Dinosaurs | Egypt | Mesopotamia |Human Ancestors

Glossary

Amamet : "Swallower of the Dead " Crocodile-headed monster with Lion's forelimbs, and Hippo's hindlimbs. She ate the souls of those unworthy for the afterlife.

Amaunet : The consort of Amom, the god of Thebes.

Anubis : "Keeper of the Balance of Truth" and god of mumification. Represented as a jackel-headed god, or as simply a jackel. Son of Nephthysand Osiris.

Heart Scarab : Sculpted in the form of a scarab beetle, the heart scarab was placed over the heart of the deceased, and was weighed against the feather of truth.

Heiroglyph : "sacred writing." A complex written language that includes both pictographs, and phonetic characters.

Horus : falcon-headed god. Called "the avenger of his father" for killing Seth, the murderer of Osiris. The Pharaohs were said to be Horus incarnate. Son of Isis and Osiris.

Isis : "the Throne" The goddess of magic & widow of Osiris.

Ma'at : goddess of order, morality and justice. Shown as a seated or standing woman with an ankh and an ostrich feather.

Middle Kingdom : circa 2130 ­ 1780 B.C.E.

Mut : "Mother" The mother-goddess, queen of the gods. She was the wife of Amon.

Nephthys : "Lady of the House." The sister of Isis & Osiris, as well as wife (and sister) of Seth. Mother of Anubis.

New Kingdom : circa 1550 ­ 1170 B.C.E.

Old Kingdom : circa 2600 ­ 2200 B.C.E. The third through sixth dynasties occur in this period. It was during this time when the pyramids were constructed.

Osiris : the King of the underworld, and judge of the dead.. Osiris is typically depicted with a crown, a flail, and a crook. Brother of Seth, Isis, and Nephthys. Father of Horus who avenged his death, and of Anubis.

Ra : The sun god, creator of gods and men.

Scarab beetle : The dung beetle, Scarabaeus sacer.

Seth : "To Dazzle" The god of thunder & storms, and evil who murdered his brother Osiris.

Thoth : God of wisdom and scholarship. Usually depicted as an ibis-headed man, or just the ibis. Author of The Book of the Dead. Consort of Ma'at, father of Amom.

UPM : The University of Pennsylvania Museum. UPM has one of the world's great collections of archaeological artifacts, and their great website is linked above.