Egyptian Mythology Articles

Shabti dolls (also known as `shawbti’ and `ushabti’) were funerary figures in ancient Egypt who accompanied the deceased to the after-life. Their name is derived from the Egyptian `swb’ for stick but also corresponds to the word for `answer’ (`wSb’) and so the Shabtis were known as `The Answerers’. The figures, shaped... [continue reading]

Is it possible to have a heart that is lighter than a feather? To the ancient Egyptians it was not only possible but highly desirable.  The after-life of the ancient Egyptians was known as the Field of Reeds and was a land very much like one's life on earth save that there was no sickness, no disappointment and, of course, no death. One lived eternally... [continue reading]

The Tale of The Ship-Wrecked Sailor is an epic tale written on papyrus around the year 2000 BCE, during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. Contemporary with the rise of the Cult of Osiris and the inscribing of the Coffin Texts, the Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor tells a similar story of redemption. The basic form of the story is very simple: a sailor returns... [continue reading]

Material Objects & Cultures Material objects convey volumes about the people who possessed them. Cultures and societies in every generation are in part classified - either correctly or incorrectly - by the objects or symbols they select and how they are displayed. Typically, the formal study of society is the purview of anthropologists and social scientists... [continue reading]

The Forty-Two Judges were the divine beings of the Egyptian after-life who presided over the Hall of Truth where the great god Osiris judged the dead. The soul of the deceased was called upon to render up confession of deeds done while in life and to have the heart weighed in the balance of the scales of justice against the white feather of Ma’at... [continue reading]

A story on a papyrus dating from the 2nd century CE relates that the goddess Isis, bestowing gifts on humanity, gave as much power and honor to women as she did to men. This tale reflects the high status women enjoyed in ancient Egypt. Although they never had the same rights as males, an Egyptian woman could own property in her own name and hold professions... [continue reading]

The subject of this thesis is a theme that has not been fully studied until today and that has long been thought to be overlooked by the ancient Egyptians in a negative way. The aim of this thesis is then to look carefully into the texts dealing with this theme to reveal how exactly the ancient Egyptians felt about it. The texts scrutinized are divided according... [continue reading]