© CRYSTALINKS

His mother was Nephthys and that his father was, according to some, Set; from another point of view he was the son of Ra. His worship is very ancient, and there is no doubt that even the earliest times his cult was general in Egypt; it is probable that it is older than that of Osiris. In the text of Unas {line 70} he is associated with the Eye of Horus, and his duty as the guide of the dead in the Underworld on their way to Osiris was well defined, even at the remote period when this composition was written, from we read, Unas standeth with the Spirits, get thee onwards, Anubis, into "Amenti [the Underworld], onwards, onwards to Osiris."

In the lines that follow we see that Anubis is mentioned in connection with Horus, Set, Thoth, Sep, and Khent-an-maati. From another passage of the same text we find {line 207 ff} that the hand, arms, belly, and legs of the deceased are identified with Temu, but his face is said to be in the form of that of Anubis. The localities in which Anubis was especially worshipped are Abt, the Papyrus Swamps, Sep, Re-au, Heru-ti, Ta-hetchet, Saint, {Lycopolis}, Sekhem, {Letopolis}, etc. In the Theban Recesion of the Book of the Dead he plays some very prominent parts, the most important of all being those which are connected with the judgment and the embalmed the body of Osiris, and that he swathed it in the linen swathing which were woven by Isis and Nepthys, that it resisted the influences of time and deacy.

In the vignette of the Funeral Procession the mummy is received by Anubis, who stands by the Book of the Dead the god is seen standing by the side of the mummy as it lies on its bier, and he lays his protecting hands upon it. In the speech which is put into the mouth of Anubis, he says, "I have come to protect Osiris." In the text of Unas {line 219} the nose of the deceased declares, My lips are the lips of Anpu." From various passages it is clear that one part of Egypt at least Anubis was the great god of the Underworld, and his rank and importance seem to have been as great as those of Osiris...

© BBC.CO.UK

Tutankhamun, the Boy King or Pharaoh, was born around 1367 BC. His birth name was Tutankhaten which means 'Living image of Aton'. At the age of nine, in 1358 BC, he acceded to the Egyptian throne, the last but one Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty. He was the son of Kiya, a lesser wife of the Pharaoh. The marriage between Tutankhaten and his half-sister Ankhesenpa'aten had already taken place. They shared the same father, Akhenaten the Heretic, who was responsible for changing the religion of the Egyptians from the worship of many gods, to monotheism, the worship of one god. The god he chose was the Solar Disc, Aten (or Aton).

Tutankhamun's Queen: Ankhesenpa'aten was the daughter of Nefertiti, Queen of Egypt and the beloved wife of Akhenaten. Princess Ankhesenpa'aten changed her name to Ankhesenamun upon the restoration of the old religions. It is known that the young couple had at least two offspring, but unfortunately they were stillborn. The mummified foetuses were found in Tutankhamun's tomb. Once widowed, the young Queen was forced to marry Ay, her maternal grandfather, to assure his accession to the Egyptian throne. Her fate after this is unknown.

Tutankhamun's Reign: After Tutankhamun became Pharaoh, he set about restoring the old deities, reverting to the old religions and thus giving the power back to the priests of Amun. This is when he changed his name to Tutankhamun. Exact pronunciation of Egyptian names is not known because vowels were not written down. His name has a variety of spellings including: Tutankhamen, Tutankhamon and Tutankhamun. Another name he was known by was Nebkheperu, as Egyptian Pharaohs had two names. Tutankhamun also reinstated Thebes (Luxor) as capital of Egypt. Thebes had been relegated in favour of a new city built especially for his beloved wife. The new city, Akhetaten (Amarna) was never accepted as capital of Egypt by the Egyptian people. During a battle in 1350 BC, Tutankhamun was killed or murdered; Ay claimed Queen Ankhesenamun as his wife but ruled for only four years...

Why is Cleopatra thought by some to be one of the most seductive women in all human history? The Cleopatra of history, legend, plays, and film was actually Cleopatra VII who was born in Alexandria, the then capital of Egypt, in 69 BC. Her father, Ptolemy XII, was of Greek origin and a cruel and unpopular ruler. He was probably married to his own sister, Cleopatra V, as marriage to siblings was common during the Ptolemaic dynasty.

Cleopatra VII had two older sisters, Cleopatra VI and Berenice. She also had a younger sister, Arsinoe, and two younger brothers, both sharing the name Ptolemy. By the year 51 B.C. Cleopatra's father, Ptolemy XII and her older sister, Cleopatra VI, had both died and her other sister, Berenice, had been beheaded, leaving Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy XIII, heirs to the throne. Cleopatra was a young woman, now 17 or 18 and her younger brother just 12 or 13. A marriage of convenience was arranged, and Cleopatra and her younger brother were wed.

 For the next few years Cleopatra controlled the reins of power until Ptolemy's supporters, led by named Pothinus, a eunuch, conspired to overthrow her. In 48 B.C., they were successful and Cleopatra, now powerless, fled to Syria, with her one surviving sister, Arsinoe. Already having distinguished herself as being very intelligent, speaking nine languages, including Egyptian, (the first Ptolemaic ruler to be able to do so) Cleopatra was about to distinguish herself again, plotting to regain power and to prove herself a shrewd and cunning political leader. There are different accounts about whether or not she was beautiful; some say she was, and others that she had and unglamorously long, bent nose and coarse, more masculine features. But there is a general accord amongst historians that she gave a lot of attention to the care of her body and the way she deported herself. It is also agreed that men found her very attractive and her ways, seductive...