Mingling with Pharaohs.

Mexico boasts an impressive share of the world's greatest civilizations. Now, thanks to the "reciprocity policy" that the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) has fashioned with Germany (among several other countries), museum-goers in Mexico City can study the cosmology of ancient Egypt.

The National Museum of Anthropology is currently hosting the impressive exhibition "Pharaoh: Cults of the Sun in Ancient Egypt." The display--open through June--features 152 pieces from the collections of the Egyptian Museums of Berlin and the Munich State Museum of Egyptian Art.

More than three millenniums of history--dating back 15 centuries before Christ walked the Earth--are distributed in 14 display sections within a space of roughly 1,200 square meters. The rooms include: "The Silhouettes of the Sun God," "The Birth of the Sun God," "The Protectors of the Sun God," "Scala Dei: The Pyramid," "The Sun in the Underworld," "The Monotheistic Revolution of Akhenaton" and "Ritual and Cults."

The artifacts range from sphinxes to obelisks to sculptures to jewelry. Among the monumental pieces on display are a nine-meter tall Book of the Dead, a giant head of Tutankhamen, the famous boy king (more than two meters in diameter), the cubic statue of Sesenmut (1470 B.C.) and a three-and-a-half-meter tall obelisk complete with hieroglyphics.

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Other items of interest are a one-meter tall representation of Horus (a god with a falcon head), the six-ton sarcophagus of Anch-Hor and a red granite sphinx.

Anthropologists insist that ancient Egypt cannot be understood without appreciating the cult of the sun. It was the central theme of life and has been a primary focus of anthropological study for much of the past 15 years.

In ancient Egypt, the sun signified creation and fertility. It was what gave life to everything. The Pharaoh was considered the intermediary between the Egyptian people and the sun. The priest-king commanded his subjects to make offerings, prayers and litanies so that the sun would continue on its heavenly path across the skies and protect the life of the great civilization along the Nile River.

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The show is one of the most anticipated exhibitions to come to Mexico in recent years.

Museum officials expect to receive 4 million visitors during the four-month exhibition, so be prepared to battle crowds.

As if to illustrate this, just three days after the exhibition opened, INAH authorities decided to increase the number of visitors allowed inside at any one time. The number was increased from 500 to 600. In addition, the authorities will boost the air conditioning so the greater flow of visitors--and attendant humidity - doesn't damage the pieces.

"Pharaoh: Cults of the Sun in Ancient Egypt" National Museum of Anthropology

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