Over 5000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians developed a system of writing called hieroglyphics using pictures. Hieroglyphic writing was deciphered in the 18th century with the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, which had a passage inscribed in hieroglyphics, Demotic, and Greek. The cartouche was an important part of hieroglyphic writing, as it was an oval containing a name and was used to identify kings, queens, and later other individuals on coffins to ensure their names were preserved after death.

1. Hieroglyphics
•Over 5000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians wrote things down using a picture writing
called hieroglyphics. The people who did the actual writing were called scribes.
•It was not until quite recently, a mere 200 years ago, that a stone was found in Egypt.
This stone had the same short story written on it in Greek, in Demotic, and in
hieroglyphics. Scientists could read Greek. Scientists could read Demotic. And now,
scientists could begin to read hieroglyphics. They named this famous stone the Rosetta
Stone.

4. Cartouche
•A cartouche was an oval circle with a name written in it, rather
like a nameplate.
•In the early days of ancient Egypt, a cartouche was attached to
the coffins of kings and queens. As time went on, many people
hired an artist to create a cartouche for their own coffins.
•The ancient Egyptians believed that you had to have your name
written down somewhere, so that you would not disappear when
you died. By attaching a cartouche to their coffin, people made
sure their name was written down in one place at least!

8. Isis
Appearance:
Woman with headdress in the shape of a throne
A pair of cow horns with a sun disk
Isis was a protective goddess. She used powerful
magic spells to help people in need. Isis was the
wife of Osiris and the mother of Horus. Since each
pharaoh was considered the 'living Horus', Isis was
very important.
Isis is often shown holding Horus on her lap. Isis is
associated with thrones because her lap was the
first 'throne' that Horus sat upon.

11. Anubis Appearance:
Man with a jackal head
A jackal
Anubis was the god of embalming and the
dead. Since jackals were often seen in
cemeteries, the ancient Egyptians believed
that Anubis watched over the dead.
Anubis Anubis was the god who helped to
embalm Osiris after he was killed by Seth.
Thus, Anubis was the god who watched over
the process of mummifying people when they
died.
Priests often wore a mask of Anubis during
mummification ceremonies.

12. Horus
'The One Far Above' Appearance:
Man with the head of a hawk
A hawk
Horus was a god of the sky. He is probably
most well-known as the protector of the ruler
of Egypt.
The Egyptians believed that the pharaoh was
the 'living Horus'.
The ancient Egyptians had many different
beliefs about the god Horus. One of the most
common beliefs was that Horus was the son
of Isis and Osiris.
After Osiris was murdered by his brother
Seth, Horus fought with Seth for the throne of
Egypt.
In this battle, Horus lost one of his eyes. The
eye was restored to him and it became a
symbol of protection for the ancient
Egyptians. After this battle, Horus was chosen
to be the ruler of the world of the living.

13. The Four Sons of Horus
The Four Sons of Horus were traditionally the guardians of the internal organs of the
deceased. Each was associated with a particular organ, and also with a different cardinal
point on the compass.
Imsety
He was a human headed god, who was depicted as having a body
wrapped up like a mummy. Imsety was thought to protect the liver,
along with the goddess Isis, which was placed in the canopic jar,
near the sarcophagus, on the south cardinal point.
Hapi
He was a baboon headed deity, who was shown as having a body
wrapped up like a mummy. Hapy (Hapi) was believed to be the
protector of the lungs, along with the goddess Nephthys. The
lungs were placed in the canopic jar, near the sarcophagus, on
the north cardinal point.

14. Duamutef
The jackal headed deity, Duamutef (Tuamutef), was
shown as having a body wrapped up like a mummy. He
was believed to protect the stomach, along with the
goddess Nit, which was placed in the canopic jar, near
the sarcophagus, on the east cardinal point. His name
means "he who praises his mother" or "a star is his
mother".
Qebehsenuef
The falcon headed god, Qebehsenuef
(Qebsenuf, Kebehsenuef, Kebhsenuf,
Kabexnuf), was depicted as having a
body wrapped up like a mummy. He
was thought to be protector of the
intestines, along with the goddess
Serqet. The intestines were placed in
the canopic jar, near the sarcophagus,
on the west cardinal point.