Group Shot of Religious objects
Clockwise from top, Horus Cippus, Bes Amulet, Amulet of a Sow, Snake Head Amulet, Amulet of Goddess Taweret © Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University
Group Shot of Religious objects
Clockwise from top, Horus Cippus, Bes Amulet, Amulet of a Sow, Snake Head Amulet, Amulet of Goddess Taweret © Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University
Group Shot of Religious objects
Clockwise from top, Horus Cippus, Bes Amulet, Amulet of a Sow, Snake Head Amulet, Amulet of Goddess Taweret © Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University
Group Shot of Religious objects
Clockwise from top, Horus Cippus, Bes Amulet, Amulet of a Sow, Snake Head Amulet, Amulet of Goddess Taweret © Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University
Group Shot of Religious objects
Clockwise from top, Horus Cippus, Bes Amulet, Amulet of a Sow, Snake Head Amulet, Amulet of Goddess Taweret © Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University

17-Horus Cippus and Amulets

Title Horus Cippus
Era Egyptian, Late Period, 722–332 BCE
Medium Peridotite (ultramafic)
Credit Gift of the Georges Ricard Foundation. 2018.10.815
Title Amulet of a Sow
Era Egyptian, Third Intermediate Period to Late Period, 1076–332 BCE
Medium Faience
Credit Gift of the Georges Ricard Foundation. 2018.10.201
Title Bes Amulet
Era Egyptian, Late Period, ca. 722–332 BCE
Medium Opalized bone
Credit Gift of the Georges Ricard Foundation. 2018.10.573
Title Amulet of Goddess Taweret
Era Egyptian, Late Period, Dynasty 26, 664–525 BCE
Medium Faience
Credit Gift of the Georges Ricard Foundation. 2018.10.568
Title Snake Head Amulet
Era Egyptian, Late Period–Ptolemaic Period, 722–30 BCE
Medium Wood, gilt
Credit Gift of the Georges Ricard Foundation. 2018.10.1020

The ancient Egyptians believed the cippus protected the owner or bearer from animal bites and provided magical healing. Cippi were worn or carried by the owner while traveling on the Nile or in the desert.1 Cippi were also set up in temple healing shrines. Water poured over the stela’s images, and magical texts absorbed their power. The liquid was then dispensed to supplicants and the afflicted.2

This fragmentary cippus depicts Horus as a naked child wearing a sidelock. On his right is a standard with lotus and double plumes. Horus holds a scorpion and a lion by their tails and two snakes, all dangerous. Below, he tramples two crocodiles to control their malevolence. Bes, the deity who protected the family and home oversees the containment of these evil forces. The cippus’s front, back, and sides are covered with religious and magical texts to imbue the stela with power. This cippus dates to the 26th to 30th Dynasties based on its style and paleography.3

The cippus is made of peridotite, a rock from the earth’s upper mantle brought up from depth by deep magma. When peridotite encounters seawater, chemical reactions create magnetic minerals. Ptolemaic accounts mention the use of magnets to attract iron elements.4 Whether the magnetic properties of peridotite led to its use as a magical stone is unclear. Peridotite is found in Egypt’s Eastern Desert.5

Ancient Egyptians wore protective amulets to ward off evil forces. Amulets of household deities such as Bes and Taweret safeguarded women and children and were particularly helpful during childbirth. Amulets of female pigs endowed their wearer with fertility. Snake and snakehead amulets were worn to guard against poisonous snake bites.

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Bibliography

Abdel-Rahman et al. 2022
Abdel-Rahman A. M., El-Desoky H. M., Shalaby B. N. A., Awad H. A., Ene Antoaneta, Heikal M. A., El-Awny H., Fahmy W., Taalab S. A., Zakaly Hesham M. H. 2022. “Ultramafic Rocks and Their Alteration Products From Northwestern Allaqi Province, Southeastern Desert, Egypt: Petrology, Mineralogy, and Geochemistry.” Frontiers in Earth Science 10. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2022.894582
Draycott 2011
Draycott, Jane. 2011. “Size matters: Reconsidering Horus on the crocodiles in miniature.” Pallas 86: 123–133.
Lowe 2016
Lowe, Dunstan. 2016. “Suspending Disbelief,” Classical Antiquity 35, no. 2 (October): 247-278.
Ritner 2008
Ritner, Robert K. 2008. The Mechanics of Ancient Egyptian Magical Practice. SAOC 54. Chicago: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.
Sternberg-el Hotabi 1999
Sternberg-el Hotabi, Heike. 1999. Untersuchungen zur Überlieferungsgeschichte der Horusstelen: Ein Beitrag zur Religionsgeschichte Ägyptens im 1. Jahrtausend v. Chr. ÄA 62. Wiesbaden: Harrossowitz.
Group Shot of Religious objects
Clockwise from top, Horus Cippus, Bes Amulet, Amulet of a Sow, Snake Head Amulet, Amulet of Goddess Taweret © Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University
Group Shot of Religious objects
Clockwise from top, Horus Cippus, Bes Amulet, Amulet of a Sow, Snake Head Amulet, Amulet of Goddess Taweret © Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University
Group Shot of Religious objects
Clockwise from top, Horus Cippus, Bes Amulet, Amulet of a Sow, Snake Head Amulet, Amulet of Goddess Taweret © Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University
Group Shot of Religious objects
Clockwise from top, Horus Cippus, Bes Amulet, Amulet of a Sow, Snake Head Amulet, Amulet of Goddess Taweret © Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University
Group Shot of Religious objects
Clockwise from top, Horus Cippus, Bes Amulet, Amulet of a Sow, Snake Head Amulet, Amulet of Goddess Taweret © Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University
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