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Tayt (also Tait, Tayet, and Taytet) was an Egyptian goddess. Some attest her husband was Neper while others state she was possibly the consort of Hedjhotep.
Tayt was the ancient Egyptian goddess of weaving, textiles, and to a lesser extent mummification. Her role was similar to Hedjhotep. The name Taytet originates from a word meaning garment. [1] Because linen was the most common textile used in ancient Egypt, Tayt often wove or gave linen headdresses to deities and high-ranked officials. Statues of deities were clothed in high quality linen, the linen being considered divine due to its quality and attributes. Linen is derived from the stem of the flax plant: the younger the plant, the higher the grade and the higher the quality of the linen product. Due to linen's protective qualities, Tayt began being ascribed the role of a protective maternal figure. In Pyramid Text spell 738a, Tayt guards the pharaoh’s head, and helps him garner favor among other deities. [2] In ancient Egypt, weaving was a popular commercial activity among workers’ women and royal women. Later, cotton was introduced to Egypt with the Roman Empire. [3]
Tayt became associated as a funerary goddess through the application of mummification bandages. Tayt is known as a goddess who “awakes in peace” and is associated with textile offerings to garner favor from deities. [4] As a funerary goddess, she is depicted in the Fifth Section of the Book of Caverns, which describes Ra’s journey through the underworld and his dealings with the damned. She is shown greeting Ra and Osiris in the lower register. [5] In the Pyramid Texts of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties, Tayt is characterized as a motherly figure wrapping bandages on a dead king. Mummy bandages came from the “land of Tait.” [6]
Tayt was the tutelary goddess of the town Tait as referenced in one of the Pyramid Texts. [2]
Anubis or Inpu, Anpu in Ancient Egyptian is the Greek name of the god of death, mummification, embalming, the afterlife, cemeteries, tombs, and the Underworld, in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depicted as a canine or a man with a canine head. Archeologists have identified Anubis's sacred animal as an Egyptian canid, the African golden wolf. The African wolf was formerly called the "African golden jackal", until a 2015 genetic analysis updated the taxonomy and the common name for the species. As a result, Anubis is often referred to as having a "jackal" head, but this "jackal" is now more properly called a "wolf".
Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals that formed an integral part of ancient Egyptian culture. It centered on the Egyptians' interactions with many deities believed to be present in, and in control of the world. Rituals such as prayer and offerings were provided to the gods to gain their favor. Formal religious practice centered on the pharaohs, the rulers of Egypt, believed to possess divine powers by virtue of their positions. They acted as intermediaries between their people and the gods, and were obligated to sustain the gods through rituals and offerings so that they could maintain Ma'at, the order of the cosmos, and repel Isfet, which was chaos. The state dedicated enormous resources to religious rituals and to the construction of temples.
Nephthys or Nebet-Het in ancient Egyptian was a goddess in ancient Egyptian religion. A member of the Great Ennead of Heliopolis in Egyptian mythology, she was a daughter of Nut and Geb. 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.
Sobek was an ancient Egyptian deity with a complex and fluid nature. He is associated with the Nile crocodile or the West African crocodile and is represented either in its form or as a human with a crocodile head. Sobek was also associated with pharaonic power, fertility, and military prowess, but served additionally as a protective deity with apotropaic qualities, invoked especially for protection against the dangers presented by the Nile.
Saqqara, also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English, is an Egyptian village in Giza Governorate, that's known for its vast, ancient burial ground of Egyptian kings and royals, serving as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis. Saqqara contains numerous pyramids, including the world-famous Step pyramid of Djoser, sometimes referred to as the Step Tomb, and a number of mastaba tombs. Located some 30 km (19 mi) south of modern-day Cairo, Saqqara covers an area of around 7 by 1.5 km.
In Ancient Egyptian religion, Taweret is the protective ancient Egyptian goddess of childbirth and fertility. The name "Taweret" (Tȝ-wrt) means "she who is great" or simply "great one", a common pacificatory address to dangerous deities. The deity is typically depicted as a bipedal female hippopotamus with feline attributes, pendulous female human breasts, the limbs and paws of a lion, and the back and tail of a Nile crocodile. She commonly bears the epithets "Lady of Heaven", "Mistress of the Horizon", "She Who Removes Water", "Mistress of Pure Water", and "Lady of the Birth House".
The Eye of Horus, wedjat eye or udjat eye is a concept and symbol in ancient Egyptian religion that represents well-being, healing, and protection. It derives from the mythical conflict between the god Horus with his rival Set, in which Set tore out or destroyed one or both of Horus's eyes and the eye was subsequently healed or returned to Horus with the assistance of another deity, such as Thoth. Horus subsequently offered the eye to his deceased father Osiris, and its revivifying power sustained Osiris in the afterlife. The Eye of Horus was thus equated with funerary offerings, as well as with all the offerings given to deities in temple ritual. It could also represent other concepts, such as the Moon, whose waxing and waning was likened to the injury and restoration of the eye.
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.
The literature that makes up the ancient Egyptian funerary texts is a collection of religious documents that were used in ancient Egypt, usually to help the spirit of the concerned person to be preserved in the afterlife.
The Book of Caverns is an important ancient Egyptian netherworld book of the New Kingdom. Like all other netherworld books, it is also attested on the inside of kings’ tombs for the benefit of the deceased. It describes the journey of the sun god Ra through the six caverns of the underworld, focusing on the interaction between the sun god and the inhabitants of the netherworld, including rewards for the righteous and punishments for the enemies of the worldly order, those who fail their judgment in the afterlife. The Book of Caverns is one of the best sources of information about the Egyptian concept of hell.
Animal mummification was common in ancient Egypt. They mummified various animals. It was an enormous part of Egyptian culture, not only in their role as food and pets, but also for religious reasons. They were typically mummified for four main purposes—to allow beloved pets to go on to the afterlife, to provide food in the afterlife, to act as offerings to a particular god, and because some were seen as physical manifestations of specific deities that the Egyptians worshipped. Bastet, the cat goddess, is an example of one such deity. In 1888, an Egyptian farmer digging in the sand near Istabl Antar discovered a mass grave of felines, ancient cats that were mummified and buried in pits at great numbers.
Ancient Egyptian clothes refers to clothing worn in ancient Egypt from the end of the Neolithic period to the collapse of the Ptolemaic Kingdom with the death of Cleopatra in 30 BC. Egyptian clothing was filled with a variety of colors. Adorned with precious gems and jewels, the fashions of the ancient Egyptians were made for not only beauty but also comfort. Egyptian fashion was created to keep cool while in the hot desert.
The Egyptian dog Abuwtiyuw, also transcribed as Abutiu, was one of the earliest documented domestic animals whose name is known. He is believed to have been a royal guard dog who lived in the Sixth Dynasty (2345–2181 BC), and received an elaborate ceremonial burial in the Giza Necropolis at the behest of a pharaoh whose name is unknown.
Mary (May) Brodrick was a British archaeologist and Egyptologist who was one of the first female excavators in Egypt. She persisted in her studies despite the initial opposition of her tutors and fellow students and achieved distinction in her field. The Daily Mail described her in 1906 as "perhaps the greatest lady Egyptologist of the day".
The Ritual of Embalming Papyrus or Papyrus of the Embalming Ritual is one of only two extant papyri which detail anything at all about the practices of mummification used within the burial practices of Ancient Egyptian culture.
Sah was a god in ancient Egyptian religion, representing a constellation that encompassed the stars in Orion and Lepus, as well as stars found in some neighboring modern constellations. His consort was Sopdet known by the ancient Greek name as Sothis, the goddess of the star Sirius. Sah came to be associated with a more important deity, Osiris, and Sopdet with Osiris's consort Isis.
In Egyptian mythology, the Ogdoad were eight primordial deities worshiped in Hermopolis.
The Cavern deities of the underworld were ancient Egyptian minor deities charged with punishing the damned souls by beheading and devouring them.
The gate deities of the underworld were ancient Egyptian minor deities charged with guarding the gates of the Egyptian underworld.
