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Ankh
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The ankh was the Egyptian hieroglyphic character that read "eternal life", a triliteral sign for the consonants ?-n-?. Egyptian gods are often portrayed carrying it by its loop, or bearing one in each hand, arms crossed over their chest. It is also known as the key of life, the key of the Nile, or as crux ansata, Latin for "cross with a handle".
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in hieroglyphs | | S34-n:Aa1 ! or S34 |
The precise origin of the symbol remains a mystery to Egyptologists, and no single hypothesis has been widely accepted.
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The ankh was the Egyptian hieroglyphic character that read "eternal life", a triliteral sign for the consonants ?-n-?. Egyptian gods are often portrayed carrying it by its loop, or bearing one in each hand, arms crossed over their chest. It is also known as the key of life, the key of the Nile, or as crux ansata, Latin for "cross with a handle".
Origins
Ankh
in hieroglyphs | | S34-n:Aa1 ! or S34 |
The precise origin of the symbol remains a mystery to Egyptologists, and no single hypothesis has been widely accepted. One of the earliest suggestions is that of Thomas Inman, first published in 1869:
E. A. Wallis Budge postulated that the symbol might have originated as the belt-buckle of the mother goddess and a sex toy that they used.Isis, an idea joined by Wolfhart Westendorf with the notion that both the ankh and the knot of Isis were used as ties on ceremonial girdles. Sir Alan Gardiner speculated that it represented a sandal strap, with the loop going around the ankle. The word for sandal strap was also spelled , although it may have been pronounced differently.
Still other theories include the notion that the ankh represents the sun crowning over the horizon, the path of the sun from east to west (with the loop representing the Nile), a stylized person, or that it is a combination of the male and female symbols of Osiris (the cross) and Isis (the oval) respectively, and therefore signifies the union of heaven and Earth.
In their 2004 book "The Quick and the Dead", Andrew H. Gordon and Calvin W. Schwabe speculated that the ankh, djed, and was symbols have a biological basis derived from ancient cattle culture (linked to the Egyptian belief that semen was created in the spine), thus:
- the Ankh, symbol of life, thoracic vertebra of a bull (seen in cross section)
- the Djed, symbol of stability, base on sacrum of a bull's spine
- the Was, symbol of power and dominion, a staff featuring the head and tail of the god Set, "great of strength"
Egyptian academics, in particular those at the University of Cairo, aver that the ankh has been over-interpreted, and that it is representative of the pivotal role of the Nile in the country. The oval head represents the Nile delta, the vertical mark represents the path of the river, while the East and West arms represent the two sides of the country and their unification.
In James Arthur's book Mushrooms and Mankind, he states:
"Amon...in [picture not available for stated] relief, is holding the arm of the initiating Horus. while he pushes the Ankh into his mouth. Viewing this relif head on, Horus has his mouth closed. If you step around the pillar, to the left, you see an incredible optical effect. Horus opens his mouth wide to accept this gift. Amon is accompanied by his consort Amaunet, and Horus (ready for his travel into Amenta) is accompanied by the lion-headed goddess Sekhmet.
The Ankh and the Djed (pillar) are both symbols for the same thing. This Ankh with the imbedded Djed is a clue that they have the same meanings. The Djed that grows under the Cedar and the Ankh which is symbolic for the mushroom and the cross as well as meaning waters and life, or "The waters of life", the juice extracted from the mushroom. The Ankh is often displayed as being poured out of vessels, in streams of ankhs, which are interpreted as water. However,it is not just any water. It is the water which has the magical properties of eternal life."
History
The ankh appears frequently in Egyptian tomb paintings and other art, often at the fingertips of a god or goddess in images that represent the deities of the afterlife conferring the gift of life on the dead person's mummy; this is thought to symbolize the act of conception. Additionally, an ankh was often carried by Egyptians as an amulet, either alone, or in connection with two other hieroglyphs that mean "strength" and "health" (see explication of Djed and Was, above). Mirrors of beaten metal were also often made in the shape of an ankh, either for decorative reasons or to symbolize a perceived view into another world.
The ankh was almost never drawn in silver; as a sun-symbol, the Egyptians almost invariably crafted important examples of it (for tombs or other purposes) from the metal they most associated with the sun, gold. A similar metal such as copper, burnished to a high sheen, was also sometimes used.
In popular culture
The ankh was popularized in modern times as "the cross of life" in the film The Egyptian, where Akhenaten's cult of Atenism is portrayed as a religion containing proto-Christian ideas. Since the 1960s it has been a popular symbol within various cultural movements: Nile (band), subcultures (Hippie, Goth), cinema (Logan's Run, The Hunger, Superfly), comic books (Sandman, Doctor Fate), musical groups (Kiss, Elvis Presley, The 69 Eyes, Iced Earth, Earth, Wind and Fire, Cage the Elephant), television shows (Yu-Gi-Oh!, Metalocalypse) and video games (Tomb Raider, Ultima, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, World of Warcraft, Guild Wars, Ankh).
A stylized or modified ankh is a popular tattoo motif among many celebrities such as professional wrestlers Christopher Daniels and Edge, neo-soul/hip-hop artist Erykah Badu, pop music artist Anastacia, Amy Winehouse and NBA stars such as Shaquille O'Neal and Dennis Rodman. A variety of consumer product lines have also come to be identified with the symbol; an example is professional skateboarder Mark Rogowski's "Ankh model" of skateboard.
The ankh also retains popularity among Neopagan religious and spiritual movements as a symbol for a variety of concepts relating to life, immortality and the occult, being commonly used in parallel with Energy Vampires. In its relation with immortality and eternal life, the Ankh is the central symbol represented in the sacred seal of the Asetians, also known in the occult world as the Dark Mark. This symbol is a blend of Ancient Egyptian iconography with highly theological connotations and is a distinctive hallmark of the secretive Order of Aset Ka. That symbol can be seen in the cover of the published literary work on vampirism and Ancient Egyptian spirituality Asetian Bible, as it is present in the image on the side of this article.
The anorankh (an ankh wearing an anorak) was a semi-official Discworld fan symbol, made by Clarecraft, after the accidental misuse by one user of fan group alt.pratchett of 'anorak' to refer to an ankh.
In 2008, a tribute album entitled "KISS MY ANKH: A Tribute To Vinnie Vincent" was released by SplitScreen Entertainment. The album pays tribute to former Kiss guitarist Vinnie Vincent, whose Kiss character was that of an Egyptian Warrior wearing ankh make-up on his face.
The ankh is also a popular symbol used in video games, most notably role-playing games. For example, several magic staffs in the popular game Golden Sun are called ankhs, so named perhaps because these items are utilized by healers (characters who restore life). The 6th Ultima game for the PC used the Ankh symbol throughout and contained this joke: "Q: What did the duck say to the avatar? (the main player) A: Ankh ankh!"
See also
External links
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- Free copy of Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism, Second Edition, 1875, available for download on-line at .
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