Ankh

Key facts and history

Early examples of the ankh sign date to the First Dynasty, around the 30th to 29th century BC.^[3][4] The ankh could signify air or water by extension of the concept of "life"^[5] The people of Syria and Canaan adopted the ankh during the Middle Bronze Age (c. 1950–1500 BC), where it was by far the most common adopted hieroglyph.^[6] The ankh was one of the few ancient Egyptian artistic motifs that continued to be used after the Christianization of Egypt during the 4th and 5th centuries AD.^[7]

The original physical object that the sign depicted is not agreed upon.^[4] Because early versions of the sign have a lower bar that appears as two separate strands of flexible material, a common scholarly view is that the sign represents a knot made from something like cloth or reeds.^[4] Heinrich Schäfer and Henry Fischer, both Egyptologists, believed the ankh and the tyet symbol originated from the same source, seeing the ankh as a knot employed as an amulet.^[8] Gardiner proposed that the sign's original form was sandal-strap knots, and that it subsequently was used to write every word containing the consonants Ꜥ-n-ḫ.^[9]

The ancient Egyptian worldview held that life was a circulating force throughout the cosmos, and the ankh was often shown in the hands of gods to symbolize their ability to grant life.^[10][11] Amulets in the shape of an ankh began to appear near the end of the Old Kingdom (c. 2700 to 2200 BC) and remained in use until the late first millennium BC.^[12]

What the cited sources add

The Egyptra Travel account notes that archaeological findings suggest the earliest depictions of the ankh appeared around 3000 BCE during the Early Dynastic Period.^[2] Deities such as Ra, Isis, and Osiris are frequently shown presenting the ankh to pharaohs, granting them legitimacy, protection, and eternal life.^[2] The ankh was tied to the "breath of life" and was often placed near the mouth of the deceased in funerary art.^[2] In the Pyramid Texts, the ankh is described as a key capable of unlocking the gates of the heavens.^[2]

Egyptian medical papyri, such as the Ebers Papyrus and the Hearst Papyrus, include references to life-giving symbols like the ankh in healing rituals.^[2] The ankh also appeared in purification ceremonies, where priests poured sacred water while holding the ankh cross.^[2] In modern Egypt, the ankh reemerged as a marker of national pride.^[2]