Ancient Egypt this week: Animal mummies, beauty secrets, looted tomb, Lighthouse of Alexandria, Egyptian Museum, and Tut, Tut, Tut

Egypt's animal mummy 'scandal' revealed
Scientists say they have exposed a scandal at the heart of Ancient Egypt's animal mummy industry.

10 Beauty Secrets from Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egyptians were quite the beauty enthusiasts. Both men and women indulged in makeup, perfume, and beauty rituals they believed not only enhanced their appearance, but also had magical and religious powers. Here's  a look at how people kept themselves lookin' good 5,000 years ago.

Djehutyhotep tomb looted

Looters hacked out the tomb's unique scenes.
The tomb of Djehutyhotep in Deir el-Bersha, famous for its scene of a colossal statue being dragged by ropes, got looted ten days ago.

Alexandria Lighthouse to be reassembled in original location

The Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that was badly damaged by three earthquakes, will be rebuilt nearby its original location.

Review of The Illustrated Guide To The Egyptian Museum In Cairo
This guide to the Egyptian museum in Cairo is a nice size to carry around the museum, and a jewel box of colourful pictures which include some of the finest works of Egyptian art created. The introduction is by Dr. Zahi Hawass complete with very nice images of Egypt's first national museum founded in the Boulaq neighborhood of nineteenth century Cairo

Tut Exhibit in Grand Rapids

If you can't get to Egypt to see the real thing, The Discovery of King Tut” exhibit at the Grand Rapids Public Museum opens to the public on Saturday. The exhibit features re-creations of ancient artifacts to the famous discovery of King Tut’s tomb back in 1922. There are more than 1,000 replicas on display. The video is kind of cool.

Happy Mother's Day, Isis

Isis is the goddess of fertility, motherhood, and wifely devotion. Her name literally means Throne. Her crown was an empty throne belonging to her murdered husband, Osiris.

Isis was one of the first Madonnas, frequently protrayed as nursing Horus, her Divine Son. She was highly venerated during the years of the early Christian church, and most scholars agree that the cult of Isis strongly influenced the cult of Mary.

As the personification of the throne, she was an important source of the Pharaoh's power, who was often depicted as her child, who sat on the throne she provided (the central picture in the collage). It's probably worth mentioning that Pharoah was known in life as the Living Horus; the heir to the throne was often called Horus in the Nest; and a dead Pharoah became Osiris.

In case you don't know the story of Isis, which is the basis for my novel, Queen of Heka, here is a short version:

Isis and her brother Osiris fell in love while they were still in their mother's womb and were married.

Osiris ascended  the throne of Egypt rather than their brother Set, who was none to pleased about this. He became further enraged when Osiris left Egypt to travel the world and left Isis in charge of the Kingdom instead of him. Set decided to get rid of his brother and take the throne for himself.  Set tricked Osiris into climbing into a wooden chest cut to fit him and then sealed the box and threw it into the Nile. Isis searched everywhere for the body and found it lodged in a tamarisk bush which had grown into a huge tree on contact with the body of the god. She broke open the chest and carried his body back to Egypt.

She placed the body in the temple and transformed herself into a kite (a small bird) and flew over the body singing a song of mourning. She then used her prodigious magical talent to conceive Heru-sa-Iset (Horus, son of Isis), whose destiny was to avenge his father and defeat Set.

Isis then implored the god Thoth for his help in resurrecting Osiris. The two deities composed the "Ritual of Life", the spell which granted eternal life after death. Set discovered their plans and stole Osiris' body, which he chopped into fourteen pieces and scattered them throughout the length and breadth of Egypt. Still Isis refused to be beaten. She enlisted the support of her sister Nephthys to find the pieces and the help of Anubis to prepared the body (in the first mummification). When the "opening of the mouth" ceremony was performed, Osiris's spirit returned to his body.

However, no spirit that passed to the land of the dead may live in the land of the living, and the other gods decreed that Osiris should become the King of the underworld.

Meanwhile Isis hid with her infant son in the marshes of the delta, protecting him until the day when he could face Set and recover his father's kingdom.

When Horus came of age he battled with his uncle. Isis used her magic to assist Horus in battle, but when the opportunity presented itself she could not kill Set, who was after all her elder brother. This enraged Horus, who promptly lopped off her head! Isis was apparently unperturbed by this turn of events  and caused a cow's head to grow on her shoulders. Fortunately for Horus, Isis forgave and continued to support him.

Tax day in ancient Egypt

American taxpayers take solace!

A recently translated ancient Egyptian tax receipt shows a bill that is (literally) heavier than any American taxpayer will pay this year — more than 220 lbs. (100 kilograms) of coins.

Written in Greek on a piece of pottery, the receipt states that a person (the name is unreadable) and his friends paid a land-transfer tax that came to 75 "talents" (a unit of currency), with a 15-talent charge added on. The tax was paid in coins and was delivered to a public bank in  Luxor (Thebes). Read more at Ancient Receipt Proves Egyptian Taxes Were Worse Than Yours.

Hunting hippos in ancient Egypt - what was it like?

Queen of Heka starts with a scene in which my heroine Iset (the goddess Isis as a girl) tries to show up her mother by killing a hipppo. I used this piece of art as an inspiration for the piece.

But what does it really look like when a hippo charges you? Check out this recent video.

This is a snippet from the opening scene with the hippo hunt. Did I capture it?

“Get me there first.”

The chief oarsman glanced at Mother, and I was almost certain he was about to pretend he hadn’t heard me. I tried on Mother’s face. The look that says if you challenge her you might as well go ahead and offer yourself up to the Great Serpent.

“Go, go, go.”

A lull in the drumming sent my voice ringing up and down the river road. All the boats except Mother’s came to standstill. Hundreds of courtiers swiveled their heads in my direction. Their shocked expressions spurred me on.

“Row.”

They rowed. I stood between the benches, using the spear to keep my balance. My boat closed the gap, blocking Mother. Her rowers gaped. That was the sign I wanted to see.

Mother shook her head, an almost imperceptible movement. For a heartbeat, certainly no longer, I considered calling a halt. I’ll slit your throat. I barked a command. “Faster.”

My boat skimmed the waves like a hawk on the wind. I kept my footing even when the hippopotamus’s warning bellow rattled my bones. Its maw gaped wider than the entrance to the underworld. I wiped my sweaty palms against my thighs and hoisted the spear, waiting, waiting, waiting until we came into range.

I threw the spear, burying the copper tip in the river cow’s eye. The wooden shaft vibrated with each outraged roar. Whispering a prayer to any god that might be listening, I grabbed a second spear. It found a home beside the first.

“Oh, yes, yes, yes!” The words spurted from my mouth. Someone thrust a bow and arrow into my hands.

The hippopotamus reared, flailing its front legs and exposing the rapid pulsing of its pale, distended belly. I risked glancing at Mother. The disbelief on her face made my heart soar.

The hippopotamus plunged under water. My stomach came up into my throat, bitter, burning. Sometimes, mad with pain, these beasts resurfaced under a boat, shredding the wood with their curved fangs. I took deep breaths just like the priests taught me. In. Hold. Out. A dreamlike calm settled over me, and I nocked back the first arrow. The air sang with the sound of its passage. I held my breath until it struck the broad back. The river cow reared again. Two. Three. Four arrows followed in quick succession. Each one to the heart.

A low death rattle reverberated in the hush, but the body remained as upright as a mountain for what seemed like a million years. When it collapsed, waves crashed against the skiff, buffeting us from side to side. The chief oarsman caught me; my face was a mere hand’s span from the churning, bloody water. 

Ancient Egyptian Love Song: A video

I've read various translations of this poem, but this performance is spectacular.



So, close your eyes, imagine a cone of wax perfume is on your head, and your goblet is full of Year 5. Sweet wine of the Estate of Aton of the Western River from the Chief vintner Nakht.

January Reading: Ladies of a certain age and fairy tales

This year I decided to track my reading and my opinions. Mostly because I read so many things, I often forget why I liked something. Also, I love lists (ask my boss about my extensive to-do listing), and this tickles my list fancy. January reading fell into two categories.

Women of a certain age

Five days left by Julie Lawson Timmer - Two people decide how much they're willing to sacrifice for love. I was less interested in Scott's story than Mara's, but I did finish the book in one day, which says something, doesn't it? Mara's story is a timely one, given the coverage of the young woman who chose to end her life instead of steadily deteriorating with brain cancer. It's certainly a question I ask myself: could I pull my own plug when the quality of my life became nil? Her journey of vacillation seemed imminently real and heartbreaking.

Saving Grace by Jane Green - What happens to the menopausal wife of a literary star when her perfect life falls apart. Green sure knows the state of publishing, and any post-50 woman might identify with Grace's journey. But really, did we need all those recipes? This book was no Like Water for Chocolate, after all. Predictable ending, and it was one of those reads that made you feel like you were watching one of those schlocky horror movies where you're always saying, "Really, you're going into the dark creepy basement 5 minutes after the police tell you the homicidal maniac escaped?"

Hello from the Gillespies by Monica McInerney -  What happens when the annual Christmas letter goes amok after Mother  tells what the year was really like for a family in the Australian outback. The exploration of Mother's secret fantasy life was the most interesting. (Certainly way more interesting than the screw-ups of the family's three kids.) How often have we asked ourselves what would it be like if I marry this man and have these children in this country? The denouement of that fantasy, however, was entirely predictable for the most part. The emotional depth not much deeper than skin.The writing was OK, not great. Overall, it was the holiday equivalent of a beach read.

Florence Gordon by Brian Morton - She is a  blunt, brilliant, cantankerous and passionate, feminist icon to young women, invisible to almost everyone else. At seventy-five, Florence has earned her right to set down the burdens of family and work and shape her legacy at long last. But just as she is beginning to write her long-deferred memoir, her son Daniel returns to New York from Seattle with his wife and daughter, and they embroil Florence in their dramas, clouding the clarity of her days and threatening her well-defended solitude. I admit that I strongly identified with this crusty old female writer. This book was in the running for my favorite book of January, but the ending was disappointing. The author set up all these conflicts, and then just rung the curtain down. Like he had run out of steam or something.

Still life with breadcrumbs by Anna Quindlen - A famous photographer is transitioning toward the end of her shelf life (sales, speaking engagements, gallery shows are all down.) Needing to cut expenses, she rents out her expensive Upper West Side apartment and rents a cheaper place in a rural town in upstate New York. Although the story arc is predictable, Rebecca Winter is an amazing protagonist, and being inside the head of an artist is a good head to be inside. I particularly identified with her cool and in-charge exterior versus her white hot qualms about her creativity interior. There might be some hot cougar moments as well.

Rage against the dying by Becky Masterman - A 59 year-old ex-FBI agent, Brigid Quinn, who knows a few ways to kill a man with her bare hands, comes out of retirement. I love a good murder mystery thriller with a smart woman at the helm. (I'm a big fan of the Eve Dallas In Death books.) I really wanted to like this book. The premise excited me, but it feels trite in an "in your face" kind of way. I won't be buying book two.

Fairy tales or something like that

The Demon Lover: A novel (Fairwick Trilogy) by Juliet Dark - Total nerd book with hot sex. An academic who studies and writes about demon lovers in literature (Heathcliff, Dracula, etc) takes a teaching position in upstate New York. The college just happens to be near a portal to the mysterious land of Faerie, and her colleagues range from ancient Babylon wind gods to witches, vampires, and fairies. Oh yeah, and she picks up an incubus lover along the way. I liked this book enough to buy the second one in the trilogy. FYI: Juliet Dark is the pseudonym of  mystery writer Carol Goodman.

While Beauty Slept by Elizabeth Blackwell - Sleeping Beauty’s story is told from the perspective of Elise, a poor farm girl who finds a place in the castle as a maid. Some reviews compare it to Gregory Maguire. She's a much better writer, even if his novel novel inspired Wicked, which is one my all time favorite musicals. The curse, Millicent, the tower, and the happily ever after all have a specific 15th century flavor that really works.

Brothers: I'm easily amused

 Stick gods is such a clever cartoon series.