ANCIENT EGYPTIAN:
Art History
(in 2 parts)
I. COSMOGONY a. Creation Stories: 1. Ennead --> Heliopolis 2. Ogdoad --> Hermopolis 3. Triad --> Memphis 4. Thebes 5. Eliphantine b. Deities 1. Judgment Deities 2. Protection Deities 3. Miscellaneous Deities 4. Other Deities |
II. HISTORY & ART a. The Dynasties 1. Pre-Dynastic --> 0 2. Early Dynastic --> 1-3 3. Old Kingdom --> 4-6 4. Middle Kingdom --> 11-14 5. New Kingdom --> 18-20 6. Late Kingdom --> 26-31 7. Ptolemaic 8. Roman b. The Artwork 1. Architecture 2. Sculpture 3. Paintings 4. Papyrus |
PART I
COSMOGONY
of Ancient Egypt
Map of the Creation Myth Cities
Heliopolis – Home to the 9 Ennead Gods
Atum, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, Seth
Hermopolis – Home of the 8 Ogdoad Gods
Naunet, Nu, Amaunet, Amun, Kauket, Kuk, Hauhet, Huh
Memphis – Home of the 3 Triad Gods
Ptah, Sekhmet, Nefertem
Eliphantine - Home of the Master Potter
Khnum
ENNEAD
of Heliopolis
Name
Atum Shu Tefnut Geb Nut Osiris Isis Nephthys Seth |
Attribute
Creator & Sun God Wind & Air Water & Moisture Earth (Vegetation & Underworld) Sky (Rebirth & Resurrection) Dead, Death, Underworld Fertility, Love, Healing, Magick Lamentation (Divine Assistance) Desert, Chaos, Storms, Evil |
Children
Shu & Tefnut Geb & Nut Geb & Nut Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, Seth Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, Seth Horus & Anubis Horus Anubis Anubis (?) |
Visual Trait
Human wearing Penchant Man wearing 1-4 ostrich feathers; lion's head; ankh Woman with lioness' head & pointed ears Man laying under Nut; goose on head Woman hovering over Geb; cow's head Man with green skin, wearing Atef crown Woman wearing throne headdress Woman wearing part of her hieroglyph name Man w/ aardvark head (Set animal) |
Animal
Scarab Beetle (Bull, snake, lizard, lion) Lion Lion Goose Cow Bull, pig, ox, ram Kite & bull Falcon & Vulture Crocodile, oryx, donkey, hippo |
Sons of Osiris, Isis, and Nephthys:
Horus
Anubis |
Kings, Sky, Vengeance, War & Protection
Mummification & Embalming |
None
Kebechet |
Man with falcon head & wearing pschent
Man with jackal head & full jackal form |
Falcon
Jackal |
ATUM Sun God (God of Creation)
• Also known as Ra and Atum-Ra
• First of the Gods to rule over Egypt as king • Shaped himself out of the waters of Chaos (Nu) • Emerged atop mound of sand hardened by his own rays • Created the twin gods of wetness and dryness • Shu & Tefnet (through ejaculation & spit) • Created human beings from his tears • Worshiped at Heliopolis |
The Elemental Gods:
AIR
SHU
|
Water
TEFNUT
|
Earth
GEB
|
Sky
NUT
|
GEB God of Earth
• Also known as God of vegetation & underworld
• Barley grew upon his ribs • Third God to rule over all of Egypt as king • Had eternal intercourse with Nut • Thus is why he was separated from her by his father, Shu • Mythological father/creator of serpents • Depicted in art as: • Man lying underneath Nut (sometimes with erect phallus) • Ram, bull, or crocodile • Man with serpent head • Plants and other green patches on his body • Personified as fertile earth and barren desert • Desert contains the dead; could set them free of their tomb • Other-worldly attribute: imprison the unworthy in the desert • In desert form, portrayed as jackal-headed stave • Fathered four gods with Nut • Osiris, Isis, Seth & Nephthys • His laughter was the cause of earthquakes • Worshiped at Heliopolis |
NUT Goddess of the Sky
• Also the Goddess of rebirth and resurrection
• Depicted in art as: • Star-covered nude human arching over Earth • Cow whose body formed the sky and heavens • A sycamore tree • Giant Sow, suckling many piglets (representing stars) • Originally the Goddess of the nighttime sky • Mother of four children, as fathered by Geb • Osiris, Isis, Seth & Nephthys • Sacred symbol is the ladder • Osiris uses a ladder to climb up to his mother after he dies • Ladder becomes important symbol for afterlife ascension • Becomes friend & protector of the dead • Painted on inside lid of sarcophagus • Vaults and tombs painted dark blue with many stars • Protector of Ra (Sun God) • Swallows Ra every night & rebirths him every morning • Barrier separating Chaos and Cosmos • Toes & Fingers touch for cardinal points (North, East, South, West) • Worshiped at Heliopolis |
OSIRIS
|
ISIS
|
SETH
|
NEPHTHYS
|
HORUS
|
ANUBIS
|
KEBECHET
|
Four Sons of Horus (the Elder)
Name Hapi Qebehsenuef Duamutef Imsety |
Canopic Jar Baboon (Lungs) Falcon (Large Intestines) Jackal (Stomach) Human (Liver) |
Protector Nephthys Serket Neith Isis |
Cardinal Point North West East South |
Attribute Navigation & running Refresh deceased Worship deceased Revive corpse |
OGDOAD
of Hermopolis
Name
Naunet Nu Amaunet Amun Kauket Kuk Hauhet Huh |
Attribute
Primordial Waters Primordial Waters Air or Invisibility Air or Invisibility Darkness Darkness Eternity or Infinite Space Eternity or Infinite Space |
Visual Trait
Woman with serpent head or as a full serpent Man with frog head, as a frog, or bearded man with blue-green skin Woman wearing red crown and holding staff of papyrus Man with tall feather crown that has two vertical plumes Woman with serpent head or as a full serpent Man with frog head or as a full frog Woman with serpent head or as a full serpent Man with frog head, as a frog, or man holding palm stems with one in his hair |
Animal
Snakes Frogs Snakes Frogs Snakes Frogs Snakes Frogs |
Ogdoad - Creation Myth
The four stories
Egg Variant
• Entity rises from waters after interaction as mound of dirt • Mound becomes the Milky Way, which is deified as Hathor • An egg was laid upon this mound by a celestial bird • The egg contained the God Ra • In original version, the egg was laid by a cosmic goose • After rise of Thoth cult, egg was to have been laid by an ibis • Egg was a gift from Thoth, from the bird with which he was associated |
Lotus Variant
• The Lotus variant blossoms when Atum & Ra merge • Atum-Ra is then born of the blue lotus bud • Lotus bud rose from the waters after explosive interaction • Bud floated on surface & opened to reveal Khepri inside • Khepri is an aspect of Ra representing rising sun & is a scarab beetle deity • Immediately, Khepri turned into a weeping boy – Nerfertum • Nefertum was the temporary form of the young Atum • Nefertum’s tears formed the creatures of the earth • In later times, Khepri was totally absorbed by the cult of Ra • After this, the lotus was to have revealed the boy Ra, not Khepri (at all) • Sometimes, the boy is identified as Horus • This is due to the merging of the myths of Horus and Ra into the one god |
TRIAD
of Memphis
Name
Ptah Sekhmet Nefertum |
Attribute
Creation, Arts, Fertility Warfare, Healing, Destruction Healing, Beauty, Sunrise |
Visual Trait
Mummified man wearing skull cap and holding ankh-djed-was combined staff Woman with lioness' head and wearing solar disc with Uraeus Man of great beauty wearing lotus headdress (as son of Bast: man with lion's head or reclining lion) |
Animal
Bull Lion Water Lilly & Lion |
Story of the Memphite
• Ptah, God of craftsmen, is the supreme creator god • Represented the craftsman's ability to envision a finished product • Would shape raw materials to create envisioned product • Ptah’s creation of world was not physical but intellectual • World created by the word and mind (through Ptah’s tongue) • Ideas developed in his heart & given form when he named them • The names brought into existence all the Gods & other beings of the world • The names spoken brought into existence all of life • Thus creating: all other Gods, cities, food, drink, & life’s necessities • Memphite creation myth coexisted with Heliopolis • Ptah’s creative thought & speech said to cause formation of Atum & Ennead |
Other Creation Myths:
|
|
|
Other Deities
of Ancient Egypt
Judgment Deities - of Weighing of the Heart
THOTH MAAT AMMUT
Name Thoth Maat Ammut |
Attribute Mediation, Magic, Writing, Science, Wisdom, Judgment (of dead) Truth, Balance, Order, Law, Morality, Justice Devourer of wicked souls |
Visual Trait Man with ibis head (holding tablet/stylus) & as a full ibis or baboon Woman wearing ostrich feather on head and as a stone platform Creature with crocodile head, body of lion, and hippo hindquarters |
Animal Ibis, baboon Ostrich Crocodile-lion-hippo hybrid |
Protector Deities - of the Four Sons of Horus (the Elder)
NEITH SOBEK SERKET
Name Neith Sobek Serket |
Attribute War, Funerals, Mummification Wrappings, Impartiality Crocodile, Nile, Guardian of the Gods (and of Pharaoh) Healing of stings and bites (original Scorpion deity) |
Visual Trait Woman wearing crossed arrows and shield on her head Man with crocodile head Woman with scorpion on her head and as a scorpion with woman's head |
Animal Crocodile Crocodile Scorpion and snake |
Miscellaneous Deities - of Godly Importance
KHONSU HATHOR KHEPRI
Name Khonsu Hathor Khepri |
Attribute Moon Love, Beauty, Music, Dance, Joy, Motherhood Rebirth, Sunrise |
Association Thoth and Ra/Mut Isis Ra |
Visual Trait Boy with side lock, punt beard and wearing two moons on head Woman wearing sun disc with cow horns and as a cow wearing sun disk Man with head of a scarab beetle |
Animal Baboon Cow Scarab Beetle |
Miscellaneous Deities - of Special Importance
BASTET