Symbols in a largely illiterate society serve the vital purpose of relaying the most important values of the culture to the people generation after generation, and so it was in ancient Egypt. The peasant farmer would not have been able to read the literature, poetry, or hymns which told the stories of his gods, kings, and history but could look at an obelisk or a relief on a temple wall and read them there through the symbols used.
The three most important symbols, often appearing in all manner of Egyptian artwork from amulets to architecture, were the ankh, the djed, and the was sceptre. These were frequently combined in inscriptions and often appear on sarcophagi together in a group or separately. In the case of each of these, the form represents the eternal value of the concept: the ankh represented life; the djed stability; the was power.
A common example of the principle where two represents four is found in the pair of was sceptres which were used to depict the pillars of the sky and which were shown standing on theta or earth hieroglyph and supporting the pet or sky hieroglyph. This group was frequently used as a framing device around the sides of temple reliefs, symbolically placing the compositions in a cosmic setting. Because these representations are only two-dimensional, however, an abbreviated view of the various elements is given.
These symbols, singly or together, adorned the items the Egyptians used regularly in their daily lives. Amulets were worn by every class of Egyptian society with the djed among the most popular followed by the scarab, the ankh, the jet, the shen, the was, and others. These other potent symbols were frequently paired, or associated, with the three most often used.
