"The future's uncertain, and the end is always near."
—The Doors
GLOSSARY:
NAMES, PLACES, GODS, and THINGS from
TUT: THE STORY OF MY IMMORTAL LIFE
EGYPTIAN GODS:
SUMERIAN GODS:
PEOPLE:
PLACES:
THINGS:
- Ammut—crocodile goddess who devours unworthy hearts at the entrance to the Egyptian underworld
- Amun/Amun Ra—King of the Gods
- Anubis—jackal-headed god of the underworld
- Apep/Apophis—snake god who embodies chaos; Lord of Chaos; devours the sun each evening
- Bast—cat goddess
- Bes—god of luck
- Duamutef (Dua)—jackal-headed god; one of four sons of Horus; in mummification, protected the stomach
- Hapi—baboon-headed god; one of four sons of Horus; in mummification, protected the lungs
- Hathor—goddess of love
- Horus—son of Osiris and Isis; most often seen with a falcon head (but takes form of a cat in Tut: The Story of My Immortal Life); lost one eye in fight with his uncle Set
- Imsety—god (with a normal head); one of four sons of Horus; in mummification, protected the liver
- Isis—mother goddess; mother of Horus; wife of Osiris
- Khepri—dung beetle god who pushes the sun across the sky each day
- Maat—goddess of justice and truth; judges the dead at entrance to Egyptian underworld
- Nephthys—protective goddess of the dead; sister of Isis and Osiris; wife of Set; mother of Anubis
- Osiris—god of fertility, death, and the afterlife; carries a crook and flail; most often depicted green and partially mummified
- Qebehsenuef (Qeb)—falcon-headed god; one of four sons of Horus; in mummification, protected the intestines
- Ra—god of the sun
- Sekhmet—lion-headed goddess
- Set—god of chaos, storms, and infertility; brother and slayer of Osiris
- Thoth—god of writing, knowledge, and science; often has the head of an ibis
SUMERIAN GODS:
- Anu—King of the Gods
- Enlil—god of storms and wind
- Humbaba—monster from the Epic of Gilgamesh; Guardian of the Cedar Forest
- Igigi—lesser/younger gods of Mesopotamia
- Nergal—god of war and the sun
PEOPLE:
- Akhenaton—father of Tutankhamun; used to be known as Amenhotep IV; introduced monotheistic religion to Egypt which made him really unpopular
- Ay—advisor to Tutankhamun while he ruled Egypt; it is thought that Ay ruled Egypt after King Tut
- Enkidu—best friend of Gilgamesh back in ancient Sumer
- Gilgamesh (Gil)—former Sumerian king
- Horemheb—commander in chief of the Egyptian army during Tutankhamun’s reign; advisor to Tutankhamun
- Howard Carter—English archaeologist who discovered King Tut’s tomb in 1922
- Smenkhkare (Smenk)—older brother of Tutankhamun
- Tutankhamun (King Tut)—Egyptian pharaoh; often called the Boy King since he took the throne when he was only nine.
PLACES:
- Fields of the Blessed—equivalent of heaven in the Egyptian afterlife
- Valley of the Kings—valley in Egypt where over sixty tombs have been discovered, many of these for pharaohs of the Egyptian New Kingdom
THINGS:
- Ankh—ancient Egyptian symbol which represents eternal life
- Book of the Dead—ancient Egyptian funerary text containing spells to assist a dead person on their journey through the underworld and into the afterlife
- Canopic jars—jars used during mummification to hold the liver, lungs, stomach, and intestines
- Eye of Horus—ancient Egyptian symbol of protection, good health, and power
- Sarcophagus—a funeral box, often carved of stone, which formed the outer layer of protection for a mummy
- Shabti—small figures which were placed in tombs to act as servants for the dead person in the afterlife
- Sun Disk of Ra—headdress worn by the god Ra
- Tiet—ancient Egyptian symbol; often called “Knot of Isis”
