Ancient Egypt: The pharaoh - man, ruler and god
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The pharaoh - man, ruler and god
Pharaoh, pr-aA [22] - lit. great house, in the sense of palace goes back to the Old Kingdom [19]. As part of the royal titulary it came into use only in the early first millennium BCE, in monumental inscriptions possibly as late as the reign of Sheshong III.
Horus giving the Double Crown to Pharaoh The pharaohs were often referred to as nsw.t, translated as 'King', and Hm, rendered as 'Majesty'.[25] Thus the official Sia-Khufu described himself in a rockinscription in the Upperegyptian Eastern Desert as jrj-jx,t-nsw.t (custodian of the king's property)The Egyptians perceived clearly that their overlord fulfilled a number of essentially different roles. From the late Old Kingdom on the pharaoh bore five titles which reflected some of his functions:
[Horus: Mighty Bull, Ready in PlansPeople who came into contact with the king were aware of this complex presence. Sennefer, an 18th dynasty mayor of Thebes wrote of himself in his tomb: He who filled both ears of the Horus in his palace, The god
The king deputized for Horus, the divine ruler over the whole of Egypt. From the second dynasty onward he derived his power from the sungod Re who, by then, was the pre-eminent creator god. In this role he had to keep his people safe, ensure the adequate rising of the Nile, care for the continued existence of those in the beyond by bringing them offerings to feed on, i.e. he had to uphold the divine order, Maat.
Horus His majesty is Horus, assuming his (i.e. Horus's) kingdom of myriads of yearsHe was above all the carer of his people, the netjer nefer (nTr nfr), generally translated as the Good God The Good God praised me, Sekhem-kheperre-sotpenreand the Good Shepherd, a role often also played by Amen [6] He (Re Harakhte) appointed me shepherd of this land, knowing him who would herd it for himOaths were sworn by the gods, but also by the pharaoh, a sign that people relied at least as much on the temporal powers of a living king as on the distant gods to avenge perjury: Cause thou that the oath be established in the name of my majesty, born of the king's mother, Seniseneb, who is in healthDuring the Old and Middle Kingdoms once a deceased pharaoh had joined the gods in the skies, he was worshipped in temples adjoining his pyramid. The cults of some pharaohs went on for long periods, though most were forgotten soon after their death [16] and their cults discontinued. Ptolemy II had himself and his wife Arsinoe II deified some two decades into his reign and was worshiped at the shrine of Alexander the Great at Alexandria, and all his successors did likewise after acceding to the throne. But unlike most of the earlier pharaohs, they continued to play a role as guardian deities after their death.[23] Basically, during most of history the Egyptians seem to have thought of their pharaohs as touched by the divine, sons and servants of the gods rather than equals of Re or Amen: they were mediators between humans and gods. They were also the first humans to achieve eternal life after death, becoming stars in the heavens [18]. By the New Kingdom any Egyptian could hope to perpetuate the immortal constituents which were part of his being for eternity, thanks to the rituals developed in the Old Kingdom for his kings. The kingThe ruler
The king was set apart from his subjects. He was surrounded by servants and dignitaries, sat on a throne, wore the insignia of his office, the crook, the flail [7], a false beard [8], and covered his head with a variety of head dresses [9].
Akhenaten holding the symbols of pharaonic power, flail and crook The king was responsible for the welfare of his people, just as nomarchs saw themselves as the carers of the inhabitants of their nome, and heads of smaller domains looked after their dependants. I have filled the magazines, I widened the stores, giving things to the one who has not, and being friendly (?) with the rich, that people would be strong through his plans, who cultivates the wheat, beloved of the corn, master of bread. He fills every belly so that none should pass the night being hungry in his time; all the land is in joy because of his nourishment, (namely) the king of Upper and Lower Egypt Menmare, son of Re, Seti Merenptah.The king and his insignia were untouchable to ordinary mortals [12]. Petitioners and ambassadors approached him with due reverence, which during the New Kingdom meant (in the words of Yapahu of Gezer) to prostrate oneself seven times and seven times both upon the belly and back. Fulsome praise of the king could not hurt anybody and was forthcoming unsparingly, as was self-abasement. The rulers of Canaan liked to compare the pharaoh to the sun and themselves to the dust under his feet. There may also have been the need for ritual purification. The Kushite pharaoh Piye apparently thought so when he refused all rulers of Lower Egypt who had opposed him, with the exception of Namart, access to his palace, despite their having legs as the legs of women which may - according to a somewhat speculative assumption - refer to their legs having been ritually shaved, because they were unclean - whatever that entailed: as for these kings and princes of the Northland who came to behold the beauty of his majesty, their legs were as the legs of women. They entered not into the king's house, because they were unclean and eaters of fish ![[Image: official approaching pharaoh]](official_approaching_pharaoh.jpg)
Those who were in constant contact with the king must have obeyed special, abbreviated ceremonials, but little is known about this [11].
Official approaching Akhenaten I will settle firm decrees for Harakhty. SuccessionContinuity was the hallmark of ancient societies when they, like the Egyptian, succeeded in catering to the basic needs of even the lowliest of their members. Unless a catastrophe occurred nobody wanted revolutionary change which, very likely, would be for the worse. The foundation of Egyptian society, the guarantor of prosperity, was the kingship, an immortal, divinely ordained institution:The kingship is a goodly office; it has no son and it has no brother who shall make its monuments endure, yet it is the one person who ennobles the other; a man works for his predecessor, through the desire that what he has done may be embellished by another who shall come after him.On a more mundane level the kingship was passed on by inheritance from father to son [14], generally the eldest surviving son of the main wife. If a pharaoh had seized power illegally he (or she, as in the case of Hatshepsut [10]) often stressed his divine descent and showered the gods, i.e. their temples and priests, with gifts. From the Middle Kingdom onward the crown prince was sometimes made familiar with his future position by appointing him co-regent. If the right of accession to the throne of the father was in doubt [15], this conferred on the son some legitimacy and, even more importantly, a great deal of knowledge of how to wield royal might. Changes of power were not always peaceful or in accord with tradition. During the first and part of the second Intermediate Period any semblance of order disappeared, and local rulers vied with each other for supremacy. But there are indications that even during the apparently settled times of the Kingdoms, when the threat to the central authority was small, there were a few attempts against the divine ruler. Rebellions
He whom he (i.e. the king) hates will bear distress. The priestThe pharaoh was the foremost servant of the gods, and he never completely surrendered his sacerdotal role to the priests appointed to be his every-day substitutes. But the control over the temple administrations slipped from his hands. After the demise of the 20th dynasty the Amen-Re priesthood headed by a military clique was strong enough to start running the whole of Upper Egypt, and later during the periods of foreign rule the temples, despite being lavishly endowed with goods by the occupiers, were often centres of discord.The politicianWhile the pharaoh wielded great power over his people, it was not absolute, although in theory there could be no rightful opposition to the enforcer of Maat. Kings always act in political contexts, woo power groups for their support or try to neutralize the influence of their opponents. Most people can be bought with gifts of power or possessions, and pharaohs lavished favours on the social groups which could help them to achieve their political aims: the military high command, the priesthood and the scribal elite.
Be on your guard against all who are subordinate to you when there occurs something to whose terrors no thought has been given; do not approach them in your solitude, trust no brother, know no friend, make no intimates, for there is no profit in it. When you go to rest, guard your own heart, for no man has partisans on the day of trouble. I gave to the poor man, I cherished the orphan, I caused him who had nothing to attain (to wealth) like him who was wealthy, but it was he who ate my bread who raised levies; he to whom I had given my hand created terror thereby; those who wore my fine linen looked on me as a shadow; and they who smeared on my myrrh poured water under (me). The manGrowing up
Nurses like Maya [1], wet nurse to Tutankhamen, raised royal children and enjoyed a high social status. Senay [2], nurse of Amenhotep II, was the wife of the mayor of Thebes. She bore the titles of royal nurse and favourite (ta-Sps.t) [13]. Sat-re [4], whose statue shows her holding Hatshepsut as a child, was called Great Wet-nurse of the Lady of the Two Lands and was buried in the Valley of the Kings.
Ramses II Men were also involved in education. Hatshepsut's daughter Neferure was looked after by Senenmut [3], royal tutor, who was the queen's confidant and fulfilled many executive positions. The education of the future king was seemingly in the hands of a number of people. Much of it, certainly in the child's earlier years took place in the harem, but as the boy grew up, he was shown the workings of government at first hand and probably also given ever growing administrative responsibilities. He (i.e. Harakhte) advanced me to Lord of the Two Parts,When a young boy acceded to the throne a regent was appointed to run the country in his name. This was generally a close relative, mostly the mother (e.g. Neithotep for Djer, Merenith for Den, Queen Iput for her son Pepi I, and seemingly Ankhenesmerire II for Pepi II),or occasionally someone else like a step-mother (Hatshepsut for Thutmose III) or an uncle (Ay whose relatedness to the ruling family is not quite clear, apparently for Tutankhamen). Sometimes the king decided to give his son practical experience in running the country by appointing him co-ruler. But whether he was invested with real power before the death of his predecessor or not, young crown princes were aware of their destiny from an early age. Thutmose III writes about his childhood I am his (i.e. the god's) son, whom he commanded that I should sit upon his throne, while I was one dwelling in his nestSimilarly Ramses II relates in the Great Abydos Inscriptions how the great men of his country humbly submitted themselves when he was still at a tender age: The All-Lord himself made me great, while I was a child, until I reigned. He gave to me the land while I was in the egg; the great smelled the earth before me, when I was installed as eldest son, as hereditary prince upon the throne of KebChildren brought up in the company of the future king bore the title of Foster Brother (or Sister) of the Lord of the Two Lands. .... in the time of Menkaure; whom he educated among the king's children, in the palace of the king, in the privy chamber, in the royal harem; who was more honored before the king than any child; Ptahshepses.With the accession of her son to the throne his mother was given the title of mut nesu (mwt nsw) [13], King's Mother, which she wore together with her previous titles, such as Hemet nesu (Hmt nsw), King's wife, or Hemet nesu uret (Hmt nsw wrt), Great King's Wife etc. Sometimes the son would bestow upon his mother the title of Great King's Wife even if she had not held it when his father had been alive; Thutmose III's mother Isis, for instance, may not even have been a King's Wife. The family
Historical sources are either silent or conventionally formal where the relations of royal fathers and mothers to their offspring are concerned. An exception is the Amarna Period. Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti are often depicted with their daughters, caressing them and playing with them. They appear to have been doting parents. In the words of Akhenaten:
My heart rejoices in the great royal wife and her children, and old age be granted to the great royal wife, Nefer-nefru-aten Nefertiti, living forever, in these millions of years, she being in the care of Pharaoh, and old age be granted to the princess Meretaten and to the princess Meketaten, her children, they being in the care of the Queen their mother ... Most kings and queens probably treated their children like this. Tales, while they are in all likelihood mirroring the lives of the educated scribal classes, who wrote and enjoyed reading them, rather than the lives of noblemen, generally describe royal parents as loving and sympathetic to the wishes of their children. In the following passage from the Tale of Princess Ahura, the girl relates how she got married to the one she loved, her brother Naneferkaptah: We were the two children of the King Merneptah, and he loved us very much, for he had no others; and Naneferkaptah was in his palace as heir over all the land. And when we were grown, the king said to the queen, "I will marry Naneferkaptah to the daughter of a general, and Ahura to the son of another general."In Pepi I's Pyramid Texts the different attitudes and hopes mothers and fathers had (and often still have today) towards their children are given expression: "Good one" said his mother, "Heir," said his father. The fear of not having a son, who would continue one's line, inherit one's position [5] and take care of one's mortuary offerings, was universal. Some pharaohs were little favoured by popular opinion. Khufu is described in ancient stories as having scant compassion for strangers; according to a tale Herodotus relates, he did not treat his own daughter any better: Cheops moreover came, they said, to such a pitch of wickedness, that being in want of money he caused his own daughter to sit in the stews, and ordered her to obtain from those who came a certain amount of money (how much it was they did not tell me)In ancient times all parent must have lived in constant worry that their children would not survive into adulthood. Taharqa implores Amen-Re Cause my children to live; keep death away from them for my sake.In the tale of The Doomed Prince the king is warned of the fate threatening his son: Once upon a time there was a king in Egypt whose heart was heavy because that he had no son. He called upon the gods, and the gods heard, and they decreed that an heir should be born to him. The seven Hathors greeted the prince and pronounced his destiny; they said he would meet with a sudden death, either by a crocodile, or a serpent, or a dog.The king, in an attempt to protect his son, removed him from possible dangers by bringing him up in a lonely place. But, growing up, the prince chose to take upon himself the risks of human existence to lead a full life. Well-born infants were better nourished than most and therefore more likely to be able to resist disease, and better looked after and therefore less prone to being killed in accidents. Still, Merneptah had had thirteen older brothers who had died before their father did and did not accede to the throne. Pastimes
Diodorus Siculus described the life of the Ptolemaic pharaohs as highly regimented, where every move the king made was prescribed. Of course, our modern western view of life as being neatly divided into a work period set by the clock and an evening of leisure would have appeared strange to anybody living before the industrial revolution. Pharaohs did not stop being kings when they left their audience hall. Their "after-work" activities are not as well documented as their "official" deeds, but the records we have reflect the importance they attached to what happened to them, be it spending time with their close ones or pursuing their hobbies.
FriendsWhile apparently anybody who came into contact with a pharaoh boasted in his tomb inscriptions that he had been his bosom friend, sole companion or king's confidant, the monarchs themselves were much more reticent on this subject. Like all powerful men throughout the ages they must have found it difficult to make friends, as they could not accept any of their subjects as equals, or completely trust that their affection was without ulterior motives.Still, living close to other people, even 'divine' pharaohs must have become attached to them. The fifth dynasty pharaoh Neferirkare, if the inscription is to be believed, was profoundly shocked when his vizier died suddenly, and returned to his private rooms for prayers. Later he took care of his vizier's earthly remains. The New Kingdom tale King Neferkare and General Sasenet describes a relationship between Pepi I and one of his generals, which appears to have gone beyond mere friendship [20]. |
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[5] To a king the fulfillment of his duties was paramount As for any son of mine who shall maintain this border which my Majesty has made, he is my son, born to my majesty. The true son is he who champions his father, who guards the border of his begetter. But he who abandons it, who fails to fight for it, he is not my son, he was not born to me.[6] Valiant shepherd (Amen as Harakhte) who drives his flock, Their refuge, made to sustain them. Lichtheim II, p.88
[7] Fly-whisks are still used as insignia of power in East Africa, but whether that is the origin of the Egyptian royal flail, is unknown. Just as the crook is quite obviously a herder's implement, flails too may have been agricultural, perhaps a threshing flail, or a whip as the image on the right may suggest. A crook is used to guide and control, while a flail or whip drives or punishes.[8] Even Queen Hatshepsut took to wearing a false beard after her successful coup. [9] Ordinary Egyptians, apart from occasionally wearing wigs, went about bareheaded. [10] A whole mythology was invented for Hatshepsut: Utterance of Amon-Re, lord of Thebes, presider over Karnak. He made his form like the majesty of this husband, the King Okheperkere (Thutmose I). He found her as she slept in the beauty of her palace. She waked at the fragrance of the god, which she smelled in the presence of his majesty. He went to her immediately, coivit cum ea (had intercourse with her), he imposed his desire upon her, he caused that she should see him in his form of a god. When he came before her, she rejoiced at the sight of his beauty, his love passed into her limbs, which the fragrance of the god flooded; all his odors were from Punt.[11] Those close to the king seem to have had special privileges, like immediate access to their sovereign: The sealers who are in the royal house[12] This rule was probably not strictly enforced for the king's companions. But even close relationships outside the royal family were mostly ritualized: I was made one of the Ten Great Ones of Upper Egypt...[13] A few explanations concerning the transliteration and pronunciation of ancient Egyptian. [14] According to Manetho (ca. 3rd century BCE) a pharaoh named Biophis -- according to Eusebius -- or Binothris -- according to Africanus -- , apparently the second dynasty Ninetjer, made it into law that women too could accede to the throne. The rarity of female pharaohs raises doubts concerning the existence of such a law. [15] During the Middle and New Kingdoms a significant number of accessions seem to have raised legitimacy issues:  Amenemhet I appointed Senusret I as co-regent ensuring his chosen successor would be in power at the time of his, Amenemhet's, demise.Thutmose I was of non-royal descent and derived his legitimacy through his wife Ahmose, daughter of Ahmose-NefertariHatshepsut became regent for her stepson Thutmose III and assumed pharaonic titles and power. She created a birth legend justifying her assumption of power.Amenhotep III created a birth legendHoremhebRamses IV: in the Harris papyrus Ramses III invokes the gods to lend his son their support:
Crown my son as king upon the throne of Atum, establish him as mighty bull, lord l.p.h, of the two shores, king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Lord of the Two Lands: Usermare-Setepnamon...and in his Great Abydos Stela Ramses IV declares: I am a legitimate ruler, I have not usurped. I am in the place of him who has begotten me as the son of Isis. [16] The pharaohs of the fourth dynasty were not forgotten, but neither were they venerated. They became rather unpopular figures in folk tales (Cf. Tales from the Westcar Papyrus) [17] [18] The oldest records mentioning the king's immortality are the Pyramid Texts: O! you who die not because of any dead, the King will not die because of any dead, for the King is an Imperishable Star, son of the sky-goddess who dwells in the Mansion of Selket. Ra has taken this King to himself to the sky so that this King may live, just as he who enters into the west of the sky lives when he goes up in the east of the sky;The west of the sky where the sun sets was the beginning of the realm of the dead through which the deceased had to pass before he could rise again in the east, like the sun-god Re. [19] An Old Kingdom Giza tomb inscription dating to Neferirkare ends as follows: His majesty (Hm.f) had a document made thereof, written in the presence of the king (nswt) himself in the (scribes') quarter of the palace (pr-aA) in order to write down according to what was said in his grave which is in the necropolis.During the reign of Ramses I or Seti I the scribe Meh in his letter to Yey referred to the king, apparently as the embodiment of the royal administration, as Pharaoh, l.p.h. (Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae website) [20] People often mistake ancient stories for evidence. While they do reflect social mores of the times they were conceived in, they are not historical resources. [21] As such the king was the originator of all the state did, even if he personally had no knowledge of it. In the Instruction of Merikare the king expects retribution for the desecration of tombs his army committed during a campaign: A mean act was committed in my reign; the territory of Thinis was devastated. It indeed happened, but not through what I had done; I knew of it only after it was done. See, the consequences exceeded what I had done, for what is damaged is spoiled, and there is no benefit for him who restores what he (himself) has ruined, who demolishes what he has built and embellished what he has defaced; beware of it! A blow is repaid by the like of it, and all that is achieved is a hitting.[22] pr-aA - often read today as 'per-a-a', 'per-o' or the like. (Cf. a few explanations concerning the transliteration and pronunciation of ancient Egyptian). The Hebrew par'o is derived from it, as is the Greek pharao. [23] Watson E. Mills, Roger Aubrey Bullard, Mercer Dictionary of the Bible, Mercer University Press 1990, p.750 [24] Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae website => Altägyptisches Wörterbuch => Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften => Felsinschriften => Ostwüste Oberägyptens => Wadi Hammamat => Hammamat G 36 [25] Hm was also used for gods, thus in The contendings of Horus and Seth : Dd.jn Hm n StX n Hm n Hr... — Now the majesty of Seth (Hm n StX) said to the majesty of Horus (Hm n Hr)... Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae website => Altägyptisches Wörterbuch Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften => literarische Texte => 1. Erzählungen => Horus und Seth (Mittleres Reich) => pKahun VI.12 = pUC 32158+32150A+32148B It has been suggested that, rather than 'majesty' as Breasted and others translated it, Hm refers to the incarnation of the god. |
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The pharaohs also played games. Boards have been found in tombs and depictions on the walls of pharaohs indulging in a game of senet.