eastiseverywhere:

emthehistorygirl:

romologist:

dwellerinthelibrary:

hymeko:

The Obscure Egyptian God Medjed and His Bizarre Afterlife on the Japanese Internet

Source: ANN

omfg, WHAT.

emthehistorygirl ARE YOU SEEING THIS

this has confused me a great deal

From ANN:

The Book of the Dead is an ancient Egyptian text describing the passage of departed souls into the afterlife and listing the spells they must recite to proceed through Duat (the Realm of the Dead). In Spell 17, the god Medjed is mentioned: “I know the name of that Smiter among them, who belongs to the House of Osiris, who shoots with his eye, yet is unseen.” He is not referred to in any other context.

Medjed remained buried in obscurity until 2012, when the British Museum held an exhibit on ancient Egypt at the Mori Arts Center Gallery in Tokyo. Visitors were surprised by the god due to his unusual appearance and a certain similarity to the character Obake no Q-Taro (seen below).

Japanese netizens quickly found Medjed to be cute, and began creating fan art of him.

By 2013, Medjed had become a full-fledged meme, and took on a life of his own, as memes often do. His fearsome role as Osiris’s guardian (he is said to be able to fly and eats human hearts) and cute, simple appearance allow for a versatile range of depictions. He is even called “the oldestyuru-chara” (regional mascots like Funassyi and Kumamon).

??