The origin of the Ankh sign

The etymology of the ankh symbol is still under debate, as there is still no convincing evidence for the proposed sources. This article addresses another possible source that may have served as a representation of the ancient Egyptian ankh symbol. The ankh symbol represents “life” so one would expect the source to resemble this aspect. In ancient Egypt, main aspects related to life were the Nile, the moment of sunrise and the horizon. The Nile as the source for agriculture, the rising sun as the reborn god Horus in the aspect of Horemakhet who restores order, and the eastern horizon as the place of (re)birth. These three aspects somehow reflect the three consonants ^cnḫ that define the ankh symbol. The development of the ankh symbol occurred at a time when the king's position and identity as the more violent Horus was under pressure, a more powerful but friendlier identity was required. An identification with the sun was the obvious as it is the most powerful object in the sky. Could it be that this ankh symbol has its origin in the image of the rising sun on the horizon shining its rays on the waters of the Nile, which at the end of the First Dynasty was seen as the reborn Horus shining his life force over the Nile?