Was
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2008-07-08T19:00:54Z
SmackBot
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Date the maintenance tags or general fixes
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{{Hiero|w3s|<hiero>wAs</hiero>|align=left|era=egypt}}
[[Image:scepter was.jpg|thumb| A wooden ''was'' scepter.]]
'''''Was''''' ("power") scepters represent the Set-animal (mascot of the Egyptian god [[Sutekh]]). ''Was'' scepters were depicted as being carried by gods, pharaohs, and priests, as a symbol of power, and in later use, as a symbol of control over the force of chaos (Set). Was scepters occur often in paintings, drawings, and carvings of gods, and remnants of real Was scepters have been found constructed of faience or wood, where the head and forked tail of the Set-animal are visible.
The ''Was'' (''{{lang|egy|w[[Image:Egyptian 3 symbol.png|10px|3]]s}}'') is also the [[Egyptian hieroglyph]]ic character that stands for a word meaning ''power''.
In their [[2004]] book ''The Quick and the Dead'', [[Andrew H. Gordon]] and [[Calvin W. Schwabe]] speculated that the ''[[Ankh]], [[Djed]]'' and ''Was'' symbols were derived from various parts of a bull that were significant in ancient cattle culture, thus:
* the ''Ankh'' - symbol of life - thoracic [[vertebrae]] of a bull (seen in [[cross section (geometry)|cross section]])
* the ''Djed'' - symbol of stability - base or [[sacrum]] of a bull's spine
* the ''Was'' - symbol of power and dominion - a staff made from a dried bull's penis that was the symbol for the goddess [[Wosret]] or Wasretɛïɜ
The ''was'' has a forked top and a tripod base. One suggestion is that the staff was pushed into the ground and a line of sight set through the fork, hence the ruler of all he surveyed{{Fact|date=July 2008}}.
[[Image:Egypt.Mythology.Set.jpg|thumb|A '''Was''' staff, carried by the god Set ([[Sutekh]]), as represented in the tomb of [[Thutmose III]] ([[KV34]]).]]
{{commons|Category:Seth}}
{{commons|Category:Was sceptre}}
[[Category:Ancient Egyptian society]]
[[Category:Ancient Egyptian religion]]
[[Category:Egyptian artefact types]]
[[Category:Hieroglyphs]]
[[Category:Egyptian words and phrases]]
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[[es:Cetro uas]]
[[fr:Ouas]]