STEPPING ON THE ENEMY

What were the ‘nine bows’?

A common hieroglyph you’ll find on depictions of pharaohs, on their tombs and often at the base of statues is something called the ‘nine bows’. Typically, they are nine bow shapes shown together and they represented the nine enemies of Egypt. Who these enemies were might change over time and the number nine was used by Egyptian to mean the total of, so it was a phrase meant to mean any and all outside enemies.

Where and how it was used is perhaps more interesting than what it actually meant. Often when you see the nine bows they are seen under the feet of a pharaoh, meaning they were metaphorically crushing the enemies of Egypt under foot. Another great example is a pair of sandals believed to have belonged to Tutankhamun, which are decorated by the nine bows so that he would be treading in his enemies with every step.