![Maler der Grabkammer der Nefertari 003](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Maler_der_Grabkammer_der_Nefertari_003.jpg)
The sekhem scepter is a type of ritual
scepter in
ancient Egypt. As a symbol of authority, it is often incorporated in names and words associated with power and control. The sekhem scepter (symbolizing "the powerful") is related to the ('')'' scepter (symbolizing "the controller") and the scepter (symbolizing "the commander"), which are all represented with the same hieroglyphic symbol.
These scepters resembled a flat paddle on a papyrus
umbel
In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...
handle. Its symbolic role may have originated in
Abydos as a
fetish of
Osiris
Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wsjr'', cop, ⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲉ , ; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎𐤓, romanized: ʾsr) is the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...
. The shape of the scepter might have derived from professional tools.
Symbol of rank
![Chasechemoei](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Chasechemoei.png)
Being a symbol of power or might, the sekhem was frequently incorporated into various names. For example, that of the
Third Dynasty
The Third Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty III) is the first dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Other dynasties of the Old Kingdom include the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth. The capital during the period of the Old Kingdom was at Memphis.
Overview
Af ...
Pharaoh
Sekhemkhet
Sekhemkhet (also read as Sechemchet) was an ancient Egyptian king (pharaoh) of the 3rd Dynasty during the Old Kingdom. His reign is thought to have been from about 2648 BC until 2640 BC. He is also known under his later traditioned birth name D ...
, and the lioness-goddess
Sekhmet
In Egyptian mythology, Sekhmet ( or Sachmis (), also spelled Sakhmet, Sekhet, Sakhet among other spellings, cop, Ⲥⲁⲭⲙⲓ, Sakhmi), is a warrior goddess as well as goddess of healing. She is depicted as a lioness.
Sekhmet is a solar de ...
, whose name means "she who is powerful".
After the Third Dynasty, the sekhem appeared in the royal names of the pharaohs, and later in the titles of queens and princesses as well. When the king held a sekhem scepter in his right hand, he would usually hold a
mace or
censer
A censer, incense burner, perfume burner or pastille burner is a vessel made for burning incense or perfume in some solid form. They vary greatly in size, form, and material of construction, and have been in use since ancient times throughout t ...
in the left.
From the earliest times,
vizier
A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was a ...
s and other officials of important rank held the sekhem, symbolizing the individual's successful life and prestigious position. Such officials were often portrayed holding the scepter in the course of performing their duties. If they held the scepter in their right hand, they would usually hold a staff in the left hand. The classic Egyptian funerary statue depicted the deceased with a staff in one hand, and the sekhem in the other. As a scepter of office, a
pair of eyes were carved on the upper part of the staff.
Word ''sekhem'' meaning "power"
The
Egyptian language
The Egyptian language or Ancient Egyptian ( ) is a dead language, dead Afroasiatic languages, Afro-Asiatic language that was spoken in ancient Egypt. It is known today from a large Text corpus, corpus of surviving texts which were made acces ...
word S-
kh-
m is the word for "power". A procession of a woman with a bouquet of flowers, followed by a
harpist
The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual string (music), strings running at an angle to its sound board (music), soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various way ...
, from
Medamud
Medamud (, from ) was a settlement in ancient Egypt. Its present-day territory is located about 8 km east-north from Luxor.
The Temple of Montu was located here. It was excavated by Fernand Bisson de la Roque in 1925, who identified sev ...
illustrates the use of the word: "...(from) the gods, Power (of the) Harp-Music..."
Word ''sekhem'' meaning "form"
''Sekhem'', "form", is also a part of the
Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul or spirit.
Religious symbolism
![Medamoud procession](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Medamoud_procession.JPG)
Osiris was often called "the Great Sekhem" or "Foremost of Powers". Hence, the sekhem was often used as a symbol of the underworld deity. This probably led to the scepter also becoming an emblem of
Anubis
Anubis (; grc, Ἄνουβις), also known as Inpu, Inpw, Jnpw, or Anpu in Ancient Egyptian () is the god of death, mummification, embalming, the afterlife, cemeteries, tombs, and the Underworld, in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depict ...
. The sekhem scepter was sacred to Anubis in the temple of Hu (known as the "Enclosure of the Sekhem" ()). Anubis is frequently depicted in his manifestation of a reclining dog with the sekhem scepter behind him. In such depictions, the scepter is often portrayed with an elongated head. The scepter was also associated with
Khentiamentiu
Khenti-Amentiu, also Khentiamentiu, Khenti-Amenti, Kenti-Amentiu and many other spellings, is an ancient Egyptian deity whose name was also used as a title for Osiris and Anubis. The name means " Foremost of the Westerners" or "Chief of the Weste ...
(Chief of the Westerners), another deity who was especially associated with the royal cemetery. In this type of iconographic representation, the sekhem is often given two eyes, which were carved or painted on the scepter's upper part as a symbol indicating that it was the manifestation of divine power.
The sekhem was also utilized in temple and mortuary offering rituals. The officiant who presented the offerings often held it. In such cases the scepter was held in the right hand and was waved four or five times over the offerings while ritual recitations were being made. A gilded sekhem scepter was found in
Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun (, egy, twt-ꜥnḫ-jmn), Egyptological pronunciation Tutankhamen () (), sometimes referred to as King Tut, was an Egyptian pharaoh who was the last of his royal family to rule during the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty (ruled ...
's tomb. On the back of this scepter were carved five
register
Register or registration may refer to:
Arts entertainment, and media Music
* Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc.
* ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller
* Registration (organ), th ...
s depicting a slaughtered bull, which may indicate that the scepter was waved five times over the offering. We are also told that, when consecrating offerings, the king used two sekhem scepters; one for
Set
Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to:
Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics
*Set (mathematics), a collection of elements
*Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively
Electro ...
, and another for
Horus
Horus or Heru, Hor, Har in Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as god of kingship and the sky. He was worshipped from at least the late prehistoric Egypt until the P ...
. Elsewhere, Horus and Seth appear as "the Two Sekhems" ().
A late variant of this type of scepter hieroglyph sometimes represented the
sistrum
A sistrum (plural: sistra or Latin sistra; from the Greek ''seistron'' of the same meaning; literally "that which is being shaken", from ''seiein'', "to shake") is a musical instrument of the percussion family, chiefly associated with ancient ...
,
a musical rattle that was sacred to
Hathor
Hathor ( egy, ḥwt-ḥr, lit=House of Horus, grc, Ἁθώρ , cop, ϩⲁⲑⲱⲣ, Meroitic: ) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky ...
and was carried by her priestesses. The sistrum had a metal loop with jingles mounted on a cow-goddess faced handle.
See also
*
Was-sceptre
The ''was'' (Egyptian '' wꜣs'' "power, dominion") sceptre is a symbol that appeared often in relics, art, and hieroglyphs associated with the ancient Egyptian religion. It appears as a stylized animal head at the top of a long, straight staf ...
References
{{Ancient Egypt topics
Egyptian artefact types
Ancient Egyptian culture
Wands