1.
Egyptian pantheon
–
Ancient Egyptian deities are the gods and goddesses worshipped in ancient Egypt. The beliefs and rituals surrounding these gods formed the core of ancient Egyptian religion, the gods complex characteristics were expressed in myths and in intricate relationships between deities, family ties, loose groups and hierarchies, and combinations of separate gods into one. Deities diverse appearances in art—as animals, humans, objects, and combinations of different forms—also alluded, through symbolism, to their essential features. In different eras, various gods were said to hold the highest position in society, including the solar deity Ra, the mysterious god Amun. The highest deity was usually credited with the creation of the world, some scholars have argued, based in part on Egyptian writings, that the Egyptians came to recognize a single divine power that lay behind all things and was present in all the other deities. Gods were assumed to be present throughout the world, capable of influencing natural events, people interacted with them in temples and unofficial shrines, for personal reasons as well as for larger goals of state rites. Egyptians prayed for help, used rituals to compel deities to act. Humans relations with their gods were a part of Egyptian society. The beings in ancient Egyptian tradition who might be labeled as deities are difficult to count, Egyptian texts list the names of many deities whose nature is unknown and make vague, indirect references to other gods who are not even named. The Egyptologist James P. Allen estimates that more than 1,400 deities are named in Egyptian texts, the Egyptian languages terms for these beings were nṯr, god, and its feminine form nṯrt, goddess. Scholars have tried to discern the nature of the gods by proposing etymologies for these words, but none of these suggestions has gained acceptance. The hieroglyphs that were used as ideograms and determinatives in writing these words show some of the traits that the Egyptians connected with divinity, the most common of these signs is a flag flying from a pole. Similar objects were placed at the entrances of temples, representing the presence of a deity, other such hieroglyphs include a falcon, reminiscent of several early gods who were depicted as falcons, and a seated male or female deity. The feminine form could also be written with an egg as determinative, connecting goddesses with creation and birth, or with a cobra, the Egyptians distinguished nṯrw, gods, from rmṯ, people, but the meanings of the Egyptian and the English terms do not match perfectly. The term nṯr may have applied to any being that was in some way outside the sphere of everyday life, Egyptian religious art also depicts places, objects, and concepts in human form. These personified ideas range from deities that were important in myth and ritual to obscure beings, only mentioned once or twice, confronting these blurred distinctions between gods and other beings, scholars have proposed various definitions of a deity. One widely accepted definition, suggested by Jan Assmann, says that a deity has a cult, is involved in some aspect of the universe, according to a different definition, by Dimitri Meeks, nṯr applied to any being that was the focus of ritual. From this perspective, gods included the king, who was called a god after his coronation rites, and deceased souls, likewise, the preeminence of the great gods was maintained by the ritual devotion that was performed for them across Egypt
Egyptian pantheon
–
The gods
Osiris,
Anubis, and
Horus
Egyptian pantheon
–
Isis, a
mother goddess and a patroness of kingship, holds Pharaoh
Seti I in her lap.
Egyptian pantheon
–
The sky goddess Nut swallows the sun, which travels through her body at night to be reborn at dawn.
Egyptian pantheon
–
Deities personifying
provinces of Egypt
2.
Egyptian hieroglyphs
–
Egyptian hieroglyphs were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt. It combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with a total of some 1,000 distinct characters, cursive hieroglyphs were used for religious literature on papyrus and wood. The later hieratic and demotic Egyptian scripts are derived from hieroglyphic writing, the writing system continued to be used throughout the Late Period, as well as the Persian and Ptolemaic periods. Late survivals of hieroglyphic use are found well into the Roman period, with the closing of pagan temples in the 5th century, knowledge of hieroglyphic writing was lost, and the script remained undeciphered throughout the medieval and early modern period. The decipherment of hieroglyphs would only be solved in the 1820s by Jean-François Champollion, the word hieroglyph comes from the Greek adjective ἱερογλυφικός, a compound of ἱερός and γλύφω, supposedly a calque of an Egyptian phrase mdw·w-nṯr gods words. The glyphs themselves were called τὰ ἱερογλυφικὰ γράμματα the sacred engraved letters, the word hieroglyph has become a noun in English, standing for an individual hieroglyphic character. As used in the sentence, the word hieroglyphic is an adjective. Hieroglyphs emerged from the artistic traditions of Egypt. For example, symbols on Gerzean pottery from c.4000 BC have been argued to resemble hieroglyphic writing, proto-hieroglyphic symbol systems develop in the second half of the 4th millennium BC, such as the clay labels of a Predynastic ruler called Scorpion I recovered at Abydos in 1998. The first full sentence written in hieroglyphs so far discovered was found on a seal found in the tomb of Seth-Peribsen at Umm el-Qaab. There are around 800 hieroglyphs dating back to the Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, by the Greco-Roman period, there are more than 5,000. However, given the lack of evidence, no definitive determination has been made as to the origin of hieroglyphics in ancient Egypt. Since the 1990s, and discoveries such as the Abydos glyphs, as writing developed and became more widespread among the Egyptian people, simplified glyph forms developed, resulting in the hieratic and demotic scripts. These variants were more suited than hieroglyphs for use on papyrus. Hieroglyphic writing was not, however, eclipsed, but existed alongside the other forms, especially in monumental, the Rosetta Stone contains three parallel scripts – hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek. Hieroglyphs continued to be used under Persian rule, and after Alexander the Greats conquest of Egypt, during the ensuing Ptolemaic and Roman periods. It appears that the quality of comments from Greek and Roman writers about hieroglyphs came about, at least in part. Some believed that hieroglyphs may have functioned as a way to distinguish true Egyptians from some of the foreign conquerors, another reason may be the refusal to tackle a foreign culture on its own terms, which characterized Greco-Roman approaches to Egyptian culture generally
Egyptian hieroglyphs
–
A section of the
Papyrus of Ani showing cursive hieroglyphs.
Egyptian hieroglyphs
–
Hieroglyphs on a funerary stela in
Manchester Museum
Egyptian hieroglyphs
–
The
Rosetta Stone in the
British Museum
Egyptian hieroglyphs
–
Hieroglyphs typical of the Graeco-Roman period
3.
Asyut
–
The modern city is located at 27°11′00″N 31°10′00″E, while the ancient city is located at 27°10′00″N 31°08′00″E. The name of the city is derived from early Egyptian Zawty adopted into the Coptic as Syowt ⲥⲓⲟⲟⲩⲧ, in Graeco-Roman Egypt, it was called Lycopolis or Lykopolis, Lycon, or Lyco. Ancient Asyut was the capital of the Thirteenth Nome of Upper Egypt around 3100 BC and it was located on the western bank of the Nile. The two most prominent gods of Ancient Egyptian Asyut were Anubis and Wepwawet, both funerary deities, during the First Intermediate Period, the rulers of Zawty were supporters of the Herakleopolitan kings, of whose domain the Nome formed the southern limits. The conflict between this Nome and the southern Nomes under the rule of the Eleventh dynasty ended with the victory of Thebes, osiris was worshipped under the symbol of a wolf at Lycopolis. According to a myth, he had come from the shades as a wolf to aid Isis, other Ancient Egyptian monuments discovered in Asyut include, the Asyut necropolis, tombs which date to dynasties Nine, Ten and Twelve, and the Ramessid tombs of Siese and Amenhotep. In Graeco-Roman times, there was a dialect of Coptic spoken in Asyut, known as Lycopolitan. Lesser-used names for this dialect are Sub-Akhmimic and Assiutic, a large Byzantine Treasure was discovered near the city in the early twentieth century and is now dispersed amongst a number of museums in the West. The hoard is composed of some of the most elaborate jewellery to survive from late antiquity, Asyut was the end of 40 Day Road that connected the city to Darfur through the Selima and Kharga Oases. The history of the road, known by local herders as Darb al-Arbain and it was used as a pathway for great caravans of up to 12,000 camels at its peak in the 14th century. Today, the city of Asyut has almost 400,000 inhabitants and it is the Egyptian city with one of the highest Coptic Christian concentration of approximately 50%. It is also home to the University of Assiut, one of the largest universities in Egypt, to the Assiut Barrage, the city is one of the only cities in the world that still makes silver appliqué-work shawls and is home to a large textile industry. The city also produces pottery, inlaid woodwork, and rugs. The Virgin Mary is reported to have appeared in Asyut on 17 August 2000 and this apparition is recognized as an official Marian apparition by the Coptic Orthodox Church and remembered in the Deir el-Muharraq, Monastery of the Virgin Mary. Aysut is next to the Aysut Dam across the Nile river in the port of Al-Hamra. The dam was built in 1902 and a plant was added in the 1980s. Its episcopal see is the cathedral of the Mother of Divine Love, suffragan Eparchs of Assiut Alexandros Scandar Youhanna Nueir, Friars Minor, previously Auxiliary Eparch of Luqsor of the Copts & Titular Bishop of Phatanus Kyrillos Kamal William Samaan, O. F. M. Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert and it is the driest city of Egypt
Asyut
–
Asyut أسيوط
4.
Imiut fetish
–
The Imiut fetish is a religious object that has been documented throughout the history of Ancient Egypt. It was a stuffed, headless animal skin, often of a feline or bull and this fetish was tied by the tail to a pole, terminating in a lotus bud and inserted into a stand. The item was present in ancient Egyptian funerary rites from at least the earliest dynasties, although its origin and purpose is unknown, the imiut fetish dates as far back as the First Dynasty. In very early Egyptian mythology, the deity Imiut may have been a god of the Duat or underworld, an early example found in 1914 by an expedition of the Metropolitan Museum of Art near the pyramid of Senusret I was placed in a shrine. Since it was connected to the god Anubis, it is sometimes called the Anubis fetish. One idea is that it came to symbolise Anubis as an embalmer, although this is unlikely to be the original understanding, as Anubis was originally a god of the dead, rather than just embalming
Imiut fetish
–
The imiut fetish
5.
Crook and flail
–
The crook and flail are symbols used in Ancient Egyptian society. They were originally the attributes of the deity Osiris that became insignia of pharaonic authority, the shepherds crook stood for kingship and the flail for the fertility of the land. The earliest known example of a crook is from the Gerzeh culture. By late Predynastic times, the crook was already an established symbol of rule. The flail initially remained separate, being depicted alone on some earliest representations of royal ceremonial, approximately by the time of the Second Dynasty the crook and flail became paired. The only extant pharaonic examples of both the crook and flail come from the tomb of Tutankhamun and their staffs are made of heavy bronze covered with alternating stripes of blue glass, obsidian, and gold, while the flails beads are made of gilded wood. Traditionally crossed over the chest when held, they represented the ruler as a shepherd whose beneficence is formidably tempered with might. Still another interpretation, by E. A. Wallis Budge, is that the flail is what was used to thresh grain, sekhem scepter Was scepter Pharaoh-seated, with flail & red crown
Crook and flail
–
The crook and flail on the coffinette of
Tutankhamun
6.
Anput
–
Anput is a goddess in ancient Egyptian religion. Her name is also rendered Input, Inpewt and Yineput and her name is written in hieroglyphs as inpwt. Her name is the version of the name of her husband. She was the goddess of funerals and mummification, the mother of Kebechet and she was depicted as a woman wearing a standard topped by a jackal, or as a large black dog or jackal. Probably the most notable example is that of the triad of Menkaure, Hathor and she was occasionally depicted as a woman with the head of a jackal, but this is very rare. Anput is a counterpart of the god Anubis. She is also a goddess of the nome of Upper Egypt
Anput
–
Hathor, Pharaoh
Menkaura, and Anput
7.
Kebechet
–
In Egyptian mythology, Kebechet is a goddess, a deification of embalming liquid. Kebechet is a daughter of Anubis and his wife Anput, in the Pyramid Texts, Kebechet is referred to as a serpent who refreshes and purifies the pharaoh. Kebechet was thought to give water to the spirits of the dead while they waited for the process to be complete. She was probably related to mummification where she would fortify the body against corruption, so it would stay fresh for reanimation by the deceaseds ka
Kebechet
–
Anubis, father of Kebechet
8.
Ammut
–
Ammit was a female demon in ancient Egyptian religion with a body that was part lion, hippopotamus and crocodile—the three largest man-eating animals known to ancient Egyptians. A funerary deity, her titles included Devourer of the Dead, Eater of Hearts, Ammit lived near the scales of justice in Duat, the Egyptian underworld. In the Hall of Two Truths, Anubis weighed the heart of a person against the feather of Maat, the goddess of truth, which was depicted as an ostrich feather. If the heart was judged to be not pure, Ammit would devour it, once Ammit swallowed the heart, the soul was believed to become restless forever, this was called to die a second time. Ammit was also said to stand by a lake of fire. In some traditions, the hearts were cast into the fiery lake to be destroyed. Some scholars believe Ammit and the lake represent the concept of destruction. Ammit was not worshipped, instead she embodied all that the Egyptians feared, Ammit has been linked with the goddess Tawaret, who has a similar physical appearance and, as a companion of Bes, also protected others from evil. Other authors have noted that Ammits lion characteristics, and the lake of fire, the relation to afterlife punishment and lake of fire location are also shared with the baboon deity Babi. Ammit was made male as a character in the Palladium RPG, a monster of the same name is also a card in Yu-Gi-Oh. In addition, Ammit also intermittenly appears in The Kane Chronicles, in the book series, Ammit follows suit as the original myths, being the servant and companion of Anubis. Ammit is also featured in the Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris video game, Ammit Cryearth is a Grimoire in form of a hand mirror that reflects the true form of the holder, it appears in BlazBlue, Remix Heart manga. Book of the Dead Media related to Ammit at Wikimedia Commons
Ammut
Ammut
9.
Nepthys
–
Nephthys or Nebthet or Neber-Het was a goddess in ancient Egyptian religion. A member of the Great Ennead of Heliopolis in Egyptian mythology, she was a daughter of Nut, Nephthys was typically paired with her sister Isis in funerary rites because of their role as protectors of the mummy and the god Osiris and as the sister-wife of Set. Nephthys is the Greek form of an epithet and this is a pervasive error repeated in many commentaries concerning this deity. Her name means specifically, Lady of the Enclosure which associates her with the role of priestess. Along with her sister Isis, Nephthys represented the temple pylon or trapezoidal tower gateway entrance to the temple which also displayed the flagstaff and this entrance way symbolised the horizon or akhet. At the time of the Fifth Dynasty Pyramid Texts, Nephthys appears as a goddess of the Heliopolitan Ennead and she is the sister of Isis and companion of the war-like deity, Set. As sister of Isis and especially Osiris, Nephthys is a goddess who symbolizes the death experience. Nephthys was known in some ancient Egyptian temple theologies and cosmologies as the Useful Goddess or the Excellent Goddess and these late Ancient Egyptian temple texts describe a goddess who represented divine assistance and protective guardianship. Nephthys is regarded as the mother of the funerary-deity Anubis in some myths, alternatively Anubis appears as the son of Bastet or Isis. As the primary nursing mother of the incarnate Pharaonic-god, Horus, though other goddesses could assume this role, Nephthys was most usually portrayed in this function. In contrast Nephthys is sometimes featured as a ferocious and dangerous divinity. Nephthys was typically paired with her sister Isis in funerary rites because of their role as protectors of the mummy and the god Osiris and as the sister-wife of Set. Less well understood than her sister Isis, Nephthys was no less important in Egyptian Religion as confirmed by the work of E. Hornung, along with the work of noted scholars. Ascend and descend, descend with Nephthys, sink into darkness with the Night-bark, ascend and descend, ascend with Isis, rise with the Day-bark. Pyramid Text Utterance 222 line 210, in the funerary role, Nephthys often was depicted as a kite, or as a woman with falcon wings, usually outstretched as a symbol of protection. Nephthyss association with the kite or the Egyptian hawk evidently reminded the ancients of the lamentations usually offered for the dead by wailing women, in this capacity, it is easy to see how Nephthys could be associated with death and putrefaction in the Pyramid Texts. Nephthys was clearly viewed as a force of heavenly transition, i. e. the Pharaoh becomes strong for his journey to the afterlife through the intervention of Isis. The same divine power could be applied later to all of the dead and it should here be noted that Nephthys was not necessarily viewed as the polar opposite of Isis, but rather as a different reflection of the same reality, eternal life in transition
Nepthys
–
Nephthys - Musée du Louvre, Paris, France
Nepthys
–
Nephthys was normally portrayed as a young woman, wearing a headdress in the shape of a house and basket
Nepthys
–
Triad of Isis, Nephthys, and
Harpocrates. Early Greco-Roman.
Walters Museum
10.
Set (mythology)
–
Set /sɛt/ or Seth is a god of the desert, storms, disorder, violence, and foreigners in ancient Egyptian religion. In Ancient Greek, the name is given as Sēth. Set is not, however, a god to be ignored or avoided, he has a role where he is employed by Ra on his solar boat to repel Apep. Set had a role as a reconciled combatant. He was lord of the red land where he was the balance to Horus role as lord of the black land, in Egyptian mythology, Set is portrayed as the usurper who killed and mutilated his own brother Osiris. Osiris wife Isis reassembled Osiris corpse and resurrected him long enough to conceive his son, Horus sought revenge upon Set, and the myths describe their conflicts. This Osiris myth is a prominent theme in Egyptian mythology, Sets siblings are Osiris, Isis, and Nephthys. He married Nephthys and fathered Anubis, and in some accounts he had relationships with the foreign goddesses Anat, some early Egyptologists proposed that it was a stylised representation of the giraffe, owing to the large flat-topped horns which correspond to a giraffes ossicones. The Egyptians themselves, however, made a distinction between the giraffe and the Set animal, during the Late Period, Set is depicted as a donkey or as having a donkeys head. The earliest representations of what might be the Set animal comes from a dating to the Naqada I phase of the Predynastic Period. If these are ruled out, then the earliest Set animal appears on a head of the King Scorpion. The head and the tail of the Set animal are clearly present. In the mythology of Heliopolis, Set was born of the sky goddess Nut, Sets sister and wife was Nephthys. Nut and Geb also produced two children who became husband and wife, the divine Osiris and Isis, whose son was Horus. The Chester Beatty Papyrus No.1 contains the known as The Contendings of Horus. Classical authors also recorded the story, notably Plutarchs De Iside et Osiride and these myths generally portray Osiris as a wise lord, king, and bringer of civilization, happily married to his sister, Isis. Set was envious of his brother, and he killed and dismembered Osiris, Isis reassembled Osiris corpse and embalmed him. As the archetypal mummy, Osiris reigned over the afterworld as a king among deserving spirits of the dead, Osiris son Horus was conceived by Isis with Osiris corpse
Set (mythology)
–
Set spearing Apep
Set (mythology)
–
Set
Set (mythology)
–
Set and Horus adoring Ramesses in the small temple at Abu Simbel
11.
Osiris
–
Osiris was an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld, and the dead, but more appropriately as the god of transition, resurrection, and regeneration. He was also associated with the epithet Khenti-Amentiu, meaning Foremost of the Westerners, as ruler of the dead, Osiris was also sometimes called king of the living, ancient Egyptians considered the blessed dead the living ones. Osiris was considered the brother of Isis, Set, Nephthys, and Horus the Elder and he was described as the Lord of love, He Who is Permanently Benign and Youthful and the Lord of Silence. The Kings of Egypt were associated with Osiris in death – as Osiris rose from the dead they would, in union with him, inherit eternal life through a process of imitative magic. By the New Kingdom all people, not just pharaohs, were believed to be associated with Osiris at death, Osiris was widely worshipped as Lord of the Dead until the suppression of the Egyptian religion during the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Osiris is a Latin transliteration of the Ancient Greek Ὄσιρις IPA, in Egyptian hieroglyphs the name is appears as wsjr or jsjrt. Since hieroglyphic writing lacks vowels, Egyptologists have vocalized the name in various ways as Asar, Yasar, Aser, Asaru, Ausar, Ausir, Wesir, Usir, several proposals have been made for the etymology and meaning of the original name wsjr. John Gwyn Griffiths proposed a derivation from wsr signifying the powerful, moreover, one of the oldest attestations of the god Osiris appears in the mastaba of the deceased Netjer-wser. David Lorton proposed that Wsjr is composed by the morphemes set-jret signifying ritual activity, wolfhart Westendorf proposed an etymology from Waset-jret she who bears the eye. He also carries the crook and flail, the crook is thought to represent Osiris as a shepherd god. The symbolism of the flail is more uncertain with shepherds whip, fly-whisk and he was commonly depicted as a pharaoh with a complexion of either green or black in mummiform. The Pyramid Texts describe early conceptions of an afterlife in terms of travelling with the sun god amongst the stars. Amongst these mortuary texts, at the beginning of the 4th dynasty, is found, An offering the king gives, by the end of the 5th dynasty, the formula in all tombs becomes An offering the king gives and Osiris. Osiris is the father of the god Horus, whose conception is described in the Osiris myth. The myth described Osiris as having been killed by his brother Set, Isis joined the fragmented pieces of Osiris, but the only body part missing was the phallus. Isis fashioned a golden phallus, and briefly brought Osiris back to life by use of a spell that she learned from her father and this spell gave her time to become pregnant by Osiris before he again died. Isis later gave birth to Horus, as such, since Horus was born after Osiris resurrection, Horus became thought of as a representation of new beginnings and the vanquisher of the evil Set. Ptah-Seker thus gradually became identified with Osiris, the two becoming Ptah-Seker-Osiris, Osiris soul, or rather his Ba, was occasionally worshipped in its own right, almost as if it were a distinct god, especially in the Delta city of Mendes
Osiris
–
Head of the God Osiris, ca. 595-525 B.C.E.
Brooklyn Museum
Osiris
–
Osiris with an Atef-crown made of bronze in the
Naturhistorisches Museum (Vienna)
Osiris
–
The gods Osiris,
Anubis, and
Horus, from a tomb painting.
Osiris
–
The family of Osiris. Osiris on a
lapis lazuli pillar in the middle, flanked by
Horus on the left and
Isis on the right (22nd dynasty,
Louvre,
Paris)
12.
Ancient Greek
–
Ancient Greek includes the forms of Greek used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around the 9th century BC to the 6th century AD. It is often divided into the Archaic period, Classical period. It is antedated in the second millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Hellenistic phase is known as Koine. Koine is regarded as a historical stage of its own, although in its earliest form it closely resembled Attic Greek. Prior to the Koine period, Greek of the classic and earlier periods included several regional dialects, Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of fifth-century Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers. It has contributed many words to English vocabulary and has been a subject of study in educational institutions of the Western world since the Renaissance. This article primarily contains information about the Epic and Classical phases of the language, Ancient Greek was a pluricentric language, divided into many dialects. The main dialect groups are Attic and Ionic, Aeolic, Arcadocypriot, some dialects are found in standardized literary forms used in literature, while others are attested only in inscriptions. There are also several historical forms, homeric Greek is a literary form of Archaic Greek used in the epic poems, the Iliad and Odyssey, and in later poems by other authors. Homeric Greek had significant differences in grammar and pronunciation from Classical Attic, the origins, early form and development of the Hellenic language family are not well understood because of a lack of contemporaneous evidence. Several theories exist about what Hellenic dialect groups may have existed between the divergence of early Greek-like speech from the common Proto-Indo-European language and the Classical period and they have the same general outline, but differ in some of the detail. The invasion would not be Dorian unless the invaders had some relationship to the historical Dorians. The invasion is known to have displaced population to the later Attic-Ionic regions, the Greeks of this period believed there were three major divisions of all Greek people—Dorians, Aeolians, and Ionians, each with their own defining and distinctive dialects. Often non-west is called East Greek, Arcadocypriot apparently descended more closely from the Mycenaean Greek of the Bronze Age. Boeotian had come under a strong Northwest Greek influence, and can in some respects be considered a transitional dialect, thessalian likewise had come under Northwest Greek influence, though to a lesser degree. Most of the dialect sub-groups listed above had further subdivisions, generally equivalent to a city-state and its surrounding territory, Doric notably had several intermediate divisions as well, into Island Doric, Southern Peloponnesus Doric, and Northern Peloponnesus Doric. The Lesbian dialect was Aeolic Greek and this dialect slowly replaced most of the older dialects, although Doric dialect has survived in the Tsakonian language, which is spoken in the region of modern Sparta. Doric has also passed down its aorist terminations into most verbs of Demotic Greek, by about the 6th century AD, the Koine had slowly metamorphosized into Medieval Greek
Ancient Greek
–
Inscription about the construction of the statue of
Athena Parthenos in the
Parthenon, 440/439 BC
Ancient Greek
–
Ostracon bearing the name of
Cimon,
Stoa of Attalos
Ancient Greek
–
The words ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ as they are inscribed on the marble of the 1955
Leonidas Monument at
Thermopylae
13.
Egyptian language
–
The language spoken in ancient Egypt was a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. The earliest known complete sentence in the Egyptian language has been dated to about 2690 BCE, making it one of the oldest recorded languages known. Egyptian was spoken until the seventeenth century in the form of Coptic. The national language of modern Egypt is Egyptian Arabic, which gradually replaced Coptic as the language of life in the centuries after the Muslim conquest of Egypt. Coptic is still used as the language of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. It has several hundred fluent speakers today, the Egyptian language belongs to the Afroasiatic language family. Of the other Afroasiatic branches, Egyptian shows its greatest affinities with Semitic, in Egyptian, the Proto-Afroasiatic voiced consonants */d z ð/ developed into pharyngeal ⟨ꜥ⟩ /ʕ/, e. g. Eg. Afroasiatic */l/ merged with Egyptian ⟨n⟩, ⟨r⟩, ⟨ꜣ⟩, and ⟨j⟩ in the dialect on which the language was based. Original */k g ḳ/ palatalize to ⟨ṯ j ḏ⟩ in some environments and are preserved as ⟨k g q⟩ in others, Egyptian has many biradical and perhaps monoradical roots, in contrast to the Semitic preference for triradical roots. Egyptian probably is more archaic in this regard, whereas Semitic likely underwent later regularizations converting roots into the triradical pattern, scholars group the Egyptian language into six major chronological divisions, Archaic Egyptian language Old Egyptian language Middle Egyptian language, characterizing Middle Kingdom. Demotic Coptic The earliest Egyptian glyphs date back to around 3300 BC and these early texts are generally lumped together under the general term Archaic Egyptian. They record names, titles and labels, but a few of them show morphological and syntactic features familiar from later, more complete, Old Egyptian is dated from the oldest known complete sentence, found in the tomb of Seth-Peribsen and dated to around 2690 BCE. It reads, dmḏ. n. f t3wj n z3. f nswt-bjt pr-jb. snj He has united the Two Lands for his son, extensive texts appear from about 2600 BCE. Demotic first appears about 650 BCE and survived as a written language until the fifth century CE and it probably survived in the Egyptian countryside as a spoken language for several centuries after that. Bohairic Coptic is still used by the Coptic Churches, Old, Middle, and Late Egyptian were all written using hieroglyphs and hieratic. Demotic was written using a script derived from hieratic, its appearance is similar to modern Arabic script and is also written from right to left. Coptic is written using the Coptic alphabet, a form of the Greek alphabet with a number of symbols borrowed from Demotic for sounds that did not occur in ancient Greek. Arabic became the language of Egypts political administration soon after the early Muslim conquests in the seventh century, today, Coptic survives as the sacred language of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and the Coptic Catholic Church
Egyptian language
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Seal impression from the tomb of
Seth-Peribsen, containing the oldest known complete sentence in Egyptian
Egyptian language
–
Ebers Papyrus detailing treatment of
asthma
Egyptian language
–
3rd-century Coptic inscription
14.
Ancient Greek language
–
Ancient Greek includes the forms of Greek used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around the 9th century BC to the 6th century AD. It is often divided into the Archaic period, Classical period. It is antedated in the second millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Hellenistic phase is known as Koine. Koine is regarded as a historical stage of its own, although in its earliest form it closely resembled Attic Greek. Prior to the Koine period, Greek of the classic and earlier periods included several regional dialects, Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of fifth-century Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers. It has contributed many words to English vocabulary and has been a subject of study in educational institutions of the Western world since the Renaissance. This article primarily contains information about the Epic and Classical phases of the language, Ancient Greek was a pluricentric language, divided into many dialects. The main dialect groups are Attic and Ionic, Aeolic, Arcadocypriot, some dialects are found in standardized literary forms used in literature, while others are attested only in inscriptions. There are also several historical forms, homeric Greek is a literary form of Archaic Greek used in the epic poems, the Iliad and Odyssey, and in later poems by other authors. Homeric Greek had significant differences in grammar and pronunciation from Classical Attic, the origins, early form and development of the Hellenic language family are not well understood because of a lack of contemporaneous evidence. Several theories exist about what Hellenic dialect groups may have existed between the divergence of early Greek-like speech from the common Proto-Indo-European language and the Classical period and they have the same general outline, but differ in some of the detail. The invasion would not be Dorian unless the invaders had some relationship to the historical Dorians. The invasion is known to have displaced population to the later Attic-Ionic regions, the Greeks of this period believed there were three major divisions of all Greek people—Dorians, Aeolians, and Ionians, each with their own defining and distinctive dialects. Often non-west is called East Greek, Arcadocypriot apparently descended more closely from the Mycenaean Greek of the Bronze Age. Boeotian had come under a strong Northwest Greek influence, and can in some respects be considered a transitional dialect, thessalian likewise had come under Northwest Greek influence, though to a lesser degree. Most of the dialect sub-groups listed above had further subdivisions, generally equivalent to a city-state and its surrounding territory, Doric notably had several intermediate divisions as well, into Island Doric, Southern Peloponnesus Doric, and Northern Peloponnesus Doric. The Lesbian dialect was Aeolic Greek and this dialect slowly replaced most of the older dialects, although Doric dialect has survived in the Tsakonian language, which is spoken in the region of modern Sparta. Doric has also passed down its aorist terminations into most verbs of Demotic Greek, by about the 6th century AD, the Koine had slowly metamorphosized into Medieval Greek
Ancient Greek language
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Inscription about the construction of the statue of
Athena Parthenos in the
Parthenon, 440/439 BC
Ancient Greek language
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Ostracon bearing the name of
Cimon,
Stoa of Attalos
Ancient Greek language
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The words ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ as they are inscribed on the marble of the 1955
Leonidas Monument at
Thermopylae
15.
Mummy
–
Some authorities restrict the use of the term to bodies deliberately embalmed with chemicals, but the use of the word to cover accidentally desiccated bodies goes back to at least 1615 CE. Mummies of humans and other animals have found on every continent. Over one million animal mummies have been found in Egypt, many of which are cats, in addition to the well-known mummies of ancient Egypt, deliberate mummification was a feature of several ancient cultures in areas of America and Asia with very dry climates. The Spirit Cave mummies of Fallon, Nevada in North America were accurately dated at more than 9,400 years old. Before this discovery, the oldest known deliberate mummy was a child, one of the Chinchorro mummies found in the Camarones Valley, Chile, which dates around 5050 BCE. The oldest known naturally mummified corpse is a severed head dated as 6,000 years old. These substances were defined as mummia, the OED defines a mummy as the body of a human being or animal embalmed as a preparation for burial, citing sources from 1615 CE onward. However, Chambers Cyclopædia and the Victorian zoologist Francis Trevelyan Buckland define a mummy as follows, also applied to the frozen carcase of an animal imbedded in prehistoric snow. Wasps of the genus Aleiodes are known as mummy wasps because they wrap their prey as mummies. While interest in the study of mummies dates as far back as Ptolemaic Greece, prior to this, many rediscovered mummies were sold as curiosities or for use in pseudoscientific novelties such as mummia. The first modern scientific examinations of mummies began in 1901, conducted by professors at the English-language Government School of Medicine in Cairo, Egypt. The first X-ray of a mummy came in 1903, when professors Grafton Elliot Smith, British chemist Alfred Lucas applied chemical analyses to Egyptian mummies during this same period, which returned many results about the types of substances used in embalming. Lucas also made significant contributions to the analysis of Tutankhamun in 1922, pathological study of mummies saw varying levels of popularity throughout the 20th century. In 1992, the First World Congress on Mummy Studies was held in Puerto de la Cruz on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, more than 300 scientists attended the Congress to share nearly 100 years of collected data on mummies. This was not possible prior to the Congress due to the unique, in more recent years, CT scanning has become an invaluable tool in the study of mummification by allowing researchers to digitally unwrap mummies without risking damage to the body. The level of detail in such scans is so intricate that small linens used in areas such as the nostrils can be digitally reconstructed in 3-D. Such modelling has been utilized to perform autopsies on mummies to determine cause of death and lifestyle. Mummies are typically divided into one of two categories, anthropogenic or spontaneous
Mummy
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Howard Carter opens the innermost shrine of King Tutankhamen's tomb near Luxor, Egypt.
Mummy
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Tori Randall prepares a 550-year-old Peruvian child mummy for a CT scan at Naval Medical Center San Diego.
Mummy
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Mummy in the British Museum
Mummy
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Painted mummy bandage
16.
Afterlife
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The afterlife is the concept of a realm, or the realm itself, in which an essential part of an individuals identity or consciousness continues to exist after the death of the body. Belief in an afterlife, which may be naturalistic or supernatural, is in contrast to the belief in oblivion after death, in this latter view, such rebirths and deaths may take place over and over again continuously until the individual gains entry to a spiritual realm or Otherworld. Major views on the afterlife derive from religion, esotericism and metaphysics, in metaphysical models, theists generally believe some type of afterlife awaits people when they die. Members of some generally non-theistic religions, tend to believe in an afterlife, the Sadducees were an ancient Jewish sect that generally believed that there was a God but no afterlife. Reincarnation refers to a concept found among Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Rosicrucians, Theosophists, Spiritists. Reincarnation is also a belief described in Kabbalistic Judaism as gilgul neshamot and this succession leads toward an eventual liberation. One consequence of reincarnationist beliefs is that our current lives are both afterlife and a beforelife, according to those beliefs events in our current life are consequences of actions taken in previous lives, or Karma. In most denominations, heaven is a condition of reward for the righteous to go after they die, traditionally defined as eternal union with God. In contrast to heaven, hell is a condition of punishment and torment for the wicked, traditionally defined as eternal separation from God and confinement with other sinful souls and fallen angels. So they are seen as existing in a state of natural. In other Christian denominations it has described as an intermediate place or state of confinement in oblivion. The notion of purgatory is associated particularly with the Catholic Church, the tradition of the church, by reference to certain texts of scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire although it is not always called purgatory. Anglicans of the Anglo-Catholic tradition generally also hold to the belief, traditional African religions are diverse in their beliefs in an afterlife. For each soul remains distinct and each represents a new soul. In some societies like the Mende, multiple beliefs coexist, the Mende believe that people die twice, once during the process of joining the secret society, and again during biological death after which they become ancestors. However, some Mende also believe that people are created by God they live ten consecutive lives. One cross-cultural theme is that the ancestors are part of the world of the living, interacting with it regularly, the afterlife played an important role in Ancient Egyptian religion, and its belief system is one of the earliest known in recorded history. When the body died, parts of its known as ka
Afterlife
Afterlife
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Domenico Beccafumi 's Inferno: a Christian vision of hell
Afterlife
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Mictlan
Afterlife
17.
Ancient Egyptian religion
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Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals which were an integral part of ancient Egyptian society. It centered on the Egyptians interaction with many deities who were believed to be present in, and in control of, rituals such as prayers and offerings were efforts to provide for the gods and gain their favor. Formal religious practice centered on the pharaoh, the king of Egypt and he acted as the intermediary between his people and the gods and was obligated to sustain the gods through rituals and offerings so that they could maintain order in the universe. The state dedicated enormous resources to Egyptian rituals and to the construction of the temples, individuals could interact with the gods for their own purposes, appealing for their help through prayer or compelling them to act through magic. These practices were distinct from, but closely linked with, the formal rituals, the popular religious tradition grew more prominent in the course of Egyptian history as the status of the Pharaoh declined. Another important aspect was the belief in the afterlife and funerary practices, the Egyptians made great efforts to ensure the survival of their souls after death, providing tombs, grave goods, and offerings to preserve the bodies and spirits of the deceased. The religion had its roots in Egypts prehistory and lasted for more than 3,000 years, the details of religious belief changed over time as the importance of particular gods rose and declined, and their intricate relationships shifted. At various times, certain gods became preeminent over the others, including the sun god Ra, the creator god Amun, for a brief period, in the theology promulgated by the Pharaoh Akhenaten, a single god, the Aten, replaced the traditional pantheon. Ancient Egyptian religion and mythology left behind many writings and monuments, along with significant influences on ancient, the beliefs and rituals now referred to as ancient Egyptian religion were integral within every aspect of Egyptian culture. Their language possessed no single term corresponding to the modern European concept of religion, the characteristics of the gods who populated the divine realm were inextricably linked to the Egyptians understanding of the properties of the world in which they lived. The Egyptians believed that the phenomena of nature were divine forces in and these deified forces included the elements, animal characteristics, or abstract forces. The Egyptians believed in a pantheon of gods, which were involved in all aspects of nature and their religious practices were efforts to sustain and placate these phenomena and turn them to human advantage. This polytheistic system was complex, as some deities were believed to exist in many different manifestations. Conversely, many forces, such as the sun, were associated with multiple deities. The diverse pantheon ranged from gods with vital roles in the universe to minor deities or demons with very limited or localized functions. It could include gods adopted from foreign cultures, and sometimes humans, deceased Pharaohs were believed to be divine, and occasionally, distinguished commoners such as Imhotep also became deified. The depictions of the gods in art were not meant as representations of how the gods might appear if they were visible. Instead, these depictions gave recognizable forms to the deities by using symbolic imagery to indicate each gods role in nature
Ancient Egyptian religion
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The gods Osiris, Anubis, and Horus, in order from left to right
Ancient Egyptian religion
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Amun-Ra kamutef, wearing the plumed headdress of Amun and the sun disk representing Ra
Ancient Egyptian religion
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The air god Shu, assisted by other gods, holds up Nut, the sky, as Geb, the earth, lies beneath.
Ancient Egyptian religion
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Colossal statue of the Pharaoh
Ramesses II
18.
Canis
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Canis is a genus of canids containing multiple extant species, such as wolves, dogs and coyotes. Species of this genus are distinguished by their moderate to large size, their massive, well-developed skulls and dentition, long legs, the generic name Canis means dog in Latin. The term canine comes from the form, caninus, from which the term canine tooth is also derived. The canine family has prominent canine teeth, used for killing their prey, the word canis is cognate to the Greek word kūon, which means dog, as well as English hound. Immature males or females are referred to as puppies, a group of puppies from the same gestation period is referred to as a litter. The genus Canis was published in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae and included the dog-like carnivores, all species within the Canis genus are phylogenetically closely related with 78 chromosomes and can potentially interbreed. The fossil record shows that Feliforms and Caniforms emerged within the super-family Carnivoramorpha 43 million YBP, the caniforms included the fox-like Leptocyon genus whose various species existed from 34 million YBP before branching 11.9 million YBP into vulpes and canini. The jackal-sized Eucyon existed in North America from 10 million YBP, in North America it gave rise to early Canis which first appeared in the Miocene in south-western USA and Mexico. By 5 million YBP the larger Canis lepophagus appeared in the same region, the position of the canids would change with the arrival of Canis to become a dominant predator across the Holarctic. The wolf-sized C. chihilensis appeared in northern China in the Mid-Pliocene around 4-3 million YBP and this was followed by an explosion of Canis evolution across Eurasia in the Early Pleistocene around 1.8 million YBP in what is commonly referred to as the Wolf event. It is associated with the formation of the Mammoth steppe and continental glaciation, Canis spread to Europe in the forms of C. arnensis, C. eutruscus, and C. falconeri. See further, Evolution of the canids Wolves, dogs, and dingoes are subspecies of Canis lupus. The original referent of the English word wolf, the Eurasian wolf, is called C. l. lupus to distinguish it from other subspecies, such as the Indian wolf. Some experts have suggested some subspecies of C. lupus be considered Canis species distinct from C. lupus and these include Central Asias Himalayan wolf, and the Indian wolf, as well as the North Americas red wolf and eastern wolf. The dingo, from Australasia, and the dog are also considered subspecies of C. lupus. One of these, the dire wolf, has gained fame from the thousands of specimens found and displayed at the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. Canis species that are too small to attract the word wolf are called coyotes in the Americas, while North America has only one small-sized species, the coyote, it has become very widespread, moving into areas once occupied by wolves. Mitochondrial genome sequences indicated the Ethiopian wolf diverged from the wolf/coyote lineage slightly prior to that
Canis
Canis
–
Skulls of dire wolf (C. dirus), gray wolf (C. lupus), eastern wolf (C. lycaon), red wolf (C. rufus), coyote (C. latrans), African golden wolf (C. anthus) and golden jackal (C. aureus)
Canis
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Gray wolf (Canis lupus) (includes
dog and
dingo).
Canis
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Eastern wolf (Canis lycaon) (often includes latrans admixture)
19.
Cynocephaly
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The characteristic of cynocephaly, /saɪnoʊˈsɛfəli/ having the head of a dog—or of a jackal—is a widely attested mythical phenomenon existing in many different forms and contexts. The word cynocephaly is taken from the Greek word κῠνοκέφᾰλοι kynokephaloi, from kyno– meaning dog, the same dog root is found in the name Cynomorpha for a sub-group of the family Cercopithecidae, which contains many species of macaques and baboons. Cynocephaly was familiar to the Ancient Greeks from representations of the Egyptian gods, Duamutef, Wepwawet, the Greek word dog-head also identified a sacred Egyptian baboon with the face of a dog. Reports of dog-headed races can also be traced back to Greek antiquity, in the fifth century BC, the Greek physician Ctesias wrote a detailed report on the existence of cynocephali in India, known as Indica. Herodotus reports claims by ancient Libyans that such creatures inhabit the east of their lands, as well as headless men, the best estimate for the place where the battle between the Argonauts and the Cynocephali took place is modern day North Serbia, or South Hungary. The cynocephali offered such an image of the magic and brutality deemed characteristic of bizarre people of distant places that they kept returning in medieval literature. Cynocephali also figure in medieval Christian world-views, a legend that placed St. Andrew and St. Bartholomew among the Parthians presented the case of Abominable, the citizen of the city of cannibals. Whose face was like unto that of a dog, after receiving baptism, however, he was released from his doggish aspect. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, certain icons covertly identify Saint Christopher with the head of a dog, to the unit of soldiers, according to the hagiographic narrative, was assigned the name numerus Marmaritarum or Unit of the Marmaritae, which suggests an otherwise-unidentified Marmaritae. He was reported to be of size, with the head of a dog instead of a man. This Byzantine depiction of St. Christopher as dog-headed resulted from their misinterpretation of the Latin term Cananeus to read canineus, that is, canine. The German bishop and poet Walter of Speyer portrayed St. Christopher as a giant of a species in the land of the Chananeans who ate human flesh. Eventually, Christopher met the Christ child, regretted his former behavior and he, too, was rewarded with a human appearance, whereupon he devoted his life to Christian service and became an athlete of God, one of the soldier-saints. There are some rare icons that depict this martyr with the head of a dog, such images may carry echoes of the Egyptian dog-headed god, Anubis, and Christopher pictured with a dogs head is not generally supported by the Orthodox Church. Paul the Deacon mentions cynocephali in his Historia gentis Langobardorum, They pretend that they have in their camps Cynocephali and they spread the rumor among the enemy that these men wage war obstinately, drink human blood and quaff their own gore if they cannot reach the foe. The ninth-century Frankish theologian Ratramnus wrote a letter, the Epistola de Cynocephalis, if human, a Christians duty would be to preach the Gospels to them. If animals, and thus without souls, such would be pointless, quoting St. Jerome, Thomas of Cantimpré corroborated the existence of Cynocephali in his Liber de Monstruosis Hominibus Orientis, xiv. The Nowell Codex, perhaps more known as the manuscript containing the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf
Cynocephaly
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A cynocephalus. From the
Nuremberg Chronicle (1493).
Cynocephaly
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Cynocephali illustrated in the Kievan psalter, 1397
20.
Canidae
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The biological family Canidae /ˈkænᵻdiː/ is a lineage of carnivorans that includes domestic dogs, wolves, foxes, jackals, dingoes, and many other extant and extinct dog-like mammals. A member of family is called a canid. The cat-like feliforms and dog-like caniforms emerged within the Carnivoramorpha 43 million years before present, the caniforms included the fox-like Leptocyon genus whose various species existed from 34 million years before present before branching 11.9 million YBP into Vulpini and Canini. Canids are found on all continents except Antarctica, having arrived independently or accompanied human beings over extended periods of time, canids vary in size from the 2-m-long gray wolf to the 24-cm-long fennec fox. The body forms of canids are similar, typically having long muzzles, upright ears, teeth adapted for cracking bones and slicing flesh, long legs and they are mostly social animals, living together in family units or small groups and behaving cooperatively. Typically, only the dominant pair in a group breeds, canids communicate by scent signals and by vocalizations. One canid, the dog, long ago entered into a partnership with humans. In the history of the carnivores, the family Canidae is represented by the two extinct subfamilies designated as Hesperocyoninae and Borophaginae, and the extant subfamily Caninae and this subfamily includes all living canids and their most recent fossil relatives. The fox-like canids, which include the kit fox, red fox, Cape fox, Arctic fox, the South American canids, including the bush dog, hoary fox, crab-eating fox and maned wolf. Various monotypic taxa, including the bat-eared fox, gray fox, DNA analysis shows that the first three form monophyletic clades. The wolf-like canids and the South American canids together form the tribe Canini, molecular data imply a North American origin of living Canidae some ten million years ago and an African origin of wolf-like canines, with the jackals being the most basal of this group. The South American clade is rooted by the wolf and bush dog. The grey fox and island fox are basal to the other clades, the cladogram below is based on the phylogeny of Lindblad-Toh et al, modified to incorporate recent findings on Canis and Vulpes species. The Canidae today includes a group of some 34 species ranging in size from the maned wolf with its long limbs to the short-legged bush dog. Modern canids inhabit forests, tundra, savannahs and deserts throughout tropical, in some species, genetic divergence has been suppressed by the high level of gene flow between different populations and where the species have hybridized, large hybrid zones exist. Carnivorans evolved from miacoids about 55 million years ago during the late Paleocene, some five million years later, the carnivorans split into two main divisions, caniforms and feliforms. By 40 Mya, the first member of the dog family proper had arisen, called Prohesperocyon wilsoni, its fossilized remains have been found in what is now the southwestern part of Texas. The chief features which identify it as a canid include the loss of the third molar
Canidae
Canidae
–
Skulls of various Canid genera;
Vulpes (
corsac fox),
Nyctereutes (
raccoon dog),
Cuon (
dhole) and
Canis (
golden jackal)
Canidae
–
Eurasian wolf skull
Canidae
–
Dholes attacking a
sambar,
Bandipur National Park
21.
Golden jackal
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The golden jackal is a canid native to southeastern and central Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East and South Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, due to its range in areas with optimum food. It is a species, the basic social unit of which consists of a breeding pair. The golden jackal is very adaptable, being able to exploit many foodstuffs, from fruit, although similar to a small grey wolf, the golden jackal is distinguished by a more slender build, a narrower, more pointed muzzle, a shorter tail, and a lighter tread. Its winter fur differs from a wolfs by its more fulvous-reddish colour. Despite its name, the jackal is not closely related to black-backed or side-striped jackals, being instead more closely related to grey wolves, coyotes. It is capable of producing fertile hybrids with both grey and African wolves, in contrast, in Europe it is largely viewed in a negative light as a filthy scavenger, whose presence is indicative of environmental degradation. The word jackal first appeared in English around 1600, and is derived from the French chacal, itself ultimately traceable to the Sanskrit srgala-s, other names for the species include Eurasian golden jackal, common jackal, Asiatic jackal or reed wolf. The golden jackal is very similar to the wolf in general appearance. The end of the tail just reaches the heel or slightly below it, the head is lighter than the wolfs, with a less-prominent forehead, and the muzzle is narrower and more pointed. Males measure 71–85 cm in length, with females being somewhat smaller. It stands 44. 5–50 cm in height, and weighs around 6–14 kg. Its skull is similar to the wolfs, but is smaller and less massive, with a lower nasal region, the projections of the skull are strongly developed, but weaker than the wolfs. Its canine teeth are large and strong, but relatively thinner than the wolfs, occasionally, it develops a horny growth on the skull, which is associated with magical powers in southeastern Asia. This horn usually measures half an inch in length, and is concealed by fur, the iris is light or dark brownish. Females have 5 pairs of teats, the furs base colour is golden, though this varies seasonally from pale creamy yellow to dark tawny. The fur on the back consists of a mixture of black, brown and white hairs. Animals from high elevations tend to have buffier coats than their lowland counterparts, the underparts and belly are of a lighter pale ginger to cream colour than the back
Golden jackal
Golden jackal
–
Comparative illustration of C. aureus (top) and
C. anthus (bottom).
Golden jackal
–
Nominate subspecies
Golden jackal
–
Siamese jackal Canis a. cruesemanni
22.
African golden wolf
–
The African golden wolf, also known as the golden wolf, African wolf or thoa, is a canid native to north and northeastern Africa. It is a canid, and is common in plains and steppe areas. In the Atlas Mountains, the species has been sighted in elevations as high as 1,800 metres and it is primarily a predator, targeting invertebrates and mammals as large as gazelle fawns, though larger animals are sometimes taken. Other foodstuffs include animal carcasses, human refuse, and fruit, the African wolf is a monogamous and territorial animal, whose social structure includes yearling offspring remaining with the family to assist in raising their parents younger pups. It was previously classified as an African variant of the Eurasian golden jackal and it is nonetheless still close enough to the golden jackal to produce hybrid offspring, as indicated through genetic tests on jackals in Israel and a 19th-century captive crossbreeding experiment. The African wolf is a canid, with both sexes weighing 7–15 kg, and standing 40 cm in height. It has a long snout and ears, while the tail is comparatively short. Fur colour varies individually, seasonally and geographically, though the typical colouration is yellowish to grey, with slightly reddish limbs and black speckling on the tail. The throat, abdomen and facial markings are white. Females bear two to four pairs of teats, although superficially similar to the Eurasian golden jackal, the African golden wolf has a more pointed muzzle and sharper, more robust teeth. The ears are longer in the African wolf, and the skull has a more elevated forehead, aristotle wrote of wolves living in Egypt, mentioning that they were smaller than the Greek kind. The binomial name he chose for it was derived from the Arcadian Anthus family described by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, whose members would draw lots to become werewolves. Eduard Rüppell proposed that the animal was the ancestor of Egyptian sighthounds, an attempt was also made in 1821 to hybridise the two species in captivity, resulting in the birth of five pups, three of which died before weaning. English biologist St. George Jackson Mivart emphasised the differences between the African wolf and the jackal in his writings. It is a question whether the Common Jackal of North Africa should or should not be regarded as of the same species. Certainly the differences of coloration which exist between these forms is not nearly so great as those which are to be found to occur between the different local varieties of C. lupus, to keep the North-African and Indian Jackals distinct. The reasons why we prefer to keep them provisionally distinct is that though the difference between the two forms is slight as regards coloration, yet it appears to be a constant one. Out of seventeen skins of the Indian form, we have found one which is wanting in the main characteristic as to difference of hue
African golden wolf
African golden wolf
–
Comparative illustration of
C. aureus (top) and C. anthus (bottom).
African golden wolf
–
Algerian wolf Canis a. algirensis
African golden wolf
–
Serengeti wolf Canis a. bea
23.
Ancient Egyptian deities
–
Ancient Egyptian deities are the gods and goddesses worshipped in ancient Egypt. The beliefs and rituals surrounding these gods formed the core of ancient Egyptian religion, the gods complex characteristics were expressed in myths and in intricate relationships between deities, family ties, loose groups and hierarchies, and combinations of separate gods into one. Deities diverse appearances in art—as animals, humans, objects, and combinations of different forms—also alluded, through symbolism, to their essential features. In different eras, various gods were said to hold the highest position in society, including the solar deity Ra, the mysterious god Amun. The highest deity was usually credited with the creation of the world, some scholars have argued, based in part on Egyptian writings, that the Egyptians came to recognize a single divine power that lay behind all things and was present in all the other deities. Gods were assumed to be present throughout the world, capable of influencing natural events, people interacted with them in temples and unofficial shrines, for personal reasons as well as for larger goals of state rites. Egyptians prayed for help, used rituals to compel deities to act. Humans relations with their gods were a part of Egyptian society. The beings in ancient Egyptian tradition who might be labeled as deities are difficult to count, Egyptian texts list the names of many deities whose nature is unknown and make vague, indirect references to other gods who are not even named. The Egyptologist James P. Allen estimates that more than 1,400 deities are named in Egyptian texts, the Egyptian languages terms for these beings were nṯr, god, and its feminine form nṯrt, goddess. Scholars have tried to discern the nature of the gods by proposing etymologies for these words, but none of these suggestions has gained acceptance. The hieroglyphs that were used as ideograms and determinatives in writing these words show some of the traits that the Egyptians connected with divinity, the most common of these signs is a flag flying from a pole. Similar objects were placed at the entrances of temples, representing the presence of a deity, other such hieroglyphs include a falcon, reminiscent of several early gods who were depicted as falcons, and a seated male or female deity. The feminine form could also be written with an egg as determinative, connecting goddesses with creation and birth, or with a cobra, the Egyptians distinguished nṯrw, gods, from rmṯ, people, but the meanings of the Egyptian and the English terms do not match perfectly. The term nṯr may have applied to any being that was in some way outside the sphere of everyday life, Egyptian religious art also depicts places, objects, and concepts in human form. These personified ideas range from deities that were important in myth and ritual to obscure beings, only mentioned once or twice, confronting these blurred distinctions between gods and other beings, scholars have proposed various definitions of a deity. One widely accepted definition, suggested by Jan Assmann, says that a deity has a cult, is involved in some aspect of the universe, according to a different definition, by Dimitri Meeks, nṯr applied to any being that was the focus of ritual. From this perspective, gods included the king, who was called a god after his coronation rites, and deceased souls, likewise, the preeminence of the great gods was maintained by the ritual devotion that was performed for them across Egypt
Ancient Egyptian deities
–
The gods
Osiris,
Anubis, and
Horus
Ancient Egyptian deities
–
Isis, a
mother goddess and a patroness of kingship, holds Pharaoh
Seti I in her lap.
Ancient Egyptian deities
–
The sky goddess Nut swallows the sun, which travels through her body at night to be reborn at dawn.
Ancient Egyptian deities
–
Deities personifying
provinces of Egypt
24.
Embalming
–
Embalming is the art and science of preserving human remains by treating them to forestall decomposition. The intention is to keep them suitable for display at a funeral, for religious reasons, or for medical. The three goals of embalming are sanitization, presentation, and preservation, Embalming has a very long and cross-cultural history, with many cultures giving the embalming processes a greater religious meaning. Embalming preserves the human body intact, whereas taxidermy is the recreation of a form often using only the creatures skin mounted on an anatomical form. The Chinchorro culture in the Atacama desert of present-day Chile and Peru are among the earliest cultures known to have performed artificial mummification as early as 5000-6000 BC, perhaps the ancient culture that had developed embalming to the greatest extent was Egypt. As early as the First Dynasty, specialized priests were in charge of embalming and they did so by removing organs, ridding the body of moisture, and covering the body with natron. The Ancient Egyptians believed that preservation of the mummy empowered the soul after death, other cultures known to have used embalming techniques in antiquity include the Meroites, Guanches, Peruvians, Jivaro Indians, Aztecs, Toltecs, Mayans, and Tibetan and southern Nigerian tribes. In China, artificially preserved remains have been recovered from the period of the Han dynasty, the examples being that of Xin Zhui. While these remains have been well preserved, the embalming fluids and methods used are unknown. In Europe the knowledge and practice of preservation had spread from these ancient cultures becoming widely spread by about 500 AD. Early methods used are documented by contemporary physicians such as Peter Forestus, the first attempts to inject the vascular system were made by Alessandro Giliani of Persiceto, who died in 1326. Various attempts and procedures have been reported by Leonardo da Vinci, Jacobus Berengar, Bartholomeo Eustachius, Reinier de Graaf, Jan Swammerdam, in the United States, the Civil War era sparked an interest in embalming and it became very common across the nation. The modern method of embalming involves the injection of various chemical solutions into the network of the cadaver to prevent decomposition. William Harvey, the 17th century English physician who was the first to detail the system of blood circulation, the Scottish surgeon William Hunter was the first to apply these methods to the art of embalming as part of mortuary practice. He wrote a widely read report on the methods for arterial. His brother, John Hunter, applied these methods and advertised his services to the general public from the mid-18th century. One of his more notorious customers was the dentist Martin Van Butchell, when his wife Mary died on January 14,1775, he decided to have her embalmed and turn her into an attraction in order to draw more customers. Hunter injected the body with preservatives and color additives that gave a glow to the cheeks, replaced her eyes with glass eyes
Embalming
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Llullaillaco mummies (Embalming by
Freeze-drying)
Embalming
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William Hunter developed and popularized the modern technique of arterial embalming in the late 18th century.
Embalming
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Embalming fluids used in the early 20th century.
Embalming
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Instruments used for embalming
25.
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
–
Some scholars also include the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt wholly into this period as well, in which case the Middle Kingdom would finish c. 1650, while others only include it until Merneferre Ay c.1700 BC, during the Middle Kingdom period, Osiris became the most important deity in popular religion. The period comprises two phases, the 11th Dynasty, which ruled from Thebes and the 12th Dynasty onwards which was centered on el-Lisht, after the collapse of the Old Kingdom, Egypt entered a period of weak Pharaonic power and decentralization called the First Intermediate Period. Towards the end of period, two rival dynasties, known in Egyptology as the Tenth and Eleventh, fought for power over the entire country. The Theban 11th Dynasty only ruled southern Egypt from the first cataract to the Tenth Nome of Upper Egypt, to the north, Lower Egypt was ruled by the rival 10th Dynasty from Herakleopolis. The struggle was to be concluded by Mentuhotep II, who ascended the Theban throne in 2055 B. C, during Mentuhotep IIs fourteenth regnal year, he took advantage of a revolt in the Thinite Nome to launch an attack on Herakleopolis, which met little resistance. After toppling the last rulers of the 10th Dynasty, Mentuhotep began consolidating his power over all Egypt, for this reason, Mentuhotep II is regarded as the founder of the Middle Kingdom. Mentuhotep II commanded military campaigns south as far as the Second Cataract in Nubia and he also restored Egyptian hegemony over the Sinai region, which had been lost to Egypt since the end of the Old Kingdom. He also sent the first expedition to Punt during the Middle Kingdom, by means of ships constructed at the end of Wadi Hammamat, Mentuhotep III was succeeded by Mentuhotep IV, whose name significantly is omitted from all ancient Egyptian king lists. The Turin Papyrus claims that after Mentuhotep III came seven kingless years, despite this absence, his reign is attested from a few inscriptions in Wadi Hammamat that record expeditions to the Red Sea coast and to quarry stone for the royal monuments. The leader of expedition was his vizier Amenemhat, who is widely assumed to be the future pharaoh Amenemhet I. Mentuhotep IVs absence from the king lists has prompted the theory that Amenemhet I usurped his throne, while there are no contemporary accounts of this struggle, certain circumstantial evidence may point to the existence of a civil war at the end of the 11th dynasty. Inscriptions left by one Nehry, the Haty-a of Hermopolis, suggest that he was attacked at a place called Shedyet-sha by the forces of the reigning king, but his forces prevailed. Khnumhotep I, an official under Amenemhet I, claims to have participated in a flotilla of 20 ships to pacify Upper Egypt, donald Redford has suggested these events should be interpreted as evidence of open war between two dynastic claimants. What is certain is that, however he came to power, from the 12th dynasty onwards, pharaohs often kept well-trained standing armies, which included Nubian contingents. These formed the basis of larger forces which were raised for defence against invasion, however, the Middle Kingdom was basically defensive in its military strategy, with fortifications built at the First Cataract of the Nile, in the Delta and across the Sinai Isthmus. Early in his reign, Amenemhet I was compelled to campaign in the Delta region, in addition, he strengthened defenses between Egypt and Asia, building the Walls of the Ruler in the East Delta region. Perhaps in response to this perpetual unrest, Amenemhat I built a new capital for Egypt in the north, known as Amenemhet Itj Tawy, or Amenemhet, the location of this capital is unknown, but is presumably near the citys necropolis, the present-day el-Lisht
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
–
An
Osiride statue of the first pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom, Mentuhotep II
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
–
The head of a statue of Senusret I.
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
–
Statue head of Senusret III
26.
Underworld
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The underworld or netherworld is an otherworld thought to be deep underground or beneath the surface of the world in most religions and mythologies. Typically it is a place where the souls of the departed go, chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. This list includes underworlds in mythology, with links to corresponding articles. This list includes rulers or guardians of the underworld in various mythologies, otherworld World Tree — A tree that connects the heavens, the earth, and the underworld in a number of spiritual belief systems
Underworld
–
Yggdrasil, a modern attempt to reconstruct the Norse world tree which connects the heavens, the world, and the underworld.
Underworld
–
The legs of the god
Vishnu as the Cosmic Man depict earth and the seven realms of the Hindu underworld of
Patala. The feet rest on cosmic serpent
Shesha.
Underworld
–
Mictlan
Underworld
27.
Psychopomp
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Psychopomps are creatures, spirits, angels, or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afterlife. Their role is not to judge the deceased, but simply to provide safe passage, when seen as birds, they are often seen in huge masses, waiting outside the home of the dying. Classical examples of a psychopomp are the ancient Egyptian god Anubis, the Greek ferryman Charon and deities Hermes and Hecate, the Roman god Mercury, the form of Shiva as Tarakeshwara in Hinduism performs a similar role, although leading the soul to moksha rather than an afterlife. In many beliefs, a spirit being taken to the underworld is violently ripped from its body. In the Persian tradition, Daena, the Zoroastrian Self-guide, appears as a young maiden to those who deserve to cross the Chinvat Bridge or a hideous old hag to those who don’t. In Judaism and Islam, Azrael plays the role of the angel of death who carries the soul up to the heavens, in Jungian psychology, the psychopomp is a mediator between the unconscious and conscious realms. It is symbolically personified in dreams as a man or woman. In many cultures, the shaman also fulfills the role of the psychopomp and this may include not only accompanying the soul of the dead, but also to help at birth, to introduce the newborn childs soul to the world. This also accounts for the title of midwife to the dying, or End of Life Doula. In Filipino culture, dead relations function as psychopomps, when the dying call out to specific dead persons, the spirits of the latter are supposedly visible to the former. The spirits, who wait at the foot of the deathbed, fetch the soul soon after death. Geoffrey Dennis, Abraham, Elijah, Lailah, Sandalphon, Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic, eliade, Mircea, Shamanism,1964, Chapters 6 and 7, Magical Cures, the Shaman as Psychopomp
Psychopomp
–
Relief from a carved funerary
lekythos at Athens:
Hermes as psychopomp conducts the deceased, Myrrhine, to Hades, ca 430-420 BCE (
National Archaeological Museum of Athens).
28.
Weighing scale
–
Weighing scales are devices to measure weight or calculate mass. Scales and balances are used in commerce, as many products are sold. Very accurate balances, called analytical balances, are used in fields such as chemistry. Although records dating to the 1700s refer to spring scales for measuring weight, the earliest design for such a device dates to 1770 and credits Richard Salter, an early scale-maker. Postal workers could work quickly with spring scales than balance scales because they could be read instantaneously. By the 1940s various electronic devices were being attached to these designs to make more accurate. A spring scale measures weight by reporting the distance that a spring deflects under a load and this contrasts to a balance, which compares the torque on the arm due to a sample weight to the torque on the arm due to a standard reference weight using a horizontal lever. Spring scales measure force, which is the force of constraint acting on an object. They are usually calibrated so that measured force translates to mass at earths gravity, the object to be weighed can be simply hung from the spring or set on a pivot and bearing platform. In a spring scale, the spring either stretches or compresses, by Hookes law, every spring has a proportionality constant that relates how hard it is pulled to how far it stretches. Rack and pinion mechanisms are used to convert the linear spring motion to a dial reading. With proper manufacturing and setup, however, spring scales can be rated as legal for commerce, to remove the temperature error, a commerce-legal spring scale must either have temperature-compensated springs or be used at a fairly constant temperature. To eliminate the effect of gravity variations, a spring scale must be calibrated where it is used. It is also common in high-capacity applications such as crane scales to use force to sense weight. The test force is applied to a piston or diaphragm and transmitted through hydraulic lines to an indicator based on a Bourdon tube or electronic sensor. A digital bathroom scale is a type of electronic weighing machine, the digital bathroom scale is a smart scale which has many functions like smartphone integration, cloud storage, fitness tracking, etc. In electronic versions of spring scales, the deflection of a beam supporting the weight is measured using a strain gauge. The capacity of such devices is only limited by the resistance of the beam to deflection and these scales are used in the modern bakery, grocery, delicatessen, seafood, meat, produce and other perishable goods departments
Weighing scale
–
Digital kitchen scale, a strain gauge scale
Weighing scale
–
Scales used for trade purposes in the
state of Florida, as this scale at the checkout in a
cafeteria, are inspected for accuracy by the
FDACS's Bureau of Weights and Measures.
Weighing scale
–
A two-pan balance
Weighing scale
–
Two 10-
decagram masses
29.
List of Egyptian gods
–
Ancient Egyptian deities represent natural and social phenomena, as well as abstract concepts. These gods and goddesses appear in every aspect of ancient Egyptian civilization. The Ennead – An extended family of nine deities produced by Atum during the creation of the world, the Ennead usually consisted of Atum, his children Shu and Tefnut, their children Geb and Nut, and their children Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nephthys. The four sons of Horus – Four gods who protected the mummified body, the Ogdoad – A set of eight gods who personified the chaos that existed before creation. The Ogdoad commonly consisted of Amun, Amunet, Nu, Naunet, Heh, Hauhet, Kuk, the Souls of Pe and Nekhen – A set of gods personifying the predynastic rulers of Upper and Lower Egypt. Middle Egyptian, An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, the Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, Second Edition. Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings, cS1 maint, Date and year Wilkinson, Richard H. The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, leitz, Christian, ed. Lexikon der ägyptischen Götter und Götterbezeichnungen
List of Egyptian gods
–
Pharaoh
Menkaure of the
Fourth Dynasty, accompanied by the goddesses
Bat and
Hathor
30.
Egyptian myths
–
Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part of ancient Egyptian religion, Myths appear frequently in Egyptian writings and art, particularly in short stories and in religious material such as hymns, ritual texts, funerary texts, and temple decoration. These sources rarely contain an account of a myth and often describe only brief fragments. Inspired by the cycles of nature, the Egyptians saw time in the present as a series of recurring patterns, Myths are set in these earliest times, and myth sets the pattern for the cycles of the present. Present events repeat the events of myth, and in doing so renew maat, events from the present that might be regarded as myths include Ras daily journey through the world and its otherworldly counterpart, the Duat. The details of these sacred events differ greatly from one text to another, Egyptian myths are primarily metaphorical, translating the essence and behavior of deities into terms that humans can understand. Each variant of a myth represents a different symbolic perspective, enriching the Egyptians understanding of the gods and it inspired or influenced many religious rituals and provided the ideological basis for kingship. Scenes and symbols from myth appeared in art in tombs, temples, in literature, myths or elements of them were used in stories that range from humor to allegory, demonstrating that the Egyptians adapted mythology to serve a wide variety of purposes. The development of Egyptian myth is difficult to trace, Egyptologists must make educated guesses about its earliest phases, based on written sources that appeared much later. One obvious influence on myth is the Egyptians natural surroundings, thus the Egyptians saw water and the sun as symbols of life and thought of time as a series of natural cycles. This orderly pattern was at constant risk of disruption, unusually low floods resulted in famine, the hospitable Nile valley was surrounded by harsh desert, populated by peoples the Egyptians regarded as uncivilized enemies of order. For these reasons, the Egyptians saw their land as an place of stability, or maat. These themes—order, chaos, and renewal—appear repeatedly in Egyptian religious thought, another possible source for mythology is ritual. Many rituals make reference to myths and are based directly on them. But it is difficult to determine whether a cultures myths developed before rituals or vice versa, questions about this relationship between myth and ritual have spawned much discussion among Egyptologists and scholars of comparative religion in general. In ancient Egypt, the earliest evidence of religious practices predates written myths, rituals early in Egyptian history included only a few motifs from myth. For these reasons, some scholars have argued that, in Egypt, but because the early evidence is so sparse, the question may never be resolved for certain. In private rituals, which are often called magical, the myth, many of the myth-like stories that appear in the rituals texts are not found in other sources
Egyptian myths
–
Nun, the embodiment of the primordial waters, lifts the
barque of the sun god
Ra into the sky at the moment of creation.
Egyptian myths
–
The sky depicted as a cow goddess supported by other deities. This image combines several coexisting visions of the sky: as a roof, as the surface of a sea, as a cow, and as a goddess in human form.
Egyptian myths
–
Temple decoration at
Dendera, depicting the goddesses Isis and
Nephthys watching over the corpse of their brother
Osiris
Egyptian myths
–
The air god Shu, assisted by other gods, holds up Nut, the sky, as Geb, the earth, lies beneath.
