#reference posting

A brief overview of the different kinds of crowns seen in Ancient Egyptian iconography. Note that I say crown, note headdress; the well-known nemes headdress and similar things not worn by the king and gods will not be covered.

Hedjet: translates as “White One,” the crown of Upper Egypt. Most famously worn by Nekhbet, Horus, and Satet. Nekhbet, the Patroness of Upper Egypt, was occasionally placed on the brow of this crown as an ornamental vulture.

Deshret: translates as “Red One,” the crown of Lower Egypt. Most famously worn by Wadjet, Horus, and Neith. Like her sister, Wadjet- the Patroness of Lower Egypt- would commonly adorn the crown as a uraeus. However, this symbol was featured on a majority of the other crowns as well.

Atef: a hedjet crown with two ostrich feathers on opposite sides. Most commonly associated with Osiris and his followers, but was also worn by Underworld related deities like Sokar.

Hemhem: translates as “to shout,” “cry out.” This translation has led to speculation that it was associated with battle or military power. It’s three atef crowns placed side by side atop curled ram horns; sometimes there is a solar disc above each atef, sometimes just the middle one, sometimes not present. Not specifically associated with any one deity, but Khnum and Sobek are often depicted wearing one.

Pschent: also called sekhemty- translating as “the Two Powerful Ones”- it combines the hedjet and deshret to become the crown of a unified Egypt. Though the Pharaoh Menes is said to have first united the crowns, surviving records show Djet was the first to wear it. Horus is the deity most commonly associated with it, but Atum-Ra was also shown wearing the double crown at times. The Two Ladies Nekhbet and Wadjet would both adorn this crown side by side, further symbolizing the union of Upper and Lower Egypt.

Khepresh: known to exist in the second intermediate period, but popularized in the New Kingdom; worn by pharaohs for militaristic and possibly religious purposes. It isn’t associated with any deities, but as with most royal headdresses it often featured a uraeus.

Cap Crown: one of the oldest crowns of Egypt recovered by Egyptologists, depictions of it stretch as far back as the Old Kingdom. Again, no particular deity is associated with it, seemingly exclusive to the human Pharaoh, but it did almost always feature a uraeus.

Solar Crown: also called a solar disc, this was used to not only signify a solar deity but royalty. It’s most commonly associated with Ra, but many other deities have worn one, even if only in rare depictions. Most commonly, the solar crown is also worn by deities like Horus-Ur (Horus the Elder), Isis, Hathor-Sekhmet, Amun, Tefnut, Bast.

Lunar Crown: like the solar crown, this can also be alternatively described as a lunar disc. Unlike its counterpart, however, it was rarely described with a single phrase despite being not uncommon in depictions. The closest it had to its own word was shared with the moon in general. The crown itself was depicted with the full moon resting in the curve of an upturned crescent moon. Deities like Khonsu and Thoth are most associated with this crown, but Tefnut and Mehit also wore it occasionally.