Ankh
The ankh, the looped cross that is the Egyptian hieroglyph for 'life', is the most recognisable of Egyptian symbols, appearing on temple walls, tomb paintings, and amulets for more than three thousand years. Shaped as a cross with a looped handle, it was carried by gods and goddesses, who hold it to the nostrils of kings and of the dead to breathe life into them, and pharaohs are shown with the ankh as the sign of the eternal life that kingship conferred. It is at once a writing sign, a sacred object, and a talisman: placed on the lips and eyes of mummies, worn as jewellery, and offered to the