Images

Greek texts were incised on this granite stela. It documents a royal visit to Elephantine. Ptolemy IX and Cleopatra III, his mother and co-regent, granted privileges to the priests of Khnum, a local ram god. There are hieroglyphic inscriptions...

A Greek lead curse figurine and miniature coffin from the Kerameikos, Athens. Such figurines were used to curse individuals. The figures usually had their limbs twisted or had pins inserted into them and were buried in graves and wells. The...

A beaten gold amulet stamped with a Greek text invoking the god Apollo. The text reads: INVOCATION TO THE GOD PHOEBUS APOLLO WHO RULES OVER MAN, POURING OUT LIBATIONS TO HIM, THAT HE MAY TAKE UP ARMS AND GO THROUGH THE ENEMY'S ARMY TO...

A 19th century CE painting by John William Waterhouse depicting the sorceress Circe of Homer's Odyssey offering a cup of magic potion to Odysseus. (Oldham Gallery, UK)

A scene from a wooden Egyptian sarcophagus depicting Anubis, the god of mummification and the afterlife. c. 400 BCE. Allard Pierson Museum, Amsterdam.

Statue of the Nile God Hapy, from Thebes, Karnak, temple of Amun-Ra, Egypt, 22nd Dynasty, reign of Osorkon I, c. 924-889 BCE. The fleshy body symbolizes the Nile's fertility. Hapy holds a table of offerings, from which hang geese...

The prince holds two sacred standards. In his left hand is a fetish (sacred emblem) kept in Abydos and linked to Osiris. Atop the other stood figures of Osiris, Isis and Horus. Prayers on the back-pillar invoke Osiris. The text around the...

On this side, Psamtek (Psamtik) I kneels making offerings to fearsome-looking deities, including a double-headed bull god and a snake. The majority hold long knives, as they were meant to guard a sacred space located behind this wall. Most...

This slab enclosed a sacred spot in the temple of Atum, a creator god, Heliopolis. King Nectanebo I is shown kneeling and making offerings. In this scene, he presents a loaf of bread. On the other side (now damaged), he appeared in the company...

This detail shows the cobra goddess Wadjyt empowering king Nectanebo I, who is represented by his Horus name and cartouches. A pharaoh had five official names; this panel, shows the most important three. The Horus name identifies the king...