Ankh

For other uses, see Ankh (disambiguation).

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Ankh

The Ankh (/ˈæŋk/ or /ˈɑːŋk/; U+2625 ☥ or U+132F9 𓋹), also known as key of life, the key of the Nile or crux ansata, was the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic character that read "eternal life", a triliteral sign for the consonants ʻ-n-ḫ. Egyptian gods are often portrayed carrying it by its loop, or bearing one in each hand, arms crossed over their chest.

Origin

Ankh in hieroglyphs

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The origin of the symbol remains a mystery to Egyptologists, and no single hypothesis has been widely accepted. One of the earliest suggestions is that of Thomas Inman, first published in 1869:

It is by Egyptologists called the symbol of life. It is also called the "handled cross", or crux ansata. It represents the male triad and the female unit, under a decent form. There are few symbols more commonly met with in Egyptian art. In some remarkable sculptures, where the sun's rays are represented as terminating in hands, the offerings which these bring are many a crux ansata, emblematic of the truth that a fruitful union is a gift from the deity.

Merenptah offering to Ptah: Ankh, Djed and Was.

The Ankh, During the reign of Hatshepsut (1508–1458 BC), from Royal Ontario Museum

E. A. Wallis Budge postulated that the symbol originated as the belt-buckle of the mother goddess Isis, an idea joined by Wolfhart Westendorf with the notion that both the ankh and the knot of Isis were used in many ceremonies. Sir Alan Gardiner speculated that it represented a sandal strap, with the loop going around the ankle. The word for sandal strap was also spelled ʿnḫ, although it may have been pronounced differently.

In their 2004 book The Quick and the Dead, Andrew Hunt Gordon and Calvin W. Schwabe speculated that the ankh, djed, and was symbols have a biological basis derived from ancient cattle culture (linked to the Egyptian belief that semen was created in the spine), thus:

• the Ankh, symbol of life, thoracic vertebra of a bull (seen in cross section)
• the Djed, symbol of stability, base on sacrum of a bull's spine
• the Was, symbol of power and dominion, a staff featuring the head and tail of the god Set, "great of strength"

Egyptian academics, in particular those at the University of Cairo, aver that the ankh has been over-interpreted and that it is representative of the pivotal role of the Nile in the country. The oval head is said to represent the Nile delta, with the vertical mark representing the path of the river and the East and West arms representing the two sides of the country and their unification.

History

Ankh Symbol

The ankh appears frequently in Egyptian tomb paintings and other art, often at the fingertips of a god or goddess in images that represent the deities of the afterlife conferring the gift of life on the dead person's mummy; this is thought to symbolize the act of conception. Additionally, an ankh was often carried by Egyptians as an amulet, either alone, or in connection with two other hieroglyphs that mean "strength" and "health" (see explication of Djed and Was, above). Mirrors of beaten metal were also often made in the shape of an ankh, either for decorative reasons or to symbolize a perceived view into another world.

The ankh was almost never drawn in silver; as a sun-symbol, the Egyptians almost invariably crafted important examples of it (for tombs or other purposes) from the metal they most associated with the sun, gold. A similar metal such as copper, burnished to a high sheen, was also sometimes used.

A symbol similar to the ankh appears frequently in Minoan and Mycenaean sites. This is a combination of the sacral knot (symbol of holiness) with the double-edged axe (symbol of matriarchy) but it can be better compared with the Egyptian tyet which is similar. This symbol can be recognized on the two famous figurines of the chthonian snake goddess discovered in the palace of Knossos. Both snake goddesses have a knot with a projecting loop cord between their breasts. In the Linear B (Mycenean Greek) script, ankh is the phonetic sign za.

Crux ansata in Codex Glazier

The ankh also appeared frequently in coins from ancient Cyprus and Asia Minor (particularly the city of Mallus in Cilicia). In some cases, especially with the early coinage of King Euelthon of Salamis, the letter ku, from the Cypriot syllabary, appeared within the circle ankh, representing Ku(prion) (Cypriots). To this day, the ankh is also used to represent the planet Venus (the namesake of which, the goddess Venus or Aphrodite, was chiefly worshipped on the island) and the metal Copper (the heavy mining of which gave Cyprus its name).

David P. Silverman notes the striking example of how the depiction of the Ancient Egyptian Ankh was preserved by the Copts in their representation of the Christian cross, the coptic cross.

Modern use

This symbol is one of the most known symbols of ancient Egypt and it is often used as the graphic synonym for this ancient culture. Due to this context, as well as due to the fact that many pictures of Egyptian gods and goddesses contained the symbol ankh in their hands, this symbol was adopted as a symbol of modern religion called Kemetism (although different Gnostic sects have been using this symbol since before Coptic times, and it is still in use by them today), which is reconstructing the ancient Egyptian religion at the present. Many neo-pagan, New Age, and pagan sects wear the ankh as a symbol of power and wisdom or to show that they honor the Egyptian pantheon. It is commonly seen in jewelry such as rings and necklaces and despite its earlier uses it is cast in silver (versus the gold or copper the ancients used).

The Ankh is a frequently recurring element in the video game series Ultima, where it represents power and virtue, often being the subject of worship by the game's NPCs.

Also in the MMORPG game World of Warcraft, it is used for characters known as shamans, as a reagent for a spell called reincarnation.

It is also featured in the movie "Logan's Run" where the ankh is the key to freedom outside the containment center.

A stylized ankh is also the symbol of the gothic metal band Theatres des Vampires.

Vinnie Vincent used the ankh for makeup design while in the rock group "Kiss" in 1982.

The character Death in Neil Gaimans Sandman series wears the Ankh as a necklace.

See also

• Venus symbol (♀)
• Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul

References

Bibliography

• Collier, Mark and Manley, Bill. How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs: Revised Edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998.
• Salaman, Clement and Van Oyen, Dorine and Wharton, William D. and Mahé, Jean-Pierre (translation) (2000). The Way of Hermes: New Translations of The Corpus Hermeticum and The Definitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius. Rochester: Inner Traditions.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Three Initiates (1912). The Kybalion. Chicago: The Yogi Publication Society Masonic Temple.