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ender-reader · 8 months

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DP X DC/Marvel Prompt 1#

sooo I've had this mind obsession about giant fluffy monsters so why not jam Danny and DC/Marvel into this mess to make a cool prompt?

Summary: Danny's been sealed away in an ancient temple. someone (could be a hero or a scientist that deals with ancient stuff, i forgot what they're called) finds the entrance but cant go past that. they call Batman/Tony and/or Constanaine/Dr.strange for help(probably along with one of the batkids or Spiderman). Chaos ensues.

What exactly happened to Danny: Danny's been sealed away in an ancient temple during a a time mission from CW that caused him to go in his eldritch horror form and getting sealed away in a temple using chains and of course: Blood blossoms but not to the extent that they continually hurt him, just enough to keep him sealed away, after all: if you hurt a baby ghost, it probably wont end well.

Note: this can be ghost king danny if you want.

and i know i got the characters wrong but im trying, its been a while since i watched marvel

onto the somewhat detailed prompt:

DP/Marvel(or DC, just change who the characters are):

Wang (i think that was his name? the guy that always doubts dr.strange but helps him anyways) has picked up a strange magic signature somewhere around Egypt, after he decided to go and investigate himself, he found an entrance to a sealed ancient temple with a few dead bodies nearly hidden by sand. When he tried to enter, he felt death magic pulse through him and he quickly moved his hand away, whatever was in there, whoever put the seal on this temple wanted to either keep whatever's outside out... or whatever's inside in. he didnt like this not one bit, he does the one thing that would make sense (kinda in his deep opinion): he goes to Steven Strange.

"So your telling me, that you found an ancient temple that's radiating 'infinite realm' kind of death magic and tried to enter it ON.YOUR.OWN?" Strange said rubbing his nose bridge with a sigh. "I dont get whats wrong with that? Death magic's still magic and you two are wizards." Tony said raising a judgemental eyebrow at Strange.

"yes thats true, BUT, infinite realm magic's not like normal magic, not even normal death magic." Wang explained raising a finger at the 'but'. "so? its still magic? or does it have diffrent properties?" Peter, tired of only listening decided to start asking some questions to understand the situation better.

"to understand infinite realm magic, first you need to know what are the infinite realms" Strange countered with a heavy tone, looking at Tony and Peter.

"Strange, we are not to speak of the dead so openly" Wang hissed turning to look at Steven. "oh come on, they're gonna find out eventually and you know it, better they know or one of them gets killed trying to find out." Strange said furrowing his brows glancing around him as if expecting something to attack him. Wang only grumbled sitting on a chair that was not there before.

"the infinite realms is a realm between worlds, like a pocket dimension. it is also known as the realm of the dead, the realm of ghosts, souls, and spirits. it is neither heaven or hell, it is were the dead go when they have too strong obsessions that keep them going, it is where the dead go when they don't want to let go of their life. it has its culture, rulers, ghost types, Gods and Goddesses called Ancients, islands of different shapes and sizes. it also has: A Ghost King, one who rules all the kingdoms, tribes and all ghosts in the infinite realms. they have the title of High King. They run on a substance called ectoplasm, which can be considered the main source of infinite realm magic.

Do not mess with the dead and they will not mess with you. Don't engage with infinite realm inhabitants because the risks are far too high. The last high king was Piriah Dark, he went mad and devoured worlds, not much is known about the new High King, all we know is that he was only around 2 death years old which in on its own baffling." Strange said crossing his arm, his voice was heavy with danger and seriousness.

"so we DON'T mess with the temple?" Peter asked curiously. "..." Wang and Strange didn't know how to answer that.

i cant help but imagine this scene happening:

Danny: *giant chained eldritch horror* *narrows eyes and hisses*

Bruce/Tony, Constantane/dr.Strange and Zatanna/Wang: "..." *intimidated and are ready to fight if needed*

one of the batkids/Peter: "...omg its like a giant kitten!" *proceeds to pet said giant eldritch horror*

the adults: "..." *horrified

Danny: "..." *purrs*

if someone uses this please tag me and maybe send the link please?

#dp x marvel #dc x dp #danny phantom #ghost king danny #dp x dc #dcxdp #dpxdc #dp x marvel prompt #dc x dp crossover #dp x dc crossover #danny fenton #eldritch horror

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antiquitiesandlabyrinths · 28 days

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Hapshepsut?

Oh, you guys are funny. I make a note in my post about the oddity of people coming into my inbox with a single word prompt and that I have no idea how to respond except with a handful of information about the prompt, and now it's a real thing? That's just what I'm supposed to do?

Well, I might as well do so.

The modern legacy of Hatshepsut is dominated entirely by her womanhood. It completely disregards all of her accomplishments as a great and wealthy Pharaoh presiding over a time of great prosperity for Egypt, and it also overlooks the political and cultural climate of the time, which is as confusing as it is complicated.

This is much longer than my previous go about Ramses I, so I'm putting it under a read more.

Hatshepsut's Beginnings

When the layman thinks of Hatshepsut, they will think that she is the first female ruler of Egypt. This is their first mistake. There were many regents of Egypt; mothers who ruled on behalf of their young sons, who were not yet old enough to fully claim the throne. Beyond that there was also the female King Sobekneferu (12th Dynasty), as well as two Queens very early on in Egyptian history who might've been Pharaohs in their own right; Neithhotep (Early 1st Dynasty) and Merneith (1st Dynasty), both named for the warrior Goddess Neith, who held considerable importance in early Egyptian history. Both of these Queens have inscriptions and monuments attesting to their rule, but due to a lack of complete concrete evidence, it is difficult to now say whether they were regents or Pharaohs. Sobekneferu, from the 12th dynasty, was the first woman to take on the full royal titulary, assuming the position and title of Pharaoh completely. While her existence and rule is fully affirmed, there is little evidence left in the way of her accomplishments, as she ruled as the last Pharaoh of the 12th dynasty.

Khnumetamun Hatshepsut herself was born in 1507 BC to the Pharaoh Thutmose I and his Great Royal Wife, Ahmose. Her name, meaning 'Foremost of the Noble Women' was suiting to her––later in life she would be married to another one of her father's sons, Thutmose II, who was birthed of a secondary wife named Mutnofret. She was married before the age of 20 and assumed the highest standing title a woman could gain at the time; the God's Wife of Amun, giving her more power than even a Queen could achieve. To understand the importance of Hatshepsut even at this time, we must understand what it was to be the God's Wife of Amun. And remember, all this power and prestige is before she ever even became regent to her husband's son.

The God's Wife of Amun was a position held in Thebes, modern-day Luxor, and called Waset in ancient times. The title originates from the Middle Kingdom, and at that time, it was merely an honorific title for a noble woman who assisted the High Priest of Amun at Karnak Temple in his duties. By the New Kingdom, which was Hatshepsut's time, the God's Wife of Amun was powerful enough to influence policy and held considerable power and prestige, the peak of which was reached in the 3rd Intermediate Period, when a God's Wife of Amun ruled over Upper Egypt. The typical duties of a God's Wife of Amun were that of a high priest, and she would essentially be the female counterpart of the high priest of Amun, and took on many of his responsibilities alongside him. But the rewards for it were also plenty: "tax-exempt land, housing, food, clothing, gold, silver, and copper, male and female servants, wigs, ointment, cosmetics, livestock, and oil." (God's Wife of Amun, World History Encyclopedia, Joshua J. Mark) She would preside over the festivals of Amun and would be considered His consort, making her a divine being.

So this was Hatshepsut's position which was gifted upon her around the same time she was married to her half-brother, Thutmose II. Together they had a daughter whose name is Neferu-Ra, but this was their only child. The only viable heir to the throne after Thutmose II would have to be a son, which only came about through Thutmose II's lesser wife, Isis, who birthed Thutmose III. But Thutmose II, Hatshepsut's husband, died relatively soon after Thutmose III came to be, and so Thutmose III, the young son, could not fully be given the throne. Instead, Hatshepsut was made regent, and assumed all duties of state and Pharaoh while Thutmose III was growing up.

Proclaiming Herself Pharaoh

It was in the 7th year of her regency that the well-known history occurred. Hatshepsut crowned herself sole Pharaoh of Egypt. She assumed all royal titularies, titles, and names befitting a Pharaoh, but inscribed all of these using feminine forms. She passed down her title of God's Wife of Amun to her daughter, Neferu-Ra, and had her married to Thutmose III, likely in an attempt to consolidate power, and began to carve images of herself as a male Pharaoh.

I have commented on Hatshepsut before because some people like to claim that Hatshepsut is the world's first transgender person. This is incorrect. If she had wanted to represent as male, she would've gone about it differently, and to begin with, she would've changed her name. As I stated earlier, her name means "Foremost of the Noble Women"; this is a female name, and it would've been obvious to any Egyptian of the time that this was a woman. Instead, her representation as a male was to ensure the people knew she was not a Queen, but a full-fledged Pharaoh. And as I mentioned just previously, all her names and titles used feminine grammatical forms.

She is a complicated character, and one that will likely never be fully understood. But one certain thing about Hatshepsut was that she was smart. By marrying her daughter to the 'King' Thutmose III, she created a safety net for herself; if she was removed from the throne and Thutmose III was crowned, then she would still hold considerable power as the mother-in-law of the Pharaoh. She further legitimized her rule as Pharaoh by proclaiming that she was not just Amun's ritual wife, but His daughter, as well.

In the carvings and paintings in Hatshepsut's mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahari, Hatshepsut tells the story of how Amun appeared to her mother, Ahmose, in the form of Thutmose I, her father.

"He [Amun] in the incarnation of the Majesty of her husband, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, [Thutmose I] found her sleeping in the beauty of her palace. She awoke at the divine fragrance and turned towards his Majesty. He went to her immediately, he was aroused by her he imposed his desire upon her. He allowed her to see him in his form of a god and she rejoiced at the sight of his beauty after he had come before her. His love passed into her body. The palace was flooded with divine fragrance." (van de Mieroop, 173)

This interaction made Hatshepsut a demi-God. But this was also not enough; she made claims that Thutmose I, her father, made her a co-ruler with him.

"Then his majesty said to them: "This daughter of mine, Khnumetamun Hatshepsut—may she live!—I have appointed as my successor upon my throne... she shall direct the people in every sphere of the palace; it is she indeed who shall lead you. Obey her words, unite yourselves at her command."" (Seawright, Caroline (6 November 2000). "Hatshepsut: Female Pharaoh of Egypt")

She claimed that Amun had sent an oracle foretelling of her rise to power.

"Welcome my sweet daughter, my favorite, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Maatkare, Hatshepsut. Thou art the Pharaoh, taking possession of the Two Lands." (Breasted, James Henry (1906). Ockerbloom, John Mark (ed.). Ancient Records of Egypt: Historical Documents from the Earliest Times to the Persian Conquest)

She also represented herself as the direct successor of the Pharaoh Ahmose I, who started the 18th Dynasty.

That last bit may seem unimportant if you do not know the history behind Ahmose I. Ahmose I came about during the 2nd Intermediate Period, a time in which Egypt was split into three sections. Lower Egypt, the delta, which is to the north, was ruled by foreigners––the Hyksos, who were much despised by the native Egyptians, who ruled only a section of Egypt from Thebes. Then far the south, the Nubians ruled their own section of Egypt. What's important here, however, is the Hyksos rule. The Hyksos were commonly referred to as the Asiatics, and likely originated from the Levant, referring to themselves with Western Semitic names. They were seen as cruel and oppressive rulers, and while this was likely far from the truth, when we concern ourselves with the cultural standpoint of 18th Dynasty Egyptians, we only need to understand their viewpoint and opinion of the Hyksos. Ahmose I, ruler of Thebes, successfully drove out the hated Hyksos from Egypt, and reinstated Theban rule over the delta in Lower Egypt. These actions made him a much-beloved figure in the eyes of the ancient Egyptians, and this is why Hatshepsut proclaiming herself as a direct successor of Ahmose I was a smart move––she correlated herself with freedom from oppression and a somewhat legendary figure, who had ruled over Egypt some 80 years previous to her.

Actions As Pharaoh

Consolidating her rule, gaining power, and ensuring that power would stay were not the only things she accomplished, even if that is what most people recognize her for. She also completed a staggering amount of construction projects for temples, protected the borders of Egypt, led military expeditions into Syria and Nubia, and a rich trading expedition to the mythical land of Punt, which is presumed to be somewhere in modern-day Somalia. She was in control of a massive amount of wealth, without which it would not have been possible to assume so many building projects.

"Hatshepsut was able to exploit the wealth of Egypt's natural resources, as well as those of Nubia. Gold flowed in from the eastern deserts and the south: the precious stone quarries were in operation, Bebel el-Silsila began to be worked in earnest for sandstone, cedar was imported from the Levant, and ebony came from Africa." (Betsy M. Bryan, Shaw, 229-231)

Inscriptions at her mortuary temple in Deir el-Bahari go into detail about her expedition to Punt, as well, describing an immense amount of wealth.

"The loading of the ships very heavily with marvels of the country of Punt; all goodly fragant woods of God's Land, heaps of myrrh-resin, with fresh myrrh trees, with ebony and pure ivory, with green gold of Emu, with cinnamon wood, Khesyt wood, with Ihmut-incense, sonter-incense, eye cosmetic, with apes, monkeys, dogs, and with skins of the southern panther. Never was brought the like of this for any king who has been since the beginning." (Lewis, 116)

Her temple was such an immense work of art that it is considered by many to be one of the finest temples in Egypt, whose craftsmanship exceeded any Pharaoh before her and was only ever matched by Ramses the Great (Ramses II). She built throughout the country to such an extent that there are very few museums who concern themself with Egyptian history who do not have a piece of Hatshepsut's work. She added tremendously to the complex of Karnak at Thebes for the glory of Amun, and erected two giant obelisks there, alongside many other obelisks raised in other parts of the country. The Karnak complex is made up of three different precincts; the precinct of Amun, the precinct of Montu, and the precinct of Mut. The precinct of Mut had been ravaged during the Hyksos rule, and so Hatshepsut rebuilt and restored Mut's great temple in Thebes, once again honoring the Gods with her wealth.

Overall, she was an immensely successful Pharaoh. She added to the great temples of Egypt and built new temples, simultaneously giving honor to the Gods and employing the people. In these temples she performed rituals and rites traditionally reserved for the Pharaoh, which further confirmed her power and status reigning as a male Pharaoh. She led conquesting military campaigns into Syria and Nubia, protected the borders of Egypt from foreigners, conducted highly successful and bountiful trades with the people of Punt, who were highly rich in gold, and built one of the most beautiful and iconic mortuary temples known today, influencing the location of the future Valley of the Kings.

Death of Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut's death is unfortunately not well understood. Her body was moved several times due to complications with lineage, burial, and the right to the throne. There is a mummy that is proposed to be Hatshepsut. This mummy has a missing tooth in her jaw, and Egyptologists are in possession of one of Hatshepsut's teeth, found in one of her canopic jars. The empty space and the tooth fit perfectly together, so it is proposed that this mummy is Hatshepsut. However, later on, the tooth was identified to be a molar from the lower jaw, whereas the missing tooth from the mummy is in the upper jaw. There is a lot more to this than I am writing about; this is the simplified version because there's a lot of scientific know-how one needs to fully understand the complications of trying to identify a nameless and displaced mummy.

If this mummy is Hatshepsut, then Hatshepsut died from bone cancer. Queens in the family of Hatshepsut are known to have had genetic skin irritation, and the lotions used by the Pharaoh were a carcinogenic, benzopyrene skin lotion, meaning that over time, as Hatshepsut attempted to soothe her irritated skin, she would've been giving herself cancer. Alongside that, she also had bad teeth, which is why one tooth is gone from her jaw––it was removed, and later caused an abscess, which may have also contributed to her death.

Removal from History

Eventually, as we all know, Hatshepsut was stricken from the record. Her names were carved out, smoothed over, or replaced with the names of her step-son, Thutmose III, who took over as Pharaoh when Hatshepsut passed into the west. Many images and statues of her were dismantled, destroyed and buried, and there was an attempt to wall up her monument at Karnak. The majority of this historical re-writing took place at the end of Thutmose III's reign, when he was co-reigning with his son, Amenhotep II.

It is not entirely clear why this was done, but there are several theories, and I find it likely that they were all true in some way, and all contributed to the defacing of Hatshepsut's legacy. For one, rule of Egypt is a traditionally male role, as is shown in the first king Osiris and His wife, Isis, who were mythologically the first to rule over Egypt. Egypt was very dependent on the idea of Ma'at, which represents truth, justice, and most importantly, balance. Having a female Pharaoh was an upset of the balance and an upset of tradition, so it might've been seen as prudent to erase Hatshepsut's memory of female rule. Another factor is that the reusing of monuments was a common and popular practice of Pharaohs; they would take the already-built monuments of previous Pharaohs and inscribe their own names in them, claiming they were built by them. This saved money and resources. The last factor that I would consider a prime reason would be Thutmose III's son, Amenhotep II.

Amenhotep II had a very shaky claim to the throne. He was not the son of the Great Royal Wife; instead, he was the son of a lesser wife, Merytre-Hatshepsut. Amenhotep II was also not the eldest son. The eldest son of Thutmose III was born of the Great Royal Wife Satiah, and his name was Amenemhat. But both Satiah and Amenemhat died, and so Amenhotep II was who Thutmose III resorted to when it came to passing on the throne. Amenhotep II, who was insecure in his claims to the throne, usurped many of the accomplishments, deeds, and monuments of Hatshepsut. He neglected to record the names of his Queens, and he eliminated the giving of power to women, erasing the titles of the Gods Wife of Amun, and other such positions which had the chance to give any power to women. In my opinion, truly an unpleasant man. But fortunately these titles were restored by his son Thutmose IV, and we are not here to talk about Amenhotep II.

Overview

Hatshepsut was a great Pharaoh who accomplished great things and presided over an incredibly prosperous time in Egyptian history. This is likely why her name was stricken from the record and the name of Sobekneferu, the previous Queen-Pharaoh, was not. Sobekneferu presided over a time of chaos, so it was not important to remove her, as her rule could stand as an example as to why it was against Ma'at for a female to rule as Pharaoh. But Hatshepsut was extremely successful, and for that, she was removed. She built great monuments, added to the prosperity and health of the people, honored the Gods, and was one of the most powerful Pharaohs in Egyptian history. We will likely never know why she did all of this; why she was dissatisfied with her position as the God's Wife of Amun, why she proclaimed herself Pharaoh over her husband's son. But nothing bad seemed to ever come from her reign, and she is now remembered as one of the most iconic figures in ancient Egyptian history.

#Hatshepsut #ancient egypt #ancient history #history #egyptology #im just kidding about the intro btw.#i love doing these #like SO MUCH #so if you actually do want a little essay about a specific topic #send it my way

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whencyclopedia · 10 months

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The Tale of Sinuhe

The Middle Kingdom of ancient Egypt (2000 BCE – 1700 BCE) saw the start of more formal writing which included religious scripts, administrative notes, and more in-depth fictional writing. One of the most iconic pieces of writing to come out of the Middle Kingdom was The Tale of Sinuhe. Sinuhe was a courier and assistant to the King of Egypt, Amenhotep I. He fled Egypt and joined a Bedouin tribe to the east and started a new life near Syria. Once he reached old age he returned and finished out his life in Egypt. The importance of this story goes beyond the structure and writing techniques of the text as it provides insight into the cultural differences between Egypt and the Near East. Philologists are still analysing the text and acquiring new insight into the text today. This 4,000-year-old tale provides insight into the world and mind of an Egyptian and is just another example of Egyptian brilliance.

Learn more about The Tale of Sinuhe

#History #EgyptianLiterature #EgyptianPapyrus #Hieratic

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moneeb0930 · 9 months

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ORIGINS OF HAPI (NILE) VALLEY CIVILIZATION

The progenitors of the Nile Valley civilization were Nilo-Saharan peoples who migrated to the Hapi (Nile) Valley from the Green Sahara, Nubia and Northeast Africa. The cattle cults of Het-Heru (Hathor), spiritual beliefs, iconography and cultural motifs associated with the old Kingdom can be traced to these regions prior to the unification of the two lands. The science of mummification began in Libya with the 5600 year old Tashwinat Mummy, known as the “Black Mummy of the Green Sahara''. The Black Mummy predates the oldest Kemetic mummy by over 1000 years. Astronomy and the study of the procession of the equinox began in South Africa at the site of the Adams Calendar Stone Circle and continued at the Napta Playa Stone circle located in modern day Sudan. This 7000 year old ceremonial center dried out around 3400 BC and they transferred their knowledge into the Nile Valley. The earliest images of Pharaonic Kingship were found in Nubia at the site of Qustul were the oldest depiction of Pharaonic Kingship is shown on the Qustul incense Burner. The original populations of the Nile Valley were no different than modern Sudanese, Ethiopian, Eritrean and Somali populations of today with a mixture of western Eurasians via the Levant whom for the most part settled in the Delta region. The cultural overlap of Kush and Kemet existed from the very dawn of Hapi Valley civilization and the cultural fusion was expressed in the customs and spiritual beliefs of its early inhabitants. These ancient traditions are continually practiced in Africa to this day.

Below are the results from a genome project conducted by Dr. Shomarka Keita, a Research Affiliate and Biological Anthropologist in the Department of Anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution and Dr. A. J. Boyce, who works at the Institute of Biological Anthropology and St. John's College

Oxford University.

PROJECT MUSE

Genetics, Egypt, and History: Interpreting Geographical Patterns of Y Chromosome Variation

IV, XI, V=Nilotic African

VII, VIII=Near Eastern

235 S.O.Y. Keita and A. J. Boyce

Early speakers of Nilosaharan and Afroasiatic apparently interacted based on the evidence of loan words (Ehret, personal communication). Nilosaharan’s current range is roughly congruent with the so-called Saharo-Sudanese or Aqualithic culture associated with the less arid period (Wendorf and Schild 1980), and therefore cannot be seen as intrusive. Its speakers are found from the Nile to the Niger rivers in the Sahara and Sahel, and south into Kenya. The eastern Sahara was likely a micro-evolutionary processor and pump of populations, who may have developed various specific sociocultural (and linguistic) identities, but were genealogically “mixed” in terms of origins.

These identities may have further crystallized on the Nile, or fused with those of resident populations that were already differentiated. The genetic profile of the Nile Valley via the fusion of the Saharans and the indigenous peoples were likely established in the main, long before the Middle Kingdom. Post-neolithic/predynastic population growth, as based on extrapolations from settlement patterns (Butzer 1976) would have led to relative genetic stability. The population of Egypt at the end of the pre-dynastic is estimated to have been greater than 800,000, but was not evenly distributed along the valley corridor, being most concentrated in locales of important settlements (Butzer 1976). Nubia, as noted, was less densely populated.

Interactions between Nubia and Egypt (and the Sahara as well) occurred in the period between 4000 and 3000 BCE (the predynastic). There is evidence for sharing of some cultural traits between Sudan and Egypt in the neolithic (Kroeper 1996). Some items of “material” culture were also shared in the phase called Naqada I between the Nubian A-Group and upper Egypt (~3900-3650 BCE). There is good evidence for a zone of cultural overlap versus an absolute boundary (Wilkinson 1999 after Hoffman 1982, and citing evidence from Needler 1984 and Adams 1996). Hoffman (1982) noted cattle burials in Hierakonpolis, the most important of predynastic upper Egyptian cities in the later predynastic. This custom might reflect Nubian cultural impact, a common cultural background, or the presence of Nubians.

Whatever the case, there was some cultural and economic bases for all levels of social intercourse, as well as geographical proximity. There was some shared iconography in the kingdoms that emerged in Nubia and upper Egypt around 3300 BCE (Williams 1986). Although disputed, there is evidence that Nubia may have even militarily engaged upper Egypt before Dynasty I, and contributed leadership in the unification of Egypt (Williams 1986). The point of reviewing these data is to illustrate that the evidence suggests a basis for social interaction, and gene exchange.

236 S.O.Y. Keita and A. J. Boyce

There is a caveat for lower Egypt. If neolithic/predynastic northern Egyptian populations were characterized at one time by higher frequencies of VII and VIII (from Near Eastern migration), then immigration from Saharan sources could have brought more V and XI (Nilo-Saharan) in the later northern neolithic. It should further be noted that the ancient Egyptians interpreted their unifying king, Narmer (either the last of Dynasty 0, or the first of Dynasty I), as having been upper Egyptian and moving from south to north with victorious armies (Gardiner 1961, Wilkinson 1999). However, this may only be the heraldic “fixation” of an achieved politi- cal and cultural status quo (Hassan 1988), with little or no actual troup/population movements. Nevertheless, it is upper Egyptian (predy- nastic) culture that comes to dominate the country and emerges as the basis of dynastic civilization. Northern graves over the latter part of the predynastic do become like those in the south (see Bard 1994); some migration to the north may have occurred—of people as well as ideas.

238-239 S.O.Y. Keita and A. J. Boyce

After the early late pleistocene/holocene establishment of Afroasiatic-speaking populations in the Nile valley and Sahara, who can be inferred to have been predominantly, but not only V (and XI), and of Nilosaharan folk in Nubia, Sudan, and Sahara (mainly XI and IV?), mid- holocene climatic-driven migrations led to a major settlement of the valley in upper Egypt and Nubia, but less so in lower Egypt, by diverse Saharans having haplotypes IV, XI, and V in proportions that would significantly influence the Nile valley-dwelling populations.

These mid-Holocene Saharans are postulated to have been part of a process that led to a diverse but connected metapopulation. These peoples fused with the indigenous valley peoples, as did Near Easterners with VII and VIII, but perhaps also some V. With population growth the genetic profiles would become stabilized. Nubian and upper Egyptian proximity and on some level, shared culture, Nubia’s possible participation in Egyptian state-building, and later partial political absorption in Dynasty I, would have reinforced biological overlap (and been further “stabilized” by ongoing population growth).

Source:

https://muse.jhu.edu/article/187884

HEAD to HEAD: Ancient Egypt Reconstructions COMPARED (Bas Uterwijk vs TKM): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8iN6EFVTbQ&t=35s

Visit A Virtual Museum:

https://www.knowthyselfinstitute.com/museum

"I have not spoken angrily or arrogantly. I have not cursed anyone in thought, word or deeds." ~35th & 36th Principals of Ma'at

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khensaptah · 3 months

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Mystic Egyptian Polytheism Resource List

Because I wanted to do a little more digging into the philosophy elements explored in Mahmoud's book, I took the time tonight to pull together the recommended reading he listed toward the end of each chapter. The notes included are his own.

MEP discusses Pharaonic Egypt and Hellenistic Egypt, and thus some of these sources are relevant to Hellenic polytheists (hence me intruding in those tags)!

Note: extremely long text post under this read more.

What Are The Gods And The Myths?

ψ Jeremy Naydler’s Temple of the Cosmos: The Ancient Egyptian Experience of the Sacred is my top text recommendation for further exploration of this topic. It dives deep into how the ancients envisioned the gods and proposes how the various Egyptian cosmologies can be reconciled. ψ Jan Assmann’s Egyptian Solar Religion in the New Kingdom: Re, Amun and the Crisis of Polytheism focuses on New Kingdom theology by analyzing and comparing religious literature. Assmann fleshes out a kind of “monistic polytheism,” as well as a robust culture of personal piety that is reflected most prominently in the religious literature of this period. He shows how New Kingdom religious thought was an antecedent to concepts in Hermeticism and Neoplatonism. ψ Moustafa Gadalla’s Egyptian Divinities: The All Who Are The One provides a modern Egyptian analysis of the gods, including reviews of the most significant deities. Although Gadalla is not an academic, his insights and contributions as a native Egyptian Muslim with sympathies towards the ancient religion are valuable.

How to Think like an Egyptian

ψ Jan Assmann’s The Mind of Egypt: History and Meaning in the Time of the Pharaohs is my top text recommendation for further exploration of this topic. It illuminates Egyptian theology by exploring their ideals, values, mentalities, belief systems, and aspirations from the Old Kingdom period to the Ptolemaic period. ψ Garth Fowden’s The Egyptian Hermes: A Historical Approach to the Late Pagan Mind identifies the Egyptian character of religion and wisdom in late antiquity and provides a cultural and historical context to the Hermetica, a collection of Greco-Egyptian religious texts. ψ Christian Bull’s The Tradition of Hermes Trismegistus: The Egyptian Priestly Figure as a Teacher of Hellenized Wisdom provides a rich assessment of the Egyptian religious landscape at the end of widespread polytheism in Egypt and how it came to interact with and be codified in Greek schools of thought and their writings.

How To Think Like A Neoplatonist

Radek Chlup’s Proclus: An Introduction is my top text recommendation for further exploration of this topic. It addresses the Neoplatonic system of Proclus but gives an excellent overview of Neoplatonism generally. It contains many valuable graphics and charts that help illustrate the main ideas within Neoplatonism. ψ John Opsopaus’ The Secret Texts of Hellenic Polytheism: A Practical Guide to the Restored Pagan Religion of George Gemistos Plethon succinctly addresses several concepts in Neoplatonism from the point of view of Gemistos Plethon, a crypto-polytheist who lived during the final years of the Byzantine Empire. It provides insight into the practical application of Neoplatonism to ritual and religion. ψ Algis Uzdavinys’ Philosophy as a Rite of Rebirth: From Ancient Egypt to Neoplatonism draws connections between theological concepts and practices in Ancient Egypt to those represented in the writings and practices of the Neoplatonists.

What Is “Theurgy,” And How Do You Make A Prayer “Theurgical?”

ψ Jeffrey Kupperman’s Living Theurgy: A Course in Iamblichus’ Philosophy, Theology and Theurgy is my top text recommendation for further exploration of this topic. It is a practical guide on theurgy, complete with straightforward explanations of theurgical concepts and contemplative exercises for practice. ψ Gregory Shaw’s Theurgy and the Soul: The Neoplatonism of Iamblichus demonstrates how Iamblichus used religious ritual as the primary tool of the soul’s ascent towards God. He lays out how Iamblichus proposed using rites to achieve henosis. ψ Algis Uzdavinys’ Philosophy and Theurgy in Late Antiquity explores the various ways theurgy operated in the prime of its widespread usage. He focuses mainly on temple rites and how theurgy helped translate them into personal piety rituals.

What Is “Demiurgy,” And How Do I Do Devotional, “Demiurgical” Acts?

ψ Shannon Grimes’ Becoming Gold: Zosimos of Panopolis and the Alchemical Arts in Roman Egypt is my top text recommendation for further exploration of this topic. It constitutes an in-depth look at Zosimos—an Egyptian Hermetic priest, scribe, metallurgist, and alchemist. It explores alchemy (ancient chemistry and metallurgy) as material rites of the soul’s ascent. She shows how Zosimos believed that partaking in these practical arts produced divine realities and spiritual advancements. ψ Alison M. Robert’s Hathor’s Alchemy: The Ancient Egyptian Roots of the Hermetic Art delves deep temple inscriptions and corresponding religious literature from the Pharaonic period and demonstrates them as premises for alchemy. These texts “alchemize” the “body” of the temple, offering a model for the “alchemizing” of the self. ψ A.J. Arberry’s translation of Farid al-Din Attar’s Muslim Saints and Mystics: Episodes from the Tadhkirat al-Auliya contains a chapter on the Egyptian Sufi saint Dhul-Nun al-Misri (sometimes rendered as Dho‘l-Nun al-Mesri). He is regarded as an alchemist, thaumaturge, and master of Egyptian hieroglyphics. It contains apocryphal stories of his ascetic and mystic life as a way of “living demiurgically.” It is an insightful glimpse into how the Ancient Egyptian arts continued into new religious paradigms long after polytheism was no longer widespread in Egypt.

Further Reading

Contemporary Works Assmann, Jan. 1995. Egyptian Solar Religion in the New Kingdom: Re, Amun and the Crisis of Polytheism. Translated by Anthony Alcock. Kegan Paul International. Assmann, Jan. 2003. The Mind of Egypt: History and Meaning in the Time of the Pharaohs. Harvard University Press. Bull, Christian H. 2019. The Tradition of Hermes Trismegistus: The Egyptian Priestly Figure as a Teacher of Hellenized Wisdom. Brill. Chlup, Radek. 2012. Proclus: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press. Escolano-Poveda, Marina. 2008. The Egyptian Priests of the Graeco-Roman Period. Brill. Fowden, Garth. 1986. The Egyptian Hermes: A Historical Approach to the Late Pagan Mind. Cambridge University Press. Freke, Tim, and Peter Gandy. 2008. The Hermetica: The Lost Wisdom of the Pharaohs. Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin. Gadalla, Moustafa. 2001. Egyptian Divinities: The All Who Are The One. Tehuti Research Foundation. Grimes, Shannon. 2019. Becoming Gold: Zosimos of Panopolis and the Alchemical Arts in Roman Egypt. Princeton University Press. Jackson, Howard. 2017. “A New Proposal for the Origin of the Hermetic God Poimandres.” Aries: Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism 17 (2): 193-212. Kupperman, Jeffrey. 2014. Living Theurgy: A Course in Iamblichus’ Philosophy, Theology and Theurgy. Avalonia. Mierzwicki, Tony. 2011. Graeco-Egyptian Magick: Everyday Empowerment. Llewellyn Publications. Naydler, Jeremy. 1996. Temple of the Cosmos: The Ancient Egyptian Experience of the Sacred. Inner Traditions. Opsopaus, J. 2006. The Secret Texts of Hellenic Polytheism: A Practical Guide to the Restored Pagan Religion of George Gemistos Plethon. New York: Llewellyn Publications. Roberts, Alison M. 2019. Hathor’s Alchemy: The Ancient Egyptian Roots of the Hermetic Art. Northgate Publishers. Shaw, Gregory. 1995. Theurgy and the Soul: The Neoplatonism of Iamblichus. 2nd ed. Angelico Press. Snape, Steven. 2014. The Complete Cities of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. Uzdavinys, Algis. 1995. Philosophy and Theurgy in Late Antiquity. Wheaton, IL: Quest Books. Uzdavinys, Algis. 2008. Philosophy as a Rite of Rebirth: From Ancient Egypt to Neoplatonism. Lindisfarne Books. Wilkinson, Richard H. 2000. The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson.

Ancient Sources in Translation Attar, Farid al-Din. 1966. Muslim Saints and Mystics: Episodes from the Tadhkirat alAuliya. Translated by A.J. Arberry. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Betz, Hans Dieter. 1992. The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation, Including the Demotic Spells. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Copenhaver, Brian P. 1995. Hermetica: The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius in a New English Translation, with Notes and Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Guthrie, Kenneth. 1988. The Pythagorean Sourcebook and Library: An Anthology of Ancient Writings which Relate to Pythagoras and Pythagorean Philosophy. Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press. Iamblichus. 1988. The Theology of Arithmetic. Translated by Robin Waterfield. Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press. Iamblichus. 2003. Iamblichus: On the Mysteries. Translated by Clarke, E., Dillon, J. M., & Hershbell, J. P. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature. Iamblichus. 2008. The Life of Pythagoras (Abridged). Translated by Thomas Taylor. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing. Lichtheim, Miriam. 1973-1980. Ancient Egyptian Literature. Volumes I-III. Berkeley: University of California Press. Litwa, M. David. 2018. Hermetica II. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Majercik, Ruth. 1989. The Chaldean Oracles: Text, Translation, and Commentary. Leiden: Brill. Plato. 1997. Plato: Complete Works. Edited by John M. Cooper and D. S. Hutchinson. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing. Plotinus. 1984-1988. The Enneads. Volumes 1-7. Translated by A.H. Armstrong. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. Van der Horst, Pieter Willem. 1984. The Fragments of Chaeremon, Egyptian Priest and Stoic Philosopher. Leiden: E.J. Brill.

#mystic egyptian polytheism #resource list #philosophy #neoplatonism #egyptian polytheism #hellenic polytheism #hermeticism

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macabremayhem · 3 months

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The old sketch of human (or not?) Valdemar.

Because of their antiquity, I came up a headcanon about their origin. So, what about a country near the great river and with the great pyramids? Many lands of the Arcana world have references from India, Arabic region or Mongolia – so, Ancient Egypt? Why not? I can't decide, maybe this is ancient Zadith? There is nothing about Zadith in the canon, just a note in the https://thearcanagame.fandom.com/wiki/World:

"The homeland of Asra's parents, Zadith lies across the Malvent Strait from Vesuvia. This is a country where both science and magic are highly respected. Those who combine both disciplines are known as alchemists."

I think this short description is suitable for the heritage of such civilization as Egyptian.

I’m sad that the history of the world is so poorly developed, but I still love the lore so much. And I’d be happy to read (only from the original writers), say, a brief history of the world. But since there's no any history, I'm taking the liberty (and, a bit, my history degree) to assume: Zadith is the inheritor of some ancient civilization like the Ancient Egypt.

I'm not good at naming, so I will provisionally call it "Deshret" – Egyptian word for "red land, desert". Valdemar spoke about "millennia of existence", describing their antiquity, so I'm pretty sure: they have been born as a human in the ancient kingdom, like the Ancient Egypt. Also, note that red beetle brooch at the neck: similar motives were common in the Ancient Egypt. And, I think, Valdemar had this beetle brooch long before the Plague.

Okay, maybe developers in Portia's route (flashback scene with Prospero and foundation of Vesuvia) just showed Valdemar to us as we know them, because of developing another (kinda "more ancient") sprite and costume for the short scene is not viable. But anyway: we have what we have. What if we imagine that "red beetle brooch" of the Courtiers is rooted not only in the Red Plague? What about a, merely my headcanon, the Egyptian "scarab" motif?

So, there's the old traditional sketch I have. When I drew this pic, I imagined Valdemar just after their first deals with the Devil. Just look at their eyes.🫀

And – of course, they are in the tomb. Maybe as a priest? Who knows, fellow humans.

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findroleplay · 8 months

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🪼 seeking …

here are some plots i’m looking for in particular;

- fantasy setting with world-building inspired off playing cards and their sets. would really love working with something that includes magic, fictional kingdoms etc. really corny but i love making fictional cultures inspired off real ones whilst being respectful :]

- a group of vigilante thieves of various cultural backgrounds stealing cultural monuments and treasures from museums, personal collections, etc and redistributing them to their respective locations of origin. delving into the themes of decolonization, cultural reconnection and such.

- a silly supernatural horror plot set in small-town americana concerning a group of college students returning to their hometown where they’ve all befriended each other. preferably set in the 1980s.

- plot set in ancient egypt, persia, greece, etc about two very ordinary people, mostly to research their daily life, traditions, conditions and other things. could be a cozy romance, two soldiers off at war, but whatever it is, no supernatural elements, just realism.

- an art restorer and a historian team up to uncover the secrets behind a painting.

🪼 rules & preferences !

1. ocs only. although i appreciate knowing about pre-made characters, i would really appreciate if the ocs we use for these plots are made specifically for them, and not old ocs being put into a random setting. reusing ideas is okay.

2. 18+

3. talk ooc + be communicative

4. preferably advanced lit.

🪼 characters !

i require characters that come across as authentic, human, and individuals with real agency. i’m not fond of characters that are excessively naive or perfect. i love characters that are distinctive, unconventional, well researched and resonate with specific interests, evolving in step with the narrative. given that i am a person of colour, my characters frequently are too. if you're not inclined to explore a range of diverse cultural backgrounds and settings, it's likely that we won’t make a good match.

🪼 genres & themes !

i love slice of life, historical realism, and social realism. period pieces captivate me, regardless of the era. i’m particularly fond of plots that explore characters and themes in depth and including fun symbolism. i absolutely adore discussing head-canons, scenarios, and themes, as well as create pinterest boards and playlists for our characters.

🪼 ooc !

tbh, connecting outside of the rp holds greater importance to me than any other aspect. if there's a lack of enthusiasm or engagement, or if we only interact during plotting, our compatibility is likely to be compromised. establishing a friendship with my partners ensures my sustained interest in the rp.

🪼 communication !

i thrive alongside enthusiastic writers who bring decisiveness and a strong passion for the rp. collaboratively shaping ideas and themes before and during our discussion sessions is crucial. i do not mind getting to know each other before plotting. connecting beforehand allows ideas to organically flourish, ensuring an enjoyable story for us both!

🪼 pairings !

i handle all character pairings with a focus on agency. i can work with a diverse array of dynamics, from tranquil domesticity to toxic relationships. my roleplays often prioritize a variety of relationships, veering away from solely heteronormative ones. crafting intricate dynamics involving characters of different backgrounds and sexualities is my forte. trans and non-binary characters are wholeheartedly welcome, if not preferred. i have the most experience with queer pairings (mlm, wlw, t4t, etc.)

🪼 interested ? leave a note or leave your discord username and i will reach out ! if you decide to reach out to me, include your preferred name & pronouns as well as a fun fact about you, the plot you’re choosing and the reason why you picked it (this will help me start plotting with you right away!)

#fantasy rp #historical rp

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night-at-the-musian · 2 months

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A Note on Ahkmenrah

so i visited the carlos museum in atlanta earlier this week, and discovered something interesting. it’s all established that his family’s dynasty is very, very old. depending on your source, he’s either fourth dynasty (if you believe mehrenkahre is actually menkaure), or first (if kah’s “fifth king of egypt” thing is anything to go by). this means they’re part of the old kingdom, which lasted to 2181 BCE.

during this period, they buried their dead on their sides. not laying prone!

so ahk doesn’t lay perfectly on his back during the day, if he’s part of an old kingdom dynasty. he’s laid down as if sleeping.

i took a picture of the info card i learned this information at when visiting the carlos!

so the commercial where larry gives ahk a travel pillow? not too shabby of a gift for a man who lays on his side.

#i’m overthinking the natm series again #natm #ahkmenrah natm

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thatlittleegyptologist · 1 year

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Hey, I know late egypt isn't your era, but I couldn't remember who was better to ask so feel free to ignore or answer about the middle kingdom instead

I was wondering about titles. In particular things like:

Crown Prince (i.e. heir apparent), treasurer, doctor, tutor (primarily of royal children), royal guard

There are wikipedia articles for some of them, but they're usually stubs and some don't include the original Egyptian, so it's not always easy to work out what's going on

To be fair you'd have to define what you mean by 'Late Egypt' because that could be any number of things in all honesty. Ok, so these sorts of titles didn't change all that much so I can answer this.

Note, everything I put here is read right to left, so if you were to use the hieroglyphs in a left to right format you'd need to flip them horizontally so they become a mirror. Always read into animal faces or towards the way a body part is pointing. If it's not clear, hold a mirror at the edge of the glyphs on the right and it'll show you.

There is no title for 'crown prince' in Egyptian. The term used is 'Hereditary Prince' or iri-pat:

In the Old Kingdom this title was used to describe Nobles of higher status, but by the New Kingdom it's used solely for the Heir. A 'hereditary princess' exists, but that's also for the OK, and not the NK.

The alternative to 'prince' is sA-nswt 'king's son' which comes in a variety of forms:

ignore the zA/sA thing. It's just the difference between German and English transliteration. The German school uses a z for a certain type of s, but the English school doesn't. Also yes, nsw is read first (right to left here) thanks to honorific transposition (i.e. the king or god's name goes first even if read second)

The top one is just 'prince' and essentially written the same as the one beneath, you just remove the man leaning on a stick (sms.w 'eldest').

King's daughter (princess) works in the same way. There's a 'King's (eldest) Daughter of His Body' too, and I'm sure you can work out which signs need to go where based on the King's Son examples.

Treasurer is not really a title either. Almost every title in Ancient Egypt is 'Overseer of' or 'Scribe of' so for anything like Treasurer you'd need 'Overseer of the Silver House' or 'Scribe of the Silver House' with Silver House being the Egyptian name for a Treasury:

This is the general title 'Overseer'

Treasuries (Silver Houses in Egyptian):

Then you have:

A related title would be:

I don't really know what this title means, but it's related to scribes and likely documentation held within the palaces.

Not sure there's a 'Royal Guard'. We know very little of how a Royal household would have functioned. I don't even know if we know if there were Royal Guards and if they had a name or were just regular soldiers. The examples above are the closest I can find to maybe someone being in charge of those specific areas.

Tutor:

Physician has....a lot of different titles. There really isn't just one doctor if you're the king (unlike for everyone else):

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the-fandom-crossroads · 1 year

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Genshin's Egyptian References - Apep

Mihoyo pulled a fast one. Not revealing the name of our Dendro dragon until launch, but that's not going to stop me from breaking down all the Ancient Egyptian references they shoved into this dragon.

Apep/Apophis - Egyptian snake god/demon. Sworn enemy of Ra and the Egyptian Pantheon. God of Chaos said to have been created from the primordial ether along side Ra. It was said that every night as the sun set Ra was traveling through the Duat and fighting against Apep who was trying to swallow the sun. Apep was never worshiped only feared.

So that's the basics from Egyptian Mythology but how much did Mihoyo actually transfer over? Quite a bit actually.

Enemy of the gods

"Both of you have only existed for a fraction of what you know as time," Apep quote

As Dendro Apep says it's older than the Archons aka current pantheon of gods. Ra is consider the first god with all the others coming after him. So Egyptian Apep is also older than the more well known pantheon of Egyptian Gods since he existed when Ra came into existence.

Apep is also the Immortal enemy of the Egyptian Gods. Being made of chaos he was destined to fight against order and balance brought about by Ma'at. The Gods were made to enforce the balance of Ma'at in both the living world and the duat (spirit world). The enforcer of heavenly principles is Ma'at in Teyvat and Archons were appointed to enforce those principles too.

Appearance

Apep is depicted as a serpent or snake in ancient Egyptian texts. He isn't labeled a dragon until the Greeks and modern historians interpret the text. The Greek word Drakon is where we get our modern word for Dragon. But even Greek Drakon's were serpents that sprayed acid/venom. So Dendro Apep's first appearance as a giant serpent and then later him not being a fire dragon but a more poisoned dendro dragon is actually extremely accurate for a dragon as ancient as him.

Apocalypse

But that's not where the similarities stop Apep was destined to swallow the sun at the end of time and what does Dendro Apep do?

He swallows Amun Al-Ahmar aka King Deshret. It's important to note that Apep doesn't call him Deshret but Amun. Because Deshret and Amun are 2 different Egyptian gods. Deshret is the red king/crown representing Lower Egypt during the time of 2 kingdoms. Amun is short for Amun-Ra one of Ra's many names. So when Apep says he swallowed Amun he's actually saying he swallowed Ra aka the sun.

The sentient Fungi say they were fleeing the Apocalypse. An Apocalypse that started when Apep got corrupted by forbidden knowledge. The apocalypse started when Apep swallowed the sun (Amun).

And so Teyvat's Egyptian Apocalypse has already happened. Leading to the end of the golden age of the Sumeru Desert civilization and the start of the Human Kings era. Which is actually an Old Testament reference. Israel was originally guided directly by G*d through the Prophets until they begged for a Human King. At which point G*d took a more hands off approach and Israel was never as strong as it was during the times of the Prophets up until King Solomon (3rd king then everything's down hill).

Fungi

As far as I can tell the whole thing with the sentient Fungi coming from Apep is a Mihoyo original. Apep isn't credited with creating anything even though he's been around since the beginning of the world. The closest I could find is he's said to have an army of Demons he uses to spread chaos on earth? But that might be a more Christianized addition and not so much from the original text (similar to some Norse alterations). Regardless the Fungi weren't demons or evil in anyway.

Conclusion

So yeah that's all the big similarities between Egyptian Apep and Genshin's Apep. I really enjoyed seeing the original infinity serpent and I hope that means the other Dragons are based on ancient dragons from myth. Fontaine Leviathan anyone?

If I missed something feel free to mention it in a comment! Are you surprised at how much Mihoyo actually stuck to the source material? Or is there something from the myth they left out that you wish they included?

Check out My Cyno/Anubis Breakdown Here and my Nilou/Hathor Breakdown Here!

#genshin #genshin impact #genshin 3.6 #genshin spoilers #apep #egyptian gods #ancient egypt #genshin apep #douglitheories

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mask131 · 10 months

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Simple facts about Ancient Egypt (1)

Since I am making posts about the gods of Ancient Egypt, I realized maybe some of my followers were unfamiliar with how Ancient Egypt worked - or maybe their head was still filled with Hollywood-projected stereotypes and cliches about this ancient realm. So I decided to make this little series in parallel - where I will present to you several basic, fun, bizarre or fundamental facts, trivia and anecdotes about Ancient Egypt.

Note that these are MASSIVELY oversimplified facts and trivia. I am not an expert on Ancient Egypt and I am not giving a class here - I am just sharing some basic facts and trivia, simplified to better have a grasp of the topic. Some things may be inaccurate, or others may be outdated (my source stop at the early 2010s). So be warned.

Ancient Egypt roughly stayed the same shape during its entire history because it has a set of natural frontiers. In the north, the Mediterranean sea. in the south, there were the cataracts of Nile. In the east, it was the Arabian desert, and in the west, the Lybian desert. Egypt was stuck right in the middle.

We could begin Egypt’s history with its prehistory, in 9000 BCE. Nomads were living then in what is today Egypt - but it didn’t look like the Egypt we know today. In this time heavy rains fell regularly, there was a true savannah where the desert is today, and lots of animals were living here - allowing men to survive through hunting. Around 6000 BCE, there was a sudden climate change. The rains stopped falling, there was a massive drought, the savannah slowly turned into a desert, and the anmals fled to more southern areas of Africa. Men had to find another way of surviving and began agriculture - they stopped their nomading ways, settled around the Nile river, and started creating their first buildings and creating their first fields. From this point on, it took them eight centuries roughly to get out from “prehistory” and enter into “history”, as they created their own writing system, their own architectural style, and their own irrigation system.

For the Egyptians of old, Egypt was divided into two areas, each with their own color. There was Kemi, the Black Land, which was the fertile area surrounding the river Nile ; and there was the Red Land, which was the more desertic areas of Egypt. Ancient Egypt was basically perceived as an 800 kilometers long oasis, right in the middle of an even bigger desert. This cultural division also echoed another division of Egypt: a political one. For a very long time, Ancient Egypt was divided into two different countries: Upper Egypt in the south, which was the area of the Valley of Egypt, and organized around a small patch of cultivable lands surrounded by the desert. In the north, you had Lower Egypt, which was the Delta, a swampy triangle where the papyrus grew. It might confuse people as to why the “lower” is in the north and “upper” in the south - but it was because these divisions were made based on the Nile and how it flowed. Since it took its source in the south and then flowed all the way to the north, for the Egyptians the south was the “upper” area and the north the “lower” one.

The first real towns in Egypt only appeared around 3500 BCE. Before that, Egyptians lived n huts of mud, straw and reeds, clustered in small villages on mounds (to avoid the floodings).

According to scientific studies, Egypt had 1,5 millions inhabitants in 3000 BCE, 3 millions under Ramses II, and 5 millions under Cleopatra.

In 3032 BCE, the prince Narmer managed to unify Upper and Lower Egypt into one same realm - this is the start of what we know as Ancient Egypt, which lasted for three thousand years, all the way until the Roman conquest of 30 BCE. Egypt’s history is divided into three main eras of peace and prosperity: the Kingdoms as they are called in English (fun fact, in French we call them “Empires”). Between each Kingdom, there were periods of political and social troubles, usually called the intermediate periods. In total there were 31 different dynasties of pharaohs that ruled over Egypt.

The chronology of Ancient Egypt roughly goes as such (I will avoid datation because nobody agrees on them): Early Dynastic Period (the first dynasties and the first times of a unified Egypt), then the Old Kingdom, then a first intermediate period, than the Middle Kingdom, then a second intermediate period, then the New Kingdom, than a third ntermediate period (the biggest of the three), followed by the Late Period and Egypt, which then gave place (without any intermediate period) to the Greco-Roman era of Egypt.

The Old Kingdom ended because there was a period of several years where the annual flooding was too weak, causing bad harvest and famines. The nomarchs, the leaders of the 42 provinces of Egypt (we’ll talk about them later) took over the power, each becoming the absolute lord of their own regon, and fought against each other for the stocks of wheat. It was a true chaos, that only took end when a new pharaoh took over the power and managed to bring back peace between the different provinces: it was the start of the Middle Kingdom. A Middle Kingdom which fell when the Hyksos, ferocious warriors coming from Syria, invaded Egypt - a new Kingdom could only form once they were banished and pushed away out of Egypt’s frontiers. As for the New Kingdom, it was often said to be a “colossus with clay feet”, becaue it was the most brilliant, splendid and famous era of Egypt - the one of Ramses II and Tutankhamun... But all of Egypt’s riches at the time came from its neighboring lands, various nations Egypt had colonized and was stealing from: Nubia, Lybia, Syria... In 1000 BCE, Egypt lost all of its colonies, and thus lost all of its wealth, marking an end to the New Kingdom. The state couldn’t pay its staff and employees anymore - and they had a LOT, since the state was the one who paid the priests, the craftsmen and the scrbes of the land. Since people weren’t paid there were massive strikes - if you forgive the anachronism - and the state officials even went as far as to steal from the peasants, or to crack open the graves of the pharaohs to pillage their treasures!

And all of that is without counting the numerous troubles when it cames to the dynasties. The rule was that, when the pharaoh was dying, the political power would go to one of his sons, or to a member of his family. But very often army generals, province governors, or vizirs made a move to take the crown for themselves - resulting in the thirty or so different dynasties ruling over Egypt. The third intermediate period was the worst of them all, with up five different pharaohs ruling simultaneously!

The pharaohs were the rulers of Ancient Egypt, controlling the government, the justice system, the armies and religion. Their crown went from father to son, and they were considered by their subjects to be living gods - the pharaohs were each the direct descendants of Ra, the creator deity and sun-god, and they were thought to be the embodiments of Horus, the king-god and sky-god. In the Egyptian mind, the pharaohs was the guardian of order on earth, and their presence (and job) was all about bringing happiness, safety and prosperity to the Egyptian people. The pharaoh was so feared and so respected people did not dare touch him, believing it would cause them misfortunes. However, in echange for such a power, the pharaoh was made responsible of the various disasters and events of meteorological natures. For example, it was considered that the flooding of the Nile depended of the power and actions of the pharaoh, and if there was a drought, he was held responsible.

The pharaoh had a given set of items he was supposed to wear during official ceremonies - the most famous of them being the crook and the flail he had in each hands. The crook, originally used by shepherds to guide their flock, was his scepter and the symbol of royalty, while the flail, which was an agricultural device, symbolized fertility (that the pharaoh was supposed to bring). The pharaoh also had a large number of crowns to chose from. You have seen all the crowns pharaohs are depicted with: the one entirely red is the crown of Lower-Egypt (in the north), while the entirely white one is the one of Upper-Egypt (in the south) - and there was one double-crown, uniting these two crowns in one, worn by the pharaoh to symbolize the united Egypt. But the Upper-Egypt crown wasn’t to be confused with another white crown, which had a round and golden tip, which was the atef crown, the usual symbol of the god Osiris - plus there was alaos a blue crown, which was a war-crown. And on most of these crowns you will find a little ornament depicting a cobra - it was the uraeus, which was supposed to be the divine protection offered by the gods to the pharaoh. If anyone tried to attack him, it was believed this little snake would breathe fire on the assaillant or jump on them to bite them with a deadly poison. Oh yes, and who could forget the fake beard that all pharaohs tied with strings to their chin - this was supposed to symbolize the divine origin and divine nature of their power.

The pharaoh wasn’t the only one governing Egypt of course: he usually delegated his powers to his ministers. The most important member of the government after the pharaoh was the vizir - a sort of “super-minister” whose job was to take in charge the budget and wealth of the state, take care of the taxes and their payment, control the annual production of the peasants, overseeing the courts of justice and the national archivs, as well as being the chief of the “police” of the time. It was many, many jobs for one man - so much that Egypt soon switched from one to two vizirs, one for the north and one for the south. Beyond the vizir, there were also numerous other ministers - one for the taxes, one for the collect and storage of grains and cereals, one for the cattle, one for messages, one for foreign business, etc, etc... Of course, the stereotype of the “evil, scheming, ambitious vizir” doesn’t come from nowhere - many times in Egyptian history vizirs have tried to control young or weak pharaohs, or to usurp the pharaoh’s place, sometimes going as far as to kill a pharaoh and marry his widow.

To help the pharaoh govern Egypt, the land was divided into 42 provinces called the “nomes” (not to be confused with L. Frank Baum’s fictional creation), and each nome was under the control of a powerful nobleman, called the “nomarch” (not the monarch, the nomarch). Each nomarch was chosen by the pharaoh to rule for him each nome - but with time, the nomarchs ended up transmitting their title from father to son, instead of waiting for the pharaoh to choose a new nomarch. This made them grow more and more powerful, until they ended up declaring themselves the kings of their own provinces. As I said before, this is why the Old Kingdom fell, as it was fragmented into 42 little kingdoms that kept feuding and bickering between each other.

When it comes to justice, criminals were usually punished by being beaten up by the police with sticks. For the first crimes and lesser crimes are least... If a criminal was caught several times doing a same crime, or was guilty of a major offense, they were sent to work in mines, quarries or construction sites. The worst part was that, in such a case, their entire family was sent with them to work alongside them - their wife, their parents, their aunts, their cousins, even their children! But in return, no mistake or corruption in the justice system was tolerated: if the pharaoh ever discovered that an innocent was declared guilty, the judges would be punished by having their ears or their nose cut off.

The palace of the pharaoh was at the same time a personal place for him to live, his house, but also a public and official building where he received the various princes and ambassies of foreign powers. It was also of course where all of the advisors of the pharaohs lived - alongside the great magistrates, the higher ups of the army, the scholars, artists and architects of the pharaoh, as well as the great priests. We know the palaces were superb and beautiful, with magnificent paitings everywhere, columns all red, blue or green, with colorful statues and gold ornaments everywhere - but unfortunately not much of it survived today. Of course, the pharaoh never had just one palace: each pharaoh had several palaces throughout the land, and if one wanted to entertain himelf, he just had to go on his gold-and-gem incrusted boat and travel through the Nile to one of his other palaces. And of course, no need to say that the pharaoh had to be VERY careful around his court - as many plots and schemes took place, trying to usurp him. Vizirs were often the guilty parties, but sometimes other members of the palace attempt to harm the king’s life or power - for example one of his concubines of the harem! Rumor says that Ramses II, having grown invalid with age, was murdered by one of his concubines who wanted to put her son on the throne...

Each pharaoh had in his palace a harem, a place where the secondary wives of the pharaoh lived. For each pharaoh had multiple wives: there was one official wife, the queen that ruled alongside the king and played an active and important part in the court, and a host of secondary wives who lived in the harem. Interestingly, while the “harem” conjures up the image of young and naked women piled up on beds for the pharaoh’s sexual pleasure, in truth this was the living place of all the concubines of the pharaoh... an of their children! Yep, the kids of the concubines and secondary wives of the pharaoh were raised in the harem and lived alongside their mothers.

Interestingly, while the tradition was that a pharaoh could only have ONE “great wife”, “grand wife”, “official wife”, “queen of Egypt”, call her however you like, some pharaohs broke the rule from time to time - most notably Ramses II, who had eight official wives co-ruling alongside him at the same time as queens of Egypt. And some of them... were his daughters. I think this is a good way to end this quick reminder post: the thing everybody should know about Egyptian pharaohs is that they practiced incest. On a theological level, it was because the pharaohs were like the gods, descendants of the gods, gods incarnate, and thus could do just like the gods, marry in their family. On a more practical level, it was a tradition to “keep the power inside the family” and strengthen each dynasty by it having only one bloodline. This resulted in many, MANY pharaohs actually taking as wives either their sister, or one of their daughters! And in return, the widow of a pharaoh could very easily take in a second marriage her husband’s brother, without any problem whatsoever.

#ancient egypt #pharaoh

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nedjemetsenen · 1 year

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Were the Pyramids Built by Aliens?

No.

Obviously not.

But, while you hopefully know that they were man made, you might still wonder why giant triangular structures made the ancient Egyptians happy. Luckily, that isn't one of the mysteries of ancient Egypt. We actually know exactly why the pyramids came to be and, while the story took a couple hundred years to happen, I can sum it up for you in a few short paragraphs.

Our story starts long, long ago. In a time before Egypt was even a unified country. Back then, the proto-Egyptian buried their dead in simple, hand-dug graves. Unfortunately, these graves were often uncovered by the wind and wild animals, which wasn't exactly ideal.

Then, somewhere along the line, someone had the bright idea to start covering the graves in piles of rocks. These rock piles protected the graves from being uncovered by the wind or dug up by wild animals and so they became the new standard practice.

After a while, someone said “hey, I want my pile of rocks to be fancier! Maybe even mud brick!” Others agreed that this new idea seemed like a pretty good way for the wealthy to show off and so we got these bad boys:

This is a mataba or mastaba tomb (mastaba being Arabic for table). They were the standard form of burial for the wealthy and the eminent during Egypt’s early dynastic period and most of the Old Kingdom.

Of course, people competed with their mastabas. They made them bigger, prettier, or whatever else they could do to make themselves seem more important.

Following in this tradition of one-ups-manship, someone got a brilliant idea. They said, "hey, instead of making a bigger mastaba, what if I stacked a mastaba on top of a mastaba and then put another mastaba on top of that? In fact, give me six mastabas!" That led to this:

This is the step pyramid of king Djoser, created by the architect Imhotep, a guy so impressive that he later got deified as one of Egypt’s gods. His monument to his king went over so well that the kings of Egypt would spend the next few decades perfecting the step pyramid into a true pyramid, slopped sides and all.

Of course, no undertaking goes perfectly. This path from step-pyramid to great pyramid wasn't all impressive feats. Egypt has several pyramids that show us just how tricky this ancient craft was. Some of them were abandoned unfinished while others, well, see for yourself

Stacking rocks is really hard, you guys!!!

Poor Sneferu. It's okay, buddy, your pyramid is my favorite.

It's also worth noting that pyramids took a lot of time and effort, so they didn't replace mastabas as the go-to burial practice. Short-lived kings, emanate Egyptians, and other members of the royal family mostly got mastabas. Pyramids stopped entirely by the end of the Old Kingdom and they never returned. Later kingdoms would use mastabas or rock-cut graves instead.

So, the next time your coworker or family member jokes about pyramids and aliens, dig up this post and set them straight!

#egyptology #did a coworker of mine get a lecture today #yes #yes he did #I'm making this post mostly so that I have refences pics next time it happens #I swear he enjoys my rants

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thepastisalreadywritten · 26 days

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Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II was issued a passport 3,000 years after his death in order for his mummy to fly to Paris.

Ramesses II (c. 1303 BC – 1213 BC), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom.

His successors and later Egyptians called him the “Great Ancestor.”

Ramesses II was originally buried in a grand tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

He was subsequently moved many times by priests who feared looters. He spent as little as three days in some places, and the priests recorded their actions on wrappings on his body.

Despite his resplendent wealth and power in life, his body was later moved to a royal cache.

With the passage of time, his sarcophagus was lost to history.

It was re-discovered in a deteriorating condition in 1881. It is now on display in the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities.

It was his poor condition that prompted Egyptian authorities to seek help preserving him in the mid-1970s.

They found their experts in France and reluctantly decided to transport the 3,000 year-old mummy to Paris.

In 1975, Maurice Bucaille, a French doctor studying his remains, said that the mummy was threatened by fungus and needed urgent treatment to prevent total decay.

French laws dictated that entry and transportation through the country required a valid passport.

To comply with local laws, the Egyptian government issued a passport to the Pharaoh.

Seemingly, he was the first mummy to receive one. His occupation was listed as "King (deceased)."

The government didn’t want him to get a passport for publicity but believed it would afford them legal protections to ensure his safe return.

As countless artifacts and mummies have been plundered and stolen from Egypt, museums in Europe didn’t always respect Egyptian claims.

In 1976, his remains were issued an Egyptian passport so that he could be transported to Paris for an irradiated treatment to prevent a fungoid growth.

The New York Times reported on 27 September 1976 that the French military aircraft that brought Ramesses' remains from the Cairo Museum was greeted by the Garde Republicaine, France's equivalent of a U.S. Marine honor guard.

“The mummy was greeted by the Secretary of State for Universities, Alice Saunter‐Seite, and an army detachment.

Ramses II, who ruled Egypt for 67 years, received special treatment at Le Bourget Airport.”

It was then taken to the Paris Ethnological Museum for inspection by Professor Pierre-Fernand Ceccaldi, the chief forensic scientist at the Criminal Identification Laboratory of Paris.

During the examination, Cecaldi noted:

“Hair, astonishingly preserved, showed some complementary data, especially about pigmentation.

Ramses II was a ginger-haired ‘cymnotriche leucoderma'” (meaning he was a fair-skinned person with wavy ginger hair).

He is 5 ft '7 inches tall. They found battle wounds, arthritis and tooth abscess.

In ancient Egypt, people with red hair were associated with deity Set, the slayer of Osiris. The name of Ramesses II’s father, Seti I, means “follower of Seth.”

The examination also revealed evidence of previous wounds, fractures and arthritis, which would have left Ramesses with a hunched back in the later years of his life.

In 2007, it was discovered that small tufts of the Pharaoh’s hair were stolen during the 1976 preservation work (published by the BBC).

A Frenchman named Jean-Michel Diebolt said he had inherited the hair from his late father, a researcher from the team who analysed the mummy.

Deibolt had tried to sell the hair through an online auction for 2000 euros (£1360) but was quickly apprehended by French authorities.

📷 : An artist’s creation of the passport. Image is for representative purposes only. The actual passport is not publicly available.

#Ramesses II #egyptian pharaoh #Ancient Egypt #ancient civilizations #mummy #passport #Valley of the Kings #sarcophagus #Maurice Bucaille #fungus #Paris Ethnological Museum #Pierre-Fernand Ceccaldi #Criminal Identification Laboratory of Paris #Jean-Michel Diebolt #forensics #Museum of Egyptian Antiquities #Ramesses the Great #Cairo Museum #Garde Republicaine

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echoes-of-kemet · 1 month

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Crowns of Ancient Egypt

A brief overview of the different kinds of crowns seen in Ancient Egyptian iconography. Note that I say crown, note headdress; the well-known nemes headdress and similar things not worn by the king and gods will not be covered.

Hedjet: translates as “White One,” the crown of Upper Egypt. Most famously worn by Nekhbet, Horus, and Satet. Nekhbet, the Patroness of Upper Egypt, was occasionally placed on the brow of this crown as an ornamental vulture.

Deshret: translates as “Red One,” the crown of Lower Egypt. Most famously worn by Wadjet, Horus, and Neith. Like her sister, Wadjet- the Patroness of Lower Egypt- would commonly adorn the crown as a uraeus. However, this symbol was featured on a majority of the other crowns as well.

Atef: a hedjet crown with two ostrich feathers on opposite sides. Most commonly associated with Osiris and his followers, but was also worn by Underworld related deities like Sokar.

Hemhem: translates as “to shout,” “cry out.” This translation has led to speculation that it was associated with battle or military power. It’s three atef crowns placed side by side atop curled ram horns; sometimes there is a solar disc above each atef, sometimes just the middle one, sometimes not present. Not specifically associated with any one deity, but Khnum and Sobek are often depicted wearing one.

Pschent: also called sekhemty- translating as “the Two Powerful Ones”- it combines the hedjet and deshret to become the crown of a unified Egypt. Though the Pharaoh Menes is said to have first united the crowns, surviving records show Djet was the first to wear it. Horus is the deity most commonly associated with it, but Atum-Ra was also shown wearing the double crown at times. The Two Ladies Nekhbet and Wadjet would both adorn this crown side by side, further symbolizing the union of Upper and Lower Egypt.

Khepresh: known to exist in the second intermediate period, but popularized in the New Kingdom; worn by pharaohs for militaristic and possibly religious purposes. It isn’t associated with any deities, but as with most royal headdresses it often featured a uraeus.

Cap Crown: one of the oldest crowns of Egypt recovered by Egyptologists, depictions of it stretch as far back as the Old Kingdom. Again, no particular deity is associated with it, seemingly exclusive to the human Pharaoh, but it did almost always feature a uraeus.

Solar Crown: also called a solar disc, this was used to not only signify a solar deity but royalty. It’s most commonly associated with Ra, but many other deities have worn one, even if only in rare depictions. Most commonly, the solar crown is also worn by deities like Horus-Ur (Horus the Elder), Isis, Hathor-Sekhmet, Amun, Tefnut, Bast.

Lunar Crown: like the solar crown, this can also be alternatively described as a lunar disc. Unlike its counterpart, however, it was rarely described with a single phrase despite being not uncommon in depictions. The closest it had to its own word was shared with the moon in general. The crown itself was depicted with the full moon resting in the curve of an upturned crescent moon. Deities like Khonsu and Thoth are most associated with this crown, but Tefnut and Mehit also wore it occasionally.

Two-Feathers Crown: also called the Amun crown as it was most commonly associated with him, but it is also worn by Montu and Min. Unlike the atef, these feathers are described as those of a falcon rather than an ostrich- but similar to the hemhem, they’re placed atop two ram horns and sometimes feature a solar disc.

#ancient egypt #not exactly lore posting so. idk #reference posting

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