Nefertiti-A Novel

As promised my review of the book Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

(without spoiling it for anyone).

The book is told by Mutnodjmet, the younger sister of Nefertiti. It is about her life just as much as Nefertiti's which i liked. It follows their lives starting at their early teen years.

It has love and loss like any good book, but i definitely felt the loss weigh a little heavier in this book than i expected. When dealing with history and things that happened at the time it gives you a chance to see what it might have been like for them.

Though this book is based history every detail in the story is not factual as that would be completely impossible without Mutnodjmet herself talking to the author. But i do feel for the most part it feels like the majority of the story could have happened. I don't like when a historical book feels like the author didn't even try for example when they use modern day swear words in their book..like WHAT that drives me crazy haha, but luckily i felt like this book was well written. Over all i really did enjoy reading it though i liked her next book The Heretic Queen better but they are two different stories.

Characters:

Nefertiti-Queen of Egypt

Mutnodjmet-sister of Nefertiti

Amunhotep IV/Akhenaten-Pharaoh of Egypt

Kiya-secondary wife of Pharaoh

Meritaten-daughter of Nefertiti & Akhenaten

Ankhesenamun-daughter of Nefertiti & Akhenaten

Vizier Ay-father of Nefertiti & Mutnodjmet

Queen Tiye- mother of Amunhotep IV/Akhenaten

General Nakhtmin-general in Pharaoh's army

General Horemheb-general in Pharaoh's army

Also an update on my Egyptology in 2011 post, concerning the tomb KV63 they speculated belonged to Queen Ankesenamun here is a cut & paste article about it:

After excavating the tomb KV63 it is speculated that it was designed for Ankhesenamun due to its proximity to the tomb of Tutankhamun's KV62. Also found in the tomb were coffins (one with an imprint of a woman on it), women's clothing, jewellery and natron. Fragments of pottery bearing the partial name Paaten were also in the tomb. The only royal person known to bear this name was Ankhesenamun, whose name was originally Ankhesenpaaten. However there were no mummies found in KV63 so it remains just speculation.

Bummer i was hoping she was in there!

Isis

For Christmas my mom got me this papyrus depicting the Egyptian goddess Isis.

It was painted with real gold & i think its so beautiful.

Close-ups

I found a beautiful one with Ramesses II & Nefertari at the store but its pretty expensive so i will wait.

Books I'll be Reading this Year

Γεια σας(Geia sas) girls!

I received the following books for Christmas & am very excited to read them throughout the year. I say the year not because i am the world's slowest reader but because with school i study more than read for enjoyment. That's why getting books for Christmas is the perfect time because i am on break & can actually get through most of the book by the time school starts again. So let me introduce you to the books.

*Note i will be doing a review on each book when i am done reading so this is a short intro.  

Nefertiti

by Michelle Moran

I am currently about half way through this book.

Cleopatra's Daughter

(by Michelle Moran)

About Cleopatra Selini

(Κλεοπάτρα Σελήνη) .

(you'll also see it spelled Selene)

Lily of the Nile

by Stephanie Dray

Also about Cleopatra Selini but i hear its a very different take so i'm interested to see how different & which i like better; i will be sure to tell you!

Its amazing how books can take you somewhere else, outside of your own world & feel or become something or someone else; i love that about books.

Egyptology in 2011

Geia sas~

I read an article that i already shared on Twitter (@sassyagapi) that famed Egyptoligist Zahi Hawass, who i've seen on many Nat. Geo. & Discovery shows about Egypt, & his team may have found the tomb of Queen Ankhesenamun (wife of Tutankhamun). That is so cool i hope its her!

The other thing the article (HERE) said was that in 2011 the final resting place of Cleopatra VII & Marcus Antonius(Antony) may await us!! That would be so awesome :) best of luck to his team!

Ancestry

Geia sas,

On Sunday November 7th i had an amazing discovery about my family.
 We have always had questions about our ancestors before my great-grandparents and there aren't many people alive to answer those questions so we never thought we'd know much more than we did. But we decided to join ancestry.com none-the-less. So as we began to add family to our tree we received hints & were able to take it quite far back through my maternal grandpa. We kept searching until we started getting into royalty & nobles, i had a small suspicion as we were finding things out since the records were so good for so long ago.
The more digging we did the more we found out that through multiple grandparents of my grandfather he had royal blood, amazed as we were. He didn't know much about his family and he wasn't born into wealth by any means.

We found out that my grandpa was not only Greek, but had Spanish, & even a little Armenian & Egyptian. Some of the names included Isaakios Komnenos Emperor of Byzantium (27th gr.grandfather) & of course his parents and their royal families.
There were various other European royalties throughout the tree as well such as García Ramírez King of Navarre (Spain) (28th gr.grandfather), Philippe III the Bold Capet (France) (was Spanish/French mixed ancestry)

 wife Isabella of Aragon(Spain) Queen of France (Greek, Spanish, Hungarian mixed ancestry).

By far the most exciting for me was the discovery that as far as can be told by the information discovered i am the 68th great granddaughter of Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator Queen of Egypt. I have always loved ancient Egyptian things & now i know why! I am descendant from her twice that i've found so far the closest is 68th so far the other is 72nd i believe.(through her daughter Cleopatra Selini both of the times). A few people are in there more than once.

Cartouche of Cleopatra

It has been an amazing discovery that continues to go on, i just wish we could find out more about my maternal grandmother's family because we don't know much more than where they were from in Greece & that they had an orchard there. That will take traveling to Greece to find out more about, which i will be more than happy to do if the money would fall in my lap lol. But it definitely amazing to find this out i wish my grandpa was still alive to tell him, he would have just laughed & been amazed.

Most people have at least one or two royals in their family somewhere they say, its pretty cool to find as many as we did from more than one grandparent though. And for all i have learned there is still so much more i want to know!
I encourage all of you to check out your family history, i think its so interesting!
On that note
 Καλή Χρόνια!
 Kali Xronia!
Happy New Year!

edit:
i just remembered this post, i feel like i'm qualified to make the choice now lol!

Korres-Kings & Queens: Nefertiti

Geia sas se olous!

Γεια σας σε όλους!

(Hello everyone!)

Its been a while since i've had a chance to post since school & work have consumed my life but i wanted to do a quick review on the Korres Kings & Queens: Nefertiti body milk & shower gel.

Kings & Queens' Nefertiti is honey & made with natural products including of course real honey, which you can smell.

pro's:

smell-sweet honey

consistency-rich & smooth

gel is very luxurious

nice moisture that seems to last

con's:

the price is a little high for me $9 & $11-(i bought these off ebay)

i can't put this on before bed; i can smell it all night-too much for bed

I would repurchase the gel but probably not the lotion because i rarely use it.

Here is what Korres says about Kings & Queens:

Get ready like a royal, start the day like a sovereign, make like a monarch. Kings & Queens is a royal new body care range developed around the herbs and spices favored by the aristocracy of a bygone age.

Kings & Queens introduces Body Milks, Showergels, Body Butters, and Shimmering Body Milks, each with a story to tell. From Nefertiti Honey, inspired by the Egyptian Queen who used the Nectar as an indulgent beauty treatment, to Cinnamon, the spice beloved by Queen Isabella of Spain that prompted Columbus’s trip to discover the new world, the creators of Kings & Queens took inspiration from the preferred ingredients of yesteryear.

The line reflects the true decadence of royals past with an imaginative, modern twist. This fun, irreverent range of beauty products is for fashion, style and design conscious urbanites who are always on the lookout for an affordable statement choice.

Kings & Queens products are mineral oil-and paraben-free and enriched with “The Royal Mix,” a blend of Pomegranate, Blue Egyptian Lotus and Malachite extracts containing Hazelnut, Grape, Sunflower and Avocado Oils.

-Made in Greece

*For more info on the Blue Egyptian Lotus HERE is my post on it.

What Korres says about Nefertiti:

Nefertiti,
royal wife of an Egyptian Pharaoh, was depicted as an icon of beauty in her famous statue. She regularly used honey as a beauty treatment in order to live up to her name, which means
 "the beautiful woman has arrived".

This post goes nicely with my up-coming post about my ancestry that i recently found out; it will take me a bit more time to write it so i will tell you all about as soon as i can! (plus i am still discovering)

Kalo Savvatokyriako!

Καλό Σαββατοκύριακο!

Have a nice weekend! 

Blue Egyptian Lotus

Geia sas everyone!

Since starting my new job i haven't had a lot of time for blogging & that makes me sad :( but i'm always happy when i can because it's something i really enjoy & my little creative outlet.

Onto today's post, the Blue Egyptian Lotus is a gorgeous flower, one i love for being so complex in it's beauty. It's the kind of flower that everyone has to stop & stare at because its so eye-catchingly unique.

(images from google)

In ancient Egypt the Blue Lotus (also called blue water-lilly) was a symbol for the Memphite god Nefertem.

He is show here with the lotus for a headdress as a symbol of fragrance and beauty.

It is also been used to make perfumes since ancient times.

It was very significant in ancient Egypt and was said to rise & fall with the sun.

Another interesting fact is that if eaten, the Blue Lotus acts as a mild sedative.

Such a stunning flower!

It is shown in this video for the song Louloudi Mou(my flower)

Egyptian Perfume Bottles/Vases

Geia sas, so i thought i would show my Egyptian perfume bottles & vase.

My love of Egyptian things lead me to them.

Right now they are sitting on my desk.

This one is hand-blown glass & my mom bought it for me from a little Egyptian store. The top comes out & is like a stick, which is how you'd apply the perfume.

That same day she also bought me perfume oil for it called Queen of Egypt, which smells very pretty somewhat like jasmine. But i never put it in the bottle just because i didn't want anything to happen to it so i left the perfume oil in its roll-on tube.

This perfume vessel & vase i thought were so beautiful, so i bought them. The top comes out on the perfume bottle also. They are both even more fragile than my little bottle & could break quite easily. They add that 'world traveled' look to a house's decor that i really like. I hope to have a better place to display them when i have more time & money.

Cleopatra: Jolie style

Geia sas! Okay ladies who's heard about the upcoming biopic about Cleopatra VII Queen of Egypt played by Angelina Jolie?

Now of course we've all seen/heard of the Elizabeth Taylor version from the 60's.

I really liked some of the costumes & jewelry in this movie.

Now they're is a bit of controversy surrounding the choice of Angelina; a few people are saying Cleopatra was black...what?! I'm saying to them do your homework people, she's descendant from a Macedonian general; making her Greek..& we are not black lol. Did i mention she spoke Greek as a 1st language? They think she was also mixed with some Egyptian blood. Again though the Egyptians weren't/aren't black.

And then there are those who just plain don't like her(Jolie) & don't think she will be a good Cleopatra, but i say look at her Olympias in Alexander. She did an excellent job in my opinion, she was the best in the movie for me (Colin Farrell was 2nd of course lol). I have faith in her. :]

*Notice the worry beads in her hand? My yiayia(grandma) has some that were her father's & i just love them.

This new Cleopatra movie is kind of a dream for me, its Egyptian meets Greek meets my favorite actress; love it! Let's just hope its good!

Name info:

• Cleopatra means 'glory of the father' in Greek.
• She had a younger sister named Arsinoë; i think its such a cool name!

P.S. I heard Brad Pitt might be playing Antony?? What do you think, over the top or just right?

While we're on the subject of Egyptian check out this curule chair, which i guess means 'charriot chair' in Latin or something.

I have a similar zebra print one, but this one is awesome & i want it! But not for $200 :)

Princess Neferure of Egypt

Geia sas dear readers! Today i saw a documentary on Princess Neferure 'nefer-rou-ray' of Egypt on the Discovery channel. She is the daughter of the Queen Pharaoh Hatshepsut & Thutmose II and the only known child of Hatshepsut. Here is her name in hieroglyphics:

Neferure ,who's name means 'Beauty of Ra', was trained to become Pharaoh after her mother, & though it never happened it was an unheard of thing for a princess to be trained as a Pharaoh. It is thought that she did not out-live her mother Hatshepsut but her cause of death is unknown. They do know her mother died of an infection in her gums that spread; it was previously thought that she was murdered.

Neferue was mostly raised by her tutor and courtier Senemut. There are statues depicting him holding her. They showed her tomb, which was very high up in a steep rock, it had little paintings left and was a very treacherous place with lots of bats.

There are still many more things to uncover about Neferure and how she and her mother lived, but it is incredible that they know as much as they do. I would love to go to Egypt someday and see where they [& many others] lived & ruled.

~SassyAgapi

Once Upon A Time In Egypt

Hey its SassyAgapi with my 1st blog!
Today I just wanted to talk about something I love and a new book I've been reading; ancient Egypt & the book The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran. First I just want to say that I have a great love for all things ancient Egyptian & Greek, so when I heard of this book I was dying to read it! The book is centered on Nefertari, the orphan princess of Egypt & niece of Nefertiti who they call 'the Heretic Queen', because her husband (Pharaoh Ahkenaten) banished all gods except one(Aten) from Egypt. So many in Egypt have built up hate for her & her late family. You might know from history that she marries Ramesses(II) the Great, the book focuses on that a lot also. The only thing I don't like is that she has Ramesses with RED hair!??! Sorry but i cannot picture him without dark hair, but anyway... I'm not going to ruin the book for anyone but if you like Egypt, romance, & a good story I highly recommend The Heretic Queen.
So back to my love of Egyptian & Greek things, well first I am Greek & I love & am proud of my people's culture, history, & beauty, so that's a given. As far as ancient Egypt I have always been drawn to it, it fascinates me so much, just the mystery & adventure of it all. Oh & the clothes, jewelry, make-up, architecture, & decorations! :D Another thing I love about both are the names, here are some of my favorites:

Ramesses -Egyptian[male]
Asha-Egyptian[male]
Demetrius/Dimitrios-Greek[male]

Αlexandros-Greek[male]

Achilles-Greek[male]

Isis-Egyptian-'supreme throned one'
Iset-Egyptian-'(she) of the throne'
Nefertiri-Egyptian-'form of beautiful one'
Nefertari-Egyptian-'most beautiful'
Nefertirian-Egyptian-'another form of beautiful one' {nefer-teer-i-in}
Arsinoe-Greek(Αρσινη) [Egyptian Queen]- {arsin-o-ay}

Selini-Greek-'moon' (Σεληνη)

Briseis-Greek-(Βρισηις)

Eleftheria-Greek-'freedom'- (Ελευθερια)

Deianira-Greek-(Δηανειρα)

That's just a few lol!

*Note I did not add an accent to the Greek text*

But there are so many beautiful names its hard to pick just 1 or 2.

Here are some pictures of Greece & Egypt to end this post:

{Oh &  'Agapi Mou' means 'my love' in Greek, to anyone whos wondering}