...
In Ancient Egyptian thought, the gods were not merely supernatural beings to be worshipped, but profound personifications of essential concepts that underpinned the very fabric of existence. To the Egyptians, divinity and ideology were inseparable; their deities embodied the principles that sustained both the cosmos and society. Foremost among these was Ma’at, the divine embodiment...
