Thursday, January 23, 2014

Lower Egypt and her Red Crown

Lower Egypt, which is in the north, is divided from Upper Egypt, which is in the south, by the Nile river. 

Map of Ancient Egypt


Lower Egypt was also known as Ta-Mehu or "land of papyrus" and was also divided into twenty districts called nomes

Map of Lower Egypt with historical nomes numbered

Lower Egypt was united and was symbolized by the red crown. The red crown is also known as Deshret, and was speculated to be originally made of copper, reeds, cloth, and leather. 

Red Crown

Egyptian kings wore the red crown to symbolize themselves as the successors of Horus, the original ruler over Lower Egypt. Some deities also wore the red crown including Wadjet and Neith. 

Red Crown

The red crown was also paired with the White Crown of Upper Egypt to form the Double Crown which symbolized rule over all of Egypt. 

The side of a Narmer Palette with two serpopards
3000 BCE ±100 years



2 comments:

  1. Excellent article. Articulate, clear, and easy to read. A true pleasure. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete