The Egyptian civilization used a number of different crowns throughout its existence. Some were used to show authority, while others were used for religious ceremonies. Each crown was worn by different pharaohs or deities, and each crown had its own significance and symbolic meaning. In early Egypt, one significant and important characteristic of the many crowns, was the color white. The color symbolized kingship or nisut in the early periods and Upper Egypt. The color blue was also an important color from the 18th Dynasty on. [1] The crowns include the Atef, the Deshret, the Hedjet, the Khepresh, the Pschent, and the Hemhem.
Image | Name | Components | Worn by | In art |
---|---|---|---|---|
Atef | hedjet with ostrich feathers | Osiris | ||
Deshret (red crown) | uraeus (rearing cobra) | pharaohs of Lower Egypt and the desert Red Land; the deities Horus, Wadjet and Neith | ||
Hedjet (white crown) | vulture | pharaohs of Upper Egypt; the deities Horus and Nekhbet | ||
Khepresh (blue crown or war crown) | uraeus | New Kingdom pharaohs in battle and ceremonies | ||
Pschent, Greek ψχεντ, Egyptian sḫm.tỉ, sekhemti (double crown) | deshret and hedjet; uraeus and vulture | pharaohs, and their Horus | ||
Cap crown | skullcap, band, streamers or bow, uraeus | Egyptian kings, typically | The Wilbour Plaque, ca. 1352–1336 B.C.E., Brooklyn Museum 16.48, probably depicting Akhenaten and Nefertiti. On the left, the king wears the khat headdress, and on the right, the queen wears the cap crown. |
Atef, the crown of Osiris, is a combination of Upper Egypt's white crown, the hedjet, and ostrich feathers on either side. It also often has a golden disc at its tip. The ostrich feathers, similar to those representing ma’at, symbolize truth, justice, morality, and balance. [2] They represent the cult center of Orisis as well, which is located in Abydos. [3] The atef is typically worn atop a pair of ram or bull horns as a circlet.
The atef crown is seen as far back as the 5th dynasty.[ citation needed ] According to Egyptian beliefs, this crown represents Osiris as the god of fertility, ruler of the afterlife, and a representative of the cycle of death and rebirth. Later on, though, it came to be worn by other pharaohs because of the belief that they would become a form of Osiris after their death. [4] In their tombs, the pharaohs would have themselves depicted as Osiris by wearing his crown. [4] During Middle Kingdom Egypt, even regular citizens could have Osiris's crown because Osiris had become the judge of the deceased. [5] It was also worn during religious rituals.
The crown of Lower Egypt, also known as deshret, is a red bowl shaped crown with a protruding curlicue. It is typically associated with the rulers and pharaohs of Lower Egypt. The word deshret is also the name for the arid land surrounding the Nile River area. [7]
The red color of the crown is symbolic of the “red land”, arid desert land that surrounded the fertile “black land” of Kemet. [8] The curlicue of the crown is symbolic of the proboscis, or stinger, of the honey bee.[ citation needed ] The crown was woven, like a basket, of plant fiber, perhaps grass, straw, flax, palm leaf, or reed. It is theorized that it was passed down from king to king instead of being buried with each king, which might explain why no actual deshret has been found. [7]
Representations of the deshret can be seen as early as the late Naqada I period, around 3500 BCE. In these early predynastic times, it is believed the crown was worn in association with the god Seth, and it was not until the formation of the first dynasties, around 3000 BCE, that it became symbolic of rule over Lower Egypt. [9]
In Egyptian mythology, it is believed that deshret was first given to the god Horus by Geb to symbolize his rule over Lower Egypt. The crown was then passed on to pharaohs, who saw themselves as successors to Horus. [7] The goddess Neith, when depicted in a human body, is usually shown wearing the crown of Lower Egypt. The earliest depiction of Neith in this crown was first found in the temple of Userkaf in Abu Gorab, which was constructed in 2499 BCE. [10]
The hedjet, also known as hdt, is the crown worn by the king of Upper (Southern) Egypt. It resembles a bowling pin and is also called the “White One.” In addition, this crown is one half of the double crown, the pschent. No crowns are known to have been found in any archeological digs. Some Egyptologists have speculated that the hedjet was made out of leather, felt, or some other fabric. [11] Another possibility is that it was woven like a basket, as the deshret (red crown) is known to have been, of plant fiber. A hedjet with Nekhbet the vulture goddess next to the head of the cobra goddess is the symbol used to represent the hedjet. Several Egyptian gods, such a Nekhbet and Horus, are seen in some drawings and carvings wearing the hedjet. Images of this crown have been found in Ta-Seti (Northern Nubia in 3500–3200 BCE),[ citation needed ] a tomb in Deir-el-Bahari, the Narmer Palette, and on a statue of Pharaoh Sesostris I.[ citation needed ]
The hemhem crown was an ornate triple atef with corkscrew sheep horns and usually two uraei. The Egyptian word "hemhem" means "to shout," "cry out," possibly indicating that the hemhem crown represented a battle horn. [12]
The double crown represented the unification of the two regions of Egypt, Upper and Lower Egypt. It is also referred to as the sekhemty, which means "The Two Powerful Ones", or as the pschent. [11] The pschent combines the hedjet (white crown of Upper Egypt) with the deshret (red Crown of Lower Egypt).[ citation needed ] An interesting inscription found in the tomb of a Fourth Dynasty pharaoh states, “He has eaten the red crown… and delights to have [the crown’s] magic in his belly.” Historians believe this is a metaphorical reference to Upper Egypt conquering Lower Egypt as described on the Narmer Palette.[ citation needed ] Menes is credited with the invention of the double crown, although the first pharaoh to wear the Crown was Djet.[ citation needed ] Horus is depicted wearing the double crown as well as Atum, both of which have a distinct relationship with the pharaoh.[ citation needed ]As with the deshret and hedjet, no pschent has been found; everything known about them comes from ancient tales, inscriptions, and depictions.[ citation needed ]
Attested as early as the Old Kingdom, the cap crown is most commonly associated with the Dynasty 25 Kushite kings, who are frequently depicted wearing the crown with two uraei. [13] In that era, the crown was referred to as a sdn. [14] The remnants of what appears to be a cap crown (JE 62699) were found on the mummy of Tutankhamun. [15] Tutankhamun's crown consisted of a band of gold wrapped around the king's temples that secured a linen skullcap, which had mostly decayed by the time of the tomb's excavation. The gold band was itself kept in place by a ribbon tied into a bow at the back of the head. Still remaining and mounted on the skullcap are four uraei made of gold beads and red and blue glass beads. In the center of each uraeus is a gold cartouche containing the name of the Aten. The skullcap portion of the crown resembles, and was likely associated with, the skullcap worn by the deity Ptah.
Osiris is the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was classically depicted as a green-skinned deity with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive atef crown, and holding a symbolic crook and flail. He was one of the first to be associated with the mummy wrap. When his brother Set cut him up into pieces after killing him, Osiris' wife Isis found all the pieces and wrapped his body up, enabling him to return to life. Osiris was widely worshipped until the decline of ancient Egyptian religion during the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire.
Pharaoh is the vernacular term often used for the monarchs of ancient Egypt, who ruled from the First Dynasty until the annexation of Egypt by the Roman Empire in 30 BCE. However, regardless of gender, "king" was the term used most frequently by the ancient Egyptians for their monarchs through the middle of the Eighteenth Dynasty during the New Kingdom. The earliest confirmed instances of "pharaoh" used contemporaneously for a ruler were a letter to Akhenaten or an inscription possibly referring to Thutmose III.
Horus, also known as Heru, Har, Her, or Hor in Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and the sky. He was worshipped from at least the late prehistoric Egypt until the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Roman Egypt. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history, and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists. These various forms may be different manifestations of the same multi-layered deity in which certain attributes or syncretic relationships are emphasized, not necessarily in opposition but complementary to one another, consistent with how the Ancient Egyptians viewed the multiple facets of reality. He was most often depicted as a falcon, most likely a lanner falcon or peregrine falcon, or as a man with a falcon head.
In Egyptian history, the Upper and Lower Egypt period was the final stage of prehistoric Egypt and directly preceded the unification of the realm. The conception of Egypt as the Two Lands was an example of the dualism in ancient Egyptian culture and frequently appeared in texts and imagery, including in the titles of Egyptian pharaohs.
Wadjet, known to the Greek world as Uto or Buto among other renderings including Wedjat, Uadjet, and Udjo, was originally the ancient Egyptian local goddess of the city of Dep or Buto in Lower Egypt, which was an important site in prehistoric Egypt. Wadjet's worship originally started in the Predynastic period, but evolved over time from a local goddess to a patron goddess.
The Uraeus or Ouraeus is the stylized, upright form of an Egyptian cobra, used as a symbol of sovereignty, royalty, deity and divine authority in ancient Egypt.
The pschent was the double crown worn by rulers in ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians generally referred to it as sekhemty (sḫm.ty), the Two Powerful Ones. It combined the White Hedjet Crown of Upper Egypt and the Red Deshret Crown of Lower Egypt.
Deshret was the Red Crown of Lower Egypt. When combined with the Hedjet of Upper Egypt, it forms the Pschent, in ancient Egyptian called the sekhemti.
Hedjet is the White Crown of pharaonic Upper Egypt. After the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, it was combined with the Deshret, the Red Crown of Lower Egypt, to form the Pschent, the double crown of Egypt. The symbol sometimes used for the White Crown was the vulture goddess Nekhbet shown next to the head of the cobra goddess Wadjet, the uraeus on the Pschent.
Atef is the specific feathered white crown of the ancient Egyptian deity Osiris. It combines the Hedjet, the white crown of Upper Egypt, with curly ostrich feathers on each side of the crown for the Osiris cult. The feathers are identified as ostrich from their curl or curve at the upper ends, with a slight flare toward the base. They are the same feather as (singly) worn by Maat. They may be compared with the falcon tail feathers in two-feather crowns such as those of Amun, which are more narrow and straight without curve.
The crook and flail were symbols used in ancient Egyptian society. They were originally the attributes of the deity Osiris that became insignia of pharaonic authority. The shepherd's crook stood for kingship and the flail for the fertility of the land.
The khepresh (ḫprš) was an ancient Egyptian royal headdress. It is also known as the blue crown or war crown. New Kingdom pharaohs are often depicted wearing it in battle, but it was also frequently worn in ceremonies. While it was once called the war crown by many, modern historians refrain from characterizing it thus.
Nemes were pieces of striped head cloth worn by pharaohs in ancient Egypt. It covered the whole crown and behind of the head and nape of the neck and had lappets, two large flaps which hung down behind the ears and in front of both shoulders. It was sometimes combined with the double crown, as it is on the statues of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel. The earliest depiction of the nemes, along with a uraeus, is the ivory label of Den from the 1st Dynasty. It is not a crown in itself, but still symbolizes the pharaoh's power.
The following outline is provided as an overview of a topical guide to ancient Egypt:
Historical ceremonies of introducing a new monarch by a ceremony of coronation can be traced to classical antiquity, and further to the Ancient Near East.
The modius is a type of flat-topped cylindrical headdress or crown found in ancient Egyptian art and art of the Greco-Roman world. The name was given by modern scholars based on its resemblance to the jar used as a Roman unit of dry measure, but it probably does represent a grain-measure, and symbolizing one's ability to learn new information by having an open mind with an empty cup. Serapis was the main idol/figurehead at the Library of Alexandria during the ancient Egyptian & Roman alliance.
Hemhem crown was an ancient Egyptian ceremonial headgear, in the form of an ornate triple atef with corkscrew sheep horns and usually two uraei. The Egyptian word "hemhem" means "to shout", "cry out", possibly indicating that the hemhem crown represented a battle horn.
The Vulture crown was an ancient Egyptian crown worn by Great Royal Wives and female pharaohs. It was depicted as a headdress in the shape of a vulture draped over the head, with its wings hanging down on the sides. It was a symbol of protection associated with the vulture goddess Nekhbet, who often wore this crown when depicted in a human form. These crowns were frequently worn by the Great Royal Wife, high ranking priestesses, and female pharaohs. These crowns were also sometimes equipped with the Uraeus to symbolize Wadjet, representing both Upper (Nekhbet) and Lower Egypt (Wadjet).
The reign of Amanitore was considered one of the most prosperous times of the Meroitic period. She ruled alongside Natakamani, who was either her husband or her son. The success of the two rulers is evident through their work towards the building, restoration, and expansion of many temples throughout Nubia. The temples that can be accredited to the work of the two include: the Temple of Apedemak, the Amun temple B500 at Napata, the Amun temple at Meroe, the Amun Temples of Naqa and Amara, the Isis temple at Wad ben Naqa, and the Meroitic palace B1500 at Napata.
The Regalia of the Pharaoh or Pharaoh's attributes are the symbolic objects of royalty in ancient Egypt. In use between 3150 and 30 BC, these attributes were specific to pharaohs, but also to certain gods such as Atum, Ra, Osiris and Horus. In Egyptian mythology, these powerful gods were considered the original holders of royal power and the first rulers of the Nile Valley.