A typical depiction of a pharaoh usually depicted the king wearing thenemes headdress, afalse beard, and an ornateshendyt (kilt) (afterDjoser of the Third Dynasty)
In the early dynasties, ancient Egyptian kings had as many asthree titles: theHorus, theSedge and Bee (nswt-bjtj), and the Two Ladies orNebty (nbtj) name.[6] The Golden Horus and the nomen titles were added later.[7]
In Egyptian society,religion was central to everyday life. One of the roles of the king was as an intermediary between the deities and the people. The king thus was deputised for the deities in a role that was both as civil and religious administrator. The king owned all of the land in Egypt, enacted laws, collected taxes, and served ascommander-in-chief of themilitary.[8] Religiously, the king officiated over religious ceremonies and chose the sites of new temples. The king was responsible for maintainingMaat (mꜣꜥt), or cosmic order, balance, and justice, and part of this included going to war when necessary to defend the country or attacking others when it was believed that this would contribute to Maat, such as to obtain resources.[9]
During the early days prior to the unification ofUpper and Lower Egypt, theDeshret or the "Red Crown", was a representation of the kingdom of Lower Egypt,[10] while theHedjet, the "White Crown", was worn by the kings of Upper Egypt.[11] After the unification of both kingdoms, thePschent, the combination of both the red and white crowns became the official crown of the pharaoh.[12] With time new headdresses were introduced during different dynasties such as theKhat,Nemes,Atef,Hemhem crown, andKhepresh. At times, a combination of these headdresses or crowns worn together was depicted.
Etymology
The wordpharaoh ultimately derives from theEgyptian compoundpr ꜥꜣ, */ˌpaɾuwˈʕaʀ/ "great house", written with the twobiliteral hieroglyphspr "house" andꜥꜣ "column", here meaning "great" or "high". It was the title of the royal palace and was used only in larger phrases such assmr pr-ꜥꜣ "Courtier of the High House", with specific reference to the buildings of the court or palace.[13] From theTwelfth Dynasty onward, the word appears in a wish formula "Great House, May itLive, Prosper, and be in Health", but again only with reference to the royal palace and not a person.
From theNineteenth dynasty onwardpr-ꜥꜣ on its own, was used as regularly asḥm, "Majesty".[18] The term, therefore, evolved from a word specifically referring to a building to a respectful designation for the ruler presiding in that building, particularly by the time of theTwenty-Second Dynasty andTwenty-third Dynasty.[citation needed]
The first dated appearance of the title "pharaoh" being attached to a ruler's name occurs in Year 17 ofSiamun (tenth century BCE) on a fragment from theKarnak Priestly Annals, a religious document. Here, an induction of an individual to the Amun priesthood is dated specifically to the reign of "PharaohSiamun".[19] This new practice was continued under his successor,Psusennes II, and the subsequent kings of the twenty-second dynasty. For instance, the Large Dakhla stela is specifically dated to Year 5 of king "Pharaoh Shoshenq, beloved ofAmun", whom all Egyptologists concur wasShoshenq I—the founder of theTwenty-second Dynasty—includingAlan Gardiner in his original 1933 publication of this stela.[20] Shoshenq I was the second successor of Siamun. Meanwhile, the traditional custom of referring to the sovereign as,pr-ˤ3, continued in official Egyptian narratives.[citation needed]
The title is reconstructed to have been pronounced*[parʕoʔ] in theLate Egyptian language, from which the Greek historianHerodotus derived the name of one of the Egyptian kings,Koine Greek:Φερων.[21] In theHebrew Bible, the title also occurs asHebrew:פרעה[parʕoːh];[22] from that, in theSeptuagint,Koine Greek:φαραώ,romanized: pharaō, and then inLate Latinpharaō, both-n stem nouns. TheQur'an likewise spells itArabic:فرعونfirʿawn withn (here, always referring to the one evil king in theBook of Exodus story, by contrast to the good king insurah Yusuf's story). The Arabic combines the originalayin from Egyptian along with the-n ending from Greek.
In English, the term was at first spelled "Pharao", but the translators for theKing James Bible revived "Pharaoh" with "h" from the Hebrew. Meanwhile, in Egypt,*[par-ʕoʔ] evolved intoSahidic Copticⲡⲣ̅ⲣⲟpərro and thenərro byrebracketingp- as thedefinite article "the" (from ancient Egyptianpꜣ).[23]
Other notable epithets arenswt, translated to "king";ḥm, "Majesty";jty for "monarch or sovereign";nb for "lord";[18][note 2] andḥqꜣ for "ruler".
As a central figure of the state, the pharaoh was the obligatory intermediary between the gods and humans. To the former, he ensured the proper performance of rituals in thetemples; to the latter, he guaranteed agricultural prosperity, the defense of the territory and impartial justice.
In the sanctuaries, the image of the sovereign is omnipresent through parietal scenes andstatues. In thisiconography, the pharaoh is invariably represented as the equal of the gods. In the religious speech, he is however only their humble servant, a zealous servant who makes multiple offerings. This piety expresses the hope of a just return of service. Filled with goods, the gods must favorably activate the forces of nature for a common benefit to all Egyptians. The only human being admitted to dialogue with the gods on an equal level, the Pharaoh was the supreme officiant; the first of the priests of the country. More widely, the pharaonic gesture covered all the fields of activity of the collective and ignored theseparation of powers. Also, every member of the administration acts only in the name of the royal person, by delegation of power.
From thePyramid Texts, the political actions of the sovereign were framed by a single maxim: "BringMaat and repelIsfet", that is to say, promote harmony and repel chaos. As the nurturing father of the people, the Pharaoh ensured prosperity by calling upon the gods to regulate the waters of theNile, by opening the granaries in case of famine and by guaranteeing a good distribution of arable land. Chief of the armies, the pharaoh was the brave protector of the borders. LikeRa who fights the serpentApophis, the king of Egypt repels the plunderers of the desert, fights the invading armies and defeats the internal rebels. The Pharaoh was always the sole victor; standing up and knocking out a bunch of prisoners or shooting arrows from his battlechariot. As the only legislator, the laws and decrees he promulgated were seen as inspired by divine wisdom. This legislation, kept in the archives and placed under the responsibility of thevizier, applied to all, for the common good and social agreement.
Sceptres and staves were a general symbol of authority inancient Egypt.[24] One of the earliest royal scepters was discovered in the tomb ofKhasekhemwy inAbydos.[24] Kings were also known to carry a staff, andAnedjib is shown onstone vessels carrying a so-calledmks-staff.[25] The scepter with the longest history seems to be theheqa-sceptre, sometimes described as the shepherd's crook.[26] The earliest examples of this piece of regalia dates toprehistoric Egypt. A scepter was found in a tomb at Abydos that dates toNaqada III.
Another scepter associated with the king is thewas-sceptre.[26] This is a long staff mounted with an animal head. The earliest known depictions of thewas-scepter date to theFirst Dynasty. Thewas-scepter is shown in the hands of both kings and deities.
Theflail later was closely related to theheqa-scepter (thecrook and flail), but in early representations the king was also depicted solely with the flail, as shown in a late pre-dynastic knife handle that is now in the Metropolitan museum, and on theNarmer Macehead.[27]
The Uraeus
The earliest evidence known of theUraeus—a rearing cobra—is from the reign ofDen from the first dynasty. The cobra supposedly protected the king by spitting fire at its enemies.[28]
A guardian statue wearing the red crown which reflected the facial features of the reigning king, probably Amenemhat II or Senwosret II, and which functioned as a divine guardian for theimiut. Made of cedar wood and plasterc. 1919–1885 BCE[29]
The red crown of Lower Egypt, theDeshret crown, dates back to pre-dynastic times and symbolised chief ruler. A red crown has been found on a pottery shard fromNaqada, and later,Narmer is shown wearing the red crown on both theNarmer Macehead and theNarmer Palette.
Hedjet
The white crown of Upper Egypt, theHedjet, was worn in the Predynastic Period byScorpion II, and, later, by Narmer.
Pschent
This is the combination of the Deshret and Hedjet crowns into a double crown, called thePschent crown. It is first documented in the middle of theFirst Dynasty of Egypt. The earliest depiction may date to the reign ofDjet, and is otherwise surely attested during the reign ofDen.[30]
Thekhat headdress consists of a kind of "kerchief" whose end is tied similarly to aponytail. The earliest depictions of thekhat headdress comes from the reign ofDen, but is not found again until the reign ofDjoser.
Nemes
TheNemes headdress dates from the time ofDjoser. It is the most common type of royal headgear depicted throughout Pharaonic Egypt. Any other type of crown, apart from the Khat headdress, has been commonly depicted on top of the Nemes. The statue from hisSerdab inSaqqara shows the king wearing thenemes headdress.[30]
Osiris is shown to wear theAtef crown, which is an elaborateHedjet with feathers and disks. Depictions of kings wearing the Atef crown originate from the Old Kingdom.
Hemhem
TheHemhem crown is usually depicted on top ofNemes,Pschent, orDeshret crowns. It is an ornate, tripleAtef with corkscrew sheep horns and usually two uraei. The depiction of this crown begins among New Kingdom rulers during the EarlyEighteenth Dynasty of Egypt.
Also called the blue crown, theKhepresh crown has been depicted in art since the New Kingdom. It is often depicted being worn in battle, but it was also frequently worn during ceremonies. It used to be called a war crown by many, but modern historians refrain from defining it thus.
Physical evidence
EgyptologistBob Brier has noted that despite their widespread depiction in royal portraits, no ancient Egyptian crown has ever been discovered. The tomb ofTutankhamun that was discovered largely intact, contained such royal regalia as acrook and flail, but no crown was found among his funerary equipment. Diadems have been discovered.[31] It is presumed that crowns would have been believed to have magical properties and were used in rituals. Brier's speculation is that crowns were religious or state items, so a dead king likely could not retain a crown as a personal possession. The crowns may have been passed along to the successor, much as the crowns of modern monarchies.[32]
During theEarly Dynastic Period kings had three titles. TheHorus name is the oldest and dates to the late pre-dynastic period. The Nesu Bity name was added during theFirst Dynasty. TheNebty name (Two Ladies) was first introduced toward the end of the First Dynasty.[30] The Golden falcon (bik-nbw) name is not well understood. Theprenomen andnomen were introduced later and are traditionally enclosed in acartouche.[33] By theMiddle Kingdom, the officialtitulary of the ruler consisted of five names; Horus, Nebty, Golden Horus, nomen, and prenomen[34] for some rulers, only one or two of them may be known.
Horus name
The Horus name was adopted by the king, when taking the throne. The name was written within a square frame representing the palace, named aserekh. The earliest known example of a serekh dates to the reign of kingKa, before the First Dynasty.[35] The Horus name of several early kings expresses a relationship withHorus.Aha refers to "Horus the fighter",Djer refers to "Horus the strong", etc. Later kings express ideals of kingship in their Horus names.Khasekhemwy refers to "Horus: the two powers are at peace", whileNebra refers to "Horus, Lord of the Sun".[30]
Nesu Bity name
TheNesu Bity name, also known asprenomen, was one of the new developments from the reign ofDen. The name would follow the glyphs for the "Sedge and the Bee". The title is usually translated as king of Upper and Lower Egypt. Thensw bity name may have been the birth name of the king. It was often the name by which kings were recorded in the later annals and king lists.[30]
Nebty name
The earliest example of aNebty (Two Ladies) name comes from the reign of kingAha from theFirst Dynasty. The title links the king with the goddesses of Upper and Lower Egypt,Nekhbet andWadjet.[30][33] The title is preceded by the vulture (Nekhbet) and the cobra (Wadjet) standing on a basket (the neb sign).[30]
Golden Horus
TheGolden Horus or Golden Falcon name was preceded by a falcon on a gold ornbw sign. The title may have represented the divine status of the king. The Horus associated with gold may be referring to the idea that the bodies of the deities were made of gold and thepyramids andobelisks are representations of (golden)sun-rays. The gold sign may also be a reference to Nubt, the city of Set. This would suggest that the iconography represents Horus conquering Set.[30]
Nomen and prenomen
Theprenomen andnomen were contained in a cartouche. The prenomen often followed the King of Upper and Lower Egypt (nsw bity) or Lord of the Two Lands (nebtawy) title. The prenomen often incorporated the name ofRe. The nomen often followed the title, Son of Re (sa-ra), or the title, Lord of Appearances (neb-kha).[33]
InAncient Egypt, the Pharaoh was often considered to be divine. This precept originated before 3000 BCE and the Egyptian office of divine kingship would go on to influence many other societies and kingdoms, surviving into themodern era. The Pharaoh also became a mediator between the gods and man. This institution represents an innovation over that ofSumerian city-states where, though the clan leader or king mediated between his people and the gods, did not himself represent a god on Earth. The few Sumerian exceptions to this would post-date the origins of this practice in ancient Egypt. For example, the legendary kingGilgamesh, thought to have reigned in Uruk as a contemporary of the Egyptian rulerDjoser, was cast as having had his mother as the Mesopotamian goddessNinsun alongside his father, the previous human ruler of Uruk. Another Mesopotamian example of a god-king wasNaram-Sin of Akkad. During theEarly Dynastic Period, the Pharaoh was represented as the divine incarnation ofHorus, and the unifier of Upper and Lower Egypt. By the time ofDjedefre (26th century BCE), the Pharaoh also ceased to have a father, as his mother was magically impregnated by the solar deityRa. According to Pyramid Text Utterance 571, "... the King was fashioned by his father Atum before the sky existed, before earth existed, before men existed, before the gods were born, before death existed ..." According to an inscription on the statue ofHoremheb (14th–13th centuries BCE): "he [Horemheb] already came out of his mother's bosom adorned with the prestige and the divine color ..."[39] Inscriptions regularly described the Pharaoh as the "good god" or "perfect god" (nfr ntr). By the time of theNew Kingdom, the divinity of the king was imbued as he possessed the manifestation of the godAmun-Re; this was referred to as his 'living royalka' which he received during the coronation ceremony. The divinity of Pharaoh was still held to during the period ofPersian domination of Egypt. The Persian emperorDarius the Great (522–486 BCE) was referred to as a divine being in Egyptian temple texts. Such descriptions continued and were designated toAlexander the Great after his conquest of Egypt, and later still for the rulers of thePtolemaic Kingdom that succeeded Alexander's rule.[40]
Classical Greece
Descriptions of the divinity of the Pharaoh are much more infrequent in sources fromClassical Greece. One Ptolemaic-era hymn describes the divinity of the Pharaoh, though this may reflect Greek notions of divine kingship just as much as it could reflect Egyptian ones. The historianHerodotus explicitly denies this, claiming that Egyptian priests rejected any notion of the divinity of the king. The only explicit classical Greek source which describes the divinity of Pharaoh is contained in the writings ofDiodorus Siculus in the 1st century BCE, who in turn relies onHecataeus of Abdera as his source of information. Diodorus slightly contradicts himself in a different passage where he asserts that Darius I was the first ruler of Egypt to be honored as a king.[40]
Rabbinic literature
Even after the reign of the Egyptian kings and pharaohs, the notion of Pharaoh's self-notion as a divine being survived and is described inrabbinic literature. In these sources, the Pharaoh is described as hubristically asserting his own divinity and yet, compared to the one true God, is no more than an impotent human.Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael, Shirah 8:32 names Pharaoh among those who proclaimed themselves as gods, alongsideSennacherib andNebuchadnezzar.[41][42]Genesis Rabbah 89:3 invokes Pharaoh describing himself as the god over theNile river. InExodus Rabbah 10:2, Pharaoh boasts that he is the creator and owner of the Nile. God is then said to have responded to this statement by challenging the Pharaoh over who owns the Nile, as God proceeds to create a disaster by bringing forth frogs from it that consume Egypt's agriculture. In other midrashic texts, Pharaoh asserts himself as the creator of the universe and even of himself.[43] In theTanhuma, in commentary on Ezekiel 29:9, Pharaoh is said to have proclaimed himself as lord of the universe. Pharaoh is represented as a heretical figure who presents himself as divine, and these texts then claim that his claims were exposed when he had to go to the Nile to relieve himself.[44]
^nb.f means "his lord", the monarchs were introduced with (.f) for his, (.k) for your.[18]
References
^abClayton 1995, p. 217. "Although paying lip-service to the old ideas and religion, in varying degrees, pharaonic Egypt had in effect died with the last native pharaoh, Nectanebo II in 343 BCE."
^Tyldesley, Joyce (2009).Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt. Profile Books. pp. 20–21.ISBN978-1861979018.The Ptolemies believed themselves to be a valid Egyptian dynasty, and devoted a great deal of time and money to demonstrating that they were the theological continuation of all the dynasties that had gone before. Cleopatra defined herself as an Egyptian queen, and drew on the iconography and cultural references of earlier queens to reinforce her position. Her people and her contemporaries accepted her as such.
^von Beckerath, Jürgen (1999).Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen. Verlag Philipp von Zabern. pp. 266–267.ISBN978-3422008328.
^Wells, John C. (2008),Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.), Longman,ISBN978-1405881180
^Hieratic Papyrus from Kahun and Gurob, F. LL. Griffith, 38, 17.
^Petrie, W. M. (William Matthew Flinders); Sayce, A. H. (Archibald Henry); Griffith, F. Ll (Francis Llewellyn) (1891).Illahun, Kahun and Gurob : 1889–1890. Cornell University Library. London : D. Nutt. pp. 50.
^Litwa, M. David (2016).Desiring Divinity: Self-deification in Early Jewish and Christian Mythmaking. Oxford University Press. p. 33.
^Ulmer, Rivka (2009).Egyptian Cultural Icons in Midrash. Studia Judaica. Berlin: Walter De Gruyter. pp. 74–76.ISBN978-3-11-022392-7.
^Ulmer, Rivka (2016). "Egyptian Motifs in Late Antique Mosaics and Rabbinic Texts". In Kalimi, Isaac (ed.).Bridging Between Sister Religions: Studies of Jewish and Christian Scriptures Offered in Honor of Prof. John T. Townsend. The Brill Reference Library of Judaism. Leiden: Brill. p. 208.ISBN978-90-04-32454-1.
Bibliography
Shaw, Garry J.The Pharaoh, Life at Court and on Campaign, Thames and Hudson, 2012.
SirAlan GardinerEgyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs, Third Edition, Revised. London: Oxford University Press, 1964. Excursus A, pp. 71–76.
Jan Assmann, "Der Mythos des Gottkönigs im Alten Ägypten", in Christine Schmitz und Anja Bettenworth (hg.),Menschen – Heros – Gott: Weltentwürfe und Lebensmodelle im Mythos der Vormoderne (Stuttgart, Franz Steiner Verlag, 2009), pp. 11–26.
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