With traditions and myths starring colorful, captivating gods and goddesses who are half-human and half-animal, it's hard not to find yourself absorbed in the richness and wonder of it all. Add to that the paradoxical nature of this fertile desert region; with the view of towering pyramids in the distance and the opulence of the oasis paradise and the world of Egypt can have a nearly narcotic effect. Hieroglyphics spell out stories of the pharaohs and their trials, tribulations and endings. They whisper of the Book of the dead and the wisdom needed to complete your journey from life and into what comes next. Suddenly you find yourself face to face with a world populated by the Sphinx and the phoenix; the scarab and the long sinewy cat, under the backdrop of towering, menacing sarcophagi.
If you hear the din of haggling market vendors and your nose is assaulted by the sweat, the camels, and the food- if you can feel the hot sand through the sandals that cover your feet, you can already picture yourself here, it might just be time to consider getting an Egyptian tattoo design.
An Amazing Cast of Characters
Gods, goddesses and their human counterparts, the pharaohs, have a long, well documented history in the artwork of ancient Egypt. Because the Egyptian style of ink art is so captivating and vivid, and lends itself to being easily adapted to suit personal tastes, these same figures have a tendency to taking starring roles in the world of Egyptian tattoo design.
Some of the most common mythological and historical subjects are listed and introduced below.
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Isis. (Woman with a headdress in the shape of a temple) A protective goddess, married to Osiris and mother to Horus. She used her magical potions to help people.
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Osiris. (A mummified man wearing a white, cone-like headdress that is decorated with feathers) God of the dead and ruler of the underworld.
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Horus (the Hawk God, shown with a human body and a hawk head) His eye is also a popular image in Egyptian tattoo. Horus is the god of the sky.
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Bastet. (A woman with the head of a cat) Daughter of the sun god Ra, Bastet was a gentle healing and protective goddess whose symbol was the cat.
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Amun. (A man with a ram head; or a ram-man with an ostrich plumed headdress.) One of the most powerful of the Egyptian gods.
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Amun Ra. (Amun combined with the sun god) As this god, Amun Ra was the supremely powerful god of the Egyptian culture.
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Set(h). (Man with a head of an animal, a creature we don't recognize). Seth represented everything that threatened harmony in the land of Egypt.
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Cleopatra. (Famous for her affair with Mark Anthony)
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Ramses I and II.
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Tutankhamen. (the boy king)
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Akhenaton.
There were also the wonderful mythical (and real) creatures of the Egyptian culture that would shape their art, and through that, modern tattoo designs based on ancient Egyptian designs.
Such symbols that have inspired modern Egyptian tattoo designs include: hieroglyphics (the pictographic language of the Egyptians), sphinxes (creatures with a lions body and a human head, but also include creatures with a ram or hawk head on a lion's body), phoenixes (birdlike creatures, sometimes with human qualities that represented regeneration due to their constant cycle of death and rebirth)
Other popular images in the world of Egyptian tattoo design are those derived from the magical amulets of the Egyptian religion. This included ankhs (an ancient symbol for both physical and eternal life), the eye of Horus, cobras, pillars and other interesting objects.
The History of Tattoo in Ancient Egypt
One of the most famous surviving artifacts that testify to the practice of tattooing in ancient Egyptian culture is the mummy of Amunet. This woman was a priestess of the goddess Hathor (the goddess of joy, motherhood, love, music and dancing) and was discovered in Thebes. Her remains display several intricate lines and dots tattooed on her body in a common religious design. In fact, it would be from Egypt that the art of tattooing would travel across the world to appear, disappear and reappear throughout recorded history.
Today, tattoos are incredibly popular among the Western cultures, but are frowned upon largely in Egypt because the practice is avoided by Muslims.
Regardless of where you go looking for them, it won't be too long before you find an Egyptian style tattoo design. Whether you find a woman with the eye of Horus decorating her shoulder or a man with a scarab beetle scuttling across his back, much like the ancient artifacts that witness to their power across the ages, modern Egyptian tattoos are just waiting to be unearthed and understood.
