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| Papyrus stem inhieroglyphs | ||
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Theancient EgyptianPapyrus stem hieroglyph is one of the oldestlanguage hieroglyphs from Ancient Egypt. The papyrus stalk, (or stem) was incorporated[ambiguous] into designs of columns on buildings, also facades, and is also in the iconographic art portrayed in ancient Egyptian decorated scenes.
The papyrus stem hieroglyph shows a single stalk andumbel of the plant. It is used to represent the color green, and for vigour, or youth (growing things).
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| w3dj component letters-'U-A-dj' inhieroglyphs | ||||
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| 3 of many spellings, 'W3dj' inhieroglyphs | |||||||||||||||||
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| Uatch-ur theGreat Green Sea theMediterranean inhieroglyphs | ||||||||||||
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The basic usage of the papyrus stem hieroglyph is as anideogram, (graphic picture), in the word for 'papyrus stem',w3dj, or the older representationuatch.
As thepapyrus plant is from theNile Delta, and is a symbol ofLower Egypt and itsgreen and productive quality of food growing, the papyrus stem is also used to represent 'growth', 'vigour', 'youth', all things fresh, new and growing.
The green color, or the Nile Delta's connection to theMediterranean Sea, gave rise to the termGreat Green, meaning the Mediterranean, and thus the hieroglyphic spelling of the sea uses the papyrus stem (green, great, or green-great-sea:w3dj-wr).
Other words in the family ofw3dj, oruatch, are: green, yellow green, green stones, eyepaint; also trees, plants, and amulets.
The papyrus stem occurs in three places on theRosetta Stone. The first half of the stone is represented by theNubayrah Stele, lines N-1 to N-27, (the Rosetta Stone starts at line N-22, and is from R-1 to R-14). Line N-19 of the Nubayrah Stele refers to theGreat Green, the Mediterranean Sea, and uses the papyrus with thecobra (Gardiner No. M14).
The opening of theDecree of Memphis, the Rosetta Stone begins by addressingPtolemy V Epiphanes and uses the papyrus stem in two lines, N-1 and N-2, and addresses the gods and the pharaoh as follows:
... like a king upon the throne of his father, (theTwo Ladies) lord of the Vulture Crown [Upper Egypt], lord of the Uraeus Crown [Lower Egypt], mighty one of strength, establisher of theTwo Lands [Egypt], [papyrus stem for the delta-north], benefactor of Ta-Mer, [i.e. Egypt], benevolent of heart towards the gods, theHorus, making vigorous the life of men and women [second usage of papyrus stem], lord of theSed festivals ...
Besides the personal use of the amulet in life, the body was often provided with amulets in burial, with more amulets implying more protection. The most commonfunerary amulets were theheart scarab,Wadjet Eye,Djed Pillar amulet,Wadj amulet,Tyet amulet, and the golden vulture collar (for the goddessMut). Amulet usage changed greatly over the millenniums of Ancient Egypt.
The papyrus stem, or Wadj amulet was made from green feldspar as prescribed in Chapter 160, Charpter 159 from theBook of the Dead.[1] The most common explanation for the amulet is that it was believed to provide eternal youth to the deceased.
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| 14kaU ofRa, "Spirits of Ra" inhieroglyphs | |||||||||||||||
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The papyrus stem is one of the 14 Spirits ofRa:
Hieroglyph 13 forfeeling,perception is not part ofGardiner's sign list; the sign is similar to an upside-down pennant, or flag, positioned above the head of a seated man. A minor Egyptian god, Sia, can be found at the front of theSolar Barque with other gods, leading the barque, as Sia was believed to see, or know the path forward. Sia is pictured with theknowing gnostic sign on top of her head.
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Examples oficonographic use of the papyrus stem range from wall scenes, tombs, and architectural components, including completecolumns, toamulets. Besides building columns as papyrus stems, the pillars that support the sky, the four corners of the earth, were also sometimes represented by the papyrus stem, (Gardiner No. O-40).
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Papyrus stem-(tril.) --- w3dj-(uatch-uadj) | Succeeded by |
Many artifacts of Ancient Egypt, as well as architecture elements used thepapyrus stem motif. Some specific examples arekohl spoons, or thepapyrus handled mirror.
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