Ankh

For the book of H. G. Wells, see Crux Ansata. For other or in proximity of almost every deity in the Egyptian panuses, see Ankh (disambiguation).
theon (including Pharaohs). Thus it is fairly and widely
The ankh (/k/ or /k/; Egyptian: IPA: [anax]; understood as a symbol of early religious pluralism: all
sects believed in a common story of eternal life, and this
is the literal meaning of the symbol. This rationale contributed to the adoption of the ankh by New Age mysticism in the 1960s.
The ankh symbol was so prevalent that it has been found
in digs as far as Mesopotamia and Persia, and even on the
seal of the biblical king Hezekiah.[1]

1 Origin
The origin of the symbol remains a mystery to
Egyptologists, and no single hypothesis has been widely
accepted. One of the earliest suggestions is that of
Thomas Inman, rst published in 1869:
It is by Egyptologists called the symbol of
life. It is also called the handled cross, or
crux ansata. It represents the male triad and
the female unit, under a decent form. There
are few symbols more commonly met with
in Egyptian art. In some sculptures, where
the suns rays are represented as terminating
in hands, the oerings which these bring are
many a crux ansata, emblematic of the truth
that a fruitful union is a gift from the deity.[3]
E. A. Wallis Budge postulated that the symbol originated as the belt buckle of the mother goddess Isis,[4]
an idea joined by Wolfhart Westendorf with the notion
that both the ankh and the knot of Isis were used in
many ceremonies. Sir Alan Gardiner speculated that it
depicts a sandal strap, which is also written with the ankh
hieroglyph.[5]
Ankh

In their 2004 book The Quick and the Dead,[6] Andrew

Hunt Gordon and Calvin W. Schwabe speculated that the
U+2625 or U+132F9 ), also known as breath of life, ankh, djed, and was symbols have a biological basis dethe key of the Nile or crux ansata (Latin meaning cross rived from ancient cattle culture (linked to the Egyptian
with a handle), was the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic belief that semen was created in the spine), thus:
character that read life, a triliteral sign for the consonants Ayin-Nun-Het.
the ankh, symbol of life, thoracic vertebra of a bull
It represents the concept of life, which is the general
(seen in cross section)
meaning of the symbol. The Egyptian gods are often por the djed, symbol of stability, base on sacrum of a
trayed carrying it by its loop, or bearing one in each hand,
bulls spine
arms crossed over their chest. The ankh appears in hand
1

Merenptah oering an ankh, djed, and was to Ptah

HISTORY

The ankh, during the reign of Hatshepsut (15081458 BC), from

the Royal Ontario Museum

2 History
The ankh appears frequently in Egyptian tomb paintings
and other art, often at the ngertips of a god or goddess
in images that represent the deities of the afterlife conferring the gift of life on the dead persons mummy; this
is thought to symbolize the act of conception. Additionally, an ankh was often carried by Egyptians as an amulet,
either alone, or in connection with two other hieroglyphs
that mean strength and health (see explication of djed
and was, above). Mirrors of beaten metal were also often
made in the shape of an ankh, either for decorative reasons or to symbolize a perceived view into another world.

An ankh-shaped mirror case

A symbol similar to the ankh appears frequently in

Minoan and Mycenaean sites. This is a combination of
the sacral knot (symbol of holiness) with the doubleedged axe (symbol of matriarchy)[7] but it can be better
compared with the Egyptian tyet which is similar. This
symbol can be recognized on the two famous gurines of
the chthonian Snake Goddess discovered in the palace of
Knossos. Both snake goddesses have a knot with a projecting loop cord between their breasts.[8] In the Linear B
(Mycenean Greek) script, ankh is the phonetic sign za.[9]

The ankh also appeared frequently in coins from ancient

Cyprus and Asia Minor (particularly the city of Mallus
the was, symbol of power and dominion, a sta fea- in Cilicia).[10] In some cases, especially with the early
turing the head and tail of the god Set, great of coinage of King Euelthon of Salamis, the letter ku, from
strength
the Cypriot syllabary, appeared within the circle ankh,
representing Ku(prion) (Cypriots). To this day, the ankh is

3.2

Bibliography

[12] "Egyptian Religion", David P. Silverman, p. 135, Oxford

University Press US, 2003, ISBN 0-19-521952-X
[13] Ankh Ancient Symbol of Life. Retrieved 4 November
2012.

3.2 Bibliography
Collier, Mark and Manley, Bill. How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs: Revised Edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998.
Crux ansata in Codex Glazier

also used to represent the planet Venus (the namesake of

which, the goddess Venus or Aphrodite, was chiey worshipped on the island) and the metal copper (the heavy
mining of which gave Cyprus its name).[11]
Coptic Christians preserved the shape of the ankh by
sometimes representing the Christian cross with a circle
in place of the upper bar. This is known as the Coptic
ankh or crux ansata.[12][13]

Salaman, Clement and Van Oyen, Dorine and

Wharton, William D. and Mah, Jean-Pierre (translation) (2000). The Way of Hermes: New Translations of The Corpus Hermeticum and The Denitions
of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius. Rochester: Inner Traditions.
Three Initiates (1912). The Kybalion. Chicago: The
Yogi Publication Society Masonic Temple.

4 External links
3
3.1

References
Notes

[1] King Hezekiah in the Bible: Royal Seal of Hezekiah

Comes to Light. Biblical Archaeology Society.
[2] Collier, Mark and Manley, Bill. How to Read Egyptian
Hieroglyphs: Revised Edition pg 23. Berkeley: University
of California Press, 1998.
[3] Inman, Thomas. Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian
Symbolism, Second Edition. New York: J. W. Bouton,
706 Broadway. Published 1875. Page 44. ISBN 978-14209-2987-4.
[4] A Guide to the Third and Fourth Rooms of the British Museum (London: s.n.: 1904), 210.
[5] Gardiner, Alan. Egyptian Grammar, Third Edition. Cambridge University Press. 1957. p. 508.
[6] Gordon, Andrew Hunt; Schwabe, Calvin W (2004). The
Quick and the Dead: Biomedical Theory in Ancient Egypt
First Edition. Brill/Styx. ISBN 90-04-12391-1.
[7] F. Schachermeyer. (1964) Die Minoische Kultur des alten Kreta pp. 161, 163164
[8] Cristopher L.C.E Witcombe. Minoan snake goddess. 9:
Snake charmers
[9] M. Ventris, J. Chadwick
[10] The Cambridge Ancient History, Cambridge University
Press; AsiaMinorCoins.com
[11] Fisher, Fred H., Cyprus: Our New Colony And What
We Know About It, London: George Routledge and Sons
1878, pp. 1314.

Media related to Ankh at Wikimedia Commons

5 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

5.1

Text

Ankh Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankh?oldid=714972727 Contributors: The Anome, Paul Barlow, JakeVortex, DopeshJustin,
Wwwwolf, Ixfd64, Ihcoyc, Kingturtle, Rossami, Raven in Orbit, Charles Matthews, Dysprosia, WhisperToMe, Selket, Head, Wetman,
Michael Rawdon, Hajor, ChrisO~enwiki, R3m0t, Altenmann, Hadal, Wikibot, Vishruth, Wayland, Alan Liefting, ZJP, DocWatson42,
Marnanel, Leyman, Gro-Tsen, Curps, Alensha, Bluejay Young, SoWhy, Andycjp, Iantresman, Esperant, Eep, Tungol, Freakofnurture,
Discospinster, Rich Farmbrough, Kooo, Andrew Maiman, Dbachmann, Stbalbach, CanisRufus, Kwamikagami, Summer Song, Shanes,
Bobo192, AmosWolfe, Robotje, Cmdrjameson, ZayZayEM, La goutte de pluie, Pentalis, Helix84, Notash, Storm Rider, Hanuman
Das, Alansohn, DreamGuy, Wtmitchell, Dschwen, Derbeth, Ndteegarden, RyanGerbil10, Angr, Velho, Woohookitty, -Ril-, Twthmoses,
Wikiklrsc, Optichan, Karmosin, Male1979, Tutmosis, Graham87, Saperaud~enwiki, Helvetius, Captmondo, Ligulem, ABot, MarnetteD,
Matt Deres, Yamamoto Ichiro, FlaBot, McPhail, Master Thief Garrett, RexNL, Gurch, PrinceYuki~enwiki, Igordebraga, Design, WriterHound, UkPaolo, The Rambling Man, YurikBot, Koveras, Stan2525, Lusanaherandraton, Wiki alf, Liastnir, ThSoft, DarkFireTaker,
Aaron Brenneman, Anetode, James Nunn, Xdenizen, Nanouk, Arr jay, Morgan Leigh, Psyphics, Sir Dagon, PGPirate, Pegship, N-Bot,
BorgQueen, AGToth, Mmcannis, NeilN, Tom Morris, That Guy, From That Show!, Sardanaphalus, KnightRider~enwiki, SmackBot, YellowMonkey, InverseHypercube, KnowledgeOfSelf, Zerida, Unyoyega, Davewild, MindlessXD, Spongtastic, Canonblack, PeterSymonds,
Gilliam, Portillo, Betacommand, Heliostellar, Amatulic, Bluebot, Persian Poet Gal, KiloByte, Jprg1966, Los3, Darth Panda, Egsan Bacon,
Kelvin Case, Burns ipper, Krsont, New World Man, Kittybrewster, Zvar, Mad2rox, King Vegita, Brokenyin, Idran, MichaelBillington,
Derek R Bullamore, Tutankhamun, SVT KY, Ligulembot, Icecradle, Nishkid64, Thanatosimii, 3dnatureguy, Cybercomic, Sebastian Klein,
A. Parrot, Special-T, Grandpafootsoldier, Mr Stephen, Waggers, Midnightblueowl, Ryulong, MTSbot~enwiki, Damienbloodlust, M@sk,
BranStark, Mulder416sBot, Asethapart, Daniel5127, Xcentaur, JForget, Cyrus XIII, KyraVixen, Xxovercastxx, Casper2k3, Karenjc,
Safalra, Cydebot, Synergy, He Who Is, Clovis Sangrail, Doug Weller, DumbBOT, Gulivar, Thijs!bot, Barticus88, Agbdavis, Marek69,
John254, I do not exist, Duwayitheru, Nachmore, Ghuli, KrakatoaKatie, 11tas, RapidR, Otherone, Sammyrice, RodrigoOrtiz, JAnDbot,
Deective, Dulcimerist, Angelofdeath275, Deelynna, Carlwev, Je Dahl, Cillyisblue, Catgut, ClovisPt, Eftpotrm, JaGa, Brittany Ka, Gwern, MartinBot, Demigod06, Jim.henderson, Rettetast, Bissinger, R'n'B, SLY111, CommonsDelinker, Nousoul, Lilac Soul, Anonymous
Keeper of Records, J.delanoy, Cyborg Ninja, Maurice Carbonaro, Extransit, Penguinwithin, LordAnubisBOT, Austin512, Jedd the Jedi,
Ethanjp, Zerokitsune, 83d40m, Cdveris, RicardoVerdi, Mike V, Lickamaloin, ThePointblank, Deor, VolkovBot, AlnoktaBOT, TXiKiBoT,
Apepch7, Satseshat, IPSOS, Someguy1221, Theologikal, Gekritzl, Broadbot, Gagamela, Irenerules, Logan, Aqwfyj, Eksbg, SieBot, Jaksap,
ShiftFn, Augustus Rookwood, Moonriddengirl, Da Joe, Mungo Kitsch, Mehdizejnulahu, JSpung, Oxymoron83, Tab13tab13, Spacequeenie, Hobartimus, Kutera Genesis, Martin H., Aladdin Zane, Enrique.javier, ClueBot, Hutcher, Foxj, The Thing That Should Not Be,
Jack240751, Maan, Niusereset, Shatilov Konstantin, Mastertoppleover, Auntof6, Kitsunegami, Alexbot, Apricot sh, PixelBot, Razorame, Thingg, DerBorg, DumZiBoT, Skarebo, Mifter, Luckynumbers, Robecology, Addbot, Cxz111, AkhtaBot, Vatrena ptica, CanadianLinuxUser, Leszek Jaczuk, Der Blutsauger, AndersBot, Favonian, Hellensmith37, GustavusPrimus, Tide rolls, Lightbot, Zorrobot, Nachbarnebenan, , Legobot, Luckas-bot, Fraggle81, MarkChase, Amirobot, Bushteacher, Jean.julius, AnomieBOT, Etan J. Tal, Neptune5000, Taam, Mintrick, Piano non troppo, Ulric1313, Materialscientist, JoRoFo, Clark89, Xqbot, Capricorn42, PrometheusDesmotes,
Cameron3993, Omnipaedista, RibotBOT, Lukenji, Hamamelis, JMCC1, Basetag1, FrescoBot, Traceylane, SiIIyLiIIyPiIIy, LittleWink,
Alexihelligar, MastiBot, Tahir mq, Kibi78704, Pollinosisss, Hanay, Lotje, Leshadowxd, MajorStovall, Miracle Pen, TheGrimReaper NS,
MrArifnajafov, TjBot, Thrind, Immunize, Dewritech, Zyxirion, , Unreal7, Ankhpossessor, Nzk10, Hakamz, Tolly4bolly, Pasitigris1, Isarra, Donner60, ChuispastonBot, Just granpa, Manytexts, ClueBot NG, MelbourneStar, Widr, Pluma, Helpful Pixie Bot, Monaibra, Kara.ashleigh, Betthelyncher, Mark Arsten, CitationCleanerBot, Cats001, Dylan0123456789, NotWith, Gun.Rugger, Glacialfox,
Hansen Sebastian, Torresjuan123, ChrisGualtieri, Iry-Hor, Raymond1922A, Webclient101, Mogism, TwoTwoHello, Kevin12xd, Omniscientmeep102, Howicus, , Hoppeduppeanut, Domineiesu, Monochrome Monitor, Katprescottfan, TheBoxer300, Snowsuit
Wearer, Nolant 500, Beckarius, TheCaz64, Erin420, Mckburton, Tkrieger18 and Anonymous: 483

5.2

Images

File:All_Gizah_Pyramids.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/All_Gizah_Pyramids.jpg License: CC

BY-SA 2.0 Contributors: All Gizah Pyramids Original artist: Ricardo Liberato
File:Anch.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Anch.png License: Public domain Contributors: Own work
Original artist: Nachbarnebenan
File:Ankh-Royal_Ontario_Museum.jpg Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Ankh-Royal_Ontario_
Museum.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Pasitigris1
File:Ankh_(SVG)_01.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Ankh_%28SVG%29_01.svg License: CC BYSA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Alexi Helligar
File:Codex_Glazier_2.JPG
Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Codex_Glazier_2.JPG
License: Public domain Contributors: Codex Glazier Original artist: Unknown<a href='//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718'
title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img
alt='wikidata:Q4233718'
src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/
Wikidata-logo.svg/20px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png' width='20' height='11' srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/
thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/30px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png
1.5x,
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/
Wikidata-logo.svg/40px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 2x' data-le-width='1050' data-le-height='590' /></a>
File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Folder_Hexagonal_Icon.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/48/Folder_Hexagonal_Icon.svg License: Cc-bysa-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:MerenptahOfferingtoPtah.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/MerenptahOfferingtoPtah.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by Leoboudv. Original artist: Chipdawes at English
Wikipedia

5.3

Content license

File:People_icon.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/People_icon.svg License: CC0 Contributors: OpenClipart Original artist: OpenClipart
File:Pyramidi_aavikolla.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Pyramidi_aavikolla.png License: Public
domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Symbol_book_class2.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Symbol_book_class2.svg License: CC
BY-SA 2.5 Contributors: Mad by Lokal_Prol by combining: Original artist: Lokal_Prol

5.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0