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HONEY BEE
According to one egyptian myth, honey bees (scientific name Apis mellifera) were the tears of the sun god Ra. Their religious significance extended to an association with the goddess Neith, whose temple in the delta town of Sais in Lower Egypt [map] was known as per-bit - meaning 'the house of the bee'. Honey was regarded as a symbol of resurrection and also thought to give potection against evil spirits. Small pottery flasks, which according to the hieratic inscriptions on the side originally contained honey, were found in the tomb of the boy-king, Tutankhamun.
Throughout ancient egyptian history the bee has been strongly associated with royal titles. In Predynastic and early Dynastic times, before the union of Upper and Lower Egypt, the rulers of Lower Egypt used the title bit - meaning 'he of the bee', usually translated as 'King of Lower Egypt' or 'King of North', whereas the rulers of Upper Egypt were called nesw - meaning 'he of the sedge', translated as 'King of Upper Egypt' or 'King of the South'. In later times, after the union of Upper and Lower Egypt, the pharaoh rulers used the title nesw-bit - meaning 'he of the sedge and the bee', which is conventionally translated as 'King of Upper and Lower Egypt' or 'King of the South and North'.
Bee-keeping is depicted in egyptian temple reliefs as early as the 5th Dynasty (2445-2441 BC). These show that apiculture was well established in Egypt by the middle of the Old Kingdom. Records from at least one tomb workers' village during the New Kingdom (1550-1069 BC) indicate that the workmen there kept bees and this was doubtless true of other communities throughout egyptian history. Bee-keeping is also depicted in some 18th and 26th Dynasty tombs. Bees were certainly of great importance in providing honey, which was used both as the principal sweetener in the egyptian diet and as a base for medicinal ointments. The egyptians also collected beeswax for use as a mould-former in metal castings and also for use as a paint-varnish.
The bee hieroglyph was used to represent the word bit - meaning 'bee' or 'honey', or the royal title 'King of Lower Egypt' or 'King of the North'.
http://www.kendall-bioresearch.co.uk/sacredinsect.htm
According to one egyptian myth, honey bees (scientific name Apis mellifera) were the tears of the sun god Ra. Their religious significance extended to an association with the goddess Neith, whose temple in the delta town of Sais in Lower Egypt [map] was known as per-bit - meaning 'the house of the bee'. Honey was regarded as a symbol of resurrection and also thought to give potection against evil spirits. Small pottery flasks, which according to the hieratic inscriptions on the side originally contained honey, were found in the tomb of the boy-king, Tutankhamun.
Throughout ancient egyptian history the bee has been strongly associated with royal titles. In Predynastic and early Dynastic times, before the union of Upper and Lower Egypt, the rulers of Lower Egypt used the title bit - meaning 'he of the bee', usually translated as 'King of Lower Egypt' or 'King of North', whereas the rulers of Upper Egypt were called nesw - meaning 'he of the sedge', translated as 'King of Upper Egypt' or 'King of the South'. In later times, after the union of Upper and Lower Egypt, the pharaoh rulers used the title nesw-bit - meaning 'he of the sedge and the bee', which is conventionally translated as 'King of Upper and Lower Egypt' or 'King of the South and North'.
Bee-keeping is depicted in egyptian temple reliefs as early as the 5th Dynasty (2445-2441 BC). These show that apiculture was well established in Egypt by the middle of the Old Kingdom. Records from at least one tomb workers' village during the New Kingdom (1550-1069 BC) indicate that the workmen there kept bees and this was doubtless true of other communities throughout egyptian history. Bee-keeping is also depicted in some 18th and 26th Dynasty tombs. Bees were certainly of great importance in providing honey, which was used both as the principal sweetener in the egyptian diet and as a base for medicinal ointments. The egyptians also collected beeswax for use as a mould-former in metal castings and also for use as a paint-varnish.
The bee hieroglyph was used to represent the word bit - meaning 'bee' or 'honey', or the royal title 'King of Lower Egypt' or 'King of the North'.
http://www.kendall-bioresearch.co.uk/sacredinsect.htm
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