| Menka | |
|---|---|
 Illustration of the fragment of the basalt relief depicting Menka | |
| Dynasty | 2nd Dynasty |
| Spouse | Uncertain,Khasekhemwy (?) |
| Menka inhieroglyphs | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mn k3 (My)Ka shall be durable Name | ||||||||||||
M33.t-Ḥr.(w) She who beholdsHorus Title | ||||||||||||
Menka was thought to be the name of anancient Egyptianqueen consort of the lateSecond Dynasty, and appears as such in a few publications. However, a review of the evidence makes it likely that a woman called Menka was never a queen.
Very little is known about the life of Menka, whose identity is known only from abasalt fragment most likely coming fromGebelein. The name "Menka" meanstheka shall be durable and the fragment with her name also includeshieroglyphs that could be read aswho seesHorus, which was the title of queens in the early dynastic age and during theOld Kingdom. The fragment also includes a depiction of her.[1][2][3]
Therelief depicts Menka as a standing woman, in a close-fitting dress, with a large, hemispherical vessel on her head and with standards lined up behind her. The hieroglyphs do not indicate who her consort was.[4] EgyptologistWolfgang Helck noticed that the scene bears considerable stylistic resemblance to an unfinished scene located on a basalt relief at the archaeological site of Gebelein, that is attributed to KingKhasekhemwy, who was the lastPharaoh of the Second Dynasty. Helck has suggested that the fragment of Menka's relief may also originate from that site.[5]
Vivienne Callender reviewed the evidence of the relief. She noted that the woman shown there bears a vessel on the head. This is typical for the depiction of an offering bearer, but no queen is ever shown in this position. The hieroglyphic inscription might not relate to the woman depicted.[6] Menka was therefore most likely a servant shown on this relief, not a queen.
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