Heart scarab

Last updated
Heart scarab, ca 1550-1186 B.C., New Kingdom, Dynasty 18-19, green stone, 2 5/16 in x 1 1/2 in. Metropolitan Museum of Art Heart scarab MET 15.6.40 bottom.jpg
Heart scarab, ca 1550-1186 B.C., New Kingdom, Dynasty 18–19, green stone, 2 5/16 in x 1 ½ in. Metropolitan Museum of Art
Heart scarab, ca 1550-1186 B.C., New Kingdom, Dynasty 18-19, green stone, 2 5/16 in x 1 1/2 in x 1 in. Metropolitan Museum of Art Heart scarab MET 15.6.40 top.jpg
Heart scarab, ca 1550-1186 B.C., New Kingdom, Dynasty 18–19, green stone, 2 5/16 in x 1 ½ in x 1 in. Metropolitan Museum of Art
Heart scarab WLA brooklynmuseum Heart Scarab of the Divine Father Hori.jpg
Heart scarab

The heart scarab is an oval, scarab artifact dating from ancient Egypt. Mostly an amulet, it was also used as jewelry, a memorializing artifact, or a grave good. The heart scarab was used by referring to Chapter 30 from the Book of the Dead and the weighing of the heart, being balanced by Maat, goddess of truth, justice, order, wisdom, and cosmic balance. The function of the heart scarab was to bind the heart to silence while it was being weighed in the underworld to ensure that the heart did not bear false witness against the deceased. [1] As in many current religions, the individual had to show 'worthiness' to achieve the afterlife. The heart was extremely important to ancient Egyptians as the seat of intelligence and the storehouse of memory. It was the only organ left in place during mummification. Heart scarab amulets were meant as substitutes for the heart should the deceased be deprived of the organ in the afterlife. [1] For example, when a person died, a heart scarab was often placed on their heart and bound underneath the bandages of the mummy. This was to ensure that it could not be physically removed from their person. [2]

Contents

The significance of the heart scarab to the ancient Egyptians also stems from the religious importance of the scarab beetle, Scarabaeus sacer . The scarab beetle represented rebirth and creation. As the beetle larvae grow, they eat their way out of the balls of dung where they were laid and emerge. The Egyptians saw this as the beetles emerging from nothingness into new life, which aligns with their beliefs in an afterlife and rebirth [2] .
Heart scarab
Heart scarab

The amulets are described in the Book of the Dead to be made (per Andrews, Amulets of Ancient Egypt) [3] of a stone: nmhf, nemehef (not now identified); typically green stones, green jasper, serpentine, and basalt. Andrews continues to say they are in fact made from: green or dark-green materials, such as glazed steatite, schist, feldspar, hematite and obsidian; also blue-glazed composition (faience), Egyptian blue, rock crystal, alabaster or red jasper. Instead of the head of a scarab, heart scarabs had the head of a human and were often inscribed with chapter 30B of the Book of Going Forth by Day. Heart scarabs were also used in the design of pectorals, which were a rectangular chest ornament. [4]

The alternate heart amulet itself represents similar ideas, but is made in the form of the heart as used by the Egyptian language hieroglyph.

Heart scarab

Heart scarabs throughout Egyptian history

The first known depiction of the heart amulet is found in the 16th or 17th Dynasty circa 1690 B.C. [5] , although it is known that the amulet was in use as early as the 11th Dynasty. Until the beginning of the 18th Dynasty, the heart scarab had a strong connection to Theban royalty. During the 21st Dynasty, it stood as an important item of magical protection among the priesthood of Amun. After the 21st Dynasty, the amulet is rarely depicted in human contexts and is instead associated with specific divinities. [6]

Heart scarabs went through significant modifications in their design over the course of history. For example, during the New Kingdom, heart scarabs were large, typically between four and five centimeters long. [2] Then, in the Third Intermediate Period, a new variation of the heart scarab emerged. This new scarab was much smaller, at about two to four centimeters long. [2] Due to their smaller size, these heart scarabs were not engraved. Unlike other heart scarabs that were placed directly above a person's heart and wrapped into their bandages, these new variations of heart scarabs were actually placed inside the person's chest cavity, alongside their true heart. [2]

Ancient Egyptian amulets

Besides the personal use of the amulet in life, the body was often provided with amulets in burial, with more amulets implying more protection. The most common funerary amulets were the heart scarab, Wadjet Eye, Djed Pillar amulet, Wadj amulet, Tyet amulet, and the Golden-vulture collar, (for goddess Mut). Amulet usage changed greatly over the millenniums of ancient Egypt.

The papyrus stem,

Heart scarab

or Wadj amulet was made from 'green feldspar' as prescribed in Chapter 160, Chapter 159 from the Book of the Dead. [7] The most common explanation for the amulet is that it provided 'eternal youth' to the deceased.

Heart scarab, multiple types

Heart amulet

See also

Related Research Articles

Khepri Ancient Egyptian god

Khepri is a scarab-faced god in ancient Egyptian religion who represents the rising or morning sun. By extension, he can also represent creation and the renewal of life.

Ancient Egyptian conception of the soul Mythical concept

The ancient Egyptians believed that a soul was made up of many parts. In addition to these components of the soul, there was the human body.

<i>Book of the Dead</i> Ancient Egyptian funerary text

The Book of the Dead is an ancient Egyptian funerary text generally written on papyrus and used from the beginning of the New Kingdom to around 50 BCE. The original Egyptian name for the text, transliterated rw nw prt m hrw, is translated as Book of Coming Forth by Day or Book of Emerging Forth into the Light. "Book" is the closest term to describe the loose collection of texts consisting of a number of magic spells intended to assist a dead person's journey through the Duat, or underworld, and into the afterlife and written by many priests over a period of about 1,000 years.

Ankh Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol

The ankh or key of life is an ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol used in Egyptian art and writing to represent the word for "life" and, by extension, as a symbol of life itself.

The djed, also djt is one of the more ancient and commonly found symbols in ancient Egyptian religion. It is a pillar-like symbol in Egyptian hieroglyphs representing stability. It is associated with the creator god Ptah and Osiris, the Egyptian god of the afterlife, the underworld, and the dead. It is commonly understood to represent his spine.

Ushabti Funerary figurine used in ancient Egyptian religion

The ushabti was a funerary figurine used in ancient Egyptian funerary practices. The Egyptological term is derived from 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾 wšbtj, which replaced earlier 𓆷𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾 šwbtj, perhaps the nisba of 𓈙𓍯𓃀𓆭 šwꜣb "Persea tree".

Ancient Egyptian funerary practices Elaborate set of funerary practices

The ancient Egyptians had an elaborate set of funerary practices that they believed were necessary to ensure their immortality after death. These rituals included mummifying the body, casting magic spells, and burials with specific grave goods thought to be needed in the afterlife.

Art of ancient Egypt Art produced by the Ancient Egyptian civilization

Ancient Egyptian art refers to art produced in ancient Egypt between the 6th millennium BC and the 4th century AD, spanning from Prehistoric Egypt until the Christianization of Roman Egypt. It includes paintings, sculptures, drawings on papyrus, faience, jewelry, ivories, architecture, and other art media. It is also very conservative: the art style changed very little over time. Much of the surviving art comes from tombs and monuments, giving more insight into the ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs.

Papyrus of Ani

The Papyrus of Ani is a papyrus manuscript in the form of a scroll with cursive hieroglyphs and color illustrations that was created c. 1250 BCE, during the Nineteenth Dynasty of the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt. Egyptians compiled an individualized book for certain people upon their death, called the Book of Going Forth by Day, more commonly known as the Book of the Dead, typically containing declarations and spells to help the deceased in their afterlife. The Papyrus of Ani is the manuscript compiled for the Theban scribe Ani.

Tyet

The tyet, sometimes called the knot of Isis or girdle of Isis, is an ancient Egyptian symbol that came to be connected with the goddess Isis. Its hieroglyphic depiction is catalogued as V39 in Gardiner's sign list.

This is a glossary of ancient Egypt artifacts.

The ancient Egyptian Papyrus stem hieroglyph is one of the oldest language hieroglyphs from Ancient Egypt. The papyrus stalk, was incorporated into designs of columns on buildings, also facades, and is also in the iconographic art portrayed in ancient Egyptian decorated scenes.

Scarab (artifact) Scarab beetle-shaped amulets and impression seals of ancient Egypt

Scarabs were popular amulets and impression seals in ancient Egypt. They survive in large numbers and, through their inscriptions and typology, they are an important source of information for archaeologists and historians of the ancient world. They also represent a significant body of ancient art.

The pectorals of ancient Egypt were a form of jewelry, often represented as a brooch. These were mostly worn by richer people and the pharaoh.

This page list topics related to ancient Egypt.

Knot (hieroglyph) Egyptian hieroglyph

The ancient Egyptian knot hieroglyph, or girdle knot, Gardiner sign listed no. S24, portrays a reef knot. Besides its use as a hieroglyph, it has usage in statuary and reliefs. The knot hieroglyph is also an amulet, typically made of worked stone, or as jewellery elements.

Wadj amulet

The Wadj amulet is an Ancient Egyptian amulet in the shape of a papyrus stem. These amulets were made out of turquoise feldspar, as is indicated in the Book of the Dead.

Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs Complex rituals

Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs were centered around a variety of complex rituals that were influenced by many aspects of Egyptian culture. Religion was a major contributor, since it was an important social practice that bound all Egyptians together. For instance, many of the Egyptian gods played roles in guiding the souls of the dead through the afterlife. With the evolution of writing, religious ideals were recorded and quickly spread throughout the Egyptian community. The solidification and commencement of these doctrines were formed in the creation of afterlife texts which illustrated and explained what the dead would need to know in order to complete the journey safely.

<i>Sha-Amun-en-su</i>

Sha-Amun-en-su was an Egyptian priestess and singer who lived in Thebes during the first half of the 8th century B.C., responsible for ceremonial duties at the Temple of Karnak, dedicated to the god Amun. Sha-Amun-en-su was a Heset, i.e., a member of the foremost group of singers with ritualistic functions active in the temple of Amun. After her death, which is estimated to have occurred around the age of 50, the singer was mummified and placed in a sarcophagus made of stucco and polychrome wood. Since its sealing, more than 2700 years ago, Sha-Amun-en-su's sarcophagus had never been opened, throughout its history, conserving inside the singer's mummy, a feature that gave it extreme rarity.

References

  1. 1 2 Andrews, Carol (2007). "Amulets" In The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Liszka, Kate (2015). "Scarab Amulets in the Egyptian Collection of the Princeton University Art Museum". Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University. 74: 4–19. ISSN   0032-843X. JSTOR   26388759.
  3. Andrews, 1994. Amulets of Ancient Egypt, chapter 4: Scarabs for the living and funerary scarabs, pp 50–59, (p. 56).
  4. Bianchi, Robert (2001). "Scarabs" In The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egyptian Art. Oxford University Press.
  5. heart-scarab | British Museum
  6. Sousa, R. (2007). "The Meaning of the Heart Amulets in Egyptian". Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt. 43: 59–70. JSTOR   27801606.
  7. Nefer, Djed. "~~Ancient Egyptian Religion~~Egyptology Page: Book of Thoth~~Updated: 5.26.09~~". egyptologypage.tripod.com. Retrieved 2018-02-26.