#Hathoric Capital

[egypt-ancient-and-modern]

Hathoric capital from the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut.

[suetravelblog]

Cairo and Luxor Egypt

Colossi of Memnon – Egypt Tours Portal I temporarily lost my sense of humor in Cairo. It was a challenging cultural change. Although I’ve acclimated and grown accustomed to other Muslim countries, like Turkey, Cairo was tough. The Adhan (Muslim call to prayer) is especially prominent in Cairo. It wakes you up in the morning, and is broadcast throughout the day, even inside restaurants and…

[deinemuddalutscht]

Why Marvel spelled it "Khonshu"

First of all, there is not one correct spelling of this name as Egyptian hieroglyphics cannot be directly translated into the alphabet, and the pronunciation and spelling of the name have changed over the millennia.

To understand where this spelling comes from, one must first look at the history of the name: The spelling in the Old and Middle Kingdoms suggests that the name was pronounced something like χansVw. The V stands for a short unknown vowel that could not be recreated because ancient Egyptian script has no vowels. That's why direct transcriptions of hieroglyphics just write the name as "hnsw". The spellings Khonsu, Chensu, Chonsu, Khonsou, Chonsou, Khesnu, and Khensou are all derived from hnsw/χansVw, .

However, "Khonsu" is not the "authenthic" pronunciation of the name, because a) the English Khonsu is pronounced xɛnsu and not χansVw, and b) the original name for Khonsu contains the unknown vowel. It is even quite possible that Egyptians of the Old Kingdom used a different vowel for the name than the ones of the Middle Kingdom. In the Amarna period, the name was pronounced ˈχansə, and around 800 BCA, it was χans. Interestingly, the pronunciation ˈχansə seems to have survived in the Meroitic language in words like u���iḫaanša. From χans, the spellings Chons, Khens, Khons, Hons, etc., are derived. In Coptic, χans became Ϣⲟⲛⲥ, from which the spellings Shons and Schons are derived. Additionally, there is a Hellenized version of the name: Chespisichis/Khespisíkhis, from which, for example, the Portuguese name for Khonsu, Quespisiquis, is derived. The Greek version did not become the dominant form however, unlike for other gods such as Osiris, Isis, Seth, Nephthys, Horus and Anubis (Ausar, Aset, Sutekh Nebet-het, Heru and Anpu are the actual Egyptian versions of their names)

For reasons that will be important later, I first need to explain Khonsus role in the Theban pantheon. Every ancient Egyptian city had its own hierarchy and local versions of gods and myths. Different attributes and tasks were assigned to different gods in different citys. Amun, Khonsu, and Mut were the patron gods of Thebes, though they were relatively unknown until Thebes became the capital city of Egypt. This led to the cults of these gods becoming extremely popular. It is hard to comprehend just how incredibly powerful the priesthood of Amun was.: the priests of Amun were rulers in their own rights during the 21st Dynasty, and in the Greco-Roman period people used the Temple of Khonsu in Karnak to make temple oaths that governed civil matters like debts, compensations, inheritance, and divorce. Thus, the priesthoods in Karnak held significant power within Ancient Egyptian society.

I believe Marvel had difficulty understanding that Egyptian mythology did not have THE ONE pantheon that stood above the rest of the gods, like the 12 Olympians or the gods of Asgard. The Ennead of Heliopolis, was very important in the city of Heliopolis as it had two primary functions: 1) It served as a divine council for resolving disputes among the gods, and 2) as a generation of creation gods. Cosmogonies (creation myths) were different in every city, with each city placing its local gods at the top of the creation chain. In Thebes, the Ennead also existed, but it played a significantly smaller role in the Theban pantheon since they were not considered to be the gods who actually created the world. Additionally, it partially consisted of different gods than the "classic" Ennead. Thus, the Theban Ennead primarily served as the court and council of the god-king Amun-Ra. While Osiris and Horus were still considered to be quite important compared to the rest of the Ennead, they were very much merged with the Theban versions of Amun and Khonsu. Tasks that were typically attributed to Isis in other cities, for example, were assigned to "Hathor chief of Thebes" (a local Theban version of Hathor, not to be confused with "Hathor within the Benenet": another local Theban version of Hathor who was revered as the consort of Khonsu-Neferhotep).

There are several Theban cosmogonies, but they generally follow this pattern: At the beginning, there was a creator god who was a form of Amun. This creator god had a son(s) who were sometimes deities like Khonsu and Tatennen, but also could be other aspects of Amun (for example, in some inscriptions, the creator god Amun Kematef creates his "son" Amun Irita, but Amun Irita is just another version of Amun. This differentiation is sometimes made in Theban inscriptions to distinguish Amun as the dead creator god from Amun the king of the gods and Amun as part of the Ogdoad). The creator god then creates the eight gods of the Ogdoad with this son. The ogdoad is a group of four male-female twin pairs that in other cities is the very first generation of gods. The Ogdoad then together creates some form of the sun god, who then creates the Ennead.

The new Kingdom period made Khonsu into A creator god and sometimes even THE creator god The depiction of Khonsu as THE creator god is much rarer and is due to a fusion with Amun-Ra. He was known as “Khonsu, the great one, who comes forth from the primordial water” (as seen on the statue of Harwa from the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty in the Egyptian Museum, the magical healing statue of Hor in the Turin Museum from the Thirtieth Dynasty, the healing statue of a priest of the goddess Bastet in the Louvre Museum from the Thirtieth Dynasty, the healing statue of Psammetikseneb in the Florence Museum from the Thirtieth Dynasty, and in the inscription of Mentuemhat in the temple of the goddess Mut at Karnak from the end of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty and the beginning of the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty respectively). In his form as the creator god who emerged from the primordial water, he was sometimes represented as a double hawk-headed man with four wings standing on two crocodiles as a symbol of his triumph over chaos. Alternatively, he was rarely represented as a creator god in the form of a crocodile with the head of a hawk, lying on a pedestal. According to the historian Armour, the two heads of the hawk represent the sun and moon. They also probably symbolize Khonsu as a divine lunar equivalent of the creator sun god. In this form, he combines the sun and the moon in a single creature, thus, he could be conceived as a mythical complex personification of death and rebirth simultaneously.

Khonsu-Re was known since the late New Kingdom, but he lost significance during the Greco-Roman period. We often imagine the triad consisting of Amun, Mut, and Khonsu as a father, mother, and child dynamik, but like everything in Egyptian Mythology, the family tree is more of a cycle: Mut could be the mother, daughter, and wife of Amun(-Ra), Amun was the father of Khonsu, but at the same time, Khonsu was also seen as a form that Amun takes at night or at the beginning of the new day, and Mut was the mother of Khonsu, but she was occasionally also referred to as his daughter. ("Khonsu who arrives as an infant after old age, made by his daughter, fashioned by his J-serpent, through her [Mut], he is greatest of gods and goddesses. That she gave birth to him in Thebes was in the form of an august child, the rn/i-scarab, in his manifestation of Khepri"). The reason for this is that the births of the sun and moon were not understood as one-time events but as events that repeated every day, month, or year (daily birth of the moon symbolizing the rising of the moon, monthly births symbolized the beginning of a new moon cycle, and yearly birth symbolized the beginning of a new year and the start of spring). As the sun and moon, Amun and Khonsu are children who grow old, die, and are then reborn in an ever-renewing cycle.

Khonsu as A creator god is the more commonly attributed role to him in Thebes and is more associated with his role as the son of Amun rather than as a moon and sun god. The khonsu cosmogony makes him into the second god to emerge from the primodial water after Amun-Ra Kematef. Basically Amun ejaculates the into the waters, Khonsu then swallows the seed, becomes pregnant by it and travels to earth to give birth to the Ogdoad on the so called island of flames. In a way all gods can be considered the sons of Amun(-Ra) but Khonsu fills the role of THE son of Amun: the firstborn, the heir, the most important, and the most revered. This position naturally aligns him with Shu, who in the Heliopolitan cosmogony is the firstborn son of Re. In fact, Khonsu adopts many aspects of Shu: like how he is regarded as a wind god and the holder of the sky. Early Egyptologists even thought that Shu and Khonsu were the same deity. I still have an annotated version of Herodotus' work from the 18th century, where the footnotes claim that Shu in Thebes was called "Khonsu Neferhotep." The confusion arose from some Ancient Egyptian inscriptions that used "Shu" as an epithet after the Khonsus name, which literally gives the name Khons-shu or Khonshu (as I have already explained, Khons/Chons was the spelling usally used during the late New Kingdom). But the Shu in Khonshu was not just an epithet but this merged form also had its own cult.

God splitting happens when an epithet becomes so interwoven with a particular epithet that it forms its own subaspect of the "main" deity. Like how "Hathor in Benenet", "Hathor, chief of Thebes" and "Hathor, chief of Dendra" are all aspects of Hathor with the epitheth stating which role they take on in the pantheon. Distinguishing between different forms of the same god can be quite important since there can be significant differences when it comes to their priesthood, temple attributes and their place in the Egyptian family tree. God splitting was very common fo Khonsu in Thebes: "Khonsu-Neferhotep," "Khonsu-pa-ir-sekher," "Khonsu-pa-chered," "Khonsu-wen-nekhu," "Khonsu-Shu," and "Khonsu-Thoth" all had their own small priesthoods in the Karnak Temple Complex. The priesthood of Khonshu did not have its own temple, unlike "Khonsu-pa-chered" or "Khonsu-pa-ir-sekher," but was housed in the main temple of Khonsu in Thebes, the so-called Benenet.

Essentially, all offshoots of Khonsu are differnet aspects for Khonsu-Neferhotep, who had by far the largest and most important priesthood. And Khonsu-Neferhotep is the aspect of Khonsu that gained the most importance. Therefore Khonshu is a part of Khonsu-Neferhotep and Khonsu-Neferhotep is a part of Khonsu. That is why Khonsu during the Old Kingdom was so different from the Khonsu of the New Kingdom period: The theban version of him eclipsed basically all of the bloodthirsty, cannibal versions of him that might have existed in other city during the Middle Kingdom Other Khonsus in other cities. That is essentially why it is so difficult to understand Khonsus's original role in the Old and Milde kingdoms aside from the bloodthirsty underworld deity. It even debatable to which extent the Khonsu in the pyramid texts and coffin texts was a moon god to begin with and when he first became associated with the falcon. It is difficult to say who Khonsu was before became Khonsu-Neferhotep, the patron god of Thebes. Therefore it might be more accurate to say that Khonsu-Neferhotep isn't just a partial aspect of Khonsu, he straight up became THE Khonsu. We do not even know what the cult of Theban Khonsu was like before Ramesses III built the Benenet and Hatshepsut grouped him together with Amun and Mut to triad, because nothing of the Pre-Benenet temple survived, just the knowledge that there existed one.

In any case, Khonshu primarily embodied Khonsu's aspect as a sun and creator god, which is why I have focused so much on these aspects. Therefore, he is referred to in inscriptions in various ways, such as: "He who sails to Western Thebes daily, who leaves offerings for the Great Ba of Kematef, who is there as Amun, in the Underworld chamber with the Bas of the Ogdoad." or "He who enters Manu bearing offerings for the Father of fathers of the Ogdoad, so that his face lights up and his heart rejoices upon seeing him, as the august child when he enters the Eye-of-Re (Thebes)." Or "He who returns pregnant from the Grotto of Nun with the prestige of his father in his body." Basically some priests of Khonsu-Neferhotep thought that the myth in which Khonsu becomes pregnant by drinking his fathers semen, and then fucks the universe into existence with Hathor is a linguistic masterpiece that deserved its own cult.

Presumably, the cult around Khonshu had something to do with ancestor worship, as it describes how Khonshu leaves offerings for Amun Kematef and the Ogdoad. In the Theban tradition, the first creator god and the Ogdoad are often described as being dead gods, which contrasts sharply with the idea that Amun should be the king of the gods. This is why there is a differentiation between Amun Kematef, the dead first creator god, and Amun Irita, the living creator god and king of the gods. Simultaneously, the epithet "Father of the Fathers of the Ogdoad" is used to distinguish Kematef and Irita from Amun of the Ogdoad. Some cosmogonies, like the Khonsu cosmogony, avoid this confusion altogether by simply replacing the last pair of the Ogdoad (Amun and Amunet) with the twin pair Nia and Niat. Technically, there is also a fourth generation of Amun, because the sun god that the Ogdoad collectively conceives (don't ask me how they managed that. The gene pool of the Ancient Egyptian Gods is just a puddle at this point) is often another aspect of Amun, like Amenope.

[sidrashakti]

Goddess of the Week: Mut

"Lady of Heaven, Mistress of All the Gods"

Happy Fall Equinox! In honor of The Goddess, I’m starting a weekly thread studying a particular Goddess each Moonday! 🪷🪷

Week 1: Goddess Mut: "Lady of Heaven, Mistress of All the Gods"

Mut, also known as Maut and Mout, was an ancient Egyptian mother goddess. Her name means “mother” in ancient Egyptian. 

Mut-the-Great, "The Great Mother,"  is considered a primal deity, associated with the primordial waters of Nu from which everything in the world was born. Some legends say Mut gave birth to the world through parthenogenesis, but more often she was said to have a husband, the solar creator god Amun-Ra.

Mut was usually depicted as a woman wearing the double crown of the kings of Egypt, representing her power over the whole of the land. In art, Mut was pictured as a woman with the wings of a vulture, holding an ankh, wearing the united crown of Upper and Lower Egypt and a dress of bright red or blue, with the feather of the goddess Ma'at at her feet. 

Mut never had the widespread popularity of some other goddesses, and was often an elite deity associated with kingly power. During the high point of her cult, the rulers of Egypt would support her worship in their own way to emphasize their own authority and right to rule through an association with Mut. Mut was worshiped in many ancient Egyptian festivals such as the Opet Festival and the Beautiful Festival of the Valley. 

Her identity has merged at times with that of other more famous Egyptian Goddesses, such as Hathor and Sekhmet. As a result, Mut has been depicted as a cobra, a cat, a cow, and  a lioness. However, she is frequently pictured with a vulture headdress, highlighting her role as a protective mother. 

Surviving temples dedicated to Mut are located in modern-day Egypt and Sudan, reflecting her widespread worship. The center of her cult in Sudan became the Mut Temple of Jebel Barkal and in Egypt the Precinct of Mut Temple in Karnak. Surrounding the Mut Temple in Karnak, on three sides, is a sacred lake called the Isheru. During her rule in the Eighteenth Dynasty, the pharaoh Hatshepsut had the ancient temple to Mut at Karnak rebuilt. 

Patricia Monaghan writes, “This creatrix, depicted variously as vulture, lioness, and crowned woman, was a punitive goddess in whose temple traitors were burned to death. She was associated with the period preceding the Nile’s annual flooding, when harvest had left the fields empty and the people relied upon stored foods. Some have theorized that she was an invented goddess, designed as a corollary to the important god Amun, but evidence shows her to be an early divinity of Thebes. (Ellis; Lesko; Müller; Wilkinson).”

During the reign of Rameses II a follower of the goddess Mut donated all his property to her temple and recorded in his tomb:

“And he [Kiki] found Mut at the head of the gods, Fate and fortune in her hand, Lifetime and breath of life are hers to command ... I have not chosen a protector among men. I have not sought myself a protector among the great ... My heart is filled with my mistress. I have no fear of anyone. I spend the night in quiet sleep, because I have a protector.” 

Mut, her son Khonsu (who is a lunar deity) and her husband Amun formed The Theban Triad, which was particularly important during the New Kingdom period when Thebes was Egypt’s capital. 

In the Payprus of Ani, there is a hymn to the Theban Triad:

“Hail to thee, O Amun, Lord of the thrones of the earth, the oldest of the gods, self-created, and creator of all things.

Hail to thee, O Mut, Lady of heaven, mistress of all the gods, the great mother, who gave birth to the sun.

Hail to thee, O Khonsu, the young, the beautiful, the beloved son, who brings light to the darkness and guides the traveler on his way.”

The following is a short excerpt of The “Crossword Stela” of Paser, circa 1150 BCE, found in the sacred Precinct of Mut is a hymn to Mut that can be read both horizontally and vertically”: 

“Great of Sunlight, Who illumines the entire land with Her rays. She is His Eye, Who causes the land to prosper, the glorious Eye of Harakhty, the Queen of what exists, the Great and Powerful Queen, Life being in Her possession.

Great of Might, Her Eye has illumined the Horizon. As to the Ennead, Their hearts are glad because of Her, the Queen of Their joy in this Her name of Sky, for the spirits go forth within it because of Her.

The Two Lands and the Netherworld thereof are light because of Her, when She has appeared in the sky. When She goes forth, all good plants are born. She Who rises early, existing in a multitude of forms, enduring as the Nurse.

Ra sees Her Might just as She sees by means of Him, since He knows Her Majesty’s beauty. The Goddesses shout for Her: food and provisions for Her, the Goddess in Uaset-Thebes.

READING FROM MUT: 

I asked Mut to describe herself and bring forth any messages she’d like to share. 

16. Demeter: Devotion, Family Growth “Demeter, help me heal my grief and pain.” 

40. Freya: Courage, Passion, Gifts “Call on Her for gifts of good and long companionship”       “I will continue to be a beginning for all of my days, even until the very end.” 

25. Blodeuwedd: Lady of the Nine Flowers     She who refuses to be possessed. “Above all else, do not be possessed.” 

Sri Ramani Pada: The Fulfiller of Wishes: “Sri Ramani Pada is a beautiful young woman. She is Icchanvati, the one who is wishful, because she has the powers of transforming through love any wish into a positive reality. She is a sensuous Yogini who frolics in the higher levels of consciousness.”

Enthusiasm: “This card describes someone who is energetic and outgoing, with a good sporty sense of fun and adventure."

Mut is a friendly Goddess, encouraging us to call upon her and build relationships with Her, regardless of our ancestry. She can transform our grief as well as be a companion to us as a face of the Divine Mother. She is particularly fond of being communicated with through intuition and astrology, and wants continued study of and research into Her myth. She is horrified by the destruction in Sudan and is with each of her children there that are suffering. Female devotees wishing for a baby are encouraged to ask her to aid in their fertility struggles. She feels the pain of all her children, and wants to help them restore their power and sovereignty through love. 

More:

Etsy

Twitter: @SidraShakti

[the-cricket-chirps]

Hathor capital, c. 874-850 BCE. Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 22, reign of Osorkon II. Temple of Bastet, Bubastis, Egypt. Red granite

[bronzegods]

Hathor, goddess of love, sexuality, music, and the sun

Hathor is the middle child in Ra’s brood of sun goddess daughters (and the twin to Sekhmet) and one of the famous wrathful Eye Goddesses, but from the way she behaves, you’d think she was the youngest. Hathor tends to flip between behaving very cutesy and speaking in a high-pitched voice and snarling at and threatening other deities, and because of her powerful nature, those threats are pretty potent. She’s independent, goal-oriented, and ruthless in her pursuit of what she wants. Nobody can get in the way of her desires, no matter who they might be.

She has long disliked the fact that her eldest sister, Tefnut, was the one who gained access to the queenship. Hathor has tried her best to weasel her way into power, but the fact that the royal couples tend to result from married twins has made her efforts difficult. It’s not until Heru is born—alone, without being the twin of a goddess—that Hathor sees her opportunity. When Heru comes of age, Hathor swoops in and easily becomes his royal queen, finally achieving the goal that she had her eye on after hundreds of years of yearning. This causes a lot of drama with Aset, but Hathor doesn’t care what Aset wants or what she approves of. She has Heru wrapped around her finger, and now the Kemet pantheon is in her hands.

But what to do with it? Well, she has some ideas, and they involve capitalizing on her popularity among foreigners. Hathor has long had contacts outside of Kemet stretching into Sinai. Her close relationship with Baalat Gebal in Gubla (Byblos) makes her a powerful trade negotiator and has given Kemet a strong foothold in Retjenu. And as the goddess that oversees the turquoise mines in the Sinai peninsula, she has access to rare and valuable trade materials, allowing her influence to stretch even further north and east. Hathor is a force to be reckoned with, one that Aset grows ever more cautious of as her son slips further and further away into the realm of Hathor’s influence.

Highlights in her life include:

- Getting very, very close to seducing Hor the Older, which was why she felt her right to queenship was snatched out of her hands. When her father and sisters planned to go to war with Hor the Older, Hathor tried a more… alternative way of solving the problem. But when she found out Hor had aspirations for marrying Neith (who had zero interest in that arrangement whatsoever), Hathor lost her temper and switched tactics back to violence.

- She has one son with Heru, Ihy, the god of music and joy. Hathor has struggled to get pregnant again and Heru seems uncomfortable about passing the kingship to a god without some sort of war or sun divine aspect, so Ihy seems out of the running as the next king. (As for the “Sons of Horus,” they are his sons in name only and not related to him or Hathor, but that’s a story for another day.)

- Starting quite the rivalry with her family members. She and Aset do not get along in the slightest, and honestly it’s understandable why. She and Tefnut don’t have a very good relationship either due to her jealousy over Tefnut’s firstborn daughter position. She and Sekhmet developed bad blood when Hathor hit on Sekhmet’s husband Ptah at a family gathering. Her youngest sister Bastet mostly ignores her, and Hathor returns the same.

Commissioned lines from Argenemartwork

[zaktours]

Ancient Egyptian Gods: A Pantheon Wrapped in Mystery

Ancient Egyptian Gods: A Legacy of Divine Influence

The land of Egypt stands as a timeless testament to a civilization deeply immersed in a world where gods and goddesses reigned supreme. Amidst the golden sands and monumental pyramids, the Ancient Egyptians cultivated a rich polytheistic tapestry, serving an array of deities that shaped every aspect of their existence. The epoch of polytheism thrived save for Pharaoh Akhenaten's fleeting call to monotheism, which ultimately returned to the traditional worship of a multitude of divine entities, roughly totaling 2000 recognized gods and goddesses.

The Divine Hierarchy and Their Influence on Society

In the lives of the Ancient Egyptians, the gods were ever-present. Interacting with the divine was a part of daily life, influencing everything from fertility to the passage into the afterlife. The divine hierarchy was tiered with local gods associated with specific towns and national gods revered across the empire. Rituals of adoration and grand festivals honored the deities, seeking their favor and goodwill.

Deities of Renown: The Core of Egyptian Belief

Among the revered, Amun stood tall as a creator deity, ascending to the status of a national god when Thebes rose to capital prominence. Merging with Ra, the sun deity, he formed Amun-Ra, embodying creation, wind, and hidden mysteries. Ra, with his falcon head, fathered the pantheon, a ruler amongst gods.

Geb: Geb, the god of the earth, was a pivotal figure in the Ancient Egyptian pantheon. Revered as the husband of the sky goddess Nut, he represented the fertile lands and was often depicted with green skin symbolizing vegetation. Geb could be both a benevolent provider, offering the nutrients necessary for agriculture, and a destructive force during earthquakes. He was a key player in the grand cosmic order, forming the foundation upon which the gods, humans, and all of creation existed.  

Ihy: Ihy was a youthful deity, a god of music and joy within the Egyptian pantheon. He was often celebrated as the son of Hathor, the goddess of love and beauty, and Horus, the god of kingship and the sky. Ihy was depicted as a child with the sidelock of youth, playing a sistrum. He brought merriment to the gods and humans alike, symbolizing the vivacity and pleasures that music and dance bring to life.  

Nut: Nut was the goddess of the sky, her body arching protectively over the earth. Every day, she would give birth to the sun in the morning, swallowing it again at dusk. As the mother of Osiris, Isis, Seth, and Nephthys, Nut played a central role in many of the Ancient Egyptians' most sacred myths. She was often portrayed in tomb paintings as a star-speckled woman, offering the souls of the dead safe passage to the heavens.  

Sobek: Sobek, with his commanding crocodile form, was a deity of strength and power. His influence was dual-natured; he could incite fear due to the crocodile’s natural ferocity yet was also seen as a protective force, warding off evil and providing guidance for the Egyptian army. Sobek was honored in regions where crocodiles were prevalent, seen as both a creator and guardian deity.  

Anubis: Anubis was the jackal-headed god of mummification and the afterlife. His presence was key in the process of death and burial, presiding over embalming and guiding souls to the judgment hall of Osiris. Anubis was also a protector of graves, ensuring that the spiritual journey to the afterlife for the deceased was secure.  

Seth: Seth, also known as Set, was the god of chaos, storms, and war. As the embodiment of discord, he murdered and dismembered his brother Osiris, only to be challenged by Horus, the avenger. In spite of his malign associations, Seth was also revered as a defender against outside forces, suggesting an appreciation for his strength and the necessary balance of chaos within the order.  

Osiris: Osiris was revered as the god of the afterlife, resurrection, and fertility. This benevolent deity was central to Egyptian mythology as a symbol of rebirth, and he presided over the judgment of souls. The cyclic nature of his story, mirroring the rise and fall of the Nile, established him as a paramount figure in the understanding of life, death, and the promise of eternal life.  

Ma'at: Ma'at personified truth, balance, and cosmic order. She was the foundation upon which society and the universe were predicated. Ma'at was not just a goddess to be worshipped but a principle to be lived, her feather symbolizing the criterion against which the hearts of the dead were weighed. Justice and harmony were her offerings to the world of gods and mortals alike.  

Isis: Isis, known as the goddess of a thousand names, was venerated for her magical prowess and her role as a divine mother, wife, and healer. She was pivotal in the story of Osiris, aiding in his resurrection, and was a protective figure for Horus. Her worship transcended borders, and she became one of the most widely revered deities in the Mediterranean world.  

Horus: Horus, the falcon-headed god, was the epitome of kingship and the sky. He was the son of Isis and Osiris, and his battles against Seth to avenge his father's death underscored the theme of rightful rulership and balance. Pharaohs identified themselves with Horus in life and with Osiris in death, signifying the perpetual role of the king in Egyptian ideology.  

Hathor: The cow goddess Hathor was a multifaceted deity of love, motherhood, and music. As the Eye of Ra and the celestial mother of the pharaohs, she held a nurturing aspect. Temples dedicated to Hathor celebrated her benevolence and her aspects as the patroness of women, fertility, and the festivities that were integral to Egyptian social life.  

Ra: Ra was the sun god, the supreme deity of the Egyptian pantheon. Each day he sailed across the sky in his solar boat, a journey fraught with battles against the serpent Apep, symbolizing the triumph of light over darkness. Ra was a creator god, his eminence unrivaled, as he brought forth life with his very tears, a testament to his generative power.  

Amun: Amun, initially a local Theban deity, rose to national prominence, eventually merging with Ra to become Amun-Ra, an emblem of ultimate authority and the creative force. His hidden nature stood in parallel with his visible power and might. As the "King of the Gods," Amun held a central role in state rituals and the articulation of royal power throughout the New Kingdom period and beyond.  

Divine Representations: The Gods in Art and Culture

The depiction of gods in Egyptian culture was distinct, a blend of human and animal traits that embodied their divine roles. Common symbols like the ankh, the atef crown, and the double crown communicated the traits and authority of the deities. These icons defined their divine narrative, each a visual testament to their presence and power.

The Creation Saga and The Cycle of Day and Night

The genesis of the world began with Nun, from which Ra emerged, bringing forth existence itself. The saga unfolded with tearful reunions and the birth of the first humans, setting the stage for the daily dance of the heavens as Ra traversed the sky.

Devotion in Everyday Practices

The average citizen engaged in daily rituals, giving offerings at temples or home altars. Festivals were communal celebrations where gods paraded and devotees received a share of the sacrificial bounty. Votive offerings left by worshippers were tangible petitions for divine favor, while familial piety was expressed through gifts to the deceased, made in hopes that Osiris would extend his benevolence to souls beyond the mortal coil.

Intercession and Ritual Authority

Oracles served as a bridge between the mortal and the divine, as prayers and hymns permeated temple walls, uplifting the deeds of the gods. While the king was the principal ceremonial figure, high priests and powerful priestesses like the 'god’s wife of Amun' assumed roles of ritual importance, sustaining the intricate web of worship that ensnared the hearts of Ancient Egyptians.

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 8.7

Holidays

Aged Care Employee Day (Australia)

Assyrian Martyrs Day

Banana Day (Japan)

Bank Holiday Act Day (1871; UK)

Battle of Boyacá Day (Colombia)

Beach Party Day

DeviantArt Day

Dodge 807 Day

807 Giving Day

Freberg Day

Gaia Consciousness Day

Gallia Asteroid Day

Guru Rimpoche's Thungkar Tshechu (Sikkim, India)

Lock Day (French Republic)

Martyrs Day (Assyrian Community)

National Armed Forces Day (Bolivia)

National Day of Recognition for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health Workers & Practitioners (Australia)

National Handloom Day (India)

National Javelin Day (India)

National Lighthouse Day

National Marriage Equality Day

National NFT Day

National Psychiatric Technician Appreciation Day

National Report Health Care Fraud Day

Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day

Patient Appreciation Day

Postal Inspector Service Day

Professional Speakers Day

Purple Heart Day

Republic Day (Ivory Coast)

Say ‘Cheese’ Day

Sea Serpent Day

Take Last Winter's Snowballs Out of the Freezer and Have a Fight Day

Tasoua Hosseini (Iran)

Tightrope Walking Day

Tisha b'Av Bank Holiday (Israel)

Viking Pilgrimage (Spain)

Web Developer Appreciation Day

World Alternatives Games Day

World Lighthouse Day

World PVNH Disorder Awareness Day

Youth Day (Kiribati)

Food & Drink Celebrations

Pork Burger Day

Raspberries ’n Cream Day

Independence & Related Days

Cote d'Ivoire (a.k.a. Ivory Coast, from France, 1960)

Irish Reform Act (Passed; UK; 1832)

Ottawa (Became Capital; Canada; 1858)

Paperis (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

1st Wednesday in August

International Play Day (UK) [1st Wednesday]

IPA (International Play Association) Canada National PlayDay (Canada) [1st Wednesday]

National Professional Engineers Day [1st Wednesday]

National Psychiatric Technician Appreciation Day [Wednesday of 1st Full Week]

Regatta Day (Canada) [1st Wednesday]

Festivals Beginning August 7, 2024

Brown County Free Fair (New Ulm, Minnesota) [thru 8.11]

DeLeon Peach & Melon Festival & Tractor Pull (DeLeon, Texas) [thru 8.10]

Pea Harvest Festival (Palmer, Alaska) [Historically; 1920]

Lakefest (Eastnor, United Kingdom) [thru 8.11]

Locarno Film Festival (Locarno, Switzerland) [thru 8.17]

Medusa Festival (València, Spain) [thru 8.11]

Nevada County Fair (Nevada City, California) [thru 8.11]

Southdown Sheep Fair (Lewes, Sussex, England) [Historically]

Sziget Festival (Budapest, Hungary) [thru 8.12]

Taste of Andersonville (Andersonville, Chicago, Illinois)

West Point Sweet Corn Festival (West Point, Iowa) [thru 8.11]

Wikimania (Katowice, Poland) [thru 8.10]

Feast Days

Adonia (Honoring Adonis; Ancient Greece; Everyday Wicca)

Afra (Christian; Virgin Martyr)

Albert Kotin (Artology)

Albert of Trapani (Christian; Saint)

Betsy Byars (Writerism)

Breaking the Nile (Festival Honoring Hathor & All River Goddesses; Ancient Egypt)

Builth, the Footprint of Arthur’s Hound (Celtic Book of Days)

Cajetan of Thienna (Christian; Saint)

Carpophorus and companions (Christian; Saint)

Claudia (Christian; Matron)

Dometius of Persia (Christian; Saint)

Donatus of Arezzo (Christian; Saint)

Donatus of Besançon (Christian; Saint)

Donatus of Muenstereifel (Christian; Saint)

Emil Nolde (Artology)

Eugene the Hunting Dog (Muppetism)

Feast of 'Aut-Yeb (Personification of Female Joy; Egypt)

Feast of Cromn Dubh (Pre-Celtic God of the Harvest & the Underworld; Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Feast of the Name of Jesus (Christian, excluding Roman Catholic) [also 1.2]

Filseta (Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church)

Garrison Keillor (Writerism)

Harvest Holiday (Slavic Pagan)

Henri Le Sidaner (Artology)

Idi Amin Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Intergalactic Intercourse Day (Pastafarian)

International Beer Day (Pastafarian) [also 7.29]

John Mason Neale and Catherine Winkworth (Episcopal Church (USA))

Nantovinus (Christian; Saint)

Neith’s Day (Breaking of the Nile; Pagan)

Nikolai Triik (Artology)

Peter, Julian, and companions (Christian; Martyrs)

Rien Poortvliet (Artology)

Sixtus II, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Smartest Leprechaun Eisteddford (Shamanism)

Stan Freberg Day (Humorism)

Thomas à Kempis (Positivist; Saint)

Togrul Narimanbekov (Artology)

Victricius (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Fortunate Day (Pagan) [30 of 53]

Umu Limnu (Evil Day; Babylonian Calendar; 36 of 60)

Premieres

All Out For ‘V’ (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1942)

Beach Party (Film; 1963)

Billy the Mountain, by Frank Zappa recorded live (Song; 1971)

Condorman (Film; 1981)

Dreamworks’ Dragons (Animated TV Series; 2012)

8701, by Usher (Album; 2001)

Fantastic Four (Film; 2015)

Farmer Al Falfa’s Ape Girl (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1932)

A Feather in His Collar (Disney Cartoon; 1946)

The Gallopin’ Gaucho (Ub Iwerks Disney Cartoon; 1928)

Half-Pint Pygmy (MGM Cartoon; 1948)

Heavy Metal (Animated Film; 1981)

I Can’t Get Started, recorded by Bunny Berigan (Song; 1937)

I Cover the Waterfront, recorded by Billie Holiday & Teddy Wilson (Song; 1941)

It Ain’t Me Babe, by The Turtles (Song; 1965)

Janie Get Your Gun (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1965)

Jesus Christ Superstar (Film; 1973)

Julie & Julia (Film; 2009)

Just Another Band From L.A., by Frank Zappa and the Mothers if Invention (Album; 1970)

Lighthouse Keeping Blues (Chilly Willy Cartoon; 1964)

Lud-in-the-Mist, by Hope Mirrlees (Novel; 1926)

Lumpy Gravy, by Frank Zappa (Album; 1967)

New England Courant (Daily Newspaper; Boston, Massachusetts; 1721)

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (Film; 2013)

Porky’s Railroad (WB LT Cartoon; 1937)

Prehistoric Pink (Pink Panther Cartoon; 1968)

Satan’s Waitin’ (WB LT Cartoon; 1954)

Snuffy’s Party (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1939)

3:10 to Yuma (Film; 1957)

Til Tok, by Kesha (Song; 2009)

Unforgiven (Film; 1992)

Wanted For Murder (a.k.a. Paging the Saint), by Leslie Charteris (Short Stories; 1931) [Saint #7]

Weeds (TV Series; 2005)

We’re the Millers (Film; 2013)

Who’s That Girl (Film; 1987)

Yan Tan Tethera, by Harrison Birtwistle (Opera; 1986)

You’re a Sap, Mr. Jap (Fleischer/Famous Popeye Cartoon; 1942)

Today’s Name Days

Afra, Albert, Cajetan (Austria)

Albert, Donat, Kajetan, Siksto (Croatia)

Lada (Czech Republic)

Donatus (Denmark)

Hiljar, Hiljo, Vaido, Vaigo, Vaiko (Estonia)

Lahja (Finland)

Gaétan (France)

Afra, Albert, Cajetan, Dominikus (Germany)

Asterios, Astero, Astini, Nikanor (Greece)

Ibolya (Hungary)

Donato, Gaetano (Italy)

Alfrēds, Helara, Madars (Latvia)

Drąsutis, Jogilė, Kajetonas, Klaudija, Sikstas (Lithuania)

Didrik, Doris (Norway)

Albert, Alberta, Albertyna, Anna, Dobiemir, Donat, Donata, Doris, Dorota, Kajetan (Poland)

Štefánia (Slovakia)

Cayetano, Jordán, Sixto (Spain)

Denise, Dennis (Sweden)

Claude, Claudette, Claudia, Claudine, Donata, Donato, Donica, Donzel, Gladys (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 220 of 2024; 146 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of Week 32 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Coll (Hazel) [Day 5 of 28]

Chinese: Month 7 (Ren-Shen), Day 4 (Guy-Mao)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 3 Av 5784

Islamic: 1 Safar 1446

J Cal: 10 Purple; Threesday [10 of 30]

Julian: 25 July 2024

Moon: 9%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 23 Dante (8th Month) [Thomas à Kempis]

Runic Half Month: Thorn (Defense) [Day 15 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 49 of 94)

Week: 1st Full Week of August

Zodiac: Leo (Day 17 of 31)

Calendar Changes

Ṣafar [صَفَر] (Islamic Calendar) [Month 2 of 12] (Void Month)

[mid0o]

Hathor column capitals. Temple of Hatshepsut (1508-1458 BC), 18th Dynasty.

[egyptologylessons]

Counterpoise with Horus in the Marshes 📸 1. Horus 𓅄 “ḥrw” wearing the double crown of Egypt - Peshent 𓌂𓐍𓏏𓋖 “sḫm.ty” ‘The Two Powerful Ones’ (Double Crown) standing in a palace (kinship) and in serround by papyrus plants 𓇅𓏤𓆰 “w3ḏ” from the marshes 𓋴𓐍𓏏𓇏𓈅 “sḫ.t” of the Delta of Lower Egypt/North 𓇾𓇊 “t3-mḥw” from where he was born 𓄟𓋴𓁒 “ms”. 📸 2. Aset 𓊨𓏏𓆇 “3s.t” is breastfeeding 𓋴𓃀𓈖𓏏𓀔𓁐 “sbn.t” the child Horus. She is standing and wearing a tripartite wig of vulture motif representing the goddess Mut 𓏏𓅑𓁐 “mwt” and with disked horns of the goddess Hathor 𓉡 “ḥw.t-ḥr” ‘The Temple of Horus’ l. She is breastfeeding Harpocrate (the child Horus) who is standing naked 𓇇𓄿𓇌𓋳 “ḥ3y” and wears the pschent crown and holds the ankh 𓋹𓈖𓐍 “ˁnḫ” (symbol for life). A chapel of papyriform columns, from the hathoric capital, serround the pair. 📸 @museelouvre 𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬 @egyptologylessons 𓋹𓊽𓋴𓆖𓎛𓇳𓎛 © 𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁 #Ancientegypt #ägypten #egyptology #egypte #egitto #egipto #이집트 #horus #counterpoise #egyptianjewelry #aset #marshes #mythology https://www.instagram.com/p/CnuYMAFuQVQ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[khaire-traveler]

Hathor and Venus for the mythology asks!

Heyo! Yes, yes, here we go.

Hathor: What brings you joy?

My pets, my friends, sharing things I love with others, roleplaying, writing, photography, playing Baldur's Gate 3, taking a long drive while listening to good music, singing, waking up from a cool ass dream, watching cartoons, watching anime, dismantling capitalism, dancing, telling stories, being mischievous, making people laugh, amusement park rides, and many other things.

Venus: Have you ever had your heart broken?

Yes, many, many times, but recovering from such hardships is a part of life. It teaches us about ourselves, and we can form a closer relationship with who we are as people. Within these hardships lies an opportunity to grow, for even the sunflower couldn't bloom without a storm first. Eventually, there will be sun.

-

If you want to participate, here's the link to the ask game!

[janatours]

Luxor day tours 

   Luxor day tours  offer visitors a chance to explore the ancient wonders of Egypt, such as the stunning Karnak Temple and the breathtaking Valley of the Kings. Guests can also experience a traditional felucca ride on the Nile River, providing a unique perspective of the city's landscape. Additionally, the bustling local markets and authentic Egyptian cuisine make for unforgettable cultural experiences.

Abydos and Dendera Tours From Luxor  Abydos holds great historical significance as one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt and the site of many important temples, including the Temple of Seti I, which is known for its intricate carvings and the Abydos King List. Dendera is renowned for the Temple of Hathor, a well-preserved structure that showcases the grandeur of Ptolemaic architecture and provides insight into the religious practices of the time. Both sites offer a glimpse into Egypt's rich cultural heritage and its enduring legacy.

 Aswan and Abu Simbel Tours from Luxor  The tours offer an opportunity to explore the ancient sites of Aswan and Abu Simbel, two of the most important archaeological sites in Egypt. The tours also include visits to the temples of Karnak and Luxor, as well as the Nile River Cruise.

 Luxor East Bank Tours  often referred to as the "world's greatest open-air museum," is home to some of Egypt's most iconic and historically significant sites. It encompasses the ancient city of Thebes, which was the capital of Egypt during the height of its power and is renowned for its monumental temples and tombs. Visitors to Luxor can explore the Karnak Temple Complex and the Luxor Temple, both of which offer a glimpse into the grandeur of ancient Egyptian civilization.

 Balloon Tour in Luxor offers a unique perspective of the ancient city, allowing visitors to see famous landmarks from above. The experience provides a peaceful and breathtaking view of the Valley of the Kings and the Nile River, making it a memorable addition to any trip to Luxor.

 Tour To The West Bank In Luxor offers a unique opportunity to explore ancient Egyptian history and architecture, including the famous Valley of the Kings and Queen Hatshepsut's Temple. Visitors can also experience the vibrant local culture and stunning landscapes along the Nile River.

One of our  Luxor tours

Tour To Valley of the Queens, Habu & Ramesseum

Luxor Tours offers travelers a unique opportunity to explore some of the most remarkable ancient sites in Egypt. From the Valley of the Kings and Queens to the Temples of Habu and Ramesseum, visitors can immerse themselves in the captivating history and culture of the region. Explore The Allure of Luxor Tours and Try our Day Tour to Valley of the Queens, Habu & Ramesseum, Discover the Pharaonic History In Ramesseum, watch the charm of the Valley of the Kings &Queens, watch the most beautiful Scenes In Habu temple, Explore the Glorious site of Ramesseum and More.

Jana tours representative will pick you up from Your Hotel In Luxor to start Day Tour to the Valley of the Queens, Habu & Ramesseum, drive to the West bank which was used for mortuary buildings in Ancient times, visit Medinat Habu, then scout Ramesseum Temple of Ramses, watch the most beautiful scenes in the Ramesseum are represent Qadesh (Kadesh) Battle you will see Then Continue your day Tour to Deir el-Medina, known as The Valley of the worker, Deir el-Medina is an ancient Egyptian village End your day Tour with a visit to Valley of the Queens it’s a place where wives of Pharaohs were buried in ancient times. In ancient times The tombs of these individuals were maintained by mortuary priests who performed daily rituals and provided offerings and prayers for the deceased nobility. The valley is located near the better-known Valley of the Kings, on the west bank of the Nile across from Thebes (modern Luxor). At The End of your tour, you will be driven back to your Hotel in Luxor.

The suggested 1-day tours will include the following: 

§   Pick up services from your hotel in Luxor and return

§   All transfers by a private air-conditioned vehicle

§   Private Licensed English-speaking Egyptologist guide

§   Entrance fees to all the mentioned sites

§   lunch at a good quality restaurant

§   All service charges & taxes

The 1-day tours will not include the following: 

§   Visa entry to Egypt.

§   Optional tours.

§   Any other items not mentioned.

§   Tipping kitty.

                     Luxor Tours: https://bit.ly/3AcXRIV

                   Website: https://jana.tours/

                 WhatsApp :+201143320224

[brookston]

Holidays 8.7

Holidays

Aged Care Employee Day (Australia)

Assyrian Martyrs Day

Banana Day (Japan)

Bank Holiday Act Day (1871; UK)

Battle of Boyacá Day (Colombia)

Beach Party Day

DeviantArt Day

Dodge 807 Day

807 Giving Day

Freberg Day

Gaia Consciousness Day

Gallia Asteroid Day

Guru Rimpoche's Thungkar Tshechu (Sikkim, India)

Lock Day (French Republic)

Martyrs Day (Assyrian Community)

National Armed Forces Day (Bolivia)

National Day of Recognition for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health Workers & Practitioners (Australia)

National Handloom Day (India)

National Javelin Day (India)

National Lighthouse Day

National Marriage Equality Day

National NFT Day

National Psychiatric Technician Appreciation Day

National Report Health Care Fraud Day

Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day

Patient Appreciation Day

Postal Inspector Service Day

Professional Speakers Day

Purple Heart Day

Republic Day (Ivory Coast)

Say ‘Cheese’ Day

Sea Serpent Day

Take Last Winter's Snowballs Out of the Freezer and Have a Fight Day

Tasoua Hosseini (Iran)

Tightrope Walking Day

Tisha b'Av Bank Holiday (Israel)

Viking Pilgrimage (Spain)

Web Developer Appreciation Day

World Alternatives Games Day

World Lighthouse Day

World PVNH Disorder Awareness Day

Youth Day (Kiribati)

Food & Drink Celebrations

Pork Burger Day

Raspberries ’n Cream Day

Independence & Related Days

Cote d'Ivoire (a.k.a. Ivory Coast, from France, 1960)

Irish Reform Act (Passed; UK; 1832)

Ottawa (Became Capital; Canada; 1858)

Paperis (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

1st Wednesday in August

International Play Day (UK) [1st Wednesday]

IPA (International Play Association) Canada National PlayDay (Canada) [1st Wednesday]

National Professional Engineers Day [1st Wednesday]

National Psychiatric Technician Appreciation Day [Wednesday of 1st Full Week]

Regatta Day (Canada) [1st Wednesday]

Festivals Beginning August 7, 2024

Brown County Free Fair (New Ulm, Minnesota) [thru 8.11]

DeLeon Peach & Melon Festival & Tractor Pull (DeLeon, Texas) [thru 8.10]

Pea Harvest Festival (Palmer, Alaska) [Historically; 1920]

Lakefest (Eastnor, United Kingdom) [thru 8.11]

Locarno Film Festival (Locarno, Switzerland) [thru 8.17]

Medusa Festival (València, Spain) [thru 8.11]

Nevada County Fair (Nevada City, California) [thru 8.11]

Southdown Sheep Fair (Lewes, Sussex, England) [Historically]

Sziget Festival (Budapest, Hungary) [thru 8.12]

Taste of Andersonville (Andersonville, Chicago, Illinois)

West Point Sweet Corn Festival (West Point, Iowa) [thru 8.11]

Wikimania (Katowice, Poland) [thru 8.10]

Feast Days

Adonia (Honoring Adonis; Ancient Greece; Everyday Wicca)

Afra (Christian; Virgin Martyr)

Albert Kotin (Artology)

Albert of Trapani (Christian; Saint)

Betsy Byars (Writerism)

Breaking the Nile (Festival Honoring Hathor & All River Goddesses; Ancient Egypt)

Builth, the Footprint of Arthur’s Hound (Celtic Book of Days)

Cajetan of Thienna (Christian; Saint)

Carpophorus and companions (Christian; Saint)

Claudia (Christian; Matron)

Dometius of Persia (Christian; Saint)

Donatus of Arezzo (Christian; Saint)

Donatus of Besançon (Christian; Saint)

Donatus of Muenstereifel (Christian; Saint)

Emil Nolde (Artology)

Eugene the Hunting Dog (Muppetism)

Feast of 'Aut-Yeb (Personification of Female Joy; Egypt)

Feast of Cromn Dubh (Pre-Celtic God of the Harvest & the Underworld; Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Feast of the Name of Jesus (Christian, excluding Roman Catholic) [also 1.2]

Filseta (Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church)

Garrison Keillor (Writerism)

Harvest Holiday (Slavic Pagan)

Henri Le Sidaner (Artology)

Idi Amin Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Intergalactic Intercourse Day (Pastafarian)

International Beer Day (Pastafarian) [also 7.29]

John Mason Neale and Catherine Winkworth (Episcopal Church (USA))

Nantovinus (Christian; Saint)

Neith’s Day (Breaking of the Nile; Pagan)

Nikolai Triik (Artology)

Peter, Julian, and companions (Christian; Martyrs)

Rien Poortvliet (Artology)

Sixtus II, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Smartest Leprechaun Eisteddford (Shamanism)

Stan Freberg Day (Humorism)

Thomas à Kempis (Positivist; Saint)

Togrul Narimanbekov (Artology)

Victricius (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Fortunate Day (Pagan) [30 of 53]

Umu Limnu (Evil Day; Babylonian Calendar; 36 of 60)

Premieres

All Out For ‘V’ (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1942)

Beach Party (Film; 1963)

Billy the Mountain, by Frank Zappa recorded live (Song; 1971)

Condorman (Film; 1981)

Dreamworks’ Dragons (Animated TV Series; 2012)

8701, by Usher (Album; 2001)

Fantastic Four (Film; 2015)

Farmer Al Falfa’s Ape Girl (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1932)

A Feather in His Collar (Disney Cartoon; 1946)

The Gallopin’ Gaucho (Ub Iwerks Disney Cartoon; 1928)

Half-Pint Pygmy (MGM Cartoon; 1948)

Heavy Metal (Animated Film; 1981)

I Can’t Get Started, recorded by Bunny Berigan (Song; 1937)

I Cover the Waterfront, recorded by Billie Holiday & Teddy Wilson (Song; 1941)

It Ain’t Me Babe, by The Turtles (Song; 1965)

Janie Get Your Gun (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1965)

Jesus Christ Superstar (Film; 1973)

Julie & Julia (Film; 2009)

Just Another Band From L.A., by Frank Zappa and the Mothers if Invention (Album; 1970)

Lighthouse Keeping Blues (Chilly Willy Cartoon; 1964)

Lud-in-the-Mist, by Hope Mirrlees (Novel; 1926)

Lumpy Gravy, by Frank Zappa (Album; 1967)

New England Courant (Daily Newspaper; Boston, Massachusetts; 1721)

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (Film; 2013)

Porky’s Railroad (WB LT Cartoon; 1937)

Prehistoric Pink (Pink Panther Cartoon; 1968)

Satan’s Waitin’ (WB LT Cartoon; 1954)

Snuffy’s Party (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1939)

3:10 to Yuma (Film; 1957)

Til Tok, by Kesha (Song; 2009)

Unforgiven (Film; 1992)

Wanted For Murder (a.k.a. Paging the Saint), by Leslie Charteris (Short Stories; 1931) [Saint #7]

Weeds (TV Series; 2005)

We’re the Millers (Film; 2013)

Who’s That Girl (Film; 1987)

Yan Tan Tethera, by Harrison Birtwistle (Opera; 1986)

You’re a Sap, Mr. Jap (Fleischer/Famous Popeye Cartoon; 1942)

Today’s Name Days

Afra, Albert, Cajetan (Austria)

Albert, Donat, Kajetan, Siksto (Croatia)

Lada (Czech Republic)

Donatus (Denmark)

Hiljar, Hiljo, Vaido, Vaigo, Vaiko (Estonia)

Lahja (Finland)

Gaétan (France)

Afra, Albert, Cajetan, Dominikus (Germany)

Asterios, Astero, Astini, Nikanor (Greece)

Ibolya (Hungary)

Donato, Gaetano (Italy)

Alfrēds, Helara, Madars (Latvia)

Drąsutis, Jogilė, Kajetonas, Klaudija, Sikstas (Lithuania)

Didrik, Doris (Norway)

Albert, Alberta, Albertyna, Anna, Dobiemir, Donat, Donata, Doris, Dorota, Kajetan (Poland)

Štefánia (Slovakia)

Cayetano, Jordán, Sixto (Spain)

Denise, Dennis (Sweden)

Claude, Claudette, Claudia, Claudine, Donata, Donato, Donica, Donzel, Gladys (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 220 of 2024; 146 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of Week 32 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Coll (Hazel) [Day 5 of 28]

Chinese: Month 7 (Ren-Shen), Day 4 (Guy-Mao)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 3 Av 5784

Islamic: 1 Safar 1446

J Cal: 10 Purple; Threesday [10 of 30]

Julian: 25 July 2024

Moon: 9%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 23 Dante (8th Month) [Thomas à Kempis]

Runic Half Month: Thorn (Defense) [Day 15 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 49 of 94)

Week: 1st Full Week of August

Zodiac: Leo (Day 17 of 31)

Calendar Changes

Ṣafar [صَفَر] (Islamic Calendar) [Month 2 of 12] (Void Month)

[savvytravelers]

Luxurious Nile Cruise

Egypt Odyssey: Unraveling Mysteries Along The Nile

Embark on an unparalleled journey through the ancient wonders of Egypt with our exquisite 11-night Nile River cruise and land experience. This meticulously curated adventure includes a 3-night Cairo pre-cruise, a 7-night roundtrip cruise from Luxor, and a 1-night Cairo post-cruise, offering an all-encompassing exploration of Egypt's most iconic sights.

Day-by-Day Itinerary

Day 1: Cairo Begin your journey in Cairo, where you'll be greeted by our representative who will assist with your luggage and customs. Relax and settle into your luxury hotel, enjoying the first glimpses of the Nile from your partial view room.

Day 2: Cairo Dive into Egypt's rich history at the Egyptian Museum, home to King Tut's treasures and a vast collection of artifacts. After a local lunch, visit the Alabaster Mosque at the Citadel of Saladin, offering panoramic views of Cairo. Conclude your day with a Welcome Reception featuring tapas and drinks.

Day 3: Cairo Explore the ancient capital of Memphis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Marvel at the Pyramids of Giza, the Great Sphinx, and the necropolis of Sakkara. Enjoy a delightful lunch at the historic Mena House Hotel, followed by a leisurely evening.

Day 4: Cairo to Luxor Fly to Luxor, the ancient city of Thebes, and embark on your luxurious river cruise ship. Enjoy a Captain’s Welcome Cocktail as you prepare for the adventures ahead.

Day 5: Luxor Visit the Valley of the Kings and Queens, including a private tour of Queen Nefertari’s Tomb. Continue to the Temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. In the evening, relax on the Upper Deck or join an informal cooking class.

Day 6: Edfu Discover the Temple of Horus in Edfu, one of Egypt’s best-preserved temples. Enjoy the timeless landscapes of the Nile as the ship cruises towards Aswan.

Day 7: Aswan Opt for a free morning or an excursion to Abu Simbel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Later, take a felucca ride around Elephantine Island and consider an afternoon tea at the historic Old Cataract Hotel. End the day with a belly dance show on board.

Day 8: Aswan to Esna Visit the Philae Temple complex and a Nubian village on Hisa Island. Continue to the Great Temple of Kom Ombo, dedicated to Sobek and Haroeris. Celebrate local customs with a Galabeya Party on board.

Day 9: Esna to Luxor Cruise to Luxor, visiting the Temple of Karnak and a papyrus shop. Explore the Temple of Luxor and the vibrant Luxor Market.

Day 10: Luxor to Qena to Luxor Sail to Qena and visit the Temple of Hathor in Dendara, the best-preserved temple in Egypt. Return to Luxor for the night.

Day 11: Luxor to Cairo Disembark in Luxor and fly back to Cairo. Enjoy an exclusive tour of the Abdeen Presidential Palace, followed by a special lunch. Explore Coptic Cairo, including the Hanging Church and Ben Ezra Synagogue.

Day 12: Cairo Bid farewell to Cairo as you prepare for your flight home, completing an unforgettable journey through Egypt's ancient wonders.

Luxurious Accommodations and Amenities

Cairo (Pre-Cruise)

Arrival airport transfer

3 nights in a luxury hotel with a partial Nile view room, daily breakfast, and complimentary Wi-Fi

Full-day Cairo tour with visits to the Egyptian Museum, Citadel of Salah Ed-Din, and Alabaster Mosque

Visit to the Pyramids of Giza, the Great Sphinx, and Saqqara Museum

Lunch at the historic Mena House Hotel

Nile River Cruise

7-night river cruise in elegantly appointed accommodations

Fine dining options, including The Al Fresco Restaurant

Wine, beer, and soft drinks included during lunch and dinner

Sip & Sail cocktail hour, Welcome Cocktail, Welcome Dinner, and Gala Dinner

Dedicated English-speaking Egyptologist guide

Nightly entertainment, including belly dance shows and a Galabeya Party

Guided shore excursions and exclusive visits to historical sites

Onboard amenities: fitness room, sun-deck pool, hair and nail salon, massage room, and complimentary Wi-Fi

Cairo (Post-Cruise)

1 night in a luxury hotel with a partial Nile view room, breakfast, and complimentary Wi-Fi

Visits to the Hanging Church and Ben Ezra Synagogue

Exclusive private tour and lunch at the Abdeen Presidential Palace

Departure airport transfer

Optional Extensions

Enhance your adventure with a 3-night pre-cruise extension in Dubai, exploring the vibrant city known for its luxury shopping, modern architecture, and lively nightlife.

Conclusion

Experience the timeless allure of Egypt on our luxurious river cruise. From the bustling streets of Cairo to the serene landscapes along the Nile, this journey offers a unique blend of history, culture, and luxury. Explore iconic sites like the Pyramids of Giza, the Valley of the Kings, and the Temple of Luxor, guided by expert Egyptologists. Indulge in fine dining, exclusive experiences, and world-class service throughout your adventure. Join us for an unforgettable exploration of Egypt's ancient secrets and modern marvels with Savvy Travelers. Unlock the mysteries of this captivating land with our Egypt Odyssey!

[reglupin]

Um dos melhores exemplos da magnitude e esplendor de Alexandria na Antiguidade é o seu farol, construído na ilha de Pharos a mando de Ptolomeu ii. Idealizada pelo arquiteto e engenheiro grego Sóstrato de Cnido, a obra tinha 150 metros de altura e foi considerada o único arranha-céu do mundo durante muitos anos. Um terremoto no século xiv teria destruído o que sobrara do farol original.

Até hoje, os pesquisadores divergem sobre o funcionamento do sistema de iluminação utilizado pelos construtores, avançado para a época. Provavelmente, a luz vinha de uma tocha alimentada por madeira e era refletida por um complexo sistema de espelhos a até 50 quilômetros de distância, orientando a navegação.

O farol tinha vários pavimentos assentados sobre uma base quadrada, tudo construído em granito e revestido por mármore e calcário. No topo, ficava uma estátua de Zeus, o deus grego guardião dos mares. A parte de baixo era usada para os serviços administrativos, já que cerca de cem pessoas trabalhavam no farol para mantê-lo aceso constantemente.

Apesar da modernidade da capital helenística, o Egito era um país rural e agrícola. A maioria da população egípcia vivia em vilas e trabalhava nas terras dos reis e dos nobres. As vilas estavam sob administração de um monarca regional, indicado pelo rei, a quem cabia representar o governo, cobrar impostos e decidir disputas locais, como um juiz de pequenas causas. Havia ainda os sacerdotes, uma espécie de casta responsável pela manutenção e funcionamento dos templos e monumentos religiosos.

O politeísmo dominava o Egito. Os ptolomeus, como Alexandre antes deles e os faraós, se esmeraram em deixar claro que respeitavam as crenças, os deuses e os ritos religiosos locais. Mandaram reformar templos e construir novos, participavam de festivais e atividades religiosas, aceitavam a adoração e o sacrifício de animais. Com esse tipo de atitude, esperavam conquistar apoio e veneração popular.

Uma das grandes contribuições dos ptolomeus à religiosidade egípcia foi a construção do templo de Dendera, dedicado à deusa Hathor, mulher de Hórus (filho de Osíris e Ísis), e voltado para tratamentos curativos. Cleópatra visitou-o algumas vezes com o filho mais velho, Cesário. Trata-se de um complexo de edifícios numa área de 40 mil m2 que passou por várias reformas e ampliações, inclusive durante o período romano. As origens do templo podem ser até mais antigas, da era faraônica.

A religião egípcia, de qualquer forma, requeria a existência de um rei porque ele era o canal com deus e a representação viva do próprio deus. Sem um rei, mesmo estrangeiro, os fiéis sentiam-se desamparados. Os ptolomeus nunca foram tão amados quanto os antigos faraós, mas certamente alcançaram o respeito do povo. Eram mais conhecidos e populares em Alexandria, onde se concentrava a comunidade de origem grega.

[thewul]

The postmaster's note

As I made my way into my airplane seat in an Egyptair 747 and buckled up, having become accustomed to writing down my travel impressions while other passengers braced themselves for take off, a sheet of paper slid almost all by itself as I opened my notebook, plain copy paper a bit yellowed already, someone had left it there probably for safekeeping and forgot to retrieve it

Pylon, the Grand Temple Entrance – The highlight of the Grand Entrance is the two stone sentinels of the falcon-headed god Horus. Don’t miss the relief of Neos Dionysos (Ptolemy XII) holding his enemies by the hair, ready to smite them in front of Horus. This was intended to awe the Egyptian subjects as they entered. Forecourt, the Colossal Courtyard – Surrounded on three sides by 32 towering columns, the huge Forecourt is impressive. The columns are richly decorated with floral and palm capitals, and the walls are covered in reliefs of the gods Horus and Hathor. The Vestibule before entering the Inner Temple -The Vestibule lies after the Forecourt. Decorated with 12 columns topped with floral capitals, the Vestibule has two small rooms. The western room, Hall of Consecration has a beautiful relief depicting gods Horus and Thoth pouring sacred water over the pharaoh. The eastern room used to the temple’s Library and has a list of books it once contained inscribed on the wall. Hypostyle Hall, the Place of Ancient Ritual Preparation – This is one of the most beautiful places in the temple. The Hypostyle Hall’s roof is supported by 12 columns and book-ended by two small chambers, which access the inner passage around the temple. First and Second Antechambers, the Inner Altars of the Priests – The First Antechamber lies beyond the Hypostyle Hall and it has a staircase that leads to the roof, which is closed to the visitors. The reliefs are one of the lovelies there. They depict the procession of priests, headed by the pharaoh. The ceiling has a mural depicting the sky goddess Nut, with the various figures of the sun in boats beneath her. Sanctuary, the Room of the Gods – Lit by three small skylights in the roof, the sanctuary has the most interesting reliefs in the temple. In the olden days, the golden statue of Horus stood upon a granite shrine. Inner Passageway, Passage of Victory – The Inner Passageway runs around the back half of the temple. It can be entered from the Hypostyle Hall and is decorated with reliefs and inscriptions. Nilometer – The temple’s Nilometer can be found by taking a subterranean staircase leading from the eastern side of the Inner Passageway. Things to do around the Temple of Horus Mammisi, the Birth House – To the west of the Temple of Horus’ entrance lies the Mammisi. In the main chamber, on the right-hand wall, there are many reliefs of Hathor.

I failed to recognize him, at the footsteps of the pyramids at a distance, on a plateau overlooking the scenery, fittingly, precisely at dusk hour when everything became an in between day and night, reality and imagination, could he be the bird now that I had turned into his shadow, like him pursuing as many lives as I could entertain, unlike him that did so to seep through the cracks of reality I did so to tell a story, that became many stories, perhaps they were all his stories

Typed notes... I remembered the sound of the postmaster's portable typewriter well into the night, they were surely his, with a handwritten note below that seemed more personal and that I didn't know what to make of, I had their address in Bristol together with a cordial invitation to visit, post them as soon as possible