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Ptah
Ptah, in the form of a mummified man, standing on the symbol for Ma'at, holding a scepter or staff that bears the combined ankh-djed-was symbols.
God of creation, the arts and fertility
Name in hieroglyphs
Major cult center	Memphis
Symbol	the djed pillar, the bull
Parents	none (self-created)
Consort	Bastet / Sekhmet

Ptah (Egyptian ptḥ, probably vocalized as Pitaḥ in ancient Egyptian ^[1]) was a deity in ancient Egyptian religion.

Ptah was the deification of the primordial mound in the Ennead cosmogony, which was more literally referred to as Ta-tenen (also spelled Tathenen, Tatjenen, etc.), meaning risen land, or as Tanen, meaning submerged land, though Tatenen was a god in his own right, before being assimilated with Ptah. Ptah also is referred to as the noble Djed.

It was said (in the Shabaka Stone) that it was Ptah who called the world into being, having dreamt creation in his heart, and speaking it, his name meaning opener, in the sense of opener of the mouth. Indeed the opening of the mouth ceremony, performed by priests at funerals to release souls from their corpses, was said to have been created by Ptah. Atum was said to have been created by Ptah to rule over the creation, sitting upon the primordial mound.

In art, he is portrayed as a bearded mummified man, often wearing a skull cap, with his hands holding an ankh, was, and djed, the symbols of life, power and stability, respectively. It was also considered that Ptah manifested himself in the Apis bull. He may have originally been a fertility god because of this.

Stucco relief of Ptah with staff and ankh and djed. Late Period or Ptolemaic Dynasty, 4th to 3rd century BC.

Since Ptah was the primordial mound, and had called creation into being, he was considered the god of craftsmen, and in particular stone-based crafts. Eventually, due to the connection of these things to tombs, and that at Thebes, the craftsmen regarded him so highly as to say that he controlled their destiny. Consequently, first amongst the craftsmen, then the population as a whole, Ptah also became a god of regeneration. Since Seker was also god of craftsmen, and of regeneration of the sun during the night, Seker was later assimilated with Ptah becoming Ptah-Seker.

Consequently, Ptah-Seker became considered an underworld deity, and eventually, by the Middle Kingdom, become assimilated by Osiris, the lord of the underworld, occasionally being known as Ptah-Seker-Osiris.

Stele dedicated to Ptah by the foreman of Deir el-Medina in the XX dynasty.

Legacy[link]

The English name Egypt derives from an ancient Egyptian name for Memphis, Hikuptah, which means "Home of the Soul of Ptah". This entered Ancient Greek as Αιγυπτος (Aiguptos), which entered Latin as Ægyptus, which developed into English as Egypt.

Literature[link]

• Benedikt Rothöhler, Neue Gedanken zum Denkmal memphitischer Theologie. Heidelberg, 2006 www.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/archiv/7030

References[link]

v t e Ancient Egyptian religion Mythology Paganism Pantheism Polytheism Emanationism Soul Duat Numerology Deities Amun Amunet Anubis Anuket Apep Apis Aten Atum Bastet Bat Bes Four sons of Horus Geb Hapi Hathor Heka Heqet Horus Isis Khepri Khnum Khonsu Kuk Maahes Ma'at Mafdet Menhit Meretseger Meskhenet Min Mnewer Monthu Mut Nefertem Neith Nekhbet Nephthys Nu Nut Osiris Pakhet Ptah Qebui Qetesh Ra Resheph Satet Sekhmet Seker Serket Seshat Set Shu Sobek Sopdet Sopdu Tatenen Taweret Tefnut Thoth Wadjet Wadj-wer Wepwawet Wosret Writings Amduat Books of Breathing Book of Caverns Book of the Dead Book of the Earth Book of Gates Book of the Netherworld Beliefs Atenism Curse of the Pharaohs Funerals Offering formula Philosophy Temples Ancient Egypt Portal

Photograph of Gerald Massey dated 1856

Gerald Massey (29 May 1828 – 29 October 1907) was an English poet and self-educated Egyptologist. He was born near Tring, Hertfordshire in England.

Biography[link]

Massey's parents were poor. When little more than a child, he was made to work hard in a silk factory, which he afterward deserted for the equally laborious occupation of straw plaiting. These early years were rendered gloomy by much distress and deprivation, against which the young man strove with increasing spirit and virility, educating himself in his spare time, and gradually cultivating his innate taste for literary work. He was attracted by the movement known as Christian Socialism, into which he threw himself with whole-hearted vigour, and so became associated with Maurice and Kingsley.^[1]

"During the later years of his life, (from about 1870 onwards) Massey became interested increasingly in Egyptology and the similarities that exist between ancient Egyptian mythology and the Gospel stories. He studied the extensive Egyptian records housed in the British Museum, eventually teaching himself to decipher the hieroglyphics." ^[2]

Writing career[link]

Massey's first public appearance as a writer was in connection with a journal called the Spirit of Freedom, of which he became editor, and he was only twenty-two when he published his first volume of poems, Voices of Freedom and Lyrics of Love (1850). These he followed in rapid succession with The Ballad of Babe Christabel (1854), War Waits (1855), Havelock's March (1860), and A Tale of Eternity (1869).

In 1889, Massey collected the best of the contents of these volumes, with additions, into a two-volume edition of his poems called My Lyrical Life. He also published works dealing with Spiritualism, the study of Shakespeare's sonnets (1872 and 1890), and theological speculation. It is generally understood that he was the original of George Eliot's Felix Holt.^[1]

Massey's poetry has a certain rough and vigorous element of sincerity and strength which easily accounts for its popularity at the time of its production. He treated the theme of Sir Richard Grenville before Tennyson thought of using it, with much force and vitality. Indeed, Tennyson's own praise of Massey's work is still its best eulogy, for the Laureate found in him a poet of fine lyrical impulse, and of a rich half-Oriental imagination. The inspiration of his poetry is a combination of his vast knowledge based on travels, research and experiences; he was a patriotic humanist to the core. His poem "The Merry, Merry May" was set to music in a popular song by composer Christabel Baxendale.

In regard to Egyptology, Massey first published The Book of the Beginnings, followed by The Natural Genesis. His most prolific work is Ancient Egypt: The Light of the World, published shortly before his death.^[1] His work, which draws comparisons between the Judeo-Christian religion and the Egyptian religion, is not considered significant in the field of modern Egyptology and is not mentioned in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt or similar reference works of modern Egyptology.^[3]

Massey was a believer in spiritual evolution; he claimed that Darwin's theory of evolution was incomplete without spiritualism:

The theory contains only one half the explanation of man's origins and needs spiritualism to carry it through and complete it. For while this ascent on the physical side has been progressing through myraids of ages, the Divine descent has also been going on – man being spiritually an incarnation from the Divine as well as a human development from the animal creation. The cause of the development is spiritual. Mr. Darwin's theory does not in the least militate against ours – we think it necessitates it; he simply does not deal with our side of the subject. He can not go lower than the dust of the earth for the matter of life; and for us, the main interest of our origin must lie in the spiritual domain.^[4]

Claimed parallels between Horus and Jesus[link]

One of the more sensational aspects of Massey's writings were the parallels he drew between the Christian god Jesus of Nazareth and the Egyptian god Horus. These comparisons are primarily contained in his book The Natural Genesis. Massey's writings on this subject have influenced various later authors such as Alvin Boyd Kuhn, Tom Harpur, and Acharya S.^[5]

Some of the similarities that Massey claimed existed are that they both

1. Were born of virgins on December 25
2. Taught in a temple as a child at age 12
3. Were teachers who had 12 Disciples
4. Were baptized in a river
5. Gave a sermon on the mount
6. Healed the sick
7. Raised men from the dead (El-Asar-Us for Horus, Lazarus for Jesus)
8. Died by crucifixion
9. Were resurrected three days later.^[6]

W. Ward Gasque conducted a world-wide poll of twenty Egyptologists - including Professor Kenneth Kitchen of the University of Liverpool and Ron Leprohan, Professor of Egyptology at the University of Toronto - in Canada, US, UK, Australia, Germany, and Austria to verify if there was any academic support for these claims. The scholars were unanimous in dismissing only the etymologies of the names Jesus and Christ.^[7]

See also[link]

Poetry portal

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Gerald Massey

• Christ myth theory
• Jesus Christ in comparative mythology
• Godfrey Higgins
• John G. Jackson
• Kersey Graves

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b c} Massey, Gerald. "Gerald Massey". Classic Encyclopedia World Wide Web edition, based on the 1911 encyclopædia.. http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Gerald_Massey. Retrieved 2008-03-19. 
2. ^ Gerald Massey Collection-Upper Norwood Joint Library
3. ^ The Leading Religion Writer in Canada ... Does He Know What He's Talking About?
4. ^ Gerald Massey, Concerning evolution, p. 55
5. ^ Parallels between the Lives of Jesus and Horus, an Egyptian God
6. ^ Massey, Gerald. The Natural Genesis. Cosimo Classics, 2007.
7. ^ Gasque, W. Ward "The Leading Religion Writer in Canada ... Does He Know What He's Talking About?" George Mason University's History News Network[1]

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

External links[link]

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Gerald Massey

• http://gerald-massey.org.uk
• Africa Within, many of Massey's articles and poems relating to Egyptology.
• Works by or about Gerald Massey in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2008)

Doorway of Thutmose III

Located with the large Precinct of Amun-Re at Karnak, in Luxor, Egypt, the small Temple of Ptah lies to the north of the main Amun temple, just within the boundary wall. The building was erected by Thutmose III, on the site of an earlier Middle Kingdom temple. The building was later enlarged by the Ptolemies.

The building consists of 6 small gateways, built close together. The first (to the west) was erected by the Ptolemies. The subsequent gates date from the Eighteenth Dynasty, the first by Hatshepsut, the rest by Thutmose III.

External links[link]

• Excavation programm of the temple of Ptah and the southern structures by the Cfeetk (en)
• Report 2009 on the excavation programm of the temple of Ptah and the southern structures by the Cfeetk (en)
• Report 2010 on the excavation programm of the temple of Ptah and the southern structures by the Cfeetk (en)

This article about Egyptology or subjects relating to Ancient Egypt is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Alice Coltrane
Alice Coltrane in 2006. Photo by Filipe Ferreira
Background information
Birth name	Alice McLeod
Born	(1937-08-27)August 27, 1937 Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Died	January 12, 2007(2007-01-12) (aged 69) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Jazz, avant-garde jazz
Occupations	Bandleader, composer, sideman
Instruments	Piano, organ, harp
Years active	1962–2006
Labels	Impulse! Columbia Warner Bros. Records
Associated acts	John Coltrane, Pharaoh Sanders, Flying Lotus
Website	Official website

Alice Coltrane, née McLeod (August 27, 1937 – January 12, 2007) was an American jazz pianist, organist, harpist, and composer.

Biography[link]

Born in Detroit Michigan, Alice McLeod studied classical music, and also jazz with Bud Powell in Paris, France, where she worked as the intermission pianist at the Blue Note Club in 1960. It was there that she was broadcast on French television in a performance with Lucky Thompson, Pierre Michelot and Kenny Clarke.^[1] She began playing jazz as a professional in Detroit, with her own trio and as a duo with vibist Terry Pollard. She married Kenny Hagood in 1960 and had a daughter by that union. From 1962-63 she played with Terry Gibbs's quartet, during which time she met John Coltrane. In 1965 they were married in Juárez, Mexico. In January 1966 she replaced McCoy Tyner as pianist with John Coltrane's group. She subsequently recorded with him and continued playing with the band until his death on July 17, 1967. Coltrane became stepfather to Alice's daughter Michele and the couple had three children: John Jr. (1964–1982), a drummer; Oranyan (b. 1967), a DJ; and Ravi (b. 1965), a saxophonist. After her husband's death she continued to play with her own groups, later including her children, moving into more and more meditative music. She was one of the few harpists in the history of jazz and recorded many albums as a bandleader. Her essential recordings were made in the late 1960s and early 1970s for Impulse! Records. ^[2]

Coltrane was a devotee of the Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba.^[3] In 1972, she moved to California, where she established the Vedantic Center in 1975.^[4] By the late 1970s she had changed her name to Turiyasangitananda.^[5] Coltrane was the spiritual director, or swamini, of Shanti Anantam Ashram (later renamed Sai Anantam Ashram in Chumash Pradesh) which the Vedantic Center established in 1983 near Malibu, California.^[6] On rare occasions, she continued to perform publicly under the name Alice Coltrane.^[7][8]

The 1990s saw renewed interest in her work, which led to the release of the compilation Astral Meditations, and in 2004 she released her comeback album Translinear Light. Following a twenty-five-year break from major public performances, she returned to the stage for three U.S. appearances in the fall of 2006, culminating on November 4 with a concert for the San Francisco Jazz Festival with her son Ravi, drummer Roy Haynes, and bassist Charlie Haden.^[8] In 1994, she appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD, Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool The album, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic in African American society was named "Album of the Year" by Time Magazine.^[9]

Death[link]

Alice Coltrane died of respiratory failure at West Hills Hospital and Medical Center in suburban Los Angeles, aged 69. She is buried alongside her late husband John Coltrane in Pinelawn Memorial Park, Farmingdale, Suffolk County, New York.

Legacy[link]

Paul Weller dedicated his song "Song For Alice (Dedicated to the Beautiful Legacy of Mrs. Coltrane)", from his album 22 Dreams, to Coltrane; the track entitled "Alice" on Sunn O's 2009 album Monoliths & Dimensions was similarly inspired. Electronic musician Flying Lotus is the grand-nephew of Alice Coltrane.^[10]

Discography[link]

As a leader[link]

• A Monastic Trio (Impulse!, 1967)
• Cosmic Music (Impulse!, 1966–68) with John Coltrane
• Huntington Ashram Monastery (Impulse!, 1969)
• Ptah, the El Daoud (Impulse!, 1970)
• Journey in Satchidananda (Impulse!, 1970)
• Universal Consciousness (Impulse!, 1972)
• World Galaxy (1972)
• Lord of Lords (1973)
• John Coltrane: Infinity (1973)
• Reflection on Creation and Space (a Five Year View) (1973)
• Illuminations (1974) with Carlos Santana
• Eternity (1975)
• Radha-Krisna Nama Sankirtana (1976)
• Transcendence (1977)
• Transfiguration (1978)
• Turiya Sings (1982)
• Divine Songs (1987)
• Infinite Chants (1990)
• Glorious Chants (1995)
• Priceless Jazz (1998)
• The Music of Alice Coltrane: Astral Meditations (1999)
• Translinear Light (2004)
• The Impulse Story (2006)

As a sideperson[link]

With John Coltrane

• Live at the Village Vanguard Again! (Impulse!, 1966)
• Live in Japan (Impulse!, 1966 [1973])
• Stellar Regions (Impulse!, 1966)
• Expression (Impulse!, 1967)
• The Olatunji Concert: The Last Live Recording (Impulse!, 1967)

With Terry Gibbs

• Terry Gibbs Plays Jewish Melodies in Jazztime (Mercury, 1963)
• Hootenanny My Way (Mercury, 1963)
• El Nutto (Limelight, 1964)

With Charlie Haden

• Closeness (Horizon, 1976)

With Joe Henderson

• The Elements (Milestone, 1973)

With McCoy Tyner

• Extensions (Blue Note, 1970)

References[link]

9. ^ "My Life in E-flat" by Chan Parker

External links[link]

• Official website
• Alice Coltrane at All About Jazz
• Alice Coltrane at Allmusic
• Alice Coltrane discography
• Alice Coltrane Playlist: Divine Ferocity
• In-depth Alice Coltrane obituary with a record-by-record overview of her career from NewYorkNightTrain.com
• Last Song For Alice Coltrane , The Indypendent, Steven Wishnia
• RBMA Radio On Demand - Sound Obsession - Volume 7 - Tribute to Alice Coltrane - Kirk Degiorgio (The Beauty Room, As One)
• Alice in Wonder and Awe. An interview at ascentmagazine.com on jazz, God and the spiritual path.
• Alice Coltrane at NPR Music
• Alice Coltrane in discussion with A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (July 2010)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2011)

Course of Empire was an Alternative / post-punk band based in Dallas, Texas.

Biography[link]

Course of Empire was a hard-edged, post-industrial, alternative music group based in Dallas, Texas from 1988 to 1998. In the early days, large drums would be placed throughout the audience as a means to eliminate the separation between performer and audience. Inspired by the Kodo Drummers of Japan, C.o.E. sought to use the theater of mass drumming to illustrate their vision of a future culture that would evolve as a response to the exponentially increasing human population on the planet. This practice was stopped, however, when the drums ceased to be played by ever-increasing crowds, becoming dangerous missiles instead. The band retained one defining feature however: two drummers playing simultaneously (Michael Jerome and Chad Lovell) creating a propulsive, driving beat that underlaid many of the group's songs.

Song topics were initially of a more political and environmental stance (the name Course of Empire having come from a 5-piece series by 19th Century painter Thomas Cole). Later, the lyrical content would take on topics related to conspiracy theories and the personal quest of spirituality.

They released three studio albums over their ten year existence: one on the Dallas label Carpe Diem, one with Zoo Entertainment, and one with TVT Records. Additionally, they toured with industrial-metal groups such as Prong, Sister Machine Gun, Stabbing Westward, Young Gods and many others. The band's first two albums established the group's sound: precise, driving drums overlaid with heavy industrial guitars and hard-edged vocals. However, the group refused to conform to any particular genre, incorporating elements of Eastern and Middle Eastern music, tabla drumming, and electronic music into their songs. As film students at Southern Methodist University, members of the band used their knowledge to infuse their songs with references to the environment, culture and the effects of humankind on the planet.

The band released their first single/EP, Infested, ahead of the Initiation album in 1993. The single featured two new songs, Joy and Let's Have A War (a cover of a song by Fear (band)), as well as a "Darwin Goodman" remix of Infested -- Darwin from naturalist/evolutionary scientist Charles Darwin, and Goodman from legendary big band clarinetist Benny Goodman. The remix sampled Goodman's performance of swinger Louis Prima's big band standard Sing, Sing, Sing and featured a different, swing-inspired drumbeat.

In 1995, producer John Fryer (Nine Inch Nails, Gravity Kills) was tapped to produce their third record, Telepathic Last Words, as it featured more electronic-edged material. Soon after, the band found support in Dallas radio icon Redbeard who promoted the album weeks ahead of release on Dallas radio station Q102, including heavy airplay of New Maps, which was scheduled to be the lead single from Telepathic Last Words. Unfortunately, the Zoo record label folded in July 1996, just one month before the album was due to be released.

TVT Records signed the band by December 1996 after working out the licensing terms with BMG for the rights to Telepathic Last Words and the previous Initiation record. At TVT's request, the band recorded additional tracks with drummer Chad Lovell as producer. The new tracks were mixed in Hollywood at Larrabee Studios North with Dave Bianco at the helm. Some previous tracks were also remixed by Bianco. Telepathic Last Words, originally mastered by Bob Ludwig for the Zoo release, was re-mastered by Howie Weinberg in September 1997 and was finally released in January 1998, almost two years after its original completion. As part of the new deal, the scheduled national lead single was changed from New Maps to The Information. The band received favorable press in the form of a two-page cover story in a local alternative weekly newsmagazine, the Dallas Observer, as well as mentions in Spin (magazine) and trade publications. However, a lack of promotion by the record company prevented the song from seeing a wide release on modern-rock playlists across the United States. The Information was picked up by local Dallas alternative-rock station Q102 (KTXQ) after the success of New Maps on Redbeard's show but failed to gain traction and was dropped from the playlist by 1998. Plans to release either Persian Song or the newly re-recorded version of Coming of the Century as singles did not come to fruition.

One track from Telepathic Last Words, The Information, was included on the soundtrack for the film Dark City. A music video was also produced featuring scenes from the movie and was aired on MTV at the time of the movie's premiere. The band toured with Rob Halford's ill-fated "Two" project along with John 5 of Marilyn Manson fame, and also opened for The Sisters of Mercy in L.A. that spring.

The group disbanded after ten years together over frustration with management, booking, and lack of a proper A&R rep. The final show, played in July 1998 at Trees in the Deep Ellum area of Dallas, Texas, drew a vibrant, energetic group of fans determined to give a lively send-off to their favorite band. After the crowd had been pumped up by local opening acts Caulk and Doosu, Course of Empire took the stage and electrified the audience by performing some of their earlier songs, including most of the Initiation album, instead of concentrating on the new material from Telepathic Last Words.

After the group split in 1998, drummer Michael Jerome and guitarist Mike Graff collaborated with Van Eric Martin to form the group Halls of the Machine who released their debut album, Atmospheres for Lovers and Sleepers, in 2001.

In 2004, Mike Graff and Martin Baird at Verge Music Works recording studio mixed the still-existing 24 tracks of the final performance at Trees in Dallas, TX from 1998 and personally financed and self released the tracks, titled Phone Calls From the Dead.^[1] The group's website, courseofempire.com, currently offers all of their major releases as downloads in MP3 format free of charge, and the band also maintains a Myspace page under "Course of Empire".

Group Members[link]

• Mike Graff 1988-1998 (guitar)
• Vaughn Stevenson 1988-1998 (vocals)
• Paul Semrad 1988-1998 (bass, backing vocals)
• Anthony Headley 1988-1991 (drums)
• Chad Lovell 1989-1998 (drums)
• Michael Jerome 1994-1998 (drums)

Other performing members: Dave Abbruzzese (drums) Kyle Thomas (drums)

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 1990: Course of Empire (Carpe Diem Records)
  • After selling over 5000 copies in Dallas alone following its November release, BMG subsidiary Zoo Entertainment signed the band in August, 1991. This first album was reissued on the new label in January, 1992
• 1994: Initiation
• 1998: Telepathic Last Words (TVT Records)

Other Releases[link]

• 2004: Phone Calls From the Dead (Lust)
• 2004: Hiss DVD (Self-released)
• 2008: Initiation Demos (Self-released)

Singles and EPs[link]

• Infested! [CD] - 1993
• Infested! [12] - 1994
• The Information [CD] - 1998

Connections[link]

• Halls of the Machine^[2]

Notes and references[link]

External links[link]

• Official site