Egyptian

Egyptian

Animals have always been around in Egypt, however whilst some will be familiar to modern Egyptian people, other species have become extinct or moved further south, deeper into Africa. Both domesticated, such as cattle, cats and dogs, and wild animals, such as lions and hyenas, abounded in ancient Egyptian times. Animals were worshipped, feared and loved. This relationship even carried on in the underworld after death, as certain animals were mummified, including family pets 

Birds

Along the Nile, some of the multitude of bird-life included the falcon, kite, goose, crane, heron, plover, pigeon, ibis, vulture and owl. It is possible that chickens were introduced during the New Kingdom from Africa.

Sacred to Horus, the falcon (or hawk) was thought to be the guardian of the ruler, and is frequently found as spreading its wings protectively behind the head of the pharaoh. At Saqqara during the Late Period, there was a catacomb build for mummified falcons. These birds, though, were shown to be of different types of birds of prey, not just the falcon. To the Egyptians, the Horus-falcon may have been regarded as interchangeable with a whole range of different birds of prey.

The ibis, sacred birth of Thoth, was relatively common throughout Egypt until the 19th Century, but now has almost disappeared. Sacred ibises were mummified during the Late Period and Ptolemaic times, and buried in large numbers in different catacombs through Egypt. There were three types of ibis in Egypt - the sacred ibis, the hermit ibis and the glossy ibis. The hermit ibis is not a waterside bird, so it is depicted less frequently than the other two birds that were common along the banks of the Nile.

The vulture was the manifestation of Nekhbet and Mut, who were depicted as the bird with their wings outstretched on the ceilings of temples as protection, or sitting on the ground in a symbol associated with kingship. The two main types of vulture depicted were the griffon vulture and the so-called Egyptian vulture. It was the griffon vulture that was usually related to the goddesses and to royalty.

Fish 

In Ancient Egypt, the fish had both sacred and scorned species. Some were sacred in some places and not allowed to be eaten, whereas in other places, anyone could eat the fish. Some of the fish in Egypt included the carp, perch and catfish.

The goddess Hatmehit from the Delta city of Per-banebdjedet (Mendes), was known as the 'Chief of Fish', and was worshipped in the form of a fish, or as a woman with a fish emblem on her head.

Both the Rilapia or Chromis and the Abdju fish were thought to act as pilots for Ra on his solar barque as it travelled, warning of the approach of the enemy of Ra, the water snake Apep, as they travelled through the underworld.

The poor ate fish more often than meat, because of the availability of the fish. Richer people kept fish in ornamental ponds or as a source of food. The pharaoh, priests and the Akhu could not eat fish, because of the association with Set:

Supposedly, it was the Nile carp, the Oxyrynchus or the Phagrus fish that ate the phallus of Osiris, when he was chopped into pieces by Set. Despite this, the Oxyrynchus was thought to be sacred in the Faiyum area, where the people thought that this fish appeared out of the wounds of the god of the dead.

Cattle 

The Ancient Egyptians domesticated many different types of animals - sheep, cattle, goats, pigs, geese and later horses. Mostly they used the animals to supply milk, wool, meat, eggs, leather, skins, horns, fat, and manual labour. The cow was sacred to many goddesses, including Hathor, Bat, Isis and Nut. Bulls were sacred to Ra as they had a strong connection with solar imagery to the ancient Egyptians. Cattle were branded with red-hot irons by the great estates belonging to the pharaohs, the rich owners and the different temples.

The cattle in Egypt were, in the Predynastic Period, a long horned variety of cattle, but a thinner short-horned variety became the norm during the Old Kingdom onwards. The cattle were used for sacrificial purposes as well as being draft animals.

Herdsman tended to the cattle, and grazed them in the Nile valley during the winter months, but they generally moved the cattle to the Delta during the hotter, summer months. The cattle seemed to often be called names relating to the goddess Hathor - "Golden One", "Shining One" and "Beautiful" are some examples.

References

Egypt Art (2012, Feb 14). Egyptian Symbols and Definitions. Retrieved March 26, 2014, from http://www.egyptartsite.com/symlst.html

Spare (2013, August 8). Animals in Ancient Egypt - Society for the Protection of Animal Rights in Egypt. Retrieved March 27, 2014, from http://www.sparelives.org/index.pl/animals_in_ancient_egypt