Of all the hieroglyphs used in Ancient Egypt, the most well-known and enduring is that of the ankh. Shaped like a cross with an oval loop replacing the top bar, the ankh is an Egyptian symbol for life – both on Earth and after death. If you travel to Egypt today, you will see the ankh carved or painted onto temples and tombs throughout the country, where it would have conveyed its message of everlasting life even to those that could not read.
The Ankh: An Egyptian Symbol for Life
Ashraf Fares • July 20, 2020
what is the Egyptian symbol for life?
Where Did the Ankh Come From?
Despite its wide use, the exact origins of the ankh are still uncertain, although we do know that it initially came into use during the First Dynasty over 5,000 years ago. There are many different hypotheses about which physical object it was intended to represent.
Early versions of the symbol depicted the lower bar as two separate lengths of material (possibly made from cloth or reeds). As a result, some scholars believe that the ankh represents a knot that may have been worn as an amulet for protection. This theory is lent weight because these early versions of the ankh resemble another hieroglyph known as tjet or the Knot of Isis. This symbol meant “welfare” or “protection” and was often buried in amulet form with the pharaohs of the New Kingdom to protect their bodies from grave robbers. Although the ankh was depicted in the hands of many different Egyptian deities, it was most closely associated with Isis.
Other scholars believe that the knot that inspired the ankh was used as a sandal strap. Some believe that the inspiration for the ankh wasn’t a knot at all but a mirror, while others think that the oval-topped cross is more representative than literal. There are two popular symbolic explanations: first, that the looped top of the cross represents the sun rising above the horizon, and second, that the ankh is a combination of the male and female reproductive organs. In this case, the “T” shape is synonymous with male sexual organs, while the oval at the top represents the female uterus. The combination of the two indicates the union and balance of opposites and the continued life cycle through reproduction.
The Ankh in Ancient Egyptian Culture
As a hieroglyph, the ankh represented a sequence of three consonant sounds that appeared in various words, including the verb “live” and the noun “life.” Although these are accepted as the direct translations of the ankh hieroglyph, the same sequence also appears in non-related words, including “mirror” and “sandal strap” (hence the theories that these objects could have been the original inspiration for the symbol). In Ancient Egyptian architecture, the ankh frequently appears in an honorific phrase meaning “alive, sound and healthy” in conjunction with the name of the ruling pharaoh. It is also commonly seen alongside two other hieroglyphs: the was, representing power, and the djed, representing stability.
In art, the ankh becomes a physical object representing life and life-giving necessities like air and water. It appears in every form of Ancient Egyptian art, from paintings and reliefs to statuary and amulets. Often, deities are depicted holding an ankh to symbolize their power to sustain life on Earth and impart eternal life after death. Tombs frequently show the god offering the ankh up to the lips of the deceased pharaoh, using it as a key to restore energy and unlock immortality. In these instances, the ankh can be more specifically assumed to represent air or the breath of life. Similarly, chains of ankhs were often used to indicate streams of water, particularly for the ceremonial purification of the pharaoh.
Examples of Ankh Depictions in Egypt
As one of Ancient Egypt’s most popular hieroglyphic and artistic symbols, the ankh can be seen repeatedly in most temples and tombs dating from the First Dynasty onwards. If you’re planning an Egyptian adventure, iconic examples to look out for include the relief on the wall of the inner sanctum in the Temple of Isis at Philae, which shows Isis resurrecting Osiris with an ankh held up to his lips. In Cairo’s Egyptian Museum, the most famous representation is an ankh-shaped mirror case made of gold-plated wood, which was recovered from the tomb of Tutankhamun.
Also of interest in the Egyptian Museum is a relief showing the sun beaming down upon the pharaoh Akhenaten and his wife, Nefertiti. At the end of each sunbeam is a hand clasping a miniature ankh, representing everlasting life's gift. This relief dates back to the Amarna Period in the latter half of the Eighteenth Dynasty when Akhenaten chose to worship the sun disc Aten above all other gods in the first-known shift towards monotheistic religion. This policy was reversed by his successor, the boy king Tutankhamun. However, the fact that the ankh was still used as a symbol during this period proves its ability to survive religious changes.
There are also examples of Ancient Egyptian ankhs in museums worldwide. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, for example, features blue faience ankh amulets taken from the tomb of Thutmose IV and a cornice stone with a relief showing Thoth baptizing one of the Claudian emperors with a stream of water made up of miniature ankhs and was. The latter was recovered from a temple at Philae.
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The Ankh As a Symbol in Other Cultures
The power of the ankh as an Egyptian symbol for life was so strong that several other ancient civilizations also adopted it. In Near Eastern art, the ankh was often depicted alongside Egyptian deities who had been introduced into the pantheons of Syria and Canaan; it also became part of the artistic culture of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) and Crete. In Africa, the Meroitic Kingdom (located to the south of Egypt in modern-day Sudan) adopted many of their neighbors’ beliefs and practices, including the use of the ankh symbol to represent mortal and everlasting life.
In Egypt, the ankh was one of the only ancient symbols to survive when Christianity began to replace paganism from the first century AD onwards. The Coptic Christians embraced its message of eternal life but adapted it to relate to the spiritual immortality they believed awaited the followers of Christ. The oval-shaped loop at the top of the ankh was replaced with a circular one, thereby creating the Coptic alternative to the traditional four-posted cross known as the crux ansata.
Meaning of the Ankh in Modern Times
Incredibly, the ankh has lasted through five millennia to remain one of the most recognizable African symbols in the modern world. It is often depicted in tattoos and jewelry, and although it is purely decorative for some people, it carries a deeper meaning for specific ethnic or religious groups. Many members of African communities living in the Western world choose to wear the ankh as a symbol of their cultural identity, with celebrity examples of this trend including Beyonce and Rihanna. The ankh is also a symbol of Kemetism, a revival of Ancient Egyptian religion that emerged in the 1970s. Above all, though, the ankh continues to be what it always has been – a symbol and celebration of life.
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