Ten Eternal Truths of Ancient Egypt

The civilization of ancient Egypt spanned thirty-five centuries. For those thousands of years, the people of Egypt were as concerned with the essential truths about life as with the temporal details of everyday living. Religion was an omnipresent element in the Egyptian world, and art that expressed the tenets of this religion flourished. The following ten "Eternal Truths" of this ancient culture are brought to life in Seattle Art Museum’s special exhibition, Egypt, Gift of the Nile.

1. The balance of man and nature is essential.

The regular cycles of nature were seen as a model of the order established at the time of creation. Recognizing that the sun rises every day and that the Nile floods every year, the ancient Egyptians revered the concept of balance in their world. They called it maat, which means "order" or "balance." Pharaohs had to rule according to it, and artists had to create work that illustrated its principles. In theStatue of Amun on the right, the great state god of Thebes is presented as an imposing image, conceived of as the ruler of the gods forever.

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 Amun
Dynasty 18–19 (1332–1292 b.c.), graywacke, h. 17 in. University of Pennsylvania Museum.
Turtle Pallete
Predynastic Period (3500–3100 b.c.), graywacke, h. 4 7/8 in. University of Pennsylvania Museum.

2. There is elegance in simplicity.

Clear, essential form is often distilled in Egyptian art. In a Turtle Palette on the left, the flat, round back of this minimally delineated turtle was used to grind eye paint, which was applied both as a cosmetic and to protect eyes from infection and over-exposure to sun, dust, wind and insects.

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3. No creature is insignificant.

In the Fragment of Relief from a Tomb Doorway, on the right, there is a wealth of carefully carved detail. Equal attention has been paid to the hairy projections of the rear legs of the dung beetle as to the tomb owner's face. This attentiveness to details from the world of humans, animals, and insects provides glimpses into many levels of ancient Egyptian life.

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Dynasty 30 (381–345 b.c.), Limestone, h. 11 1/2 in. University of Pennsylvania Museum.

Dynasty 18 (1479–1458 b.c.), Sandstone, h. 32 1/2 in. University of Pennsylvania Museum.		  

4. Bureaucrats can be miracle workers.

This Statue of Sitepehu, an Overseer of Priests, left, is the life-sized sculpture of a man enveloped in a cloak that becomes a wall of text that catalogs his virtues. Sitepehu was a superintendent of priests who kept offerings of land, wine, milk and other substances flowing to the temples of the gods. Most of the tombs in Egypt were built for officials whose sculptures were intended to help the person and his name last forever. Sitepehu’s inscription tells us, "One kindly of heart was he, of winning face: his enlargement is to eternity."

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5. Bread and beer ensure a long life.

Stela of the Royal Purification Priest Sasopedu-Iienhab, right, honors a priest who sits before his table of offerings. By observing the foods and herbs presented at offering tables and by reading medical texts, we know a lot about the Egyptian diet. Bread and beer were staples, and pills concocted from honey, myrrh, and juniper berries were used to sweeten breath.

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Dynasty 13 (1759–1650 b.c.), Limestone with traces of paint, h. 20 in. University of Pennsylvania Museum.

Late Period (664–332 b.c.), Bronze, 14 5/8 in. University of Pennsylvania Museum.

6. Every living thing needs regeneration.

Ancient Egyptians believed that an afterlife existed and could be obtained upon death. The bronze statuette of Isis Nursing Horus on the left shows the life-giving power of a lactating mother. Isis was a popular deity, the savior goddess who ultimately became absorbed into the cult of the Virgin Mary. Isis performed the ultimate act of regeneration after her husband, Osiris, had been slain and dismembered by his brother. Isis gathered Osiris's scattered limbs from the Nile and managed to mummify him, in the process conceiving Horus, thus assuring the continuity of legitimate kingship.

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7. The way you live this life determines how you fare in the next.

A good life required honoring a multitude of gods. In the Mummy Case of Nebnetcheru, right, the deceased temple priest is surrounded by a large gathering of funerary and protective deities. Horus, Anubis, Osiris, Thoth, Isis, and Hathor are all depicted on this large mummy case.

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Dynasty 21 (1075–712 b.c.), Cartonnage over wood with painted decoration, h. 67 3/4 in. University of Pennsylvania Museum.

Dynasty 19 (1292–1190 b.c.), wood with paint, h. 9 in. University of Pennsylvania Museum.

8. You can take it with you.

At least you can take someone to do your work for you in the next life in the form of a shabti. Small statuettes, such as the Shabti Figure of Maya, left, were thought to come to life when called and would perform any task demanded. Shabtis are found in great numbers in tombs; some even had one shabti for each day of the year.

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9. Stability and motion can work together.

This Figurine of Neith, on the right, depicts one of the conventions Ancient Egyptian art maintained for thousands of years. One foot is solidly planted while the other strides forth, thereby providing a vision of two actions at once. Such dynamic poise serves as a reminder to us that the Ancient Egyptians were always mindful of their place in this life and the next.

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Dynasty 26 (664–525 b.c.), Bronze, h. 9 in. University of Pennsylvania Museum.


Dynasty 18 (1390–1353 b.c.), Granodiorite, h. 34 in. University of Pennsylvania Museum.

10. Nature inspires reverence.

Ancient Egyptians honored the natural world by modeling their gods from creatures in their midst. In the monumental Statue of Sekhmet, on the left, the head of the goddess is in the shape of a lion. Sekhmet usually wore a close fitting gown and a woman’s wig, but she kept the powerful face of a feline to indicate her position as a vengeful goddess of war and a maternal protector of fertility.

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