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Egyptian Figures

The Figures of Egypt take many forms – from living beings to legendary gods, and even hybrids of the two – pharaohs were treated as gods too. And as much history was written in stone, we have many records of who ruled, who was worshipped, and even who made the beer! Some of the famous figures still exist today, in the form of mummified remains. Here you can explore them all.

Top Image: Painted limestone block from Amarna shows Akhenaten worshipping the Aten; while his daughter, Meritaten, shakes a sistrum; design by Anand Balaji (Photo credit: Brooklyn Museum, New York); Deriv.
5 September, 2018 - 17:56 anand balaji

Was Meritaten the Ephemeral Ankhkheperure? Death of Nefertiti and Succession Games in the Royal Court – Part II

Given the virtual lack of royal males who were old enough to rule, disarray over who would assume the throne after Akhenaten’s death seems to have plagued the Amarna family. Having accorded...
Detail of a talatat block from Amarna supposedly shows Kiya with her unnamed daughter. It is also suggested that this is Nefertiti and Meritaten; design by Anand Balaji (Photo credit: Brooklyn Museum, New York); Deriv.
3 September, 2018 - 16:07 anand balaji

Was Meritaten the Ephemeral Ankhkheperure? Discovering the True Identity of Amarna’s Female Pharaoh – Part I

During the final years of the Atenist heresy, an obscure ruler came to the throne of Egypt. No one is certain about the identity of this person - especially if it was a man or a woman. Akhenaten’s...
Head of Serapis with zodiac
1 September, 2018 - 01:35 dhwty

Serapis: God of Fertility and the Afterlife that United Greeks and Egyptians

Serapis (also called Sarapis ) was a deity invented by the Ptolemies, and was meant to bridge the gap between their Egyptian and Greek subjects. The Ptolemies were one of the successors of Alexander...
The black sarcophagus was found to contain three skeletons and lots of sewage.
21 August, 2018 - 22:55 ashley cowie

Rotten Mummies of the Black Sarcophagus Begin the Identification Process

Dr. Mostafa Waziri, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt announced on Sunday that a team of researchers headed by Dr. Zeinab Hashish, Director of the Department of Studies...
"Israel in Egypt" by Edward Poynter, 1867
5 August, 2018 - 19:04 Rabbi Allen Maller

Pharaoh Ramses’ Anti-Israelite Policy Now Explained

Why were the Jews enslaved in Egypt? New evidence from a French Egyptologist, Alain Zivie, now points to an Egyptian suspect: Pharaoh’s vizier ‘Abdiel, whose Semitic name means ‘a servant of [the god...
Ten Powerful and Fearsome Women of the Ancient World
1 August, 2018 - 23:04 Joanna Gillan

Ten Powerful and Fearsome Women of the Ancient World

A quick perusal of the Forbes ‘World’s Most Powerful Women’ list for 2017, will reveal female politicians, heads of industry and billionaire philanthopists at the top of the list. The likes of Angela...
The black sarcophagus was found to contain three skeletons and lots of sewage.
24 July, 2018 - 18:56 Alicia McDermott

Over 20,000 Have Petitioned to Drink the ‘Pharaoh Punch’ of the Black Sarcophagus

The strange story of the black sarcophagus found in Alexandria continues… In an unexpected turn of events, over 20,000 people who have signed an online petition requesting permission to drink the red...
Colossal statue of Amenhotep III in the British Museum. (Public Domain) Background: Detail of Amarna letter: Royal Letter from Abi-milku of Tyre to the king of Egypt. (CC0)
18 July, 2018 - 13:59 dhwty

To the King, My Sun, My God, the Breath of My Life… Amarna Letters Paint Remarkable Picture of Ancient Egyptian Rulership

“Your city weeps, and her tears are running, and there is no help for us. For 20 years we have been sending to our lord, the king, the king of Egypt, but there has not come to us a word from our lord...
Painted limestone relief from the Memphite tomb of Horemheb shows him with the uraeus on his brow; it was added after he became pharaoh; design by Anand Balaji
4 July, 2018 - 15:19 anand balaji

The Rage of Horemheb: Traditionalism for the Greater Glory of the Egyptian State – Part II

Horemheb was no run-of-the-mill general, but a true nationalist at heart. The demise of King Aye was a watershed moment, insofar as getting the country back on track wholeheartedly was concerned...
Fragmentary scene, originally from the second courtyard of his Saqqaran tomb, shows Horemheb wearing the Gold of Honor given by Tutankhamun; design by Anand Balaji
2 July, 2018 - 15:30 anand balaji

The Rage of Horemheb: Hurried End of Akhenaten, Aye and Atenism – Part I

Barely four years after the death of Nebkheperure Tutankhamun in 1323 BC, the powerful ruling family was overthrown by Horemheb, a general and one-time non-royal crown prince; ending the Thutmosid...
Main: Hopewell burial mounds in Ohio (CC by SA 3.0). Inset: One of the meteoritic iron beads found in a Hopewell mound.
2 July, 2018 - 15:13 Theodoros Karasavvas

Jewelry from Outer Space: Hopewell Culture Made Beads from Meteoritic Iron

A team of scientists has discovered the origins of the ancient Hopewell culture's meteorite jewelry. The beads were found in a burial mound in Havana, Illinois, in 1945. Many questions about the...
The entrance stairway of 16 steps viewed from the point where Howard Carter uncovered the first sealed doorway
8 June, 2018 - 15:35 anand balaji

Robbing Tutankhamun: Greed for Gold, Linen, Cosmetics and the Good Life—Part II

Against all odds, Tutankhamun’s tomb survived the ravages of time; when the magnificent burial places of his predecessors and successors were ransacked in antiquity, and their treasures stolen...
This artist’s impression shows Tutankhamun’s tomb in the process of being stocked in antiquity. The entire exercise seems to have been a rushed affair as Howard Carter noted.
6 June, 2018 - 15:25 anand balaji

Robbing Tutankhamun: Ransacking the Royals and Decline in Tomb Security – Part 1

Pharaohs built lavish sepulchers equipped with all manner of security arrangements that were aimed at misleading tomb robbers. However, more often than not, the elaborate ploys of esteemed architects...
A stele from Heliopolis shows Akhenaten worshipping the Aten; design by Anand Balaji
12 May, 2018 - 01:59 anand balaji

Horemheb the Usurper: Monumental Oversight in a Project of Utter Destruction —Part II

(Read Part 1) By all counts, Horemheb was not only forced to remain subservient until the death of his immediate predecessor, Pharaoh Aye – a vizier-turned-ruler – but had faced a challenger in...
A limestone sculpture from the Temple of Amun in Thebes depicts Horemheb standing beside the state god; design by Anand Balaji
11 May, 2018 - 13:59 anand balaji

Horemheb the Usurper: Magical Potency and the Rough Road to the Throne—Part I

Usurpation of monuments and funerary goods occurred over much of ancient Egyptian history. Quite a few Pharaohs and nobles indulged in this practice—and far from our modern notion of greedy monarchs...
Two people portrayed on the walls of the ancient Egyptian general’s tomb.
9 May, 2018 - 22:26 Alicia McDermott

Immense Tomb Provides a Fascinating Peek at the Life of High Steward of Ramesses II

Saqqara has given Egyptologists a wealth of knowledge on life and death in ancient Egypt. Recently, it has provided information on Queen Ankhnespepy II , King Tut’s Wet Nurse , and a royal messenger...
Sarcophagus of Tutankhamun double image
7 May, 2018 - 23:04 Ed Whelan

Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities Announces there are NO Hidden Chambers in Tut’s Tomb

The Egyptian antiquities ministry have announced the results of a new survey on the tomb of Tutankhamun . They have apparently discredited a theory, that suggest there was a second chamber in the...
Coffin lid dating from the Late Period flanked by two depictions of Wepwawet; design by Anand Balaji
7 May, 2018 - 19:57 anand balaji

Wepwawet, Lord of Abydos and Champion of Royalty: Origin, Myth and Divinity—Part I

The ancient Egyptians not only worshipped animals they admired but also those that they feared greatly. As a result, their pantheon consisted of innumerable feathered and furry creatures – each a...
Gilded leopard head found in the Tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62); design by Anand Balaji
29 April, 2018 - 22:52 anand balaji

The Felines of Tutankhamun: Leopards, a Symbol of Royalty and Divinity—Part II

Beginning with one of the earliest feline deities, Mafdet, the ancient Egyptian pantheon grew steadily as the years passed to include a wide range of creatures, both big and small – furry and...
Resin-stained wooden leopard found in the tomb of King Amenhotep II (KV35); design by Anand Balaji
29 April, 2018 - 13:58 anand balaji

The Felines of Tutankhamun: Leopard Changes its Spots to turn Black Panther?—Part I

The modest sepulcher of Pharaoh Tutankhamun was crammed to the brim with all manner of treasures produced in different shapes, sizes and materials. These objects can be clearly divided into two...
Detail from the outermost shrine of Tutankhamun showing a seated deity; design by Anand Balaji
20 April, 2018 - 22:49 anand balaji

KV62, Designed to Confound: Wealth of Mysteries in the Curious Tomb of Tutankhamun—Part II

Egyptological scholars are divided over whether a right-hand turn to the burial chamber in an Eighteenth Dynasty tomb signifies that it belonged to a female pharaoh. With this feature present in the...
The entrance to KV62, the tomb of Tutankhamun, in the Valley of the Kings; design by Anand Balaji
20 April, 2018 - 13:59 anand balaji

KV62, Designed to Confound: Was Tutankhamun’s Tomb built for a Female Pharaoh?—Part I

One of the greatest enigmas in all of Egyptology is the location of the final resting place of Queen Nefertiti, a powerful royal personage of the late Eighteenth Dynasty. Barring pieces of a votive...
This painted limestone relief originally depicted Kiya, but was later recarved to portray Meritaten; design by Anand Balaji (Photo credit: Merja Attia, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen); Deriv.
30 March, 2018 - 15:17 anand balaji

Quest for the Greatly Beloved Kiya: Eternal ‘Goodly Child of the Living Aten’—Part II

Not only does Akhenaten, the man and ruler, pose a conundrum to Egyptologists; but his entire family is shrouded in mystery too. Prime among them is Kiya, his obscure wife, who seems to have...
One of the four elegant canopic jar stoppers made of Egyptian alabaster that was discovered in a niche in Tomb 55; design by Anand Balaji
26 March, 2018 - 15:35 anand balaji

Quest for the Greatly Beloved Kiya: Her Mysterious Origins and Role in Court—Part I

Kiya, a secondary wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten is one of the most shadowy royals of the Amarna Period. Virtually nothing is known about her origin or the reasons for her disappearance. All that is...

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