No one knows how many mysteries the ancient Egyptian civilization has left, which has left a huge legacy and had a strong influence on world culture. From the school curriculum, everyone probably remembers the main assertion that all the power in ancient Egypt belonged exclusively to male pharaohs. But relatively recently, this postulate was found to be erroneous, and the rulers of a developed ancient state were talked about as a well-known fact.
God on earth and after death
It should be noted that all the pharaohs were considered the governors of God, they were even credited with magical properties. A special attitude to death left its imprint on the board of the main rulers of the country: a place that would take them forever was taken care of in advance. Pyramids were built, later they were abandoned and huge halls were cut down in the rocks, containing not only sarcophagi, but also utensils, jewelry, because it was believed that the pharaoh continued to lead his usual life after his death.
Tombs - not a place for sorrow
The famous Luxor burial of Ta Seth Nefer was not far from the tombs of the rulers of Egypt. Its name was translated as “valley of beauty”, which is very unusual for the cemetery on which the wives of the pharaohs rested. The Egyptians belonged to a sacred place without sorrow and sorrow, because it was believed that the dead passed into a bright and beautiful world.
Statuses of Wives
Rulers sometimes married their sisters or daughters, because women were forbidden to marry not to kings, but healthy offspring were born from concubines of the harem. During their lifetime, the supreme rulers were called gods, and the wives of the pharaohs did not always acquire such a status.
Egyptologists, who had studied the problem for a long time, found that only special priestesses from the royal family were in a special position. Nobody dared to discuss their actions, and orders were carried out implicitly. Women who embodied the god on earth performed special secret rituals in the sanctuary of the Egyptian god Amun, rubbing the golden statue with incense and dancing in front of it.
The value of growth in the Egyptians
Nefertari, as the name of the wife of Pharaoh Ramses II, was depicted on all bas-reliefs of the same height not only with her husband, but also with the goddess Hathor, who presented her with the symbol of the afterlife. These paintings, which did not lose the brightness of colors, were preserved by her magnificent tomb, located in the famous Valley of the Queens.
It was the height of the depicted person that the Egyptians attached great importance to. The real wives of the pharaohs, who did not become the embodiment of God, were always depicted by growth much less than their husbands. But Nefertari was never the ruler of Egypt, such as Cleopatra or Hatshepsut. I want to talk about the latter separately.
Hatshepsut: a history of government
Famous wives of the pharaohs of Egypt and their mothers, who did not receive the official status of rulers, but who were on the throne until the Hellenistic period. Among these seven legendary rulers was Hatshepsut, who had lost the wife of Thutmose II and gave birth to a daughter, not an heir. She becomes a stepmother and aunt for the offspring of the concubine, declaring herself regent and conducting all public affairs on behalf of the boy, but after 6 years she begins to claim power, declaring her royal origin. The title of the wife of Amon and the reverence of the whole country for a strong-willed woman help her to ascend the throne unhindered.
Hatshepsut rules the country for 20 long years, during which time she competently suppressed the riots in Nubia, which earned special respect. Having become a very significant figure in the state, she transfers the capital to Thebes (Luxor) and, during her lifetime, is engaged in the construction of her afterlife sanctuary. The magnificent tomb housed the huge stone statues of Hatshepsut in the guise of the god of death Osiris: the pharaoh's wife was depicted with a crown on her head and a false beard, the sculptural portrait of which nevertheless showed pretty features.
Revenge of Thutmose III
After her death, the son of the concubine Thutmose III, who remained the sole ruler, begins to systematically destroy all objects of worship associated with the former keeper of the throne, who never tried to overthrow him.
200 statues depicting Hatshepsut and the Sphinxes were destroyed and buried not far from the amazingly large temple. Modern archaeological expeditions, which found the remains of unique compositions, restored paintings of the greatness of the sacred place.
Black rulers
When the power of Egypt shook, it was conquered by its own colonies - Nubia and Libya. The temples include black pharaohs who needed a special status. To be on the throne by inheritance, and not after the seizure of power, they marry Egyptian aristocrats, declaring them and themselves divine incarnations.
There are known facts when the wives of the pharaohs dedicated their daughters to Amon's wife, because such a high title gave enormous power. Many black rulers, reviving the glory of Thebes, did not need a man, and they transferred the status of the goddess to the adopted daughters. Unfortunately, the legendary city was plundered by the Assyrians, and no one remembered the power of the pharaoh goddesses.
Archaeological expeditions working in Egypt have revealed to the whole world hitherto unknown facts. Each new discovery of such burials becomes a debated event in the scientific world.