Magazine | Ancient Egypt | Online Museum A magazine with unique insights on Ancient Egypt and articles about: - The gods of Ancient Egypt - A 3000-year old recipe - A timeline of Egypt - 4 obscure artifacts (an in-depth review) - Religious syncretism

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The Ancient
Civilization that
lasted 3000
years. Its
achievements
are still admired
today
I S S U E 1 | J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1
In this issue:
4 LESS-KNOWN
Cultural Appropriation in
Ancient Egypt and beyond. A
look into the fusion of Gods
from different cultures
A 3000-year old recipe & the
cultural importance of dates in
Ancient Egypt
MAKE DATE CANDIES
EGYPTIAN ARTIFACTS
The best known gods from
Ancient Egypt | A clear
overview of figures
EGYPTIAN GODS
Ancient Egypt
RECIPE: HOW TO
A LIST OF THE

2. 05
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This magazine is made by an ehtusiast; by no means is it complete or up to professional standards.
It is a faithful attempt to bring culture to people's doorstep - and to entertain during Covid-19.
04 Egypt's Timeline
An exhaustive timeline of major events in
Ancient Egyptian times.
Ancient Egypt
A list of Egypt's best known Gods: from Ra to
Amon
4 Less known Artifacts
In-depth stories of 4 unique Egyptian
artifacts. A small selection of objects that
help us understand Ancient Egyptian culture.
The Fusion of Gods
How the Egyptian gods fused with those of
other cultures.
A Museum to enjoy
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ON THE COVER
A man walking on
the plain by the
pyramids of Giza
Online Museum
J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1
Ancient EgyptAncient EgyptThis week's theme:
Page 2Table of Contents |
03 Editorial
A brief introduction & a word of welcome
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CONTACT
The Gods of
08
Date Candy
A take on the 3000-year old recipe & a history
of date fruit in Ancient Egypt
A Story & Recipe:
Syncretism:
17 Endnote
A list of valuable resources & a conclusion

3. ...and this is my first attempt at making a
Magazine.
I sincerely hope you enjoy what this platform has to
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Thank you for making it to this Magazine, and
Online Museum.
Page 3Editor's note |
Editor's Note
A word of welcome
I created onlinemuseum.net during Covid-19, when
i missed visits to my own museums, in the
Netherlands.
DEAR VISITOR,
~ Joël from Online Museum
Ennio MorriconeRecommended Reading music: Ennio Morricone

4. 7000-3500 BCE
The first settlers of the Nile Valley
3000 BCE
Upper Egypt (south) and lower
Egypt (north)
330-30 BCE
Macedonians conquer Egypt | The
Ptolemaic kingdom commences
1342 BCE
Tutankhamun was
born
2613-2181 BCE
The 'Age of Builders', when
sculptures & arhitecture were
perfected
2550 BCE
The pyramids of Giza were
constructed
200 BCE
The Rosetta Stone was created
1345 BCE
The Nefertiti Bust was
created
1600-1100 BCE
Pharaohs were burried
in the Valley of Kings
3100 BCE
The Hieroglyphic script was
developed
30 BCE
Egypt became a province of the
Roman Empire
30 BCE
Cleopatra ruled over Egypt
1630-1550 BCE
The 'Hyksos' conquer
and rule Egypt
1530 BCE
Creation of the oldest
known mummy: Lady
Rai
Timeline
Ancient EgyptAncient EgyptOf
A brief overview of Ancient Egypt's best
known events
*This timeline is by no means complete. It is a mere selection of events to let
you get an idea of Ancient Egypt's history
Page 4A Timeline |

5. The Gods of
Ancient EgyptAncient EgyptOf
Page 5The Gods of Ancient Egypt |
A list of the best known Egyptian Gods
The god Ra or Re is easily noticed on Egyptian iconography: he
usually has the head of a hawk and the sun over his head. In Egyptian
mythology, he permanently sailed across the sky on his boat. During
the day, he shed the light of the sun onto the living. During the night
he shone in the realm of the dead.
Osiris was the king of the underworld and symbolized death,
resurrection, the cycle of nile floods and more. He was a king of egypt
and all the gods. But, when Osiris was younger, he was cut into pieces
by his brother Seth. Osiris' wife Isis put him back together and
produced their child Horus.
Ra
Osiris
The son of Isis and Osiris and the symbol for divine rule. He is
most often portrayed as a falcon and represents war as well as
hunting. Most pharaos made a claim of descendancy from this God.
Some even said they are manifestations or reincarnations of Horus.
Horus
To note: Ra and Horus are quite alike. They were fused together in
late Ancient Egypt.

6. Page 6The Gods of Ancient Egypt |
One could call her the loving mother of Egypt: she cared for
mortals even after they died. That is why you will see her in many
royal tombs; she could care for the deceased. What's more: many
Pharaohs claimed they are horus reincarnated. In other words: Isis is
their actual mother.
Isis
Before Osiris became god of the underworld, Anubis had reigned
over these realms. After the change of dynasties, Anubis occupied
himself with funerary practices and the care for those who died. He
became the prime deity for mummification in Egypt and is almost
always portrayed as a jackal holding the key of life.
Anubis
Thoth is the Egyptian god of wisdom. He is most often depicted as
an ibis - a bird living close by the Nile. With wisdom came skill and
insight; Thoth knew things even his fellow divinities did not know. For
instance, Thoth is particularly known for having invented language
and the Egyptian script of hierogplyphs.
Thoth
Perhaps you once heard that Ancient Egyptians worshipped cats.
The goddess Bastet is the divinity that these feline creatures
represent. She is a goddess of partying and having a good time. In
that sense, she is much alike the Greek god Dionysus and the Roman
Bacchus.
Bastet

7. The goddess Hathor was the daughter of Horus, and like her father
she is a 'god of the sky'. She is most often represented as a cow or with
elements of a cow.
It was sometimes said that Hathor is the literal and figurative 'golden
eye of Horus': she not only replaced the eye after Seth cut it out, but she
was also her father's most prized possession. That is to say, she caught
'the loving eye' of her father. The formation of this eye, or the birth of
Hathor, is presented by the phases of the moon.
Page 7The Gods of Ancient Egypt |
Seth was the god of chaos, plagues and storms. He is depicted with
a doglike body, but scholars are not quite sure which animal he really
represents. Seth is said to reign over the South of Egypt (known as
'Upper Egypt'), where the climate is more hostile and the land is less
fertile.
Seth
Hathet
Many Egyptian gods have an origin city, and for Amon, it is the
historic city of Thebes. He could be depicted as a Ram or a Goose, but
he simply wore a crown quite often too. At some point in Egypt's history
Amon was merged with the sun-god Ra. The temple of Amon-Ra is a
testimony of this fusion.
Amon
Cats were adored throughout Ancient
Egypt... and beyond: when the Roman
Empire became mighty, the Egyptian cult
of Bastet (of cats) was worhsipped in its
capital.
#Fun Fact#Fun Fact

8. A Story & Recipe
Date CandyDate CandyAbout
Page 8A Story & Recipe - Date Candy |
A take on the 3000-year old Recipe & a discussion on the role of
Dates in Ancient Egypt
Dates are an indigenous fruit of Ancient Egypt. They grow in
places all across the nile, and Egypt is one of the world's largest
date exporter in the present day.
In ancient times, the dates were a desired delectable too. They
used the fruit to sweeten beer or make recipes like the one we
learn about today...

9. Page 9The Gods of Ancient Egypt |
This line from the Egyptian Book of the Dead is a last example
of the date's cultural significance:
Dates undoubtedly had a special meaning in Egyptian culture. For
instance, some mummies were wrapped with date palm leaves. Another
example is that fresh dates, date pits and entire branches of the date
palm have been found in excavations of burrial chambers. These
observations show that date fruit had an elevated (if not divine)
meaning in Ancient Egypt.
"In a clean place shall I sit on the ground.
Beneath the foliage of a date palm from the
godess Hathor"
The Cultural Meaning of Dates
Grate the quarter of an apple
Sprinkle first four ingredients
over the entirety of a plate
Heat the water and mix it with
honey
Baster the honey & water over
a single date with a spoon or
brush
Roll the date over the plate
with spices
Repeat
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
35g ground walnuts
¼ Pc Apple
2 Tsp Cinamon
1 Tsp Cardamom
seeds
Hand full of dates
1½ Tbs honey
1½ Tbs water
The Recipe
~~~
~ EXERPT FROM A BOOK OF THE DEAD

10. 4 Less known artifacts
Page 104 Less known artifacts from Ancient Egypt |
In-depth stories about 4 artifacts from Ancient Egypt. Among them,
a bust from Cleopatra's sunken palace and Tutanchamon's
meaningful neck stand.
Many stories have been written about the Rosetta stone and the bust of Nefertiti.
They sure are mysterious, and beautiful.
But, that does not mean we should forget more obscure items. So here they are, 4
less-known artifacts from Ancient Egypt.
Introduction
Ancient EgyptAncient EgyptFrom
The bust was most likely found in the Sunken
Palace of Cleopatra, a small royal island close to
Alexandria’s harbor. This island, ‘Antirhodos’, is
believed to have sunk in the 4th century CE after
a series of earthquakes and tsunamis. It
submerged the palaces of Cleopatra and Marc
Anthony - and beautiful artifacts like this one.
The island was officially rediscovered in 1996,
but busts like the one above may have been
discovered and resurfaced much earlier than
that.
The Bust of Cleopatra VII Philopator1.
You may enjoy watching this documentary about the underwater excavations
around Antirhodos. If you want to view the bust for yourself, you have to visit the
Royal Ontario Museum (Canada).

11. Shu is the god of peace and the
atmosphere between earth and
universe. He is also the great-
grandfather of Tutankhamun (as
Pharaohs claim to be either Horus
or his son). But, the reason for Shu’s
presence goes beyond that:
Headrests symbolize the sky. They hold up the
head (the figurative sun).
This ivory headrest (14th century
BCE) was one of the many items
found in the tomb of tutankhamun.
The two lions represent East and
West. They are also the typical
companion animals of the God Shu,
who is seen in the center.
...And that is the puzzlepiece we need
to figure the meaning of this piece out:
the lions point east and west, and rest on
the soil. Shu connects the sun with the
soil. The pharaoh’s head is a figurative
sun, as he is a reincarnation of Horus
(whose head bears the Sun).
Page 114 Less known artifacts from Ancient Egypt |
2. The Headrest of Tutankhamun
If you want to know more, read Bart Hellinckx
on the meaning of headrests.
A special thanks to the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden for helping me write this article

12. A last remark about this sphinx
concerns its geometry. If you were to
measure the false beard, you may realize
it has a ratio of 1:2. It goes to show that
Egyptian sculptors were keen on
manifesting proper geometry in their
works. Another measurement is much
more interesting however: if you
measure the angle of the headwear's
sides, you may discover it is the angle of
the Golden Triangle. The golden ratio is
known to have been used in other
Egyptian designs, like the Great Pyramids
at Giza.
When people are asked to name a female
pharaoh, they will mostly name Cleopatra. But,
Hatshepsut shows that other women were
Pharaoh too. Hatshepsut reigned from the
start untill the middle of the 15th century BCE.
She was not the first female to sit on Egypt's
throne, but is remembered for a successful
queenship and progressive reforms. Her
motuary temple was rediscovered in the late
19th century.
It is remarkable that the Sphinx of
Hatshepsut portrays the pharaoh as a
man. It is not the only artifact that
misrepresents the subject's gender.
Some of the statues at her tomb are
masculine for instance.
The Geometry of the statue
Page 124 Less known artifacts from Ancient Egypt
3. The Sphinx of Hatshepsut
If you want to know more, watch this clip
The Temple of Hathseput in The Valley of Kings
|

13. To risk this fate was unacceptable for
elite Egyptians, like the pharaohs; that is
why they received the Book of the Dead
and entire tombs to ensure a proper rite
of passage.
Page 134 Less known artifacts from Ancient Egypt |
4. The Book of the Dead
Most of the Ancient Egyptian relics concern burials and tombs. In the end,
that is where we found the bulk of known Egyptian artifacts. Among these
artifacts is what we know as ‘The Book of the Dead’. But, in Egypt they called it
the Book of Coming Forth by Day or the Book of Emerging Forth into the Light (it
is difficult to translate).
This book consists of a series of
rituals or magic spells - call it what you
will. These spells were probably not
performed in real life, but were meant
as instructions for the deceased. (S)he
could carry out the spells from the book
to get a good passage to the afterlife.
An exerpt of Hunefer's Book of the Dead.
The Ancient Egyptians put in place
many other measures to get a good
afterlife. The goal was to prevent their
soul from dwelling in limbo forever. If
any burial rite would fail, the soul might
be stuck in a liminal, gloomy place
between life and death.
Paying homage and tribute to gods:
you will see their depictions in
burial chambers and on Sarcophagi
Preservation of the body through
mumification, layered Sarcophagi
and canopic jars
Helpful elements like Ushabti
There were many measures to help
with a pharaoh’s final right of passage.
Among them:
~~~

14. Syncretism
Page 14Syncretism in Ancient Egypt |
How Ancient Egyptian gods merged with other gods in a process
called 'Syncretism'.
In ancient times, religion was strikingly different from the common religions we know
in the present day. One of the biggest differences is that the most predominant ancient
religions are polytheistic: they worship more than one god.
When there already is a multitude of gods (polytheism), it becomes easier to add
another one, or to change a god that is already known. But what happens when a god
from an entirely different culture finds its way into Egyptian religion? That is when
Syncretism comes into play.
Introduction
Ancient EgyptAncient EgyptIn
Syncretism = the fusion of elements from 2
different cultures
Examples of Syncretism
Syncretism was quite a common process throughout
anitquity - it occured in Ancient Egypt (3500 - 30 BCE),
Ancient Greece (800 - 30 BCE) ánd Ancient Rome (510
BCE - 480 AD). We could discuss the phenomenon for
each of these eras, but since our weekly theme is Ancient
Egypt, we focus on this period in this article.
The prime example of syncrety in Ancient Egypt is the
god Serapis. Here we see him in the form of a statue:
~ Serapis
Serapis is the mixture of the Egyptian God Osiris and
the Greek God Pluto. If you look well, you may notice:
1. His Egyptian crown (Egyptian) 2. The typical Greek clothing (Greek) 3. The mythical dog Cerberos (Greek)

15. The goddess Isis is another great example of Syncretism. She has archetypal
features (recurring themes found in religions all across the world). For Isis, these
archetypes are as follows:
Isis' archetypes are commonly found in other cultures. In fact, I can't think of
any ancient religion that is devoid of these archetypes. This overlap made her
prone to be syncretized with local gods. What follows are 3 visual examples:
Examples of Syncretism ~ Isis
the caring mother (of Horus)
the loyal wife (of Osiris)
the healer (she restored Osiris after Seth cut him into pieces)
the royal
The Macedonian ruler of Egypt Ptolemy Soter (300 BCE)
meets Isis and Osiris like the Pharaohs used to do. It
illustrates how Ptolemy used syncretism to improve his
legitimacy as ruler of Egypt (the Ptolemaic kingdom).
Page 15Syncretism in Ancient Egypt |
Example 1

16. Left is Isis with a serpentine
body. The piece was sculpted
during the time that Rome ruled
Egypt (200 CE). The serpent
stood for fertility and a
legitimate claim of the land that
people dwell on. Such a claim is
a 'chtonic claim'. Isis was rather
popular in Rome itself too; there
was a house of worship for her
in the ancient capital.
Left is the Greek goddess of
the underworld Persephone
(2nd century CE). But, she is
depicted as Isis. Both Isis &
Persephone symbolize
fertility and purity. They are
also queens of the
underworld.
Conclusion
Through two examples we discovered how Ancient Egyptian religion tied in
to contemporary cultures. With the help of these illustratations, we have come
to realize that gods were 'appropriated' and merged into the Ancient Greek,
Ancient Macedonian and Ancient Roman cultures.
~~~
Page 16Syncretism in Ancient Egypt |
Example 2
Example 3

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List of museums about Ancient Egypt
An article explaining the practicalities of syncrety: how
interactions lead to syncretism.
A worthwhile documentary titled 'Tutankhamun's Treasures' (by
National Geographic)
Page 17Endnote |
Endnote
Final remarks
Conclusion
Resources
I'd love it if you visit my website
There is a wealth of books,
documentaries and other media
about Ancient Egypt.
I hope that this magazine
conveyed a unique side of Egypt's
story ~ that you learned new and
interesting things.
Stay tuned for the next edition!Stay tuned for the next edition!

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Ancient Egypt