Amentet
Amentet, the Personification of the West, was depicted as wearing the standard
of the west. The standard is usually a half circle sitting on top of two poles
of uneven length, the longer of which is tied to her head by a headband. Often a
hawk or an ostrich feather is seen sitting on top of the standard.
Hathor, the 'Lady of the West', is often depicted as wearing this headdress - in this form, she is known as Hathor-Amentet.
Amen
Amen is usually depicted as a man wearing a headdress with two tall plumes
rising from a short crown. As Amen-Ra, the sun disk is added between the plumes,
showing his connection to the sun. Horus is also seen wearing the headdress of
Amen.
It is said that also other gods are unaware of his true form, as they were created later than him and by him. His invisibility carries connotations with the wind, or breeze, his element in the Ogdoad, and which is seen in the depictions where he carries two high plumes on top of his head, plumes being a sign for wind or air.
Hathor
was pictured as a woman with cow's horns with the sun between them, or as a cow
wearing the sun disk between her horns. The horns are her horns, as she was
thought to be a bovine goddess, but the solar disk that sits between the horns
is her aspect of a solar goddess. Some, though, believe that the horns are yet
another symbolism of her celestial role as a goddess: 
Atem
Atem is usually depicted as a man wearing the Double Crown (both of the crowns
of Upper and Lower Egypt). The crowns signify that he is related to rulership
over the Two Lands, giving him a close connection with the pharaoh. Horus is
also depicted as wearing this crown.
The Double Crown - Pschent. With the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, the red crown and the white crown were combined to become the double crown, known as the "Two Mighty Ones".
Called a 'lotus', the depictions of the floral symbol of Upper Egypt is actually known as a Nymphaea caerulea which is actually known today to be a water lily. This flower, along with the papyrus flower, was shown throughout Egypt in tombs and temples to symbolise the union of Upper and Lower Egypt, but the blue water lily had a much deeper significance to the Egyptian people.
In the beginning were the waters of chaos ... Darkness covered the waters until ... the Primeval Water Lily rose from the abyss. Slowly the blue water lily opened its petals to reveal a young god sitting in its golden heart. A sweet perfume drifted across the waters and light streamed from the body of this Divine Child to banish universal darkness. This child was the Creator, the Sun God, the source of all life.
So the Primeval Water Lily closed its petals at the end of each day... Chaos reigned through the night until the god within the water lily returned.
...
... the Creator ... knew that he was alone. This solitude became unbearable and he longed for other beings to share the new world with him. The thoughts of the Creator became the gods and everything else which exists. When his thoughts had shaped them, his tongue gave them life by naming them. Thoughts and words were the power behind creation.
-- The Waters of Chaos, Ancient Society
The Egyptians saw that the blue water lily opened up each morning, seeing the intense golden center set against the blue petals, seemingly an imitation of the sky that would greet the sun, releasing sweet perfume. Each afternoon, they would close again only to open again each day. The flower was therefor firmly linked with the rising and the setting of the sun, and thus to the sun god and the story of creation. The religious significance of the flower was great - many columns of the Egyptian temples had water lily capitals crowning them.
Ma'at
was shown as a woman with an ostrich feather - the Feather of Ma'at
and the symbol of truth - on her head. The tall feather, attached by a headband,
is the hieroglyph
for truth, order, balance, justice and freedom.
The reason for the association of the ostrich feather with Ma'at, the goddess of truth, is unknown, as is also the primitive conception which underlies the name, but it is certainly very ancient, and probably dates from pre-dynastic times.
Osiris
Osiris is generally shown as a green man wearing the atef crown on his
head. It seems that the atef crown was originally the crown of Ra when
the Egyptians believed that he ruled the earth. For Osiris to be pharaoh of
Egypt, he had to wear this crown, though it produced much heat, as expected from
an object belonging to the sun god. 
But, on the very first day that he wore it, Osiris had much suffering in his head from the heat of the atef crown which [he wore] that men and gods should respect him. And when Ra returned in the evening to see Osiris ... he found him sitting in his house with his head angry and swollen from the heat of the atef crown.
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When Amenhotep IV (also known as Akhenaten) was Pharaoh, he decreed that artists should create images showing everyday life. Up until then, art was very focused on scenes showing topics related to death and the afterlife. Concerned that future generations would believe that the Egyptians were obsessed with death, he commissioned artwork that showed everyday activities such as making music and dancing. On the heads of the musicians, you'll see cones made of perfumed wax. As the heat from the room and the women's bodies melts the wax, it releases its scent into their hair.
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When Amenhotep IV (also known as Akhenaten) was Pharaoh, he decreed that artists should create images showing everyday life. Up until then, art was very focused on scenes showing topics related to death and the afterlife. Concerned that future generations would believe that the Egyptians were obsessed with death, he commissioned artwork that showed everyday activities such as making music and dancing. On the heads of the musicians, you'll see cones made of perfumed wax. As the heat from the room and the women's bodies melts the wax, it releases its scent into their hair. |
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This picture depicts the goddesses Ma'at and Isis. Ma'at, the goddess of truth and justice, is the winged goddess who is kneeling. Isis is the goddess seated on the throne. According to legend, Isis was the wife of Osiris and mother of Horus; therefore, the queen of the gods. The identifying characteristics that indicate the seated goddess is Isis include the horned headdress and the vulture on her head. Although sometimes Hathor is also depicted with a horned headdress, only Isis has both the horned headdress and the vulture. Why the vulture? The ancient Egyptians respected the vulture for its commitment to motherhood, and another goddess (Nekhebet) who was portrayed as a vulture is also said to have suckled the royal children, including the pharaoh. So it's natural that Nekhebet would be incorporated into a portrait of the mother of Horus. Notice that Isis is holding the ankh, the key of life. In this particular illustration, because Isis is seated on the throne and facing the goddess of justice, Isis is most likely serving as a metaphor for the queen. Did you think the winged goddess in this picture was Isis? Contrary to what many people believe, not all winged goddess images are Isis. Here's how you can tell it's Ma'at instead of Isis: she has an ostrich feather headdress. Whenever you see a feather headdress like this, the goddess being depicted is Ma'at. |
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In this picture, the goddess Hathor (the one with the horned headdress) is leading Queen Neferari by the hand. Like Isis in the picture above, Hathor is wearing a horned headdress. But instead of including a vulture in the headdress, she wears the cobra-shaped symbol. How do we know that the woman in the dress is Neferari? From the cartouches next to her, which portray the name Neferari in hieroglyphics. |
Draw Like an Egyptian
Egyptian art is plain and simple, but, it's different from normal art. You too can draw like an Egyptian by following the four easy rules. You will just need a pencil, some crayons and some unlined paper.
1. Draw the head and the neck of your picture from the side view. Add one eye as it would look from the front. Then outline the eye in black and add an eyebrow that is curved and black. Draw the lips also from the side view. Draw a black wig showing the ear for both men and women.
2. Draw the shoulders and chest as if you're looking at them from the front. The arms are drawn according to what the figure is holding.
3. The hips, legs and feet are drawn from the side view too. Men wore short skirts and women wore straight dresses that were held in place by two straps.
4. When your outline is done, color the skin a dark tan. Clothes were mostly white but you can add a brightly colored jeweled collar that men and women both wore. (by Katie Korder and Michael Ambrose)
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Cleopatra's
costume includes a similar mantle with a lion head (similar to one found in
Tutankamun's tomb forty years later), a dress of scales, and a headdress which
includes the vulture cap, but surmounted with a gold(?) falcon--which Hughes-Hallett
mistakes for an ibis-- the bird found in the hieroglyphics of Cleopatra's name.
