Upon closer examination of how Nefertiti actually looked, the legendary image of this strong woman appears in a completely different light. And he is not at all what it is customary to draw. It is noteworthy that the restoration of her facial features is possible thanks to the modern achievements of science. Her bust was also discovered.
Form
As often happens, the beauty of Queen Nefertiti was not covered in her features. In addition, she went through many trials, ascended to power, survived both disgrace and take-off. And neither wealth, nor power, nor beauty can guarantee happiness to man. Mankind remembered her as a woman with a calm, beautiful face with a mysterious smile.
Bust
Describing what Nefertiti looked like during her life, according to her bust, people note an alien appearance. At the same time, little is known about the years of her youth. It remained forever a mystery when she was born, how much she was when she died. It is not known and under what circumstances this happened. After all, 3000 years have passed. During this time, the monumental empires of antiquity managed to disappear, lived thousands of generations. Surprisingly, the question of what Nefertiti really looked like, the reconstruction of her appearance - all this still interests people.
What was she
She was the greatest queen of her time. It is known that she had 6 daughters. Their names are also known. Her statues remained the decorations of many temples. Often she was portrayed as the winner of Egypt rivals. The peak of her power came in the 12th year of the reign of Akhenaten, the father of her children. Then Nefertiti became a co-ruler. A little later, her daughter died, and then new references to the legendary queen disappeared.
Therefore, it is believed that she either died of the plague, or ended up in disgrace. The culprit of her disgrace also lost all references to herself afterwards. It was probably revenge for Nefertiti. But there is other information. A record was discovered, created in the 16th year of Akhenaten’s reign that his great wife was the mistress of both Nefertiti lands. In other words, she remained in her status. She probably ruled two years after Akhenaten’s death.
Mummies
As for the mummy, which allows you to roughly understand how Nefertiti looked without a headdress, many myths go around. For a long time it was believed that it was discovered. But later, in the 2010s, a genetic examination confirmed that the mummy, considered Nefertiti, belonged to Akhenaten’s sister.
The fact that the inscriptions on the tomb, where Nefertiti might have been lying, were erased, may indicate that these are the consequences of the vengeance of the Queen of Vengeance. Indeed, during her reign, religious reforms took place - the god Aton was recognized as the main one. And the avengers returned the old cult. At the same time, harming the royal mummy was a real blasphemy.
When humanity in the 21st century was waiting for the results of an examination of the found mummy of a certain queen, presumably Nefertiti, at first they were not disclosed to the public for a long time. And even when it turned out that this was Akhenaten’s sister, there were still supporters that the mummy belonged to Nefertiti. She could be both a wife and a sister to Akhenaten. At that moment, she was never mentioned as the daughter of Amenhotep III. Egyptologists claimed that the mummy is one of the wives of this pharaoh.
It was revealed in the same year that this mysterious female mummy was damaged. Although it was assumed that the tomb raiders were to blame. In fact, it turned out that this happened to her during her lifetime. The wound was fatal. This queen was killed.
Finding out what Queen Nefertiti looks like, it is worth paying attention to her ancient bust discovered. It is covered with a layer of gypsum, and examinations showed that it was subjected to correction. So, wrinkles were removed from him, cheekbones were emphasized, and the shape of the nose was changed. The original version had a hump, and the tip of the nose was slightly snub-nosed. There were rumors that these traits are characteristic of the very refuted Nefertiti mummy.
Statues
Many sculptors tried to recreate how Nefertiti looked. And at the beginning of the 21st century, after 3,000 years, attempts to recreate its appearance were accompanied by scandals. For example, in 2003, Hungarian artists sculpted a nude statue, claiming that they restored the legendary appearance from the models of reliefs of this queen. But Egyptologists criticized the statue, noting that their treatment of the oldest bust is barbarism. Below is an Egyptian figurine. Presumably, this is Nefertiti's body.
And in fact, the sculptors, recreating what Nefertiti looked like, flattered her. After all, what would a woman look like who did not know physical exercises, a diet that moved on a palanquin, gave birth to 6 children? Full hips, a round belly are provided with this way of life. And remembering her elongated neck, it is probably worth adding a stoop to the image.
Nefertiti translates as "Beautiful has come." She left in the world mention of her regal beauty, which was covered in the strength of her spirit.
Modern versions
Attempts to understand how Nefertiti looked like, and scientists in recent years. So, the British scanned the mummy, which allegedly belonged to her. They noted that the resulting look is very similar to her bust.
They spent 500 hours on it. The paleo-artist Elizabeth Deines was engaged in creating the appearance. Modern technologies have made it possible to produce a digital scan of the face of a mummy, which is already more than 3000 years old. At the same time, the reconstruction of the ancient busts of the queen was used. As a result of comparisons, scientists came to the conclusion that the discovered mummy really belonged to Nefertiti.
She became the mother of Tutankhamun, who also went down in history. The resulting reconstruction of what Nefertiti looked like caused a mixed reaction from society. Many felt that she was much darker. At the same moment, the researchers put forward a theory according to which the Egyptians were in contact with the European population, which means they could have very different shades of skin.
Scientists noted that since ancient times Nefertiti was considered the most beautiful woman in the world. But her achievements were much more serious and were not in appearance. She was the ruler of Egypt at the time of his highest prosperity. But as it constantly happened in human history, its merits were hidden in the shadows for a long time.
In life
There is evidence that Nefertiti used cosmetics. She whitened her face, emphasized her facial features. So, she maintained her skin tone, taking a bath with incense several times a day - in the morning and before going to bed. The recipes for creams and masks that she used could not be deciphered.
One of the most famous sculptures of the legendary queen was discovered in 1912. She immediately made a vivid impression on the finders. She is kept in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin. In addition, the Germans discovered her bust. But Egyptian customs would not let them pass with him, and they covered the bust with plaster. After 20 years, the Egyptian authorities demanded the return of the historical find to the country, but were refused. Then they banned the excavation in Egypt.
Secrets of Nefertiti
The beautiful girl Nefertiti became the wife of Amenchaton, son of Amenhotep. She was probably his close relative, such marriages were found in Egypt of those times. This was done to maintain the purity of noble blood.
Soon Amenhaton left the richest city of antiquity - Thebes - and created a new one - Ahetaton (“Horizon of Aton”). Then he took a new name - Akhenaten. It was a confrontation with the traditional system. When Amenhotep died, his son Akhenaten completely broke with the religion of his ancestors, erasing the name of the god Amun.
After this, the famous mystery of antiquity arose. The thing is that it is not known for certain who exactly raised the revolution against the priests. Was it Akhenaten or Nefertiti? Most likely, everything was more complicated. Following Amon, Akhenaten banned all other gods known to the Egyptians of those times. So Egypt turned into the only state that created a single god a thousand years before Christianity.
The revolution has undergone radical changes and the whole society of ancient Egypt. For example, Egyptian art has completely changed. Previously, the strictest rules were always followed in the images. And it instantly broke the revolution. It seemed that the artists were just waiting for the moment when they would have the full will to do as they pleased.
Only by chance a part of those works has reached our days, and they are magnificent. Thanks to innovations, it became known how Akhenaten himself actually looked. The world also recognized the beauty of Nefertiti.
The riddle of extinction
But such a rise entailed a rapid fall. Not everyone welcomed the innovations. There were several tens of thousands of priests. But Akhenaten and Nefertiti, apparently, did not execute anyone. They just left the old nobility. Their enemies remained alive. The empire began to weaken. And soon Nefertiti left the palace. Although Akhenaten’s letters show how he adored her. And the mystery of this queen is connected with this - her name was erased everywhere. Why did she disappear? Unknown