Egyptian Symbols

3150 bce and linked the king with the mythical first king of egypt osiris.

Egyptian symbols. In some texts we find anubis the gaurdian of the tomb being referred to as he who is upon his mountain. Additional information about ancient gods is also available via. The symbol of the amenta in ancient egyptian culture represents the land of the dead the earthly world. One of the most recognized and famous ancient egyptian symbols is the feather of maat that was one of the forms of the goddess maat who represented the ancient egyptians concepts of order harmony law balance morality truth and justice.

The ankh is the most well known symbol to come out of ancient egypt the general meaning of the symbol in its hieroglyphic system of writing the ankh represents the concept of eternal life the ankh or the key of life the ankh frequently appears in egyptian tomb paintings and other art it is known as the key of the nile as the union between osiris and isis the ankh was associated with the cult of isis was also the ank depicted as a cross with a handle that represented eternal life. The famous symbols for egypt represented divine power immortality reincarnation and healing or symbolized emblems of authority. This simple line drawing made of 5 equidistant spokes resembles a starfish. The mountain was also a symbol of the tomb and the afterlife probably because most egyptian tombs were located in the mountainous land bordering the nile valley.

The crook and flail are among the most famous symbols from ancient egypt symbolizing the power and majesty of the king. The symbols appear in the early dynastic period during the reign of the first king narmer c. The amenta originally was used as a symbol of the horizon where the sun sets over time it has been used to represent the western edge of the nile which is also the place where the egyptians buried their dead. Depictions of anubis the jackal headed god of the embalming also include the flail as an attribute.

The most famous ancient symbols for egypt are the sphinx the scarab the ankh the all seeing eye of horus and the gods depicted with animal heads. When the body of the deceased was delivered by anubis to the hall of truth to stand in front the ruler of the underworld osiris then the judgment begins by weighing. The flail and crook are symbols of royalty majesty and dominion. The flail is depicted alongside the crook as symbols of office for the crowned egyptian pharaoh.

Both crook and flail also serve to link the pharaoh with osiris. Both these items were associated with osiris and symbolized his early rule of the land. Seba is the egyptian symbol for a star. The process of judgment in the afterlife was heavily dependent on the feather of maat.

The early egyptian had a great interest in an extensive knowledge of the star filled night sky. It was also used as the symbol of the union between men and women particularly the union of osiris and isis which was believed to flood the river of nile thus bringing fertility to egypt.