Thursday, December 5, 2013

Treasure of Egypt - The Enigmatic Symbols of Ancient Egypt, Part IV, the Forgotten Sun Symbol and the Wings of Isis


3-D book of Treasure of Egypt on golden treasure map created by Barbara Ivie Green


The lost symbol of the Sun 

and the Wings of Isis

Golden speckled disc of sun symbol for the regnal year created by Barbara Ivie Green

The true identity of this ancient symbol, used to denote the regnal years of the king, has become lost over the years. I know what you are thinking . . . it’s obviously a chocolate chip cookie. Hahaha! Actually, it is thought to be a threshing floor, but I believe this too is incorrect.

Golden image of hieroglyphic symbol of regnal year, created by Barbara Ivie Green

This hieroglyphic is used to denote the regnal year. In Ancient Egypt, time was kept by recording the years the pharaohs ruled. A ∩ denotes ten years, while a straight line I indicates one. A rule of twenty eight years would look like this.

golden image of regnal year with the numerical value of twenty-eight, created by Barbara Ivie Green

It also phonetically represents the sound sp, or, in this case, rnpt-sp (regnal year).

Golden speckled disc depicting the regnal year, created by Barbara Ivie Green

So why is threshing floor an incorrect interpretation? Although the pharaoh was tied to the prosperity of the land, and this does make a connection with the harvest – and, accordingly, the threshing floor – somewhat believable, this symbol is actually associated with time, which IS a designation that the sun and its symbols DO represent.

Take the hieroglyphic phrase for “repeatedly”

golden hieroglyphic symbol for repeatedly, created by Barbara Ivie Green

or the one for “eternity”

golden image of hieroglyphic symbol of eternity, created by Barbara Ivie Green

or for “daily course”

golden symbol of hieroglyphic symbol for daily course, created by Barbara Ivie Green

“day”

golden image of hieroglyphic symbol of day, created by Barbara Ivie Green

“daytime”

golden image of hieroglyphic symbol for daytime, created by Barbara Ivie Green

etc, etc, etc. You get the picture. :O)

All of these have two things in common. The sun symbol , Ra, and a reference to time.

Now take the phrase for “a moment”

golden hieroglyphic symbol for moment, created by Barbara Ivie Green

and “never”

golden hieroglyphic symbol of never a moment, created by Barbara Ivie Green

(the arms represent the negative meaning “never will there be a moment”.)

These symbols represent time as well, casting new light upon what this symbol actually is.

golden hieroglyphic symbol for Ra, created by Barbara Ivie Green

Just as Ra is representing one day, I believe the speckled disc in question represents the solar calendar, with each dot representing the years in the lunar cycle.

golden hieroglyphic symbol for regnal year, created by Barbara Ivie Green

So why was the meaning behind this disc lost to antiquity? I came across something while researching my book Treasure of Egypt that may answer that puzzling question. Perhaps it was, in part, due to an expungement long ago. Much like the moon’s symbols being misidentified due to religious controversy, it appears as if the speckled disc fell out of favor and was rarely used by the Priests of Amun after the rein of Pharaoh Akhenaten.

If you look, you will find the symbol among many of the writings chiseled into the Telatat blocks from the Aten Temple that was dismantled after the pharaoh’s death. So why was it used so prodigiously during Akhenaten’s reign, yet was almost strictly relegated to denote the regnal year henceforth?

I believe it had much to do with the Heretic King’s closing of the Temples of Amun during his reign and the subsequent efforts of the priests to wipe out the symbols Akhenaten had used to promote his worship of the sun after his death. This once auspicious symbol of the sun has been reduced to what is now thought to be a threshing floor.



The Wings of Isis

reflected image of the wings of Isis, created by Barbara Ivie Green

There are many sun symbols in the ancient hieroglyphs.


The aten above – a disc with long, streaming rays, the circle with a dot in the middle that represents Ra the sun god, and even Khafre the dung beetle – in a strange association where life springs forth from decay – represent the rebirth of the newly risen sun and the idea of becoming.

blue khafre beetle created by Barbara Ivie Green

It should be noted, however, that the hieroglyphs including the dung beetle are also associated with being or becoming, and not time.

. . . BUT I do not believe that the Wings of Isis is among the symbols that refer to the sun. If you have read my book or the previous articles you know that both Isis and Hathor were associated with rebirth and the moon – not the sun. Another reason that this harvest moon may have been confused with the sun is the moon’s ability to travel across both the day and night skies.

http://www.amazon.com/Treasure-Egypt-adventure-Romantic-Ancients-ebook/dp/B004NSV8JC/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1433949439&sr=1-3&keywords=barbara+ivie+green


Thank you for your readership.


To read the first chapter click here: Treasure of Egypt Sneak Peek

To view Treasure of Egypt's Amazon book page and start reading today!
For Amazon.com click here
For Amazon.de click here 
The adventure awaits!

To read the previous articles on The Enigmatic Symbols of Egypt, click below: