Uploaded December 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
A 'live' performance of "Invocation to Nephthys" - track 4 from my 2020 album, "The Ancient Egyptian Lyre". Available from all the usual digital music platforms, here is the link to the album on Spotify:
open.spotify.com/album/71FmOdz8gMSGTAdkinGtkp
CD quality, lossless audio formats are available from Bandcamp:
michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/the-ancient-egyptian-lyre
According to ancient Egyptian mythology, Nephthys was a goddess of the dead who, like her granddaughter Qebhet, provides assistance to the souls of the deceased. She was so helpful to those in the afterlife that one of her titles was "Friend of the Dead" and she was also thought to bring news of the deceased back to their relatives on earth and comfort them in their time of mourning.
Her symbols are the hawk and the temple and the sycamore tree, one of the more popular trees depicted in inscriptions from the Egyptian Book of the Dead. She is the mother of the death god Anubis and was associated with the setting sun, twilight, and darkness. Prayers were offered to Nephthys at twilight for protection and also to aid her as she struggled with her husband Set to defend the Boat of Ra (the sun god) from the serprent Apophis as it made its journey through the realms of night.
Once she became associated with the afterlife and the care of the dead the linen which was used to mummify the deceased was known as "tresses of Nephthys" and it was thought that she, along with Selket, helped to breathe life back into the soul and help them on their eternal journey. Nephthys came to represent the promise of a helper at one's side in the afterlife who would look after and protect the soul and who assured the living that death was nothing to be feared. The realm of the afterlife was only a new land one travelled to and old friends, like Nephthys, would be waiting to offer their protection and guidance in death as they had throughout life.
The lyre featured in this album is a replica of an actual surviving ancient Egyptian lyre (circa 1,500 BCE) preserved in Leiden:
http://manniche.daes.dk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2006LeidenLyre.pdf
The lyre was custom-made for me by Luthieros:
https://www'luthieros.com
For countless more 'musical adventures in time travel', please also see all my official artist links below - many thanks for watching!
The lyre
Subscribe:
youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1
Official Artist Links:
Official Website:
ancientlyre.com
Digital Music Artist Profiles:
Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v
iTunes & Apple Music:
itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920
Amazon:
amzn.to/2zmJph3
Bandcamp:
michaellevy.bandcamp.com
Facebook Page:
facebook.com/beautifullyre
Twitter:
twitter.com/AncientLyre
Instagram:
instagram.com/mlevy1400bce
Patreon:
patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
A 'live' performance of "Invocation to Nephthys" - track 4 from my 2020 album, "The Ancient Egyptian Lyre". Available from all the usual digital music platforms, here is the link to the album on Spotify:
open.spotify.com/album/71FmOdz8gMSGTAdkinGtkp
CD quality, lossless audio formats are available from Bandcamp:
michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/the-ancient-egyptian-lyre
According to ancient Egyptian mythology, Nephthys was a goddess of the dead who, like her granddaughter Qebhet, provides assistance to the souls of the deceased. She was so helpful to those in the afterlife that one of her titles was "Friend of the Dead" and she was also thought to bring news of the deceased back to their relatives on earth and comfort them in their time of mourning.
Her symbols are the hawk and the temple and the sycamore tree, one of the more popular trees depicted in inscriptions from the Egyptian Book of the Dead. She is the mother of the death god Anubis and was associated with the setting sun, twilight, and darkness. Prayers were offered to Nephthys at twilight for protection and also to aid her as she struggled with her husband Set to defend the Boat of Ra (the sun god) from the serprent Apophis as it made its journey through the realms of night.
Once she became associated with the afterlife and the care of the dead the linen which was used to mummify the deceased was known as "tresses of Nephthys" and it was thought that she, along with Selket, helped to breathe life back into the soul and help them on their eternal journey. Nephthys came to represent the promise of a helper at one's side in the afterlife who would look after and protect the soul and who assured the living that death was nothing to be feared. The realm of the afterlife was only a new land one travelled to and old friends, like Nephthys, would be waiting to offer their protection and guidance in death as they had throughout life.
The lyre featured in this album is a replica of an actual surviving ancient Egyptian lyre (circa 1,500 BCE) preserved in Leiden:
http://manniche.daes.dk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2006LeidenLyre.pdf
The lyre was custom-made for me by Luthieros:
https://www'luthieros.com
For countless more 'musical adventures in time travel', please also see all my official artist links below - many thanks for watching!
The lyre
Subscribe:
youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1
Official Artist Links:
Official Website:
ancientlyre.com
Digital Music Artist Profiles:
Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v
iTunes & Apple Music:
itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920
Amazon:
amzn.to/2zmJph3
Bandcamp:
michaellevy.bandcamp.com
Facebook Page:
facebook.com/beautifullyre
Twitter:
twitter.com/AncientLyre
Instagram:
instagram.com/mlevy1400bce
Patreon:
patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
