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Home , Anubis, Hapi (Nile god), Horus, Hu (mythology), Taweret

PROTECTED FOR ETERNITY: The Coffins of Pa-debehu-Aset

GALLERY GUIDE

DOROTHY MC BRIDE GILL DISCOVERY CENTER The World of Pa-debehu-Aset

Inside the Gill Discovery Center are two coffins that were made for Pa-debehu-Aset, a man who lived and died in ancient . He lived in the village of , midway down the River , over 2,300 years ago. Although the world of Pa-debehu-Aset may seem long ago and far away, we can learn quite a lot about the beliefs that were important to him and about in general, by studying the hieroglyphs and sacred symbols on his coffins.

Both of these coffins were made for Pa-debehu-Aset. The anthropoid (human-shaped) coffin once held his . Unfortunately his mummy became separated from his coffins long ago, and we do not know where it is, or if it still exists. The box-like coffin is called a shrine coffin, and the anthropoid coffin fits inside it. Only wealthy could afford two coffins.

THIS IS THE Egyptian society was divided into distinct social HIEROGLYPH groups. There was one , usually a king, FOR but sometimes a queen, who ruled over all the land. coffin , and all the members of his or her family, were very rich and powerful. Pharaohs were treated like gods on earth, and many people helped them in their daily lives and with running the kingdom. Pa-debehu-Aset was probably a member of the upper :A coffin protected middle class—a social group that also included doc- the mummy from sun, heat and rain. tors, engineers, merchants and scribes. Most It also provided a Egyptians, though, were members of the lower class- place to record sacred prayers es. They might be soldiers, dancers, farmers, or any and the name of of a number of other occupations. the deceased.

2 THIS IS THE Most of what we know today about ancient Egypt is a HIEROGLYPH result of the hard work of Egyptologists—people who FOR study ancient Egypt. They need to learn how to read desert hieroglyphs so they can study the art and , and the objects that survive from that time. They also need to learn about the geography, environ- ment and politics of ancient Egypt, because, ¥Like most Egyptians, like today, those things affect how people live. Pa-debehu-Aset lived in a city Try your skill at being an Egyptologist! Locate located very near the River Nile. In a this image of the god on Pa-debehu- land that was Aset's shrine coffin. Horus was the son of the mostly desert, it god and the goddess . Here he is was important to be near water. shown as a falcon, a type of hawk common in ancient Egypt. THIS IS THE HIEROGLYPH Ancient Egyptians lived in a climate that was both FOR inviting and extreme. Most of the country was dominated water by a harsh, hot and dry desert environment. Fortunately, the land of Egypt was also enriched and nourished by the River Nile, the world's longest river. The Nile flooded its banks once every year, leaving behind deposits of ½ fertile topsoil, which provided the Egyptians with their The River Nile was only source of rich, work- the most important source of fresh able farmland. water for ancient Egyptians.

The symbol below is called a wedjat-eye. It is also known as “the .” It is a very powerful symbol of rebirth and protection, and it will be your clue to explore the Gill Center as you test your knowledge of ancient Egypt!

Find Pa-debehu-Aset's city of Asyut on the map.

Turn the page to explore the remarkable world of Pa-debehu-Aset…

3 T H I S I S T H E G O D Sacred Stories Osiris Like all ancient Egyptians, Pa-debehu-Aset worshipped hundreds of gods and goddesses. They helped him live his life on earth and prepare for eternal life after death. In the ancient Egyptian creation story, the world began with Nun, the raging waters of . The sun god Re emerged from Nun and created , god of the air, and , goddess of the morning dew. Shu and Tefnut then created , god of the earth, and , goddess of the sky. These created all the other gods and goddesses. This is an image of Nut, the goddess of the sky. She is also the mother of the gods Osiris and Seth.

THIS IS THE Find Nut on Pa-debehu-Aset’s GODDESS anthropoid coffin.

A grandson of the god Re, Osiris was the most power- ful Egyptian god. He was originally a god of agriculture and fertility, and the first pharaoh of Egypt. He was tricked and killed by his evil brother Seth, the god of the storm, chaos and the desert. Seth tore Osiris' body into many pieces and scattered them throughout Egypt. Osiris' wife Isis and her sister Nephthys searched tire- lessly until they gathered together all the pieces of Osiris' body. , the god of mummification, put all the pieces of Osiris' body back together and wrapped his body in linen. Anubis magically reunited Osiris' spirit with his mummified body, and Osiris began a new life as the god of the .

4 Isis and Nephthys are sisters, T H IS IS T H E and they are often difficult to tell GODDESS apart. The one difference is the Isis headdress each wears—Isis usually wears a headdress in the shape of a throne or a sundisk with horns; Nephthys usually wears a headdress with a picture of a palace topped by a basket.

Find the two sisters together on Pa-debehu-Aset's anthropoid T H I S I S T H E G O D coffin. Which one is which? Horus Pa-debehu-Aset would have relied on Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, Horus and Anubis for protection from harm. If Pa-debehu-Aset had a family, he and his wife would have asked the god and the goddess — both important household gods—to help keep them safe and healthy.

Bes was the god of the home, childbirth, infants, humor, song and dance. Along with Taweret, he was one of the most important household gods because he warded off evil spirits from newborns at the moment of birth. He is always shown as half-, half-man. Taweret protected mothers and their children against the many risks surrounding pregnancy and childbirth. She is always shown as a pregnant with the limbs and paws of a lion.

Find Bes and Taweret. Look carefully—in this exhibit they are represented as — small charms carried or worn for protection or rebirth. Most of the important gods and goddesses are named and pictured on Pa-debehu-Aset's two coffins. Ancient Egyptians believed their powerful presence protected See how the deceased throughout eternity. Look around the Gill many gods Discovery Center for clues to help you identify “Who's and Who” on the coffins. goddesses you can Turn the page to learn about how are made… recognize!

5 T H I S I S T H E G O D How a Mummy is Anubis as a jackal- headed man Made Unfortunately, Pa-debehu-Aset's mummy is missing. However, we know his body was mummified, and then placed inside his anthropoid coffin because a frag- ment of linen and some small decorative beads that once adorned his body remain inside the coffin. The ancient Egyptians took great care to preserve a per- son's body after death. They believed both the ka, a person's spirit double, and the ba, a person's eternal soul, needed to return to the body in the next world.

This is Isis, the goddess of mourn- ing. She was the wife of Osiris, and assisted Anubis with mummi- fication. Look at the position of her arms—they are in the same posi- T H I S I S T H E G O D tion as the hieroglyph for ka, which Anubis is written as K. The hieroglyph as a jackal for ba is written as a ba-bird, like this Ö.

Find Isis on Pa-debehu-Aset's shrine coffin.

After someone died, the body was taken to an embalmer— a specialist trained in mummification. Ancient Egyptians believed the brain wasn’t important, so it was removed and discarded. The was treated with great care, as it was believed to be the center of intelligence. It was removed, wrapped separately and returned to its place in the body. The lungs, liver, stom- ach and intestines were removed, individually embalmed, and placed in canopic jars.

6 The human- The jackal- The baboon- The falcon- headed god headed god headed god headed god Imsety guard- was watched Qebhsenuef ed the liver in charge of the over the lungs protected the stomach intestines

Canopic jars were special containers that held the embalmed internal organs of a dead person. Each jar held a specific organ, and each lid shows of one of the four sons of the god Horus.

THIS IS THE nce the organs were removed, the body was cov- HIEROGLYPH O FOR ered with a special salt called natron that removed all mummy the moisture. After about 40 days, the body was dried and ready to be wrapped in hundreds of yards of linen strips. (Try to picture strips of cloth the length of several soccer fields laid end to end!). Fingers were bandaged individually; then the arms and legs were wrapped separately before being wrapped together with the rest of the body. The head was wrapped last. S Usually Egyptians Priests were present during the wrapping process, and drew the human they said special prayers as they inserted amulets body with both arms and legs in between the linen strips. The entire process of prepar- full view. But here ing the mummy could take up to 70 days. the body is shown all wrapped up— just the way a Anubis was the god of mummy should mummification. Ancient look! Egyptians believed he guided the process of THIS IS THE mummification. He is HIEROGLYPH always shown as a jackal FOR —a type of wild dog— intestine or a jackal-headed man.

Find Anubis on Pa-debehu-Aset’s - anthropoid coffin. The ancient Egyptians learned a great deal about Turn the page to learn about Pa-debehu-Aset's journey the human body through the to the afterlife… process of and mummification. 7 THIS IS THE Journey to the HIEROGLYPH FOR –pillar Afterlife

After the body was mummified, it was placed in a coffin—or like Pa-debehu-Aset's mummy—a of nesting coffins. A funeral procession was held that included friends and family members of the deceased, as well as musicians and dancers. The coffins were ©This sign of Osiris then placed in a tomb with gifts such as food, furni- signifies stability ture, jewelry and many other items that would make life and represents his backbone. comfortable for the deceased in the next world.

This is a funeral procession in ancient Egypt. On the far left is the god Anubis, shown as a jackal. In front of him, a group of male mourners follow the anthropoid coffin of the deceased. The wife of the deceased kneels in front of her husband's coffin. This image is from the , a collection of hymns, prayers and spells that were written on THIS IS THE HIEROGLYPH and placed inside the coffins or on the FOR mummy itself. life The ancient Egyptians enjoyed their life on earth, and they believed in an afterlife that lasted for eternity. According to ancient Egyptian beliefs, after Pa-debe- -Aset was mummified and buried in a tomb, his soul began a journey into the next world. This journey was difficult and risky, but the sacred symbols and hieroglyphs on his two coffins offered his spirit assistance It is called an å and protection. sign and can be found many times on gyptologists have deciphered the both coffins. E hieroglyphs on Pa-debehu-Aset's coffins. One prayer from the top of the shrine coffin appears at left...

8 ...And here is what it says: THIS IS THE “1,000 jugs of beer, 1,000 oxen, 1,000 fowl, 1,000 of HIEROGLYPH every good and pure thing for the ka of the venerated FOR one, the Osiris, Pa-debehu-Aset.”

Bread and beer were an important part of most ancient Egyptians’ diet. Even so, one thousand loaves of bread and one thousand jugs of beer would feed one person for a long time. This prayer meant that the deceased would have food and drink for eternity. It also asked that Pa-debehu-Aset be given “1,000 of The scarab beetle ¡was a symbol of every good and pure thing” once he reached eternity. the rising sun and What “good and pure things” do you think he would rebirth. hope to receive?

The ancient Egyptians wanted to enjoy eternity without working too hard, so they included shawabti figures in their tombs. These small models of human beings acted as substitute workers for the deceased. If any planting or harvesting was required of the deceased, the shawabti figure would magically perform the task in their place.

THIS IS THE Sometimes as many as 365 shawabti HIEROGLYPH figures—one for each day of the year— FOR would be sun included in a tomb. And sometimes they were placed in a special shawabti This solar disk was also a sign of box like this 0the sun god Re. one.

Find these two objects in the Gill Discovery Center.

Turn the page to learn about reading and writing in ancient Egypt… 9 THIS IS THE Reading and HIEROGLYPH FOR papyrus Writing in Ancient Egypt

Most people in ancient Egypt could not read and write. That skill was learned and practiced by a small number of people called scribes. Scribes were impor- ÊPapyrus grew tant and respected members of Egyptian society. along the banks of They trained for many years, the River Nile. beginning around the age of nine.

This is , the god of scribes, wisdom, and the moon. He is shown here with the body of a man and the head of an ibis—a beloved bird to the ancient Egyptians.

THIS IS THE Find Thoth on HIEROGLYPH Pa-debehu-Aset's FOR THE G OD shrine coffin. Thoth

The ancient Egyptians used a complicated system of writing called hieroglyphs. Hieroglyphs were symbols that represented sounds, ideas, people or objects found in ancient Egyptian life. Here Thoth ” appears in the Sometimes they were painted on wood or papyrus— form of an ibis. a type of paper made from the papyrus plant—and sometimes they were carved into stone. There were over 700 different hieroglyphic signs. Imagine trying to learn that many!

This is the hieroglyph for a scribe's toolkit. It shows the container that holds one circular cake of red ink, and another of . The hieroglyph also includes pictures of a small Å water jar and a brush used for writing. When you combine the hieroglyph for a “scribe's toolkit” with the hieroglyph for “man,” you get the hieroglyph for “scribe.” 10 ÅÍ THIS IS THE Hieroglyph is a Greek word that means “sacred carv- HIEROGLYPH ing.” Sometimes hieroglyphs really look like the words FOR they represent. For example, look at the four hiero- friend glyphs below and try to guess what they mean: ˆ G[o But sometimes they can be pretty tricky! Try to guess what these four hieroglyphs mean: bThis sign is very similar to the ankh sign, which r 0H† symbolizes “life”. (The answers are at the bottom of this page.)

Now look closely at the hieroglyphs below. Can you find them on Pa-debehu-Aset’s coffin? THIS IS THE HIEROGLYPH vhorned viper n ripple of water • star FOR strength Pa-debehu-Aset's name And this is the way it appears many times on appears on the lid of his both of his coffins. anthropoid coffin: His name means “the one who was a request of rDo you recognize Can you find the god- Pa-debehu- the head on the dess Isis.” Aset's name staff? (It's Anubis, the god of mummi- It is written on his fication.) like this: coffins?

The ancient Egyptians believed that as long as they repeated the name of someone who died, that person would continue to live on in eternity. You can help keep the spirit of Pa-debehu-Aset alive by saying his name out loud (pah-deh-beh-HOO-AH-seht), and

learning more about his world. mouth, seat, garden, heart garden, seat, mouth,

cup, tree, sunshine, turtle sunshine, tree, cup, 11 Glossary amulets (AM-yoo-lets): small charms linen (LIH-nin): cloth made from the worn or carried for protection or flax plant; used for clothing and rebirth; worn as jewelry in life mummy wrappings in ancient and also tucked into linen Egypt mummy wrappings mummification (MUM-mi-fa-KAY-shun): the anthropoid (ANN-throw-poyd): shaped like process of drying out and pre- a person serving a body after death Anubis (ah-NOO-bis): god of natron (NAY-tron): natural salt used in mummification the mummification process ba (bah): eternal, imperishable Nephthys (NEP-this): a goddess of soul that often takes the form of mourning and sister of the a human-headed bird goddess Isis Bes (bess): household god who Nut (nuht): goddess of the sky protected infants from evil; appears as half-lion, half-man Osiris (oh-SIGH-riss): the god of the Underworld, husband of the canopic jars (can-OH-pick): a set of four goddess Isis and father of the lidded jars intended to hold the god Horus liver, lungs, stomach and intestines Pa-debehu-Aset (pah-deh-beh-HOO-AH-seht): a man who lived in ancient Egypt Duamutef (doo-AH-moo-tehf): one of the 2,300 years ago. His name four sons of the god Horus; means “the one who was a canopic protector of the stom- request of the goddess Isis” ach; has the head of a jackal papyrus (pah-PIE-ruhs): a tall reed-like Hapi (HAH-pea): one of the four marsh plant used for making a sons of the god Horus; canopic paper-like material for writing protector of the lungs; has the and record-keeping head of a baboon pharaoh (FAIR-oh): title for kings in hieroglyphs (HIGH-row-GLIFS): “sacred ancient Egypt carvings;” a writing system that combines symbols represent- Qebsenuef (kehb-SEH-noo-ehf): one of the ing sounds, ideas, people or four sons of the god Horus; objects found in ancient Egypt canopic protector of the intes- tines; has the head of a hawk Horus (-uhs): the son of the god Osiris and the goddess Isis, he scribe (skribe): well-educated officials represents the power of the who learned and practiced ruling pharaoh hieroglyphic writing ibis (EYE-bis): native Egyptian bird shawabti (shah-WAHB-tee): small mum- with long legs and a curved miform figures buried in tombs bill; represents the god Thoth to act as helpers, workers and servants in the afterlife Imsety (im-SET-ee): one of the four sons of the god Horus; canopic shrine coffin (shrine COF-in): a rectangular protector of the liver; has the outer coffin that holds an head of a man anthropoid coffin, shaped like the shrine of a god Isis (EYE-sis): a goddess of mourning, she was the wife of Taweret (tah-WHERE-et): household the god Osiris, mother of the goddess of childbirth and chil- god Horus and sister of the dren; appears as a pregnant goddess Nephthys hippopotamus with the limbs and paws of a lion ka (kah): divine, spiritual double or “twin,” born with a person Thoth (thohth): god of scribes, and returns to the spirit world wisdom, and the moon after death C R E D I T S : This Gallery Guide is made possible by Dan and Dorothy Gill, with additional funding from the , a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities. All objects are owned by the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester with the exception of the following objects: amulets (page 5); shawabti figure and shawabti box (page 9), Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts; canopic jars (page 7), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of James Douglas, 1890. (90.6.31ab, .32ab, .33ab, .34ab) Photograph © 2003 The Metropolitan Museum of Art; The Egyptian Book of the Dead (page 8), copyright 1994,1998 James Wasserman, Chronicle Books, www.bookofdead.com.