The owls, patron birds of goddess Athena, have a history that goes beyond the common association with wisdom and knowledge. Much like in ancient Greece, where the love of wisdom flourished, owls played a part in many a peoples’ mythology, culture, language and art. An exploration into the role this bird had in people’s beliefs provides us with a mirror that enlivens the folklore that persist to this day. In ancient Egypt, owls were known as ‘keen-sighted hunters’ but were also associated with mourning and death. Owls, interestingly enough, even played a part in a parody of a scene from the Book of the Dead.
Although few examples of owls in ancient Egyptian art are known to us today, their representation as a hieroglyph standing for the letter m (G17 of the Gardiner sign list) is very common. Thanks to these representations, together with some of their actual remains, we can have a glimpse today into what kinds of owls lived in Egypt in ancient times.
Unlike other birds, owl eyes face the front, which is a feature ancient Egyptian scribes and artists emphasized by exceptionally drawing them en face, while the rest of the body was shown in profile.
Whether they were carved with exquisite detail or painted with lively colors, some of the owl representations are certainly great works of art, displaying the talents of both artists and scribes.
Owls are often seen in nature turning their head left and right while observing their surroundings, focused on detecting the slightest sound or movement. These birds can turn their head and neck 270 degrees, without moving the rest of their body. Egyptian artists seemed to have wanted to show their most characteristic features and depicted the bird the way it is most frequently viewed in nature – gazing over the shoulder with its eyes facing the viewer.
The concept of owl as a keen-sighted hunter (‘sehenden Jäger,’ ‘Sonnenauge geschmückten Jäger,’ related to the hunting falcon) had been documented in ancient Egypt since the XVIII Dynasty (WB II, 218). Owls were, however, also believed to be birds of mourning and death. These typical aspects are illustrated by the owl hieroglyph being used as a symbolic ideogram for m3 ‘see,’ in addition to jm ‘moan’. The ancient name of the bird, jmw, ‘the one who laments’, seems to had been the origin of its phonetic value m, which denotes very unpleasant and dreadful evocations. However, according to Kaplony, this is a rather old and secondary association.
The word jmw might allude to the crying sound of the barn owl (the species most frequently depicted as hieroglyph), as it does not hoot but makes hissing sounds. Another word that was possibly used to denote an owl is j3b, and could have been associated with eagle owls, according to Bojowald.
Horapollo II, 25 wrote that the ‘night-owl means death, for suddenly it descends upon the young of the crow in the night, as death comes upon one suddenly’. However, in II, 92 owl is also said to represent the foreknowledge of an abundant vintage. Moreover, ‘if the owl hoots before the time of the vintage, it means good wine.’
Hieroglyphs were not merely letters of the alphabet, but each sign was a miniature image and as such was seen as magical, just like any other artistic representation on the wall. For this reason, hieroglyphs of animals that were perceived as potentially dangerous to the deceased were modified so as to render them harmless. This typically involved mutilation of the sign with parts of the animal’s body removed, such as legs and feet, as was sometimes the case with the owl hieroglyph (e.g. 
). However, the owl sign is shown complete most of the time, unless we consider the absence of a hind toe on its feet. Some representations of the owl hieroglyph in Coffin Texts show only owl’s head 
. Perhaps this could have been done not to render the bird harmless but instead to emphasize its eyes and the ability to see in the dark. Owls were also used as amulets, meant to help the owner in the underworld.
Owl species
One of the earliest representations of owls in ancient Egypt comes from the so-called Libyan palette (beginning of I Dynasty), which records the victories of a king over seven fortified settlements. Each of the settlements has a single hieroglyph depicted within the walls designating the name of the fortress or the city.
The largest settlement has an owl hieroglyph (Owl-city) and is represented as being attacked by a falcon. Even at this early representation, the owl is shown turned full face with ‘ears’ as they appear on ‘eared’ owls in nature (feather tufts on the owl’s head are called ‘ears’ since they have nothing to do with hearing). It is assumed that this depiction is that of an eagle owl, but Houlihan argues that it cannot be distinguished with certainty whether it is an eagle owl or long-eared owl. Eagle owl resides in modern-day Egypt, while the long-eared owl is a winter visitor.
Different owl species appear to be used as the hieroglyph m. Eagle owl appears frequently until the beginning of the Old Kingdom (until V Dynasty according to Houlihan). Features of this bird appear sporadically later on, but it is mostly replaced by the barn owl.
Barn owls do not shun human presence and they flourished in Egyptian temples. Thus, as Houlihan points out, it is not surprising that many of the barn owl features were chosen to design the bird sign. It is interesting, however, that barn owl representations exhibit ‘ear’ tufts, a feature absent from barn owls. These feather tufts are not depicted above the head as they appear on eagle owl (or long-eared owl) but instead on the bird’s brow.
A possible explanation for this might be that the ‘ear’ tufts of the short-eared owl were used in creating the sign, as those are similarly located, and short-eared owl mummies dating back to Predynastic times have been found at ancient Egyptian sites. Keimer also suggested that ancient Egyptians most likely designed a composite sign, combining the most characteristic features of different owl families (as was the case with the falcon hieroglyph). A frequent case was combining the black eyes and plumage of the barn owl (Tytonidae) with characteristic ‘ears’ of most owl species in the Strigidae family.
In the Late Dynastic Period ‘ear’ tufts were removed from the representation of the sign. In cursive hieroglyphic writing owl is generally represented with ‘ears,’ shown either standing 
or squatting
. In hieratic, both ‘eared’ owl 
and barn owl
(rare form with legs 
) are shown.
Owl remains found in Egypt date back to Predynastic times, with the barn owl (Tyto alba) being identified at Adaima, and the short-eared owl (Asio flammeus) at Merimde. Three additional species have been identified from remains found at other sites: eagle owl (Bubo bubo), small owl (Athene noctua), and scops owl/striated scops owl (Otus scops/O.brucei).
Lortet and Gaillard examined one group of owl mummies mostly from Giza and Kom Ombo. However, these owls were not mummified separately but were found together with other birds, and their remains were found decapitated or torn out. Griffith points out to the use of the owl hieroglyph in Pyramid Texts 962-3, where the owl sign 
stands as a determinative of ḥśḳ ‘chop off’ the head or limb, while in Pyr. 635c it is the symbol of the same word, what might point to the owl being perceived as a bird of ill omen, desired to behead when caught. Nevertheless, in XI dynasty ḥśḳ sign does not represent a decapitated owl but shows an ideographic use of dm(
) with the owl serving as phonetic complement (m). A group of owl mummies was also found in the catacombs of Tuna el-Gebel, and included 17 short-eared owls, 15 small owls, 6 eagle owls, 5 barn owls and one scops owl/striated scops owl. Owls were found at other localities as well and one group from Greco-Roman Period was found at Tell el-Maskhuta (2 barn owls and 13 small owls).
Owl remains, carefully wrapped together with five bats and placed in a wooden box, were found under the corridor slab inside Bent Pyramid in Dahshur. This find demonstrates religious usage of bird’s nocturnal habits, associated to those of bats.
Owls in art
Many ancient Egyptian tombs featured representations of the tomb owner fishing and fowling in the marshes. Four out of five representations of owls in ancient Egyptian art come from such scenes depicted in New Kingdom tombs.
The most interesting among them is found on a fragment that was central part of fishing and fowling scene from the XVIII Dynasty tomb of Neferhotep (TT A5). The rounded head with the distinct heart-shaped white face and a hooked bill makes it possible to identify the bird as a barn owl. It is shown sheltering the nest with its wings, in an attempt to protect it from the approaching mongoose. This is the only instance where the owl is shown with its head in profile.
Although all references quote only 3 examples of owls in bird hunting and fishing scenes, owl is also depicted in the tomb of Sennefer (TT96 ‘Tomb of the Vineyards’). The conservation project of the Belgian Archaeological Mission in the Theban Necropolis beautifully restored the 4th owl representation in this traditional scene, which can clearly be identified as a barn owl.
In the fowling and the fishing scene from the tomb of Ipuy (TT217, XIX Dynasty), the owl is shown just before the bow of the boat in which the deceased and his family are shown in the traditional bird hunting scene.
Similarly, an owl is also depicted in the hunting and fishing scene in the tomb of Suemniut (TT 92, XVIII Dynasty), but the wall in which this scene appears was never completed: only the outline of the bird can be traced, which makes it impossible to categorize.
It is interesting that in all of these examples owls are shown in waterside habitats, where barn owls don’t actually nest; they prefer nooks and crannies of buildings, temples, ruins as well as trees and rocks. Additionally, during the day barn owls hunt in fields and meadows where their pray can easily be spotted. Perhaps the appearance of owls in these scenes might have to do with them being called ‘keen-sighted hunters’ and hopefully will bring more positive light into the symbolic significance of these birds, whose hunting skills were clearly appreciated by ancient Egyptians.
An owl (painted white) is also found on a humorous ostracon from Ramesside Period at Thebes. Here, a hippo stands upright on one arm of the balance, against a large crow on the other. Cat with its front paw raised and an owl occupy the place under the balance which belongs to the judge and his court. This scene is probably intended as a parody of the scene in Chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead, which shows the final Judgment of the deceased before he or she attains eternal life.
In addition to these painted scenes, a significant number of relief plaques with barn owl depictions have been found from the Late Dynastic and Ptolemaic periods.
The interpretation of these plaques is still under the discussion, they were either sculptors’ models or were used as ex-voto offerings. Although they could be used for training students and many were done by them, some of the plaques were clearly the work of master sculptors and are among the most beautiful representations of owls in ancient Egypt. As an ex-voto the representation of an owl, as Arnold suggests, might appropriately have been dedicated to a solar deity. Few additional examples of owls in art are known from the Greco-Roman Period, when the owl apparently had religious significance.
Looking more closely at owls in ancient Egypt helps us better understand their symbolism and role in other cultures throughout the world as well. Owls are commonly associated with wisdom and knowledge, but their association with evil and mystery have persisted through history, from the Americas, Africa to Europe. Regardless of their symbolism and association with the mystic and the unknown, owls are charming and fascinating creatures, and Egypt is still a great place to observe both the local and the migratory species.
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