Anj

The anj (ˁnḫ) (☥) is an Egyptian hieroglyph that means "life", a symbol widely used in the iconography of this culture. It is also called ansada cross (cross with the upper part in the shape of an oval, loop, handle or ansa), crux ansata in Latin, the "key to life" or the "Egyptian cross".

You can occasionally find its English transliteration, Ankh; Italian, Ankh; German, Anch and French, Ânkh, all of which are pronounced /'ʕnx/.

Egyptian symbols

In Ancient Egypt it was related to the gods (neter) who were represented carrying said symbol, indicating their powers over life and death, their immanence and eternal condition; Related to men, it means the search for immortality, which is why it is used to describe life or the idea of life after death, understood as immortality, at first only worthy of the pharaoh and, after the New Kingdom, of all Egyptians evolved their beliefs, as described in the Book of the Dead. The Ankh was related, as a symbol of rebirth, to the goddess Isis and her husband Osiris, since when he was murdered by her brother, his wife resurrected him through the help of Anubis. Several pharaohs carried the word "Anj" in his name, among them Tut-Anj-Aten (living image of Aten) and Tut-Anj-Amun (living image of Amun).

Another hypothesis presupposes that the "T" of the lower part of the Anj would represent, stylized, the male sexual attributes, while the handle would represent the uterus or pubis of the woman, as a reconciliation of opposites; it could symbolize reproduction and union sexual. Hathor, the goddess of the joy of life and death, gave life with her. In many ways she corresponds to the goddesses Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte, Aphrodite and Venus. One could also compare the & # 39; anj & # 39; with a planter (hence the meaning of "life"). The handle is called the handle and the upper part, a circular cartridge, would be where the seed went to plant it.

Origin of the symbol

Although the origin of the Ankh symbol is unknown, if one looks at the evolution of Egyptian hieroglyphic writing, it is likely that the "Anj" was related to the hieroglyphic sign of the signet ring (šnw). In Ancient Egypt, the seal hieroglyph is a possible precedent for the Egyptian cartouche (šnw), which was used to frame and "protect" the name of the pharaohs, by enclosing the hieroglyphs of their name within he.

Evolution of the use and form of the ankh

Since the II century d. C., with the spread of Christianity in the Nile Valley, syncretisms occurred: one of them was the adoption by the Egyptian Christians (later called Copts) of the symbol "anj" as a type of Christian cross.

The missions of Christian monks who left from Egypt since the III century, most likely spread the ancient symbol to places distant. This is how the Irish cross, on the one hand, and the Armenian cross on the other, would have originated, both with a circle in the center.

Symbols with similar shapes

In the first millennium BC. C. a symbol that bears similarity is represented: the Neo-Canaanite (Carthaginian) for Tanit; Many times the symbol of the main Carthaginian goddess is very similar to that of the ankh. In the case of the origin of the Tanit symbol, it seems to represent, schematically, the female deity dressed with open arms "cross", the circle above the "T" a stylization of her head.

The fact that in Egyptian mythology the god Khnum, potter, molds man and engraves the Ankh on his forehead to give him life relates him to the Golem and to The Symbol (Oth) of the Hebrew Kabbalah, a symbol, a letter, in theory existing in the past and lost that allowed life to be given.

A very similar sign, with the loop filled out, has been found in Peru being used in the Mochica culture.

A similar symbol (♀) was used to represent the Roman goddess Venus (derived from the Greek Aphrodite). This symbol, called the 'mirror of Venus', seems to be more related to the uterus or a mirror.

In astrology the same symbol is used to represent the planet Venus, in biology to refer to the female sex, and in alchemy for copper.

Filmography, literature and games

The anj has been related to the immortal creatures par excellence, vampires, both in literature and in cinematography (The craving), in the films The black cat and The Vampire's Embrace (1994), in mangas and animes (Yu Gi Oh, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure) or in role-playing games such as Vampire: The Masquerade. It is used in the book and the eponymous science fiction film "Escape of the 23rd Century" or "Logan's Escape" (Logan's Run), or in the Ultima game saga as an icon of one of the eight virtues of Britannia (spirituality), in addition to being the symbol of the Avatar. Likewise, in Neil Gaiman's popular comic, The Sandman, Death uses an ankh. In the Lost series, in the House of Anubis series, the ankh and Egyptian symbology play an important role in the plot.