The Red Crown of Egypt - The Deshret
The Red crown of Egypt was called the Deshret and represented Lower Egypt (in the Nile Delta of the North). The Deshret crown was believed to have been given by the god Geb to Horus, the son of Osiris to rule over Lower Egypt. The cobra goddess, Wadjet, was the protector of Lower Egypt and is depicted wearing the Deshret red crown. The red crown represented the 'Red Lands' of the ancient Egyptians. The red crown of Egypt is characterized by a curly wire in its end representative of the proboscis of the honeybee. In Egypt the honeybee a sign of royalty. The picture of the 'eye' depicts Wadjet and Nekhbet, the guardian goddesses of ancient Egypt referred to as the 'Two Ladies'.
The White Crown of Egypt - The Hedjet
The White Crown was called the Hedjet, and represented Upper Egypt (the South of Egypt). Nekhbet, the white vulture goddess was the guardian of Upper Egypt and was often depicted wearing the white Hedjet crown of Egypt. The white Hedjet crown was often combined with ostrich feathers on each side and in this style was called the Atef crown. The Atef was occasionally depicted topped with a gold disk and represented Upper Egypt, as shown in the 'eye' picture depicting the vulture goddess. A famous and early depiction of the White Crown is found on the Narmer Palette in which Narmer, the king of the South, wearing the hedjet white crown, is shown triumphing over his enemies in the North. The pharaohs of the 1st Dynasty started with King Narmer (also refer to Menes) who is credited with founding the first dynasty of kings and the unification of Egypt. The reverse side of the Narmer palette shows the king wearing the Deshret crown (top left) indicating his sovereignty over the conquered north. King Den was the first ruler to use the title King of Lower and Upper Egypt and the first pharaoh depicted wearing the Pshent Double Crown of Egypt.
The Double Crown of Egypt - The Pshent
The Double crown of Egypt was called the Pshent and represented a unified Egypt. When Egypt was unified and the red and white crowns were combined to symbolizing the unification of the country. When the two nations were united, so were their crowns.
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| The Deshret | The Hedjet | The Pshent |
As time passed other styles of crowns were also adopted by the ancient Egyptian pharaohs.
