12/16/2023 0 Comments Culture tags![]() ![]() Worn for the first time by Den, the uraeus will become a significant part of the royal crowns of kings and queens. On the king’s forehead, is a rearing cobra or ‘uraeus’, signifying the protection of the powerful goddess Wadjet. The tall pole bearing the symbol of the jackal god Wepwawet, ‘the opener of the ways’, shows this support. For this task, King Den has enlisted the help of the gods. One of the main duties of every king was to protect Egypt’s borders from foreign invasions. The gravel-spotted desert, rising to a hill on the right, places the action in a foreign land. The long hair and pointed beard of the enemy are typical of the way Ancient Egyptians depicted foreigners from the east. The hieroglyphs on the right-hand side tell us the name of this important event: 'the first occasion of smiting the East'. The king’s name is written in front of his face in a rectangular frame surmounted by the falcon god Horus, the patron deity of kingship. This example shows Den about to bring his mace down on the head of a fallen enemy. In the First Dynasty, such labels were often attached to oil jars and usually decorated with representations of important events that marked a particular year in a king’s reign as a way of recording the date of production. ![]() The sandals incised on the back indicate that it was originally attached to a pair belonging to Den, the fifth king of the First Dynasty. ![]()
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