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The Djed symbol is a pillar-like ancient Egyptian symbol representing stability
Stability

Stability may refer to:...
. It has been interpreted as the backbone of the Egyptian
Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an Ancient history civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile in what is now the modern nation of Egypt....
 god Osiris
Osiris

Osiris was an Egyptian mythology, usually called the god of the Afterlife.Osiris is one of the oldest gods for whom records have been found; one of the oldest known attestations of his name is on the Palermo Stone of around 2500 BC....
, especially in the form Banebdjedet (the ba
Egyptian soul

The Ancient Egyptians believed that a human soul was made up of five parts: the Ren, the Ba, the Ka, the Sheut, and the Ib. In addition to these components of the soul there was the human body ....
 of the lord of the Djedet
Mendes

Mendes , the Greek language name of the Ancient Egyptian city of Djedet, also known in Ancient Egypt as Per -Banebdjedet and Anpet, is known today as Tell El-Ruba ....
). Djedu is the Egyptian name for Busiris
Busiris

Busiris or Bousiris Greek language: polytonic|...
, a centre of the cult of Osiris. During the Renewal Festival
Sed festival

The sed festival was an ancient Egyptian ceremony which was held to celebrate the continued rule of a pharaoh. The name derives from the name of an Egyptian wolf god, one of whose names was Wepwawet or Sed....
, the djed would be ceremonially raised as a phallic symbol symbolising the "potency and duration of the pharaoh's rule".






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The Djed symbol is a pillar-like ancient Egyptian symbol representing stability
Stability

Stability may refer to:...
. It has been interpreted as the backbone of the Egyptian
Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an Ancient history civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile in what is now the modern nation of Egypt....
 god Osiris
Osiris

Osiris was an Egyptian mythology, usually called the god of the Afterlife.Osiris is one of the oldest gods for whom records have been found; one of the oldest known attestations of his name is on the Palermo Stone of around 2500 BC....
, especially in the form Banebdjedet (the ba
Egyptian soul

The Ancient Egyptians believed that a human soul was made up of five parts: the Ren, the Ba, the Ka, the Sheut, and the Ib. In addition to these components of the soul there was the human body ....
 of the lord of the Djedet
Mendes

Mendes , the Greek language name of the Ancient Egyptian city of Djedet, also known in Ancient Egypt as Per -Banebdjedet and Anpet, is known today as Tell El-Ruba ....
). Djedu is the Egyptian name for Busiris
Busiris

Busiris or Bousiris Greek language: polytonic|...
, a centre of the cult of Osiris. During the Renewal Festival
Sed festival

The sed festival was an ancient Egyptian ceremony which was held to celebrate the continued rule of a pharaoh. The name derives from the name of an Egyptian wolf god, one of whose names was Wepwawet or Sed....
, the djed would be ceremonially raised as a phallic symbol symbolising the "potency and duration of the pharaoh's rule". It has been compared to the Sumerian
Sumerian

Sumerian may refer to:*Sumerian language*Cuneiform script*Sumer, including**History of Sumer**Sumerian architecture**Mesopotamian mythology...
 concept of temen. The hieroglyph for "djed" may have given rise to the letter Samekh
Samekh

Samekh or Simketh is the fifteenth letter in many Semitic languages alphabets, including Phoenician alphabet, Hebrew alphabet, and Aramaic alphabet, representing ....
.

R11

Gordon-Schwabe theory


In their 2004 book The Quick and the Dead, Andrew H. Gordon and Calvin W. Schwabe speculated that the Ankh
Ankh

The ankh was the Egyptian hieroglyphic character that read "eternal life", a triliteral sign for the consonants Ayin-Nun -?a'. Egyptian gods are often portrayed carrying it by its loop, or bearing one in each hand, arms crossed over their chest....
, Djed and Was
Was

Was scepters represent the typhonic or Set-animal . Was scepters were depicted as being carried by gods, pharaohs, and priests, as a symbol of power, and in later use, as a symbol of control over the force of chaos that Set represented....
 symbols have a biological basis derived from ancient cattle culture, thus:
  • the Ankh
    Ankh

    The ankh was the Egyptian hieroglyphic character that read "eternal life", a triliteral sign for the consonants Ayin-Nun -?a'. Egyptian gods are often portrayed carrying it by its loop, or bearing one in each hand, arms crossed over their chest....
     - symbol of life - thoracic vertebrae of a bull (seen in cross section
    Cross section (geometry)

    In geometry, a cross-section is the intersection of a body in 2-dimensional space with a line, or of a body in 3-dimensional space with a plane, etc....
    )
  • the Djed - symbol of stability - base or sacrum
    Sacrum

    The sacrum is a large, triangular bone at the base of the vertebral column and at the upper and back part of the pelvic cavity, where it is inserted like a wedge between the two hip bones....
     of a bull's spine
  • the Was
    Was

    Was scepters represent the typhonic or Set-animal . Was scepters were depicted as being carried by gods, pharaohs, and priests, as a symbol of power, and in later use, as a symbol of control over the force of chaos that Set represented....
     - symbol of power and dominion - a staff made from a dried bull's penis
Gordon and Schwabe's speculation is based on the Egyptian belief that semen
Semen

Semen is an organic fluid, also known as seminal fluid, that usually contains spermatozoon....
 (or more generally spoken - the source of life) was formed from spinal fluid. Applying the above correspondences, according to Gordon and Schwabe, the essence of life starts here in the Ankh - it flows down through the vertebral canal, past the strong base of the spine (the Djed), and out through the penis, the Was - symbol of power.

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