The ankh is an ancient Egyptian symbol. It is the hieroglyph for "life", both in a general sense and in the context of eternal life.
Ishtar's mummy was buried with an Ankh. When Salmoneus removed the Ankh from the mummy he brought it back to "life" and it began to seek out human souls to feed upon. Whomever possessed the Ankh could control the mummy. Hercules and Anuket used it to defeat the mummy. It was forbidden for anyone not of royal blood to handle an Ankh.
- Possibly the most famous of all hieroglyphs, ankh-shaped amulets of varying sizes were enormously popular in ancient Egypt, and were carried by people of all social classes. In Egyptian art, however, only gods and the dead were portrayed as carrying large ankhs.
Gallery[]
Anuket with the Ankh