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Egypt - mythical symbols
Ancient Egyptian mythology seems to have centred around the destiny of the identity of the individual. People made strenuous efforts to assure their revival and happiness after death, reflected by the burial practices, temple carvings and tomb paintings. Perhaps this was because they enjoyed life so much.
The papyrus paintings offered for sale to tourists, such as that shown here, often show scenes of the journey of an eminent person making his or her way towards eternal light and life through the underworld and of the final judgement which would decide if you were entitled to live in peace with Osiris or be condemned to have your heart eaten. The prominent figures in this painting are Osiris, the god of the underworld depicted in white, Horus the protector in the front of the boat wearing the sun disc on his head, and the pharoah who stands after Horus, wearing the crown of Lower Egypt. Accompanied by other gods and goddesses, all are sailing on a sacred boat called a barque towards the kingdom of life after death.
Priests would embalm the bodies of pharoahs, their families and noblemen after removing all the internal organs which could otherwise be captured by evil spirits and used against you.
The higher your position in life, the closer you were thought to be to the gods. The Pharoah himself was thought to be Osiris on earth.
Click on the icons below for descriptions of each symbol.
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| Osiris | Nut | Horus | Falcon | Eye |
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| Burial | Scarab | Ankh | Maat | Anubis |
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| Thoth | Hathor | Cat | Lotus | Akhenaten |
These pictures and descriptions of Ancient Egypt symbols, except for Hathor, have been taken from a lovely little book in the Sacred Symbols series published by Thames and Hudson. We bought our copy in the British Museum. We took the picture of Hathor at Philae temple.
The Rough Guide to Egypt was also helpful. This is a link to a bookshop where you can order it online.
For more links and information, surf to the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
