The ancient Egyptian word for the place where humans live after they
die. Other names used were netherworld, afterworld, underworld, sky world
and Land of the Gods.
Hieroglyphs
An early form of writing using phonograms, logograms and determinatives
arranged in horizontal and vertical lines.
Hypostyle
A hypostyle hall
has a central roof that is higher than its side roofs, like the Gothic
cathedrals in Europe.
Kohl
A mixture of ground galena (a black mineral), sulphur and animal fat
that was used as eye make-up. It also alleviated eye inflammations and
protected the eyes from the glare of the sun.
Papyrus
An aquatic plant that grows in marshes along the Nile. The species
of papyrus grown during pharaonic times is now extinct.
Pylon
A pylon is a large sloping wall found at the entrance to temples. It
consists of two massive towers built in a trapezoid shape that flank the
portal. At Karnak Temple, a series of
pylons
mark the entrance to numerous temples that were added to this site by a
succession of kings.
Sarcophagus
A stone container encasing one or more coffins (derived from a Greek
word for "flesh-eating").
Scribe
A person who writes documents. Clerks, copyists and learned men who
held positions in the bureaucracy were scribes.
Stele
Steles are inscribed, upright stones
that could be used as boundary markers, to celebrate a victory, to honour
the gods, or for many other purposes. They were most often used as
funerary markers on which the deceased were featured, in the presence
of the gods, and a list of provisions and offerings was inscribed to
provide sustenance in the afterlife.
The inscriptions on pharaohs' steles often boasted about their
exploits. One of the common themes was the pharaoh’s superior ability
to make wise decisions. Narratives recount how pharaohs asked their
courtiers for advice then rejected the suggestions given in favour
of their own plans.
Theban Triad
The Theban Triad consists of the three
principal gods of
Thebes,
the capital of Egypt during the New
Kingdom, which was located at the present-day site of
Karnak and
Luxor. The three gods are
Amun, his consort,
Mut, and their divine child,
Khonsu. Amun is sometimes depicted
with the head of a ram, or a man with a tall double-plumed crown. Mut
was depicted first with the head of a vulture and then as a woman with
a crown. Khonsu, a moon god, is seen as a youth with a side lock of hair
and a crown consisting of a crescent moon and lunar disk. He is also
sometimes shown with the head of a hawk adorned with a crescent moon and
lunar disk.