Crowns of Egypt

The Egyptian civilization used a number of different crowns throughout its existence. Some were used to show authority, while others were used for religious ceremonies. Each crown was worn by different pharaohs or deities, and each crown had its own significance and symbolic meaning. The crowns include the Atef, the Deshret, the Hedjet, and the Pschent.

Name	Components	Worn by	In art
Atef	Hedjet with ostrich feathers	Osiris	Osiris from the tomb of Nefertari (1295-1255 BC)
Deshret (Red Crown)	uraeus (rearing cobra)	pharaohs of Lower Egypt and the desert Red Land; the deities Horus, Wadjet and Neith	Lionslayer, New Kingdom (dynasties 19-20), ostracon
Hedjet (White Crown)	vulture	pharaohs of Upper Egypt; the deities Horus and Nekhbet	Ahmose I or Amunhotep I (Dynasty 18, 1539-1493 BC)
Khepresh (Blue Crown or War Crown)	uraeus	New Kingdom pharaohs in battle and ceremonies	Tutankhamun
Pschent, Greek ψχεντ, Egyptian sḫm.tỉ, sekhemti (Double Crown)	Deshret and Hedjet; uraeus and vulture	pharaohs, and their Horus	Ptolemy VI Philometor (3rd–2nd century BC), engraving on a ring

Atef

Atef, the crown of Osiris, is a combination of Upper Egypt’s white crown, the hedjet, and ostrich feathers on either side. It also often has a golden disc at its tip. The ostrich feathers, similar to those representing ma’at, symbolize truth, justice, morality, and balance.^[1] They represent the cult center of Orisis as well, which is located in Busiris.^[2] Atef is typically worn atop a pair of ram or bull horns as a circlet.

The Atef crown is seen as far back as the 5th dynasty.^[2] According to Egyptian beliefs, this crown represents Osiris as the god of fertility, ruler of the Afterlife, and a representative of the cycle of death and rebirth. Later on, though, it came to be worn by other pharaohs because of the belief that they’d become a form of Osiris after their death.^[3] In their tombs, the pharaohs would have themselves depicted as Osiris by wearing his crown.^[3] During Middle Kingdom Egypt, even regular citizens could have Osiris’s crown because Osiris had become the judge of the deceased.^[4] It was also worn during religious rituals.

Deshret

The Crown of Lower Egypt, also known as Deshret, is a red bowl shaped crown with a small protruding wire. It is typically associated with the rulers and pharaohs of Lower Egypt. The word Deshret is also the name for the arid land surrounding the Nile River area.^[5]

The red color of the crown is symbolic of the “red land”, arid dessert land that surrounded the fertile “black land” of Kemet.^[6] The small protruding wire of the crown is symbolic of the proboscis, or stinger, of the honey bee.^[7] The crown was likely made out of organic materials like cloth or reeds, and was based down from king to king instead of being buried with each king. This explains why we have found no existing physical Deshret.^[5]

Representations of Deshret can be seen as early as the late Naqada I period, around 3500 BCE. In these early predynastic times, it is believed that the crown was worn in association with the god Seth, and it wasn't until the formation of the first dynasties, around 3000 BCE, that it became symbolic of rule over Lower Egypt.^[8]

In Egyptian mythology, it is believed that Deshret was first given to the god Horus by Geb to symbolize his rule over Lower Egypt. The crown was then passed on to pharaohs, who saw themselves as successors to Horus.^[5] The goddess Neith, when depicted in a human body, is usually shown wearing the crown of Lower Egypt. The earliest depiction of Neith in this crown was first found in the temple of Userkaf in Abu Gorab, which was constructed in 2499 BCE.^[9]

Hedjet

The Hedjet, also known as hdt, is the crown worn by the king of Upper (Southern) Egypt. It resembles a bowling pin and is also called the “White One.” In addition, this crown is one half of the Double Crown, the Pschent. There are no known crowns found in any archeological digs. The current theory is that the crowns were made out of leather or some other fabric.^[10] A hedjet with Nekhbet the vulture goddess next to the head of the cobra goddess is the symbol used to represent the hedjet. Several Egyptian gods, such a Nekhbet and Horus, are seen in some drawings and carvings wearing the hedjet. Images of this crown have been found in Ta-Seti (Northern Nubia in 3500–3200 BCE),^[11] a tomb in Deir-el-Bahari, the Narmer Palette, and on a statue of Pharaoh Sesostris I.^[12]

Pschent

The Double Crown represented the unification of the two regions of Egypt, Upper and Lower Egypt. It is also referred to as the shmty which means ‘The Two Powerful Ones” or as the pschent.^[10] The Crown is the combination of the White Crown of Upper Egypt and the Red Crown of Lower Egypt.^[13] An interesting inscription found in the tomb of a Fourth Dynasty Pharaoh states, “He has eaten the Red Crown… and delights to have [The Crown’s] magic in his belly.” Historians believe this is a metaphorical reference to Upper Egypt conquering Lower Egypt as described on the Narmer Palette.^[12] Menes is credited with the invention of the Double Crown, however, the first pharaoh to wear the Crown was Djet.^[13] Horus is depicted wearing the Double Crown as well as Atum, both of which have a distinct relationship with the pharaoh.^[10] There are no Pschents still around today, as well as the Red and White Crowns, so all that is accepted about them comes from ancient tales, inscriptions, and depictions.^[13]

See also

• Crown of justification
• Radiant crown
• Modius (headdress)

References