Egyptian Pantheontool
Ankh
- Life Bestowal
- Immortality
- Divine Breath
- Resurrection
The key of life, representing eternal existence and the breath of life itself. Gods are often depicted holding the ankh to the nose of pharaohs, bestowing upon them divine life force.
About Ankh
The hieroglyph that gods hold to the nose
The ankh is the writing-sign for "life." From the Old Kingdom onward, temple reliefs show gods offering it to the king's nose — the breath of life. Book of the Dead vignettes and faience amulets multiply it. Modern guesses (sandal-strap, union of sexes, mirror) are Egyptological, not Egyptian myth. It is not a unique named object with one owner. Isis, Osiris, Ra, and others all carry it. Treat it as script and offering in stone, not as a quest-relic with a biography of manufacture.
Origin
An ancient symbol whose true origin is debated, representing the union of masculine and feminine principles in creating life.
Sources and further reading
Source notes
These references are recorded in the catalog. Their passage wording and translation have not been checked, so quotations are not displayed here.
- Egyptian temple iconography / Book of the Dead
About this entry
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Keep exploring
One myth a week, with its sources in a short email. The sign-up form is just below.