What the Pharaoh Wore

Egyptian pharaohs wore
ceremonial clothes. Many of
the things that they wore or
carried were symbols of their
power and position in Egyptian
society. Look carefully at the
pharaoh that is pictured above
then Think Inside of the Box!
Let’s start with the head of the
pharaoh! The pharaoh is wearing
a nemes crown. The Nemes is
a striped head cloth that covers
the entire back of the head
and neck.

Some Egyptologists think that it is meant to look a little like a lion’s
mane. Whenever you see a pharaoh shown as a sphinx, they will be
wearing this crown.
Do you see that tiny cobra on top of the nemes crown? It is called a
uraeus. The uraeus is an upright cobra. It means that the pharaoh is
ready to strike at his enemies with venom at any time. The uraeus is
the symbol of the ancient Egyptian goddess Wadjet.
Have you ever noticed that pharaohs always have a beard? This is
called a false beard. In real-life, most Egyptian men were cleanshaven,
but pharaohs, even the female ones, wore fake beards.
Usually the beards were plaited like a big braid. No one is really
sure why the ancient Egyptian pharaohs did this, but it somehow
connected the pharaoh to the gods.
Do you see the brown object that the pharaoh is holding? That is
called a flail. The flail is a tool that helps to separate grains from
their husks. The flail symbolizes the pharaoh as the person who
provided food for his people.
What do an ancient Egyptian pharaoh and Little Bo Peep
have in common? That striped object with the pharaoh is
called a crook. A crook was a tool used by shepherds to
help gather and move their flocks of sheep. It’s Time to
Think Inside of the Box!