The Reverse Side of Narmer’s Palette - The Upper, First, Second and Third Registers

From The Alpha and the Omega - Chapter Four
by Jim A. Cornwell, Copyright © 1995, all rights reserved "THE REVERSE SIDE OF NARMER’S PALETTE (Fig. seen below)
THE UPPER, FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD REGISTERS"

From Egyptian Civilization Its Sumerian origin & Real Chronology And Sumerian origin of Egyptian Hieroglyphs, by Louis A. Waddell, copyright 1933.
Louis Waddell presents the above reverse side of the Palette of Victory (Plate XII and Figs. 15 and 18) and also a definition on page 90-91, 92-94, 98.

UPPER REGISTER: REVERSE

Above we see the two man-faced Bull emblems with his name in the cartouche between the Bull-heads is pictured the King wearing the crown of Lower Egypt in procession. Serekh of Naram's Name

From Egypt’s Making The Origins of Ancient Egypt 5000-2000 B.C., by Michael Rice, copyright 1990.
Michael Rice presented (Plate 31a, 31b, and 31c pg. 78) the most powerful of all royal symbols in Egypt was the serekh in which the King’s most sacred name was enclosed, customarily surmounted by the royal and divine falcon, signifying the King’s incarnation as the living Horus. The design seems to have been based on the facade of a Sumerian building of Jemdet Nasr times, (late fourth millennium B.C.) a palace or a temple. The same paneled facade was to appear for hundreds of years on the architecture of Egyptian tombs and sarcophagi, long after it had been abandoned in Sumer itself.

FIRST REGISTER: REVERSE (SUMERIAN SLANT) Pharoah's procession from the fort

Then on page 92 he states, "The four chiefs of nomes (provinces) bearing the standards, the high priest Thet, the King Nar-mer (with hieroglyphics of his name in front of him) and the King’s servant behind him. They seem to have come from a building named deb."

FIRST REGISTER: REVERSE (EGYPTIAN SLANT)

Michael Rice in his Chapter 3 page 107-108 comments on the first register of the reverse side: "Reverse: inverted saucepan-like object as the red crown of Lower Egypt. Surmounted by the Hathor heads and the royal name in its enclosure, the king walks forward, wearing the red crown of the northern kingdom and carrying his war mace. Behind him the same boyish sandal-bearer, carries a bolas (hunting device) for large game, or a rope for hobbling animals, as the hieroglyph ’tt’. The King and his two attendants have symbols or devices, the ancestors of hieroglyphs. The sandal-bearer is now identified by a throwing stick and a six-petalled rosette. His colleague is shaven headed, but could also be a child, but wears a full and heavy wig. He is marked by another version of the object he carries in his hand, suspended above an inverted closed semi-circle."

Rice continues in Chapter 6 page 271 about the dualism of Egypt, "The duality of the ruler is based on the primitive belief that the placenta is the brother of the new born child which as such often accompanies him throughout life in ghostly fashion, since it dies early and is ceremonially buried. The Ka is probably descendant of the placenta."

Also on page 272, "In the New Kingdom, for example it was believed that the Sphinx represented Harmachis, another manifestation of Horus in the Horizon."

FIRST REGISTER: THE FOUR STANDARDS Four Standards on Narmer's palette

The four Standards show: "The One King of Akkad, Kish, and of the Western Sunset Land and of Amurru, and Great Sea-Lord (of the Two Seas), the Hawk (-line) Pharaoh, and conqueror of Magan." Standard Three and Four Images

Michael Rice in Chapter 2 page 49 claims that the earliest divinities were abstractions, represented by objects which had acquired the character of special sanctity, such as sign or hieroglyph for ‘god’, ntr as seen in the lower right figure.

Also see the earlier section on The Warka Vase regarding its reed images as being similar to the Pharaoh staff.

Waddell on page 97-98 adds that Standard No. 4 refers to his universal Sea empire. Urash was the First Phoenician Dynasty for "Sea Lord," the sign of "the great Fish" or "Sea Serpent of the Deep." In the fourth standard he call himself "The Great Sea Lord of the Lands of the Seven Seas."

Rice claims in Chapter 3 page 110 that, "These four standards represent the chiefs who supported the King in his bid to unify the Two Kingdoms. They are leading the King to ten headless bodies, lying on their backs with their severed heads between their feet." See the following images.

FIRST REGISTER: THE HEADLESS BODIES Headless Bodies and the Ship Sign

Rice comments in Chapter 3 page 110, "Above them Horus stands before his Archaic shrine, made of reeds. Behind him is a high prowed ship (Mesopotamian type) as seen on the Jebel el Arak knife handle."

SECOND REGISTER: THE SERPOPARDS OF ELAM

Rice shows (Plate 30a, 30b, 30c pg. 78) as the most direct parallels between the art of Egypt and that of western Asia is provided by the intertwined necks of the serpopards in these representations: (a) from a seal from Susiana, (b) from the palette of King Narmer, (c) from a chlorite carving from eastern Arabia.

The intertwined serpopards (long-neck creatures on the reverse side with intertwined necks) are probably related to an Elamite design.

Rice claims in Chapter 2 page 58 that, "Among these influences are the appearance of strange saurian creatures with heavy bodies and long necks on which are carried feline heads (Plate 30a, 30b, 30c pg. 78). These are depicted on some of the decorated palettes produced in Egypt and on cylinder seals from Mesopotamia and Elam at the end of the fourth millennium."

He continues in Chapter 3 page 106, "…of ‘The Exotic Animals’ palette is a very remarkable artifact. The entire surface, except for the kohl-grinding area, is filled with animals, some of a very strange appearance. Dominating both sides are two great dogs. A good cross-section of the larger fauna of Egypt is represented but the strangest, most mysterious figure is that of a dog, or jackal-headed creature, reared up on its hind legs, playing a sort of flute. Did Orpheus have his origins in Predynastic Hierakonpolis or is this some masked Master of the Beast? There can surely be little doubt that it is the enigmatic Set who pipes who knows what strange melodies to the whirling animals (and monsters) which attend him."

SECOND REGISTER: THE SERPOPARDS OF EGYPT

Michael Rice in Chapter 3 page 106 states, "The long-necked beast can also be seen on ‘The Exotic Animals’ or ‘The Oxford’ and ‘The Two Dogs’ palette from Hierakonpolis, is one of the most complex and strange of this type of artifact."

The obverse shows two long saurian necks are surmounted by a bird and seen undulating to hold off two jackals, from the animal between them. The creatures are licking a prone caprid, and have claws on their feet.

On the reverse are more fantastic creatures, including a griffin and another long necked beast.

"The device of two serpopards which entwined necks is especially typical of Elamite designs perhaps the source of much of the western Asiatic influence in Egypt, around the time of the unification. It appears first in Egypt in the Hierakonpolis tomb; it disappears after the First Dynasty. Confronted feline heads are found in the chlorite carvings of the Arabian Gulf, in the early third millennium."

Some see the above creatures as two mythological camel-leopard-like animals, with their necks enclosing the pigment basin.

THIRD REGISTER: THE GREAT BULL

Waddell on page 92 upholds, "Here we see the Bull, symbolizing Naram breaking down a fort, scattering the bricks and trampling upon a fleeing foe. The picture inside the fort is possibly the hieroglyph of the towns name (Sumerian pictograph Pisan-mat or Gur-mat)."

Note: the fortified city looks very much like the semi-oval revetment in the enclosed temple area in Hierakonpolis (plate 38 pg. 146) not shown here. The plan of Hierakonpolis within its protective walls reveals a semi-oval revetment in the enclosed temple area, an architectural element unusual in Egyptian cities, though found in several examples in Sumer (southern Iraq) and also at Barbar in Bahrain.

The Bull of Egypt

The Great Bear or The Greater Sheepfold comes on the Meridian on April 20. There are seven bright stars that form the asterism known as the Big Dipper, the Plough, and the Wain, or Wagon. Like Ursa Minor, Ursa Major is neither a dipper nor a bear, rather a greater sheepfold as pictured in most ancient zodiacs [Middle English, from Latin Ursa Major : ursa, bear + maior, comparative of magnus, great]. Al Naish is the Arabic name of the constellation of Ursa Major meaning "The Assembled Together."

To the Egyptians the stars of the dipper were the thigh of a bull. A Star in Ursa Major Greek letter Gamma and Star name Phecda in Arabic is the name for the "thigh" of the bear. It is also called Phacda meaning "Visited," "Guarded," or "Number."

To the Egyptians the deity with the bull was Apis, the Bull of Memphis. Apis was an actual bull chosen to serve as the earthly vessel of the soul of Osiris, god of the Sun and of the Nile. On the death of each Apis, the spirit of Osiris transferred itself to a successor. The animal meant to inherit the divine duty was recognized by certain markings: when a bull fitting the description was found, he was called Apis and lived as an object of reverence and sacrifice. The living bulls were worshipped in Egypt.
Memphis (Heb. noph, moph, Copt. menphe, memphi, Gr. Memphis). The first capital of united Egypt (c. 3200 B.C.) south of modern Cairo. Legend ascribes the founding of the city to Menes, the traditional first king. The original name of the city was "The White Wall." Later it was called Men-nefer-Pepi, after the name of the pyramid of Pepi I of the Sixth Dynasty; it is from this name that "Memphis" is derived.

Again from Idea Into Image page 41-42 Celestial Cow and the goddess Mehetweret

--- Ancient Egypt's Dynasties ---

Historians divide ancient Egyptian history into 30 dynasties. A dynasty is a series of rulers belonging to the same family. Egypt's pre-dynastic era lasted until 3,100 B.C., when the dynasties began to rule. Sometimes two dynasties ruled different parts of Egypt at the same time. Groups of dynasties make up periods. Egypt (Gr. Aigyptos, Heb. mitsrayim).

Menes around 3000 B.C., was the King of Egypt who founded the first dynasty uniting Upper and Lower Egypt.

Return to the Table of Contents - Chapter Four or
go to the next subject Old Kingdom (Dynasty 3-6; 2700-2200 B.C.)
- Picture of Tomb of Pharaoh Zoser.