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Ancient Egyptians - Meaning of Green |
The Ancient Egyptian Symbolism and Meaning of Green Ancient Egyptian Color Symbolism - Different Shades of Green Green Colors of Ancient Egypt Malachite Verdigris Chryscolla Turquoise Ancient Egypt - Symbolism and Meaning of Green Fact Sheet Fact 1 on Meaning of Green: The Egyptian name for this color was 'wadj' Fact 2 on Meaning of Green: The color represented Fertlity, Vegetation, New life, Joy, Growth and Regeneration. Fact 3 on Meaning of Green: Various forms of mineral compounds were used for creating the different colors and shades. The color green used as a paint was made from malachite (a natural copper ore) or from a paste manufactured by mixing oxides of copper and iron with silica and calcium Fact 4 on Meaning of Green: Green symbolized joy. The land of the dead was described as the "Field of Malachite" or the "Field of Rushes". The floors of the temples were often green reflecting nature and the papyrus reeds and plants that grew along the River Nile. Fact 5 on Meaning of Green: The chemical compounds used to create dyes and pigments to produce the color included malachite, a natural copper ore, verdigris a blue or green powder used as a paint pigment, green frit and chrysocolla a hydrated copper silicate mineral. Fact 6 on Meaning of Green: The precious and semi-precious Green colored Magical Stonesused by the ancient Egyptians included jade, turquoise, peridot, olivine, green feldspar, chrysoprase, serpentine, beryl and green quartz. Fact 7 on Meaning of Green: Emeralds were imported and used during the period known as the New Kingdom(1550 to 1070 B.C.). Emeralds were the favorite stones of Queen Cleopatra. Fact 8 on Meaning of Green: The Egyptians believed that the soul consisted of five parts: the ba, the ka, the name, the shadow and the physical body. The ba was often shown as a bird, often a falcon, whose duty was to feed the deceased. The Ba bird was most frequently depicted with a human face representing the deceased and green feathers. Fact 9 on Meaning of Green: Synthetic material, or frits, were used to produce pigments and dyes. Paint color was frequently made from malachite (a natural copper ore) or from a paste manufactured by mixing oxides of copper and iron with silica and calcium. Fact 10 on Meaning of Green: The Egyptian name for this color was 'wadj' which also meant "to flourish", and was also used as the name for the papyrus plant. continued.. Ancient Egypt - Symbolism and Meaning of Green Fact Sheet Facts about the Symbolism and Meaning of Green in Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt - Symbolism and Meaning of Green Fact Sheet Fact 11 on Meaning of Green: The papyrus plant was abundant in ancient Egypt. The lotus flower (a symbol of Upper Egypt) was also commonly used in Egyptian art with its long stems intertwined with papyrus reeds (a symbol of Lower Egypt and the Nile God Hapi) as a representation of the unification of the two lands. Fact 12 on Meaning of Green: The papyrus plant symbolized fresh vegetation, vigor and regeneration. The hieroglyphic symbol for green is a papyrus stem. Fact 13 on Meaning of Green: In ancient Egyptian texts, lucky days were written in green ink. Fact 14 on Meaning of Green: Amulets and talismans, such as the Eye of Horus and the Papyrus Scepter, were made of green stone as a potent symbol of regeneration and rebirth. Fact 15 on Meaning of Green: Turquoise was favored by royalty and symbolized the goddess Hathor and joy and scarab amulets and the eye were often made from turquoise. Fact 16 on Meaning of Green: Malachite was believed to possess magic healing properties that were inherent to the stone. Fact 17 on Meaning of Green: The green Feldspar stone, aka Amazonite, was a symbol of fertility and was popular with the ancient Egyptians as it was believed to bring good luck to the wearer. It was also the favored stone for the papyrus scepter amulet which was placed around the neck of the deceased on the day of the funeral. Fact 18 on Meaning of Green: The emerald was an expensive stone favored by royalty and believed to hold magic for foretelling the future. Fact 19 on Meaning of Green: Faces depicted on coffins were often painted green to identify the deceased with Osiris the god of death, and to guarantee rebirth. Fact 20 on Meaning of Green: Ancient Egyptian priests drew the Feather of Ma’at on their tongues with green dye, to assure people that the words they spoke were truthful. continued... Ancient Egypt - Symbolism and Meaning of Green Fact Sheet Facts about the Meaning of Green to the Ancient Egyptians Ancient Egypt - Symbolism and Meaning of Green Fact Sheet Fact 21 on Meaning of Green: Ancient Egyptian gods such as Osiris, Hapi, Thoth, Ptah, and Khnum were associated with the color. Fact 22 on Meaning of Green: Osiris the ancient Egyptian god of death, the Underworld and rebirth was usually depicted with a green colored skin. When used to represent resurrection, the colors black and green were interchangeable. Fact 23 on Meaning of Green: The symbols of the god Thoth were the reed pen, papyrus scroll, palm branch and his ibis head was depicted in green. Fact 24 on Meaning of Green: Ptah was the Memphis creator god of the earth and the Underworld and was depicted in a similar form to Osiris tightly wrapped like a mummy with green skin (the symbol of rebirth and regeneration). Fact 25 on Meaning of Green: Hapi was the Egyptian god of fertility was depicted with a green nemes headdress topped with of papyrus and lotus plants. Fact 26 on Meaning of Green: Khnum, the Egyptian creator ram-headed was associated with the color as the god of fertility, water and procreation. Fact 26 on Meaning of Green: Hathor was the goddess of beauty and patron of the cosmetic arts. As the "Lady of Malachite" and the "Mistress of Turquoise" she was the patron of miners and the goddess of the Sinai Peninsula which was the location of the famous mines. Fact 27 on Meaning of Green: Malachite is an opaque, green banded mineral which the ancient Egyptians obtained from the Sinai peninsula. Malachite was used as a mineral pigment in green paints and was ground to a fine powder and used as eye shadow. Symbolism: Ancient Egyptians believed eye makeup protected them from evil spirits. Fact 28 on Meaning of Green: Frit was crushed to make pigments or shaped to create objects. It served as an intermediate material in the manufacture of raw glass. Frit, like malachite was also used as a pigment. Frits, glasses and faience are all similar materials. Fact 29 on Meaning of Green: Chrysocolla is a hydrated copper silicate mineral, a minor ore of copper. Symbolism: Ancient Egyptians believed it represented wisdom. Fact 30 on Meaning of Green: Ancient Egypt was rich in copper and lead ores, gold and semiprecious stones. They produced copper, bronze and glass. The glass, called faience, was painted to produce cheap jewelry, talismans and amulets. Fact 31 on Meaning of Green: The glass faience was easier to work with than the harder gemstones and ancient Egyptian artisans became so adept at crafting glass bead versions of precious and semi-precious stones that it was difficult to distinguish authentic emeralds, pearls and tigers-eye from faience. Fact 32 on Meaning of Green: The ancient Egyptians used the glass faience not only to make jewelry, amulets and talismans but also to make fabulous vessels, furniture, ritual equipment, funerary equipment, tiles, ankhs, scepters and figurines. Symbolism: Faience was thought to glisten with a light that was symbolic of life, rebirth, vegetation and immortality. Ancient Egypt - Symbolism and Meaning of Green Fact Sheet Egypt and the Symbolism & Meaning of Green The Symbolism and Meaning of Green to the Ancient Egyptians |