The Sacred Scarab

by Gill Harvey

  GODS AND GODDESSES

  Ancient Egyptian religion was very complicated. There wasn’t just one god, but hundreds, each symbolising something different. Many of them were linked to a particular animal or plant. The Egyptians believed that their king or pharaoh was one of the gods, too.

  Not everyone worshipped the same gods. It would have been very difficult to worship all of them, because there were so many. Some gods were more important than others, and some places had special gods of their own. People would have had their favourites depending on where they lived and what they did.

  These are some of the most important gods of the New Kingdom, and all the special ones that are mentioned in this book.

  c

  Amun The great god of Waset (Thebes), a creator god and god of the air. When Waset became very powerful in the New Kingdom, he was combined with the sun god Re and became Amun-Re. He was shown with tall feathers on his head, or with a ram’s head.

  Anubis The god of mummies and embalming. He was usually shown with a jackal’s head.

  Apep The great snake god of darkness, chaos and evil. He was usually shown as an enormous serpent, but sometimes as a crocodile or even a dragon.

  Bes A god who was worshipped in people’s homes, rather than at shrines and temples. He was shown as a bearded dwarf, often with his tongue sticking out, and was believed to protect people’s houses, pregnant women and children.

  Hapi The god of the Nile, specifically the Nile flood that happened every year. Although he was a male god, he was shown with large breasts because he represented fertility.

  Hathor A goddess of fertility, love, music and dancing. She was usually shown as a cow, or a woman with a cow’s head, or a woman with a cow’s ears and horns.

  Horus The falcon-headed king of the gods, who fought and won a battle with his evil uncle Seth. The reigning king of Egypt was believed to be the embodiment of Horus.

  Isis The mother of Horus and wife of Osiris, the goddess of motherhood and royal protection. She was associated with the goddess Hathor.

  Khepri The scarab god, the god of the rising sun. It was believed that he pushed the sun up every morning in the same way that a scarab pushes its ball of dung.

  Khonsu The moon god of Waset, worshipped in the great temple complex there. He was the adopted son of Mut.

  Ma’at The goddess of truth and justice, balance and order, who helped to judge people’s hearts after their death.

  Mut The great mother goddess of Waset, worshipped with Amun and Khonsu. Because Waset is often called Thebes, these three are known as the ‘Theban Triad’.

  Osiris Husband of Isis, father of Horus and brother of the evil god Seth. He was the king of the underworld, so he was usually shown as a mummy.

  Re (or Ra) The sun god, who travelled across the sky every day in a barque (boat).

  Serqet The goddess of scorpions. She was believed to cure the stings and bites of all dangerous creatures like snakes and scorpions.

  Seth The brother of Osiris, the god of chaos, evil and the Red Land (the desert). He was shown with the head of a strange dog-like creature that has never been identified.

  Sobek The ancient Egyptian crocodile god. On the whole, he was feared by the Egyptians, but he was sometimes seen as a god of fertility, too.

  Tawaret A hippopotamus goddess who protected children and women, particularly during childbirth. Like Bes, Tawaret was worshipped in people’s homes rather than in temples.

  Thoth The god of writing and scribes. He was shown as an ibis, or with the head of an ibis.

  .

  GLOSSARY

  acacia A small, thorny tree. Some types of acacia grow particularly well in dry, desert regions.

  amulet A lucky charm, worn to protect a person from evil.

  ankh The ancient Egyptian symbol of eternal life. It is a cross with a loop at the top. Amulets were made in this shape, and gods were shown holding an ankh in tomb paintings.

  barque The common term for an ancient Egyptian boat, particularly a religious or royal boat. They were usually slender with an upturned prow, and had lots of uses, from carrying the king to transporting statues of the gods during festivals. In ancient Egyptian religion, Re travelled across the sky in a barque each day, and the dead used the same barque to reach the Next World.

  Black Land The rich, fertile land close to the Nile, where the ancient Egyptians felt safe. They lived and grew their crops here.

  Book of the Dead Not really a book, but a collection of spells, hymns and instructions for making sure a dead person arrived safely in the Next World. The name ‘Book of the Dead’ was made up by an Egyptologist. The Egyptians had another name for it that roughly translates as ‘Spells of Coming Forth by Day’.

  canopic jar Protective jar used to hold the internal organs of mummies. There were always four for every mummy: one each for the liver, stomach, lungs and intestines.

  castor A shrubby plant widely grown in ancient Egypt. Its seeds were used to make castor oil, which the Egyptians rubbed on their skin and hair to make them glossy, and burned as a fuel in oil lamps.

  clerestory window A window set high in a wall to let in some light. Only big houses had windows – most people’s houses were very dark inside to keep them cool.

  djed pillar A strange-looking symbol, like a little tower with ridges at the top, that meant ‘stability’. Amulets were made in this shape.

  emmer wheat The type of wheat that was grown in ancient Egypt. Barley was the other main food crop.

  faience A sort of ceramic with a coloured glaze (often blue), used to make jewellery and amulets.

  hieratic A shorthand version of hieroglyphics, which simplified the hieroglyphs to make them quicker to write.

  hieroglyphics The system of ancient Egyptian picture writing. Each individual picture is called a hieroglyph.

  Ipet-Isut The ancient Egyptian name for the great temple complex just to the north of Waset, now known as Karnak.

  Ipet-Resyt The large temple complex in the town of Waset, connected to Ipet-Isut by a long avenue lined with sphinxes. Like Ipet-Isut, it was dedicated to the worship of Amun, Mut and Khonsu. It is now known as Luxor Temple.

  jasper A popular gemstone in ancient Egypt. As well as green, there were red, brown, black and yellow varieties. It is thought that the nemehef stone, prescribed in the Book of the Dead for making heart scarabs, may be green jasper.

  Kingdom of the Dead Generally speaking, the west bank of the Nile was seen as the Kingdom of the Dead because the sun sets to the west.

  kohl A kind of dark powder that the Egyptians used as eyeliner to outline their eyes.

  lector priest A priest who read or spoke the rituals and spells in a temple or other holy place.

  limestone Along with sandstone, this was a rock commonly found in Egypt and used to build the many temples (but not houses, which were made of mud brick).

  lotus Lotus flowers were actually blue water lilies that grew along the Nile. Their flowers open in the morning and close at night, so they were seen as a symbol of the rising and setting sun, and the cycle of creation. They were used in perfume, and were believed to have healing powers, too.

  ma’at The ancient Egyptian principle of divine justice and order. The principle was represented by a goddess of the same name.

  mortuary temple There were two kinds of temple in ancient Egypt. Cult temples were for the worship of a particular god or gods, while mortuary temples were for the worship of a king after his death. Mortuary temples were mostly found on the west bank – the Kingdom of the Dead.

  natron A kind of salt mixture that was found on the beds of dried-up lakes in the desert. It was good at soaking up moisture, so it was used for drying out bodies in the embalming process. It was also used as an everyday cleaning agent.

  Next World The place ancient Egyptians believed they would go after death. It would be better than this world, of course, but quite similar – which was why they needed to take their bodies and many possessions with t
hem.

  Nile flood Also called the ‘inundation’. Every year, the Nile river flooded, covering the fields with rich black silt. When the waters went down again, the farmers could plant their seed.

  obsidian A kind of dark (often black) glass that forms naturally in volcanoes. It didn’t occur in Egypt, so it had to be imported. It could be used to make very sharp blades, as well as ornaments and amulets.

  ostracon (pl. ostraca) A small piece of pottery or a flake of limestone used as ‘scrap paper’ for writing on.

  papyrus A kind of reed that used to grow in the marshes alongside the Nile, especially in the Delta region to the north. It was made into many things – mats, baskets, sandals and even boats – but it is most famous for the flat sheets of ‘paper’ made from it, which are named after the reed.

  pharaoh The ancient Egyptian term for their king. It was only used by the Egyptians themselves in the later stages of their history, but we now use it to refer to any ancient Egyptian king.

  Red Land The desert, the land of the dangerous god Seth. It was greatly feared by the Egyptians because it was impossible to live there.

  red ochre A red-coloured clay that the Egyptians ground up to make lipstick and blusher. They probably mixed it with oil or fat to put on their lips.

  sarcophagus A big stone coffin. A smaller wooden coffin was often put inside.

  scarab A kind of dung beetle that was worshipped by the Egyptians. Scarab amulets were thought to give great protection. The scarab was the creature of the god Khepri (see the Gods and Goddesses section).

  tamarisk A small bush or tree that grew in ancient Egypt, with pretty pink or white flowers.

  tomb-chapel The little chapels that were built over a person’s tomb, where relatives could visit, pray and make offerings.

  udjat eye The eye of Horus, a symbol of healing and protection. In Egyptian myth, it was the eye that Horus lost in a battle with his evil uncle Seth, but which was healed by the god Thoth.

  vizier The ancient Egyptian kings’ second in command, who often presided over important trials.