brooklynmuseum:The majestic “sacred ibis” has a white body, black neck, legs, and wingtips, and a da
brooklynmuseum:The majestic “sacred ibis” has a white body, black neck, legs, and wingtips, and a dark bill. This species of ibis disappeared from Egypt by the middle of the nineteenth-century c.e. Mummified by the millions from the Late to the Roman Periods, ibis mummies come in many shapes and sizes. Even ibis eggs were mummified. One priestly archive refers to ibises, bred and embalmed in the Saqqara temple, as “The Ibis, The God and the Soul of Thoth.” Usually represented as a man with the head of an ibis, Thoth was the patron of writing and knowledge. The Book of the Dead frequently depicts him recording the results of the “Weighing of the Heart” scene, and a Pyramid Text describes Thoth ferrying gods to the Netherworld on his wide wings.Posted by Yekaterina Barbash Keep reading -- source link