The Impact of the Lion on Royal scenes in the Ancient Egyptian Art The ptpt-x3swt scenes (Significance and Symbolism)

Document Type : Review Articles

Authors

1 Assistant lecturer, The High Institute for Tourism and Hotels, King Mariout, Alexandria

2 Professor, Tourist Guidance Department, Faculty of Tourism & Hotels, Alexandria university

3 Professor, Tourist Guidance Department, Faculty of Tourism & Hotels, Matrouh University

Abstract

The King ceremonial scenes of defeating his enemies, also referred to as military victory scenes are among the significant symbols of the ancient Egyptian Kings. These scenes were intended to glorify the King as unique intermediary. In scenes with significant symmetry, the King overthrows a group of enemies who are bowing on the ground, grasping them by the hair and shattering them in an instant. The lion was one of the most frequent adopted animal emblems by the ancient Egyptian civilization. The ancient Egyptians associated the lion with the divine King thus the King defeated his enemies not only in his human form, but also in the form of the royal lion with a human head or a complete lion, practicing a royal activity known as the "ptpt xAswt" that became common in temple scenes and on objects . Several Kings practiced this Royal activity as King Amenhotep II,,Amenhotep III, Tutankhamun and others. This activity was also practiced by queens; From the temple of Deir el Bahari, Hatshepsut is seen in the form of a royal lion trampling down the captives’ enemies. Also, Tye represents herself in the form of a royal lion with her tail hanging down crushing her captives under her feet in the Tomb of Kheruef (TT 192). This paper aims at investigating the impact of the lion on royalty in the ancient Egyptian art through the scenes of the ptpt xAswt, shedding light on the significance of this scene, when and where it appeared.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics