Part 7: Ancient Egyptian Craftsmen
intro | history | ritual | temples | priesthood | religion | craftsmen | bibliography

One of the traditions was that of the artists and craftsmen. All of the best artists and craftsmen were trained in one place, the Temple of Ptah in Memphis (presently 20 minutes south of Cairo). all other artists and craftsmen were usually trained at the Temple or by people who were trained there.

These artists and craftsmen include: architects, draftsmen, stone workers (large stones and small), jewelers, painters, eventually glass workers, dyers. All the architects and draftsmen who produced all of the pyramids, temples, palaces, royal tombs, and even forts were trained here. Weavers studied at the Temple of Neith in the Delta.

Unlike the Greeks, who wanted to show how a persons body really looked like, Egyptians were interested in showing the "inner essence" of the person. Therefore only in the background and workers are shown with realistic bodies, crippled, aged, over weight,etc. One can assume that the Egyptians were interested in the "inner" man or woman.

THE ANKH
The ankh is not evolved from an ancient symbol of the Goddess in Libya and Phoenicia; the narrow triangle surmounted by a crossbar and a round or oval head in both Libya and Phoenic evolved long after the standard Egyptian ankh was made. In fact, it wasn't until after the ancient Egyptians either conquered or did extensive trading with both areas did their symbols evolve.

It is a symbol for life. It is true that both gods and goddesses in ancient Egypt held it, but they never presented it to kings and the people, the scenes show the god/dess holding it to the person's lips or head (which means bestowing life, and was not a present). The ankh is the hieroglyph for the word "life", and is used in a common saying "Life, Health, Strength."

The ancient Egyptians never said that the ankh represented the union of male and female sexual symbols, which are quite different symbols and bore no relation to the ankh, or resemblance to it. It was not the "Key of the Nile", nor is there any sacred marriage between God and Goddess taking place at the source of the Nile before the flood. In fact, in all of the Egyptian mythologies there is not one mention of any God and Goddess being married at the source of the Nile. The copts and the Gnostics both used the Ankh or Crux Ansate (Coptic word) before the 5th century ad, and both are Christian.

What did the ancient Egyptians consider the ankh representation? There are two ancient Egyptian references to the ankh representation, and both agree. The round oval or loop represented the Sun rising above, but not yet above the horizon; in the desert that makes the Sun elongate next to the horizon, making a loop like affair. The crossbar represents the horizon. The vertical section below the crossbar is the "Path of the Sun", which would be the light casting a path across the Nile. Hence, the Ankh represents Life because it represents the Path across the Nile (life blood of Egypt, but oddly enough the Nile is either male or hermaphrodite) past the horizon to the Sun which, depending on the tradition of Egypt can be either male or female, though usually male.

The most ancient ankhs cross bar was actually the symbol of the two mountains of sunrise and sunset (life and death, east and west), and also consisted of papyrus (or some other plant tied together). Taken such, the ankh then represents the path of birth, life, and death. It never had male or female attributes, but as the path of birth, life and death, represents both.

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