List of Terms in the Kane Chronicles

The following is a list of terms in the Kane Chronicles. Because the series is centered around Egyptian mythology and culture, there are a number of unfamiliar and foreign words and phrases in series. This page is a list of those terms and their definitions.

A

 * Aaru: The Egyptian afterlife, paradise.
 * Ankh: The Egyptian symbol of life.
 * Aten: The sun; not to be confused with Ra, the sun god.

B

 * Ba: Part of one's soul, it is the vehicle in which one travels through the Duat.
 * Barque: The pharaoh's boat.
 * Bau: An evil spirit.
 * Brooklyn House: The Kane family's center of operation and a training ground for those with the blood of the pharaohs and have responded to the call of Osiris's djed.

C

 * Cartouche: Symbolizing magic ropes, these lines encircled Ancient Egyptian names to protect the holder from evil magic.
 * Coptic: An Egyptian system of writing that uses the Greek alphabet.

D

 * Demon: Not to be confused with the modern-day term, a demon is not necessarily evil, although it is an agent of chaos. It comes from the Duat.
 * Demon Days: The last five days in the year; considered to be bad luck by the Egyptians.
 * Demotic: An Egyptian script that preceded Coptic, but occurred after hieroglyphs.
 * Divine Words: The Ancient Egyptian pronunciation of words. Using these words, magicians are able to draw upon power for spells directly from Ma'at.
 * Djed: The symbol of Osiris.
 * Duat: The Egyptian underworld.

E

 * Eye of Horus: A symbol of protection and representative of Horus. Carter has an amulet of it.
 * Eye of Ra: The symbol is identical in design and meaning to the Eye of Horus. It may also refer to Ra's champion, Bast, or her predecessor, Sekhmet.

F

 * Fellahin: Egyptian peasants.

G

 * Godling: Also known as a host, a godling is a person that is possessed by a god.

H

 * Hieroglyph: A system of writing used by the Ancient Egyptians. It is based on pictograms.
 * Host: Also known as a godling, a host is a person that is possessed by a god.
 * House of Life: Also known as the Per Ankh. An organization of magicians that maintain the balance of Ma'at and Isfet.

I

 * Isfet: The balance of chaos and the opposite of Ma'at.

J
N/A

K

 * Khopesh: A type of "sickle-sword" found in Ancient Egypt. It was commonly used by guards of the pharaoh and works well with combat magic.
 * Knot of Isis: Also known as the Tyet. Like the ankh, it symbolizes life. It represents Isis. Sadie has an amulet of it.
 * Kohl: A type of cosmetic that darkens the area around the eye, much like modern-day eyeliner or eyeshadow.

L
N/A

M

 * Ma'at: The order of the universe.
 * Magic: supernatural power to alter reality.
 * Magician: A human with magical power.
 * Menhed: A scribe's palette.

N

 * Narmer Palette: A palette that depicts the first Pharaoh of Egpyt, Narmer, conquring his enemies and uniting Egypt. It also contains pictures of serpopards.
 * Netjeri blade: A knife made from meteoric iron for the opening of the mouth in a ceremony.
 * Nome: One of the three-hundred and sixty provinces of the world.

O

 * Obelisk: A tall, narrow monument. They work well as portals.
 * Osiris:The egyptian god of the dead.

P

 * Per Ankh: Also known as the House of Life. An organization of magicians that maintain the balance of Ma'at and Isfet.
 * Pharaoh: The kings (and in some cases, such as Hatshepsut, queens) who ruled Dynastic Egypt for thousands of years. The first was Narmer and the last was Cleopatra VII. They were later replaced by Roman Governors.
 * Pyramid: A monument that serves as a tomb for the pharaoh during the Old Kingdom.

Q
N/A

R

 * Ren: Name, identity.
 * Rosetta Stone: The Rosetta Stone is how the modern world first deciphered ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Julius Kane uses the Rosetta Stone as a magical anchor with which he summons Osiris. The process destroyed the stone, and further unleashed Set, Horus, Isis, and Nephthys; this ultimately causes a chain reaction, freeing more and more gods.

S

 * Sahlab: A hot drink that Nut describes as "hot vanilla" in contrast to hot chocolate.
 * Sau: A type of magician that specializes in making charms and amulets.
 * Scarab: A dung beetle. The scarab god is Khepri, the "divine dung beetle"..Scarab.gif
 * Shabti: Living sculptures that do a magician's bidding.
 * Shen: "Eternal".
 * Souk: An open-air market.
 * Sphinx: A symbol of Ma'at and a protector of Egypt. They are allies to the magicians.
 * Stele: A limestone grave marker.

T

 * Tyet.jpg Thoth: God of wisdom and knowledge. Representing animals: baboon and ibis
 * Tjesu heru: A snake with two heads, one of which is on its tail, and dragon legs.
 * Tyet: Also known as the Knot of Isis. Like the ankh, it symbolizes life. It represents Isis. Sadie has an amulet of the Tyet.

U
N/A

V
N/A

W

 * Was: Power.

X
N/A

Y
N/A

Z
N/A