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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)

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