Ancient Egypt Flash cards

Abydos

royal cemetery in 1st and 2nd dynasties, location of Temple of Osiris, entrance to underworld, pilgrimage site

2. Akh

• “Transfigured spirit” part of a soul

• travels to the gods and has magical potency

• during old kingdom, only king could achieve state of akh but later became commonplace after death

• akh was earned through life unlike Ka or Ba

3. Alexandria

• location of pharos lighthouse

• library of alexandria - premier center for science

• palace of cleopatra

• founded by alexander the great as a greek capital in egypt

4. Am Duat (Amduat)*

• “that which is in the netherworld”

• religious text that describes the netherworld, like guidebook

• found in royal tombs as a mapwith demons and passcodes

• describes ras 12 hour journey

5. Ammut (Ammit)*

• devourer of the dead

• crocodile head, front of lion, back of hippo

• sat beneath scales of weighing of the heart

• if swallowed deceased heart then had a second death, couldnt go to paradise

6. Amenirdis*

• kushite princess

• gods wife of amun

• high prestess

• sister of piye and shabaka, solidified kushite rule

7. Anat*

• goddess of love and war

• beautiful women but knee deep in blood

• depicted with tall crown with 2 feathers

• ugaritic goddess that was adapted

8. Anubis*

• jackel headed

• overlooked weighing of the heart

• priests of anubis did embalming process

• protector of underworld

9. Apedemak*

• kushite lion god

• temple of apedemak in sudan

• represents power, protection

• “lord of victory” and protector of kushite king

10. Apis*

• evolved into serapis

• physcial manifestation of ptah, creator god

• living bull kept at memphis

• when it died, essense transferred. to another calf

• bulls movements interpreted as oracles

11. Artemidorus*

• mummified according to egyptian tradition

• exterior with greek style portrait

• had inscription in greek

• buried in gold stucco case

12. Aspect & Manifestation

13. Ba*

• part of soul representing morality and mobility

• moral core thats judged in afterlife

• travels between tomb, earth, netherworld

• depicted as a bird with human head

• old kingdom believed only pharoah had ba

14. Beni Hassan

• site on east bank of Nile in middle egypt

• middle kingdom burial sites with rock-cut tombs

• vibrant art like hunting and farming

• depiction of wrestling and martial arts

15. Book of the Day & Night*

• appeared in 20th dynasty

• mapped 24-hour solar cycle across body of Nut

• book of day depicts suns journey across her belly

• book of night depicts her swalloing sun at dusk then being reborn from her womb at dawn

• books usually carved on opposite walls to represent Ma’at

16. Book of the Dead*

• collection of spells to help deceased navigate underworld

• specific demon names, magic passwords

• mass produced but personalized

• included hall of two truths where declare 42 things you havent done

17. Byblos

• one of oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world

• primary source of cedar logs for egypt

• central location of myth of osiris, after seth cast osiris in a coffin down the nile he landed in Byblos

• phoenician alphabet developed here

18. Canopic Jars*

• carved to represent four sons of horus

• each protected a specific organ, the deceased to be safe each had to be guarded

• hapi (human head)- lungs

• imsety (baboon head)- liver

• duamutef (jackal head) - stomach

• qebehsenuef (falcon head)- intestines

19. Canopis*

• coastal city on western edge of nile delta

• before alexandria, primary port of egypt

• named after pilot of king mealaus’ ship in trojan war

• home to serapis, god who merged osiris and apis bull

20. Coffin Texts

• contained transformation spells, for deceased to get past obstacles

• protected against second death, like ensuring to not run out of water or for Ba to not seperate from body

• illustrated map of the underworld - book of two ways

• shift from only pharoah being guaranteed afterlife with pyramid texts, to other high ranking officials

21. “Corn Mummy”*

• created to honor osiris

• made of earth, sand, and grain

• symbolize life cycle

• buried like a mummy with linen bandages and shabti figures

22. Corpus Hermeticum

• 17 greek treatises that are fundamental documents of hermeticism

• synthesis of greek philosphy and egyptian religion

• written in greek but focuses on egyptian solar worship and god of wisdom

• says that salvation achieved through sacred knowledge

23. Dahshur

• royal necropolis in desert south of cairo

• construction site of pharoah sneferu, built 2 pyramids thee

• architects moved away from step pyramids

• bent pyramid that changes slope halfway thru

• red pyramid was first smooth sided pyramid

24. Demons & Gate Gods*

• usually had human heads but animal bodies

• gates guarded triad - serpent, gatekeepr, and herald - deceased needed to identify each with sacred knowledge

• names of demons reflect their nature - knowing true name gave deceased power over it

25. Deir el Bahari*

• includes site of djeser-djeseru - mortuary temple of Hatshepsut

• built on three terraced levels

• her temple included depiction of maritime trade

• hidden tomb found with 50 royal mummies

26. Dionysus-Osiris

• merging of dionysus and osiris

• both gods were dismembered so easy parallel to connect them into one

• universal god of agriculture - dionysus was wine and osiris was grain

• during ptolemaic dynasty, Serapis combined osiris and apis bull with dionysus so greeks and egyptians could worship together

27. Field of Iaru (Reeds) & Hetep*

• represent ultimate paradise

• where soul went after passing weighing of heart

• field of reeds was lush and endless marsh with massive grain

• field of offerings where dead received food and drink and could rest

28. Freemasonry & Rosicrucians

• 2 secret societies that claimed to preserve lost primal wisdom of ancient egypt

• Rosicrucians invested in alchemy because they believed it was similar to spiritual process of base human and spiritual gold soul - becoming an akh in field of Iaru

• freemasons see god as great architect which reflects hermetic idea in corpus hermeticum that divine mind created through math and geometry

• rosicrucians manifestos that claimed a figure thraveled through egypt and combined hermeticism, alchemym and christian mysticism

29. Giza

• royal necropolis of 4th dynasty

• solar alignment to cardinal points

• great pyramid made for khufu

• sun sets between khufu and khefre pyramids during summer solstice

30. Gebel Barkal*

• flat top mountain in sudan

• holy mountain for kushite and egyptian empires

• home of amun

• coronation site of kushite kings

31. Great Cat of Re*

• solar diety of defensive power of re

• nightly battle against chaos

• manifestation of re when he needed to fight

• reason why cats were highly esteemed

32. Harpocrates*

• greek interpretation of “horus the child”

• son of isis and osiris

• young boy with sidelock and index finger to his lips

• protector against dangerous animals

33. Hathor

• het heru translates to house of horus

• patron of love, music, beauty, dance

• can transform into sekhmet a woman with horns of a cow cradling sun disk or as a cow

• gave birth to the sun every morning

34. Heart Scarab*

• amulet placed over heart of a mummy

• legal defense during judgement of heart, stop heart from recounting sins

• inscribed with spell from book of dead

• green stone bc green sacred to osiris

35. Hermes Trismegistus

• author of hermetica

• foundation of western alchemy/ philosophy

• merge of hermes and thoth - divine messenger

• master of 3 parts of wisdom - alchemy, astrology, theurgy

36. Horapollo

• writer of hieroglyphica, tried to explain meaning of egyptian hieroglyphs

• one of last leaders of egyptian priesthood near alexandria

• ability to read hieroglyphs was low

• correct about some hieroglyphs but was wrong about them not being phonetic

• led researchers astray for thousands of years

37. Imhotep

• served under pharoah djoser in 3rd dynasty

• architect of step pyramid

• master healer, had text that associated anatomical observations with problems

• deified after death

• greeks identified with their healing god

38. Isis*

• great magic

• diety of healing and protection

• brought her husband osiris back to life

• pictured nursing harpocrates and influenced virgin mary

• cult of isis spread through rome

39. Ka

• invisible twin (soul) that accompanied person through life

• made by khnum on potterwheel

• ka needed physical body to return to - thats why they mummified

• ka would join their ba and make their akh to go to field of Iaru

40. Lector Priest

• master of written word

• highly educated scribes who worked in house of life

• copying and maintain book of dead

• intermediaries of divine secrets and living

• masters of rituals and magic - read spells

41. Litany of Re

• funerary text of newkingdom

• 75 manifestations of re

• by chanting the names the dead would identify as re

• royal book

• union of re and osiris as two souls

42. Mastaba*

• standard pharoah tomb before pyramid

• first pyramid was series of mastaba stacked on each other

• divided into 2 parts - above ground chapel and burial chamber deep underground

• some had rooms with ka statue as a backup for the body

• covered in reliefs of daily life

43. Mehen*

• protective diety who wraps around re to protect him

• giant serpent

• boardgame, maybe race, shaped like a snake

• couldve been used in spiritual practices as simulation of soul

44. Mehet-Weret*

• cow goddess

• represents celestial waters from which sun god emerged

• mother of ra

• name means great flood

• precursor to hathor and isis

• thought sky was an ocean and she was counterpart to the nile

45. Meroe*

• longest lasting capital of Kush

• on east bank of nile in sudan

• highest conc of pyramids

• steep angled pyramids

• iron working center

ANTHROPOLOGY 176TS: ANCIENT EGYPTIAN RELIGION

FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE

46. Montuemhet

47. Montuhotep II*

• founded middle kingdom

• reunified egypt after civil war

• also built temple in hatshepsuts area

• democratized afterlife and suggested everyone could resurrect

• depicted in statues with black skin which linked him to osiris

48. Mummies

49. Naga*

50. Natron

51. Nut*

• barrier against chaos

• depicted as woman stretched over sky

• mother of sun god re

• she swallows sun and reborn at her womb

• painted on insude of coffins as sky

52. Opening of Mouth*

• restore the senses

• allowed mummy to consume offerings, breathe air of afterlife

• also performed on statues to transform to a gods Ba

• used adze to “craft” being

• used tool from meteoric ion

53. Osiris*

• god of afterlife

• king murdered by brother set and resurrected by isis

• depicted with green or black skin

• presided over weighing of heart

• welcomed into field of Iaru

54. Philae

• island temple in the nile

• dedicated to isis

• last functioning egyptian temple

• last known hieroglyphs

• one of many burial places of osiris

• major pilgrimage site

55. Phyle

• team of workers

• specialized system to organize laborers

• rotating shift schedule

• each phyle would serve for one month then return home for 3

• especially during pyramid age, used to track food rations and work progress

56. Ptah-Sokar-Osiris*

• composite diety that represents creation, death, resurrection

• associated with corn mummies

• small wooden statues made that held papyrus

• added together to ultimate funerary force

57. Pyramid Texts*

• oldest known religious literature

• king unas first to have burial chamber covered

• blueprints for his spirit

• cannibal hy,n about eating the gods aka absorbing their spirits

• goal was to transform into akh

58. Qadeshet*

• goddess of love, beauty, desire

• orginally a syrian god

• front facing and standing on a lion

• usually holding lotus and serpents

59. Reshep*

• canaanite god of war and plague

• adopted by egyptians in 18th dynasty

• saw him as divine soldier of pharoah

• wears white crown of upper egypt with a gazelle head

• with a weapon - mace, shield, spear

60. Saqqara*

• necropolis for memphis

• step pyramid of djoser

• first pyramid texts here

• serapeum - apis bull burial place

• city of dead

61. Sem Priest*

• provided ritual action

• seen as eldest son of the deceased

• master of opening of the mouth

• wore leopard skin on one shoulder

62. Serapis*

• fusion of apis bull and osiris

• wears grain measuring basket

• cult center in serapeum in alexandria

• appearance of zeus and hades and dionysus

63. Setna Khamwas

• son of ramses 2

• high priest of ptah

• first archeologist

• part of egyptian stories, transformed into setna and tried to find the book of thoth

64. Snefru

• founding king of 4th dynasty

• most prolific builder in egyptian history

• made bent and red pyramids

• grew trade with Byblos

• started shift form step to true pyramids

65. Sons of Horus*

• four protective dieties of deceased organs

• protected by our goddesses

• assigned as cardinal points

• each represented an organ

  • imsety - liver

  • hapi - lungs

  • duamutef - stomach

  • qebehsenuef - intestines

66. Sun Temples

• popular during 5gth dynasty

• were massive open air solar observatories

• built to resemble heliopolis

• focal point was squat obelisk on high pedestal

• ritual sacrifices to provide energy to sun god

67. Taharqa

• kushite ruler in 25th dynasty

• initiated massive building program in nubia and egypt

• single column at temple of amun in karnak

• defined by military struggle with neo assyrian empire

• mentioned in hebrew bible

68. Tanis

• capital of egypt during 21 and 22 dynasty

• built out of recycled stone from pi ramsses

• royal tombs were largely intact and had some silver pharoahs

• primary temple dedicated to theban triad

69. Unas

• last king of 5th dynasty

• first pharoah to have spells and hymns carved on tombs walls

• pyramid texts were blueprints for coffin texts and book of the dead

• one hymn described king eating the gods to absorb their magic

• his burial chamber revered for gold stars and sky

70. Ushabti (Shawabti)

• small funerary figurines of substitute workers for deceased

• to avoid manual labor in eternity

• most have specific spell from book of the dead , that commanded them to answer for manual labor on behalf

• by new kingdom, full set was 401 figures

• made of material depending on deceased wealth