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Ancient Egypt Symbols

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PRESENTATION OUTLINE

Symbol of eternal life. The gods are often seen holding an ankh to someone's lips this is considered to be an offering of "The Breath of Life". The breath you will need in the afterlife.

Photo by tiffa130



Amenta

This symbol represents the Underworld or Land of the Dead. Originally it meant the horizon of the sun set. Later, it became the symbol of the west bank of the Nile, where the sun set and also where the Egyptians traditionally buried their dead.

Ba

The Ba is what we might call someones personality. It would leave the body at the time of death. During the days the Ba would make itself useful, at night it would return to the tomb. At this time, it would look for the person to which it belonged. This would be the mummy, however, often the egyptians would supply the Ba with a statue in the likeness of the deceased in case the mummy was lost or damaged.

Akhet

This symbol represents the horizon from which the sun emerged and disappeared. The horizon thus embodied the idea of both sunrise and sunset. It is similar to the two peaks of the Djew or mountain symbol with solar disk in the center. Both the beginning and the end of each day was guarded by Aker, a double lion god. In the New Kingdom, Harmakhet ("Horus in the Horizon") became the god of the rising and setting sun. He was pictured as a falcon, or as a sphinx with the body of a lion. The Great Sphinx of Giza is an example of "Horus in the Horizon".