sistrum
Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- noun A percussion instrument of ancient Egypt, Sumeria, and Rome consisting of metal rods or loops attached to a metal frame.
Examples
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A sistrum is a type of rattle that produced a clanging metallic sound.
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Coming forward between the two rows of officials, she shook in the air above her head a small temple bell called the sistrum,
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Offered to the gods, these objects were a token of renewal and strengthened the seduction of their owner, which the texts describe as “mistress of the sistrum,” “lady of the menat” and “whose pure hands hold the sistrum to charm her father Amon with her voice ….”
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But they were so attentive to us that there was no opportunity of stealing a thing until, having left Giton with them, I craftily slipped out of sight and sneaked aft where the statue of Isis stood, and despoiled it of a valuable mantle and a silver sistrum.
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The symbolical meaning of the bell, as shown in the sistrum of Isis, seems to be the movement and mixture of the elements, which is denoted by clattering noise.
Note
The word 'sistrum' comes from a Greek root meaning 'to shake'.
