CROWNS 321

CROCODILES. Crocodile toy with a movable jaw.

frightened or wounded, a gruesome roar or piercing scream may

escape it.
The ancient Egyptians came into conflict with the crocodile
when it was necessary to drive herds across a ford in the Nile.
Although a magical spell was spoken at the same time, crocodiles
were not affected; nor were magical gestures and entreating verses
as effective as frightening cries by the herder. At special risk were
swimmers or those whose jobs took them onto or into the Nile:
sailors, water carriers, fishermen, boat builders, launderers, and the
many marsh workers. A later magical custom to ward off crocodiles
was documented by the Horus Stela: if water was poured over them
and this "magic water" drunk, one was believed to be protected. In
the Instructions of Khety, as published by Hellmut Brunner, a
despondent schoolboy was threatened with having to live like the
launderer among the crocodiles and hippopotami.
Not only were the tooth-studded jaws of the reptile feared but
also its tail, a blow from which may smash the backbone of its
victim. Only the adult hippopotamus was safe from the crocodile.
Camels, donkeys, cattle, horses, and even water birdsexcept for
the trochilos (PIuvianus aegyptiacus), which sits on the crocodile's
nose and picks off verminwere dragged into the depths.
According to ihe Theban cosmogony, the Golden Age would be
characterized by "no crocodiles thieving" (and "no snakes biting").
Only for the lover was the crocodile "as harmless as ;i mouse" when
he "enters the waters" to hurry to his beloved. According to
Athanasius (fourth-century CE patriarch of Alexandria), Saint
Anthony (the Great; 251-356 i r.) was able to control the reptile
with prayer. The thou-s.inds of crocodile bodies that were placed in
ancient temples and caverns, however, prove that it was possible to
m.ister them; they were overcome by means of harpoons.
Attempts were made to tame crocodiles caught young, . i III
lough those were not successful. When the Egyptians iilk-J the
moats around the fort at Sile with crocodiles, as 11 n- secondcentury BCE Greek historian Diodorus Siculus i>'i.orded, they were
probably as well protected as we are iiul.iy by defensive weapons.
The menacing character of
In- crocodile was utilized in stories to protect the Her-11" -l ii.'
writings; there, the reptile was called a "dragon," who
ni interfered with cosmic events, since he slobbered ii'i in Ihe
water on which the sun god traversed the sky.

As a nocturnal being, the crocodile played a significant part in

mythical and magical contexts, as well as in imagery; there, it
served as "the symbol of all maliciousness." It was said, the name
of "the man who is tired of life" reeks more "than the stench of
crocodiles." Nevertheless, the crocodile was used as a man's name
from the Old Kingdom onward and was the emblem for the sixth
Upper Egyptian nome (province).
[See also Amphibians and Reptiles.]
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brunner-Traut, Emma. Altagyptische Tiergeschichte und Fabel. Darmstadt, 1977. Posener, Georges. Festschrift fur Siegfried Schott.
Wiesbaden, 1968.
EMMA BRUNNER-TRAUT Translated from
German by Julia Harvey

CROWNS played a dominant role in the composition of the royal

and the divine image: kings and gods were never represented
without them, because they indicated important aspects of both
royalty and divinity. In this discussion, general features of the
crowns' shapes and functions will be outlined first, followed by a
description of the main types of royal and divine headdresses.
Form and Composition. Egyptian crowns were worn by kings,
queens, and princesses, as well as by gods, in representations and
texts. Apart from circlets and kerchiefs, no real-life examples have
survived, and their actual size and material remain uncertain. As in
most cultures, crowns mark the wearer as distinct from the average
human being. This is usually achieved by optically "enhancing" the
wearer, making him or her appear taller, and by using precious
materials, such as gold, silver, and gemstones. Egyptian crowns are
generally represented as very tall, sometimes so tall that they could
hardly have been worn, and indeed such elements as high feathers
are represented in token form at a much smaller scale on some
surviving royal headdresses. This fact emphasizes the emblematic
significance of items of regalia, which functioned virtually as
"hieroglyphs," with their combinations forming "sentences" that
could be read and altered by varying their constituent elements.
This view is supported by cases of posthumously altered
headdresses in representations of royal personae.
Royal regalia, and in particular crowns, often link their wearer
with the superhuman sphere, and the height of Egyptian crowns
itself points toward the heavenly or divine; thus, the crown of
Queen Hatshepsut can be stated to "pierce the sky" during her
coronation before the god Amun. Bestowed on the ruler by the
gods in texts and representations, crowns symbolize the connection
of earthly

322 CROWNS
and divine rule: most crowns can be said to belong to the sun god
Re or some other deity. Adornment with precious materials (or their
colors), in particular the shimmer of gold and silver, provides a
further link with gods who are associated with radiance. Solar or
stellar disks can be added to a crown-type, as well as one or more
cobra-form uraeus snakes, which represent the fire and blinding
radiance issuing from the sun god's "eye," the solar disk, to
consume potential enemies. Crowns themselves are often equated
with the eyes of Re or Horus.
Normally, a single uraeus adorns the forehead of the ruler; in
the Early Dynastic period and Old Kingdom it appears exclusively
with kerchiefs (e.g., the nms) and headbands, never with the tall
crowns. From the sixth dynasty onward, royal women too may
wear a uraeus. A few uraei of gold, some of them inlaid, survive
from Middle and New Kingdom tombs. The distinctive shape of
the uraeus, like that of crowns in general, at different periods can
be an important factor in dating uninscribed representations. A
double uraeusone usually wearing the Red Crown and the other
the White Crownis attested for royal women from the reign of
Ahmose on. A variation is the (sometimes double) uraeus
augmented by a vulture head, referring to the goddesses Wadjit and
Nekhbet of the two halves of the country, oron a deceased
king to Isis and Nephthys as the two mourners of Osiris. Among
the gods, only Montu and the Abydos fetish representing Osiris are
shown wearing the double uraeus. Attached to the plain Kushite
cap, it is distinctive of rulers of the twenty-fifth dynasty and their
Napatean and Meroi-tic successors. Depending on the context, the
uraeus can also bear the head of a gazelle (especially for subsidiary
royal women) or an ibis. Ptolemaic queens may even wear a triple
uraeus. A further increase in the number of cobras is attested from
the reign of Amenhotpe III on, when a kalathos of uraei as a crown
base is attested. Akhenaten is the first king to display a circlet of
uraei, also worn by gods, around some of his crowns. The radiance
conveyed by disks and uraei likens the wearer to the gods, and the
increase of their number on crowns occurs during periods of
intensified solar cult, developing in particular during the Amama
period.
Many Egyptian crowns contain elements of plant or animal
origin, including feathers (of falcon or ostrich) and horns (of ram,
cattle, or gazelle). These features associate the wearer with the
qualities of the specific god who was manifest in a given animal.
Thus, the curved ram's horn, a symbol of Amun, which occurs at
the side of royal headdresses from the time of Amenhotpe I,
identifies the ruler with this god and imbues him with divine
qualities.
Plant ornaments are confined mostly to the crowns of queens
and princesses, and seem to evoke beauty and youth or
rejuvenation. Exceptions are the central element

of the atef-crown and the occasional presence of the ished-fruit on

the same crown, and the "wire" or "curl" of the Red Crown.
Religious and Political Significance. The large number of
crowns attested for a single rulerthe coronation of Hatshepsut
shows nine different types, and the same number of basic
headdresses is attested in depictions from the Old Kingdom on
reflects different aspects of kingship. Of the ten royal crowns
enumerated for Ptolemy V in the Decree of Memphis on the
Rosetta Stone (196 BCE), the Double Crowna combination of the
White and Red Crowns of Upper and Lower Egyptis said to be
the diadem worn during the coronation ceremony in the temple of
Memphis. Attested from the Middle Kingdom onward, the titles
"Foremost of the Secrets of the Two Crown [-goddesse]s" (i.e., the
Double Crown; hrj-ssty n Wydty) and "Priest of the Two Great of
Magic," both applied to the "Keeper of the Royal Diadem,"
support the dominant role of the Double Crown in symbolizing
terrestrial political rule.
The political and religious significance of crowns for the image
of the king can be inferred from the fact that different headdresses
were favored in different periods. Thus, some types of crowns do
not appear in the Amarna period. Akhenaten's queen Nefertiti
wore crowns confined to the king in other periods, such as the cap
crown, and new crown types were invented for her, apparently to
symbolize her expanded role.
Some texts suggest a metaphorical use of the royal crowns to
embody the office of kingship, or even the political or
geographical notion of the kingdom, similar to the European
medieval concept of the corona regni (royal crown). Thus, in
Medinet Habu the captured princes beg the Egyptian king for air
so that they may "serve his diadem" (wydty)that is, the Double
Crown.
Egyptian crown forms were adopted in the iconography of
kings and gods in neighboring cultures, notably in the Levant and
Nubia. The crowns of the Lower Nubian Ballana culture
maintained many Egyptian features until the fifth century CE.
Crowns in the Funerary Sphere. Funerary literature from the
period of the Pyramid and Coffin Texts on gives crowns an
important role in the rites of passage that transform the deceased
into an inhabitant of the sky. Endowing him with divine attributes
such as radiance, they both liken him to the gods of the sky and
impart to him authority over them. They symbolize ascent to the
sky and rebirth, as is shown by representations of crowns in the
object-friezes on coffins and beneath the bier, and by the practice
of placing crown-amulets on mummies. This symbolism relates to
the range of meaning of the Egyptian term h'w, which can be
rendered "arisings" and "manifestations" as well as "crowns." The
same root is

CROWNS 323

CROWNS, (left) The White Crown of Upper Egypt; (middle) The Red Crown of Lower Egypt;
(right) The Double Crown.

used in the term for accession to the throne. Crowns were also used
in the temple ritual evoking the rebirth of deities, and crown models
are known to have been kept in temple crypts.
Crown Types. The forms of crowns are most usefully
discussed in three groups: royal crowns, restricted to kings; royal
women's crowns; and divine crowns, depicted on images of gods.
Royal crowns. There are ten basic types of royal headdresses.
The most prominent are the White Crown and the Red Crown, the
oldest crowns of the king, attested from the Predynastic period
onward. They were generally associated with the kingship of the
Two Lands, and as such were worn by King Narmer, supposedly
the first ruler of the unified country. The White Crown, most commonly called hdt ("The White, Bright One"), adorned the king as
ruler of Upper Egypt; the Red Crown, most commonly called dsrt
("The Red One") and nt (interpreted from the Middle Kingdom as
referring to the goddess Neith), marked him as ruler of Lower
Egypt. Their material has been proposed to be fabric or leather,
supplemented in the case of the Red Crown by a "wire" ending in a
spiral (Eg. hybt, hmytt). Both crowns are mentioned in the Pyramid
Texts, where their luminous color is associated with the light of
celestial bodies. From the time of Thutmose IV, they can be
combined with the striped cloth called nemes, and from the
nineteenth dynasty on they are rarely depicted alone. They were
worshipped as manifestations of the tutelary goddesses of the Two
Lands, Nekh-bet and Wadjit, and were glorified in hymns. They
were also known as "The Two Great of Magic" (wrty hkyw).
The complementary character of the White and Red Crowns
finds expression in their combination as the Double Crown, most
commonly (py) shmty ("The Two Powerful Ones"). This crown
primarily symbolizes kingship over the entire country; it also
occurs as an attribute of gods associated either with kingship, like
Horus, or with cosmic rule, like Atum. Worn atop the vulture cap, it
also forms part of the headdress of the goddess Mut. It

appears in representations from the first dynasty onward (ivory

label of Den, c.3000 BCE; BM 32.650), and in the Pyramid Texts.
From the Middle Kingdom on, the Double Crown may replace the
Red Crown in complementary representations of the Upper and
Lower Egyptian crowns.
The Double Feathers Crown, principally called swty ("The Two
Feathers"), may have a pair of ostrich or falcon feathers. As a royal
crown, this type is attested from the reign of Sneferu in the fourth
dynasty onward; the divine (ostrich) Double Feathers, apparently
those of the god An-edjti, are first attested in the sixth dynasty
Pyramid Texts. The feathers also adorn gods such as Amun, Min,
and Montu. Like many other crowns, the Double Feathers
usually combined with ram hornsmay be adorned with
additional uraei and disks from the New Kingdom on. Some texts
suggest that this crown held a special position within the rites
surrounding the ruler's accession to the throne, complementing the
role of the Double Crown at his coronation. In the religious
literature, the swty appears mostly in conjunction with the atefcrov/n, as an integral part of which the feathers are perceived.
The earliest depiction of the atef-crown dates to the reign of
Sahure (fifth dynasty); it consists of a central element, similar in
shape to the White Crown, which is woven from plant stems and
flanked by two ostrich feathers. Generally worn on top of a wig
adorned with the simple circlet and horns, it may from the New
Kingdom onward, also have disks and uraei. The meaning of the
word atef (ytf). which occurs from the Coffin Texts on, is disputed;
it may mean "his might" or "his terror." This crown is associated
particularly with the gods Osiris and Herishef, the latter embodying
the united gods Re and Osiris, the rulers of the sky and
netherworld, day and night. According to chapter 175 of the Book
of Going Forth by Day (Book of the Dead), it is bestowed by the
sun god. The atef can also be worn by Horus and Re in their
various forms. From the time of Thutmose III on, an ished-fruit,
from the mythic tree that stands on the horizon at sunrise, can
replace the solar disk normally surmounting the atef. This

324 CROWNS
symbolism of solar renewal, and related fertility, appears to
complement that of the nemes (nms; see below).
The triple atef, Egyptian hmhm ("The Roaring One"), occurs
first under Akhenaten and may have replaced the traditional atef
during the Amarna period. Common in representations of the solar
child emerging from the lotus flower in the morning, it may
identify the king with the sun god at sunrise.
The nemes, attested from the time of Djoser in the early third
dynasty, is worn almost exclusively by the king in representations.
Its use on the standards representing the royal ka underlines its
significance for kingship. From the eighteenth dynasty, it is shown
mostly in combination with other crowns (see below). It appears to
be represented by the term nws in the Pyramid Texts and is associated with Re-Khepri at sunrise. Another close link is with Horus,
who is said in the Coffin Texts to bestow it on his father Osiris in
order to bring about the latter's rebirth. The king wears the nemes
when represented as a sphinx or falcon; it seems to express the royal
"Horus" and "Son of Re" names.
Closely connected with the nemes is the khat or afnet (hyt or
'flit), which it appears to complement. These two kerchiefs
generally appear together in the object friezes as well as on the pairs
of royal wooden statues found guarding the entrances to the burial
chambers of several New Kingdom royal tombs. Remnants of a khat
were found on the mummy of Tutankhamun. Its dominant
representation in funerary contexts has been interpreted to convey a
particularly strong symbolism of rejuvenation, and it appears to
represent the nocturnal side of the solar cycle, complementing the
solar symbolism of the nemes. Like the latter, it is used in
representations of the royal ka. The name afnet is attested beginning
in the Pyramid Texts, where it is worn in particular by the maternal
Semat-cow, who is associated with Nekhbet. The earliest certain
representation dates to the reign of Djoser; the headdress on an
ivory label of King Den from Abydos (BM 55.586) may also
represent a khat. It is typical of Isis and Nephthys as mourners of
Osiris, and of the four goddesses protecting the sarcophagus of the
deceased king.
The seshed-circ\et (ssd or mdh) is attested from the reign of
Sneferu on. At this early time it is always combined with the atefcrown or the Double Feathers. Its primary function is to bear the
uraeus. A few examples survive of golden or silver circlets, usually
inlaid with semiprecious stones or colored glass; one is from the
tomb of Tutankhamun, where it was placed on top of the bandages
covering his head. It is always shown worn around a short wig;
when combined with the Amun-crown (see below), the seshed may
be tied directly onto the crown base. Textual evidence for the terms
ssd ("luminous") and mdh can be found in the Pyramid Texts as
well as in the later funer

ary literature, where they denote the radiant appearance of

stellar gods, Thoth, and the deceased. Like the nemes, the circlet
appears in conjunction with the transfiguration of Osiris.
The Cap Crown is attested from the Old Kingdom but not until
the twenty-fifth dynasty is the term sdn used for the so-called
Kushite cap with two uraei. The crown term hprs (see below) first
appears in the Second Intermediate Period determined with the
symbol of the cap, suggesting its derivation.) The cap appears
either without decoration, with horizontal lines, or with circlets,
and is worn with a uraeus. Colored representations are blue or
gold. The only surviving cap, on the mummy of Tutankhamun, is
of white linen, embroidered with gold and faience beads. Its use in
representations of the cult has led to its being interpreted as the
headdress of the royal or divine son. During the Amama period, it
can be worn by the queen, often complementing the Blue Crown.
A similarly shaped blue cap is worn by the god Ptah.
The Blue Crown (hprs) is attested in texts from the Second
Intermediate Period onward. It may have evolved from the cap
crown. It is typically decorated with circlets. The earliest
distinctive representation is from the reign of Kamose. The
contexts in which it is depicted suggest that it came to be the
quintessential crown of the living ruler, which could incorporate
the symbolism of other headdresses. It is closely related to the
nemes, which appears to mark a deceased king when both
headdresses are shown together.
The Amun Crown, a flat base like that of the Red Crown
augmented by a pair of tall feathers, is the typical crown of the god
Amun, but it can also be worn by a king. It appears to associate the
ruler with Amun and to legitimate his rule under the god's
protection. First attested during the reign of Nebhepetre
Montuhotep I, when Amun became the dominant deity of the
pantheon, this crown may have been called hnw. Its base alone is
worn occasionally by kings, and more commonly by queens, ol the
eighteenth dynasty. The Amun crown can be adorned with horns,
disks, and uraei.
There are numerous combinations of royal and diving crowns
and their elements. Most common is the combind-tion of nemes
and Double Crown, which probably expresses the two most
prominent royal titles, "Son of Rr" and "Lord of the Two Lands."
The combination of afefainl nemes, which appears from the time
of Thutmose I, is ;il most as widespread. Representing the two
typical insigni.i of the god Herishef from the New Kingdom on, it
m;i\ symbolize the combined royal aspects of the Son of K> and
(Son of) Osiris.
In the Greco-Roman period the composite crowns br came
increasingly elaborate, and more and more typi" evolved.

CROWNS 325
Crowns of royal women. The oldest and most common
headdress of royal women is the vulture cap, which associated the
wearer with the goddesses Nekhbet (of Upper Egypt) and later Mut,
and thus emphasized the maternal role of the queen. The cow horns,
usually combined with a solar disk and a uraei-kalathos as well as
the tripartite Hathor wig, worn by queens from the late eighteenth
dynasty onward, associate them with Hathor, the goddess who
combined maturity and beauty with the dangers of the raging solar
eye. The use of the uraeus for women may have originated in an
association with the Lower Egyptian Wadjit, the solar eye; from the
Middle Kingdom on it designates a royal daughter. The double
uraeus may refer to the two aspects of the solar eye, regenerative
and destructive. The Double Feathers (falcon or ostrich), representing the two horizons and thus also the two solar eyes, are
attested for queens from the thirteenth dynasty onward; goddesses
wear them only beginning in the late eighteenth dynasty, when they
may be augmented by a solar disk. The platform crown, most
commonly forming a base for the feathers, appears in the early
eighteenth dynasty and may evoke the papyrus thicket of Khemmis.
From the time of Amenhotpe III onward, the same crown is
augmented by a pair of gazelle horns and is known as Isis-Sothis
feather crown. Royal women below the rank of queen are often
distinguished by gazelle heads on their headdresses.
Divine crowns. Every divinity has a particular set of
iconographic features that distinguish him or her in various
functions. A god often wears a specific symbol on the I icad, and
this is frequently the only sure means of identifying the deity
represented. The most common divine headdresses are cow horns
and solar disk for the leading ."oddesses of the pantheon, such as
Hathor and Isis, emphasizing their maternal role; they may also
wear tall I rather crowns augmented by the same attributes, which
ippear to relate to their cosmic, luminous nature, like the IsisSothis crown discussed under queens' crowns. Gods .is.sociated
with the cosmos, such as Re, mostly wear so-l:ir or stellar disks;
royal gods, such as Horus, bear the Double Crown. The White
Crown with a pair of ostrich ir.ithers adorns Osiris; the Red Crown
is associated pri-111.11 ily with Neith and Geb. From the Third
Intermediate I'rriod onward, especially youthful gods, such as
Harpo-i.iie.s, can be shown wearing almost any type of royal 11
'wn, while beginning in the New Kingdom, a single so-1 n or stellar
disk or a lunar crescent may denote a "divin/ft.1" king.
[ .Sec also Insignias.]
BIBLIOGRAPHY
i"iil..iki, Abd el-Monem J. Untersuchnngen ilber die allagyptischen ','"iir.
Gluckstadt, 1937. Very brief but wide-ranging study of

Egyptian crowns, now quite outdated, but remaining the most-cited work
on the subject.
Collier, Sandra A. "The Crowns of Pharaoh: Their Development and
Significance in Ancient Egyptian Kingship." Ph.D. diss., University of
California, 1996. The only study of the symbolism of most crowns
available in English; coverage is rather uneven. Many plates and tables
present the formal development of crowns through Egyptian history.
Davies, W. Vivian. "The Origin of the Blue Crown." Journal of Egyptian
Archaeology 68 (1982), 69-76. Derives the form of the Blue Crown, to
which he attributes a symbolism of legitimate succession, from the simple
Cap Crown.
Eaton-Krauss, Marianne. "The KHAT Headdress to the End of the Amarna
Period." Studien wr Altagyptischen Kultur 5 (1977), 21-39. Development
and symbolism of this headdress; complementary character of the nemes.
Ertman, Earl L. "The Cap-crown of Nefertiti: Its Function and Probable
Origin." Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 13 (1976),
63-66. Implications of Nefertiti's use of this crown for the political role of
the queen during the Amarna period; proposes that the Cap indicated the
royal or divine son.
Ertman, Earl L. "The Search for the Significance and Origin of Nefertiti's
Tall Blue Crown." In Sesto Congresses Internationale di Egitto-logia,
vol. 1, pp. 189-193. Turin, 1992. Holds that this crown was invented
specifically to underline Nefertiti's status as equal to that of the king.
Ertman, Earl L. "From Two to Many: The Symbolism of Additional Uraei
Worn by Nefertity and Akhenaten." Journal of the Society for the Study of
Egyptian Antiquities 23 (1993), 42-50. Discusses the double uraeus worn by
queens from the eighteenth dynasty on and argues that the White and Red
Crowns found on the two heads were aligned with south and north, allowing
one to reconstruct the position of a statue or relief within its original setting.
The uraeus-circlet and kalathos are also discussed. Goebs, Katja. "Some
Cosmic Aspects of the Royal Crowns." In Proceedings of the Seventh
International Congress of Egyptologists, Cambridge, 3-9 September 1995,
edited by C. Eyre, pp. 447-460. Lou-vain, 1998. Explores the luminous
nature of the royal crowns, and their role in the transfiguration of the king
and private persons after death, as described in funerary literature. Habachi,
Labib. Features of the Deification of'Ramesses II. Gluckstadt, 1969.
Describes iconographic elements, including headdresses, that indicate the
divinized state of a ruler. Johnson, Sally B. The Cobra Goddess of Ancient
Egypt: Predynastic, Early Dynastic, and Old Kingdom Periods. London,
1990. Traces, mostly in photographs and line drawings, the formal
development of the uraeus.
Russmann, Edna R. "Vulture and Cobra at the King's Brow." In Chief of
Seers: Egyptian Studies in Memory of Cyril Aldred, edited by E. Goring et
al., pp. 266-284. London, 1997. Explains the uraeus with one cobra and
one vulture head on representations of the king in funerary contexts as
referring to the goddesses Isis and Nephthys.
Torok, Laszlo. The Royal Crowns ofKush: A Study in Middle Nile Valley
Regalia and Iconography in the 1st Millennia B.C. and A.D. Oxford, 1987.
Study of the crowns of the Nubian rulers, including those of the Egyptian
twenty-fifth (Kushite) dynasty. (Reviewed by E. Kor-mysheva, "The Royal
Crowns of Kush: An Extended Review," Bei-trage wr Sudanforschung 5
[1992], 55-71.)
Troy, Lana. Patterns of Queenship in Ancient Egyptian Myth and His-toiy.
Uppsala, 1986. See especially pages 115-130, on the function of the cobra
and vulture and the jw/v-feathers in the ideology and regalia of Egyptian
queens.