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 G o d ’ s wi f e , g o d ’ s se rvant

Drawing on textual, iconographic and archaeological evidence, this book highlights

a historically documented (but often ignored) instance, where five single women
were elevated to a position of supreme religious authority. The women were Libyan
and Nubian royal princesses who, consecutively, held the title of God’s Wife of
Amun during the Egyptian Twenty-third to Twenty-sixth dynasties (c.754–525 bc).
At a time of weakened royal authority, rulers turned to their daughters to establish
and further their authority. Unmarried, the princess would be dispatched from her
father’s distant political and administrative capital to Thebes, where she would reign
supreme as a God’s Wife of Amun.
While her title implied a marital union between the supreme solar deity Amun
and a mortal woman, the God’s Wife was actively involved in temple ritual, where she
participated in rituals that asserted the king’s territorial authority as well as Amun’s
universal power. As the head of the Theban theocracy, the God’s Wife controlled one
of the largest economic centers in Egypt: the vast temple estate at Karnak. Economic
independence and religious authority spawned considerable political influence: a
God’s Wife became instrumental in securing the loyalty of the Theban nobility for
her father, the king.
Yet, despite the religious, economic and political authority of the God’s Wives
during this tumultuous period of Egyptian history, to date, these women have only
received cursory attention from scholars of ancient Egypt. Tracing the evolution of
the office of God’s Wife from its obscure origins in the Middle Kingdom to its demise
shortly after the Persian conquest of Egypt in 525 bc, this book places these five
women within the broader context of the politically volatile, turbulent seventh and
eighth centuries bc, and examines how the women, and the religious institution they
served, were manipulated to achieve political gain.

Mariam F. Ayad was born in Cairo and studied Egyptology at the American
University in Cairo and the University of Toronto before earning her doctorate in
Egyptology at Brown University in 2003. She is currently the Assistant Director of
the Institute of Egyptian Art & Archaeology in Memphis, Tennessee.
 g o d ’ s wi f e ,
g o d ’ s se rvant
The God’s Wife of Amun (c. 740–525 bc)

Mariam F. Ayad
 First published 2009
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2009.

To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.
© 2009 Mariam F. Ayad
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Ayad, Mariam F.
God’s wife, God’s servant: the God’s Wife of Amun (ca. 740–525 BC) /
Mariam F. Ayad.
p. cm.
“Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada” – T.p. verso.
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Amon (Egyptian deity) – Cult. 2. Mut (Egyptian deity) 3. Egypt – History
– To 332 B.C. 4. Egypt – Religious life and customs. 5. Princesses – Egypt
– History. 6. Titles of honor and nobility – Egypt – History. 7. Royal houses
– Egypt – History. 8. Egypt – History – Eighteenth dynasty, ca.
1570–1320 B.C. 9. Temple of Amon (Karnak, Egypt) 10. Egypt –
Antiquities. I. Title.
BL2450.A45A93 2009
299’.31211 – dc22 2008053560

ISBN 0-203-87586-9 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN 13: 978–0–415–41170–7 (hbk)

ISBN13: 978–0–203–87586–5 (ebk)
ISBN 10: 0–415–41170–X (hbk)
ISBN10: 0–203–87586–9 (ebk).
It has not been possible to prove … that an Egyptian meant by “god” either the Only
– without there being any other god – or the One and Highest of the gods.

Erik Hornung
Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: The One and the Many, 60
 C o ntents

List of figures ix
Preface and acknowledgments xiii
Map of Egypt and Nubia xv
Map of Luxor xvi
List of abbreviations xvii

Introduction 1

1 The historical setting 3

The God’s Wife: historical development and associated titles 3
The God’s Wife prior to the New Kingdom 4
The God’s Wife during the New Kingdom 4
The mythic conception 1: Atum and the Heliopolitan
creation myth 5
The mythic conception II: the king’s divine conception 7
Egypt at the end of the New Kingdom 8
Egypt during the Libyan period 10
The Nubians in Egypt 11
The Libyan and Nubian God’s Wives of Amun 15
Egypt under Saite rule 22
Nitocris 23
Ankhnesneferibre: the last God’s Wife of Amun 27
Amun, Mut, and the “throne names” of the God’s Wives 29

2 Rites and rituals 34

Entertaining the gods 35
Playing music: shaking the sistrum 35
The sistrum, the menat-necklace and objects sacred to
Hathor 37
Provisioning the gods: offerings to the gods 52
Wine 52
Food 55
Cool water/incense 57

vii
 CONTENTS

“A boon which the king gives” 60

Maat 61
Building houses for the gods/dedicating shrines 70
Partnering with the king 1: Symmetrically opposed scenes 75
In providing for the gods 75
Rewarded by the gods 82
Partnering with the king 2: “For god, king, and country” 87
Protecting the gods 87
Rites of protection at the cenotaph 87
“Burning fans” 90
“Rites at Kom Djeme” 94
Rejuvenating the gods 96
The elevation of the tjest-support 96
Rites of divine re-entrance 99
Other rites of “royal and divine” dominion 103
“Driving four calves” 103
“Striking chests” or the presentation of meret-chests 108
Celebrating the sed festival 110

3 Avenues to legitimacy 116

Assumption of the priesthood 116
The gradual appropriation of priestly duties 116
Saite secularism 120
The God’s Wife and initiation rites 120
Avenues to legitimacy 124
Shepenwepet I 124
Suckling scenes 125
Crowning scenes 127
Amenirdis I 129
Shepenwepet II 133
Divin marriage iconography 134
Nitocris 139
Ankhnesneferibre 140
Adoption, succession to office, and age at appointment 142
Sexuality, celibacy and the sexual role of the God’s Wife 146

Epilogue 153
The end of the God’s Wife as an institution 153
The legacy of the God’s Wives of Amun 154

Notes 156
Bibliography 183
Index 199

viii
 f igu r es
(The plate section can be found between pages 110 and 111)

Map of Egypt and Nubia xv
Map of Luxor xvi
0.1 Chapels of the God’s Wife of Amun, Karnak 2
1.1 Remains of Shepenwepet I’s funerary chapel 17
1.2 Chapel of Osiris, Ruler of Eternity 17
1.3 Chapel of Osiris, Ruler of Eternity, façade 18
1.4 Façade of the funerary chapel of Amenirdis I 20
1.5 Doorway leading to the tomb chapel of Nitocris 26
2.1 Chapel of Osiris, Ruler of Eternity, room I, eastern wall, lower
register 41
2.2 Chapel of Osiris, Ruler of Eternity, room I, eastern wall, lower
register 42
2.3 Ramses II rattling the sistrum before Amun Ka-Mutef, Karnak
Hypostyle Hall 44
2.4 King Ptolemy II shakes the sistrum before the goddess Mut,
Temple of Mut at Karnak 46
2.5 Chapel of Osiris, Ruler of Eternity, room I, eastern wall 48
2.7 Shepenwepet II offering wine to Osiris, chapel of Osiris-
Wennofer-who-is-in-the-midst-of-the-Persea-Tree, room I,
western wall 54
2.9 God’s Wife pours libations, chapel of Osiris-Wennofer-who-
is-in-the-midst-of-the-Persea-Tree, room II, eastern wall 58
2.12 Nubian king presenting Maat to Amun-Re, chapel of Osiris,
Ruler of Eternity, room I, north wall, eastern half, lower register 65
2.13 Shepenwepet II presents Maat to Aumn-Re, chapel of Osiris,
Lord of Life, room I, western wall 68
2.15 Amenirdis partners with the goddess Seshat in the rite of “Stretching
the Cord,” chapel of Osiris, Ruler of Eternity, north wall, western
half, lower register 73
2.16 Amenirdis offers an image of a temple to Amun-Re, chapel of
Osiris, Ruler of Eternity, north wall, eastern half, upper register 74
2.17 Lintel, chapel of Osiris, Lord of Life 75

ix
 L ist o f f igu r es

2.18 Chapel of Osiris-Wennofer-Neb-djefaa 79

2.22 Rites of protection at the cenotaph, Edifice of Taharqo by the
Sacred Lake, subterranean room E, east wall, lintel 87
2.24 The elevation of the tjest-support, Edifice of Taharqo by
the Sacred Lake, subterranean room E, south wall 97
2.26 Shepenwepet II drives four calves before Osiris, Re-Horakhty,
and deified Amenirdis, funerary chapel of Amenirdis, courtyard,
southern wall, eastern half, upper register 105
2.27 Hatshepsut drives four calves 105
2.28 Shepenwepet II’s celebration of the sed festival 111
3.1 Chapel of Osiris, Ruler of Eternity, room II, western wall,
lower register 117
3.3 Hatshepsut’s chapelle rouge, inner sanctuary, north wall;
Karnak Open Museum 122
3.4 Chapel of Osiris, Ruler of Eternity, façade of Libyan chapel,
door jambs, upper register 125
3.5 Counterpoise of King Taharqo’s menat-necklace 126
3.6 Chapel of Osiris, Ruler of Eternity, façade of Libyan chapel,
door jambs, lower register 128
3.7 Amenirdis receives life, chapel of Osiris, Ruler of Eternity, east wall,
lower register 131
3.10 Divine marriage: Mut embraces Amun-Re 136
3.11 Karnak Hypostyle Hall, east wall, southern half, lower register 138
3.12 Karnak Hypostyle Hall, east wall, southern half, lower register 138

Plates
2.6 Amenirdis offering wine to Amun-Re, chapel of Osiris,
Ruler of Eternity, room I, north wall, upper register
2.8 Shepenwepet II offering wine to Osiris, chapel of Osiris-
Wennofer-who-is-in-the-midst-of-the-Persea-Tree, room I,
western wall
2.10 Shepwepet II offers a hekenou-jar to Ra-Horakhy, funerary
chapel of Amenirdis at Medinet Habu, courtyard, south wall,
eastern half, lower register
2.11 Shepwepet II offers a hekenou-jar to Ra-Horakhy, Isis and
deified Amenirdis, funerary chapel of Amenirdis at Medinet
Habu, courtyard, south wall, eastern half, lower register
2.14 Ankhnesneferibre offers Maat to Amun-Re, Mut, and Khonsu, chapel of
Amasis and Nitocris, vestibule, southern wall
2.19a Chapel of Osiris-Wennofer-Neb-djefa, southern door jamb
2.19b Chapel of Osiris-Wennofer-Neb-djefa, northern door jamb
2.20a Taharqo embraced by Osiris, chapel of Osiris, Lord of
Life, southern door jamb

x
 L ist o f f igu r es

2.20b Shepenwepet embraced by Isis, chapel of Osiris, Lord of Life,

northern door jamb
2.21a Ankhnesneferibre, who receives life from Isis, chapel of
Amasis and Nitocris, room I, northern door jamb
2.21b Psametik (III) receives life from Harsiese, chapel of Amasis
and Nitocris, room I, southern door jamb
2.23 God’s Wife burning fans bearing the image of Egypt’s enemies,
Hatshepsut’s chapelle rouge, inner sanctuary, north wall;
Karnak Open Museum
2.25 Shepenwepet II, funerary chapel of Amenirdis, courtyard,
southern wall, eastern half, upper register
3.2 Hatshepsut’s chapelle rouge, inner sanctuary, north wall;
Karnak Open Museum
3.8 Amenirdis I embraced by Amun-Re, chapel of Osiris-Wennofer-
who-is-in-the-midst-of-the-Persea-Tree, eastern door jamb
3.9 Shepenwepet II embraced by Amun-Re, Chapel of Osiris-Wennofer-
who-is-in-the-midst-of-the-Persea-Tree, western door jamb

xi
 P r e face and
A ckn owledgments

A brief note on the book’s title: God’s Wife, God’s Servant. While indivduals familiar
with the Egyptian language will immediately realize that the Egyptian words for “wife”
and “servant” have the same phonetic value, hemet, this book’s title is not intended
as a pun. In fact, it is inspired by the official titles of the last God’s Wife of Amun,
Ankhnesneferibre, who had the unprecedented distinction of becoming the High
Priest of Amun (literally, “First Servant of God”), and as such, officiated on behalf of
the king in temple ritual. Ankhnesneferibre’s assumption of the High Priesthood of
Amun defied culturally prescribed gender roles. The book’s title thus closely reflects
this study’s aims as it attempts to define the role played by the God’s Wives in ancient
Egyptian temple ritual and contextualize Ankhnesneferibre’s phenomenal rise to the
High Priesthood.
This project could not have been completed without the help and support of
many individuals and institutions. Preliminary field research for this book, carried
out in 2003, was made possible through a generous post-doctoral fellowship funded
by the National Endowment for the Humanities and administered through the
American Research Center in Egypt. Special thanks go to Madame Amira Kathab
and the staff of ARCE’s Cairo office for providing logistical help in obtaining the
requisite permits to visit various sites and museums in Egypt and for their overall
support of my research. Thanks also to Dr. Raymond Johnson, Director of Chicago
House in Luxor, for his hospitality and for allowing me access to Chicago House’s
wonderful library during my numerous visits to Luxor.
Much of the manuscript was written while on sabbatical in Cambridge and I
would like to thank Mrs. Anne Lonsdale and the Fellows of New Hall College for
their hospitality and for providing me with crucial access to the wonderful library
and computer facilities available at the University of Cambridge. I would also like to
thank Dr. Richard R. Ranta, Dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts
at the University of Memphis and members of the College Graduate Council for
awarding me a much needed faculty development leave, without which I could not
have finished this manuscript in a timely manner. Special thanks to Drs Lorelei H.
Corcoran, Patricia V. Podzorski, and Nigel C. Strudwick for covering my teaching
and administrative duties while on leave.

xiii
 P r e face and ackn owledgments

Special thanks must also go to Sandra Won Sohn and Mary-Kamal Eissa for
proofreading early drafts of the manuscript and to Danielle Phelps for her help
in producing the maps used in this book, for proofreading several drafts of the
manuscript, and her overall cheerful attitude as she helped with numerous other
tasks related to this project.
Several individuals and institutions have generously allowed me to reproduce their
figures and drawings in this book. My heartfelt gratitude goes to Lyla Brock for
allowing me to use her unpublished line-drawings of the God’s Wife and to Drs
Donald B. Redford and Jerry Kadish for their permission to include those figures
in this book, which appear as Figs. 3.1, 3.4, and 3.6. I must also thank Éditions
Dévy for the permission to reproduce plates from Schwaller du Lubicz’s Temples of
Karnak, pls. 233, 234, and 430; Dr. James P. Allen, Chairman of Brown University’s
Department of Egyptology and Ancient Western Asia, for permission to reproduce
Parker et al, Edifice of Taharqo, plates 25 and 26; the Egypt Exploration Society for
permission to use Edouard Naville’s The Temple of Deir el-Bahri VI: Lower Terrace,
clxi; the Institut français d’archéologie orientale in Cairo for permission to reproduce
in part Barguet and Leclant, Karnak Nord IV, plate cvi.
Finally, my deepest appreciation goes to HG Bishop Angaelos, the spiritual leader
of Coptic community in the UK and the parishioners of St. George’s Cathedral in
Stevenage, for their friendship, support, and encouragement. Last, but not least, I
would like to thank my parents for enduring my obsession with the God’s Wives of
Amun and for nurturing my passion for all things Egyptian.

xiv
 MEDITERRANEAN SEA

Sais Tanis
Bubastis
Leontopolis
Heliopolis
Memphis

Heraklepolis

Hermopolis Amarna

Abydos Thebes

EGYPT Elephantine Aswan

First
Cataract

Second
Cataract

Third
Cataract Fourth
Cataract Fifth
Kawa Napata Cataract
Nuri
El Kurru

Meroe

0 miles 200 miles

0 km 300 km

Map of Egypt and Nubia

 THEBES

N
Deir el-Bahri

Asasif

Deir el-Medina
Ramessium

Site of the temple

of Amenhotep III
Medinet Habu
Colossi of Memnon Precinct of Monthu

Temples of
Malkta-palace of Karnak
Amenhotep II
r
ve
Ri
le

Precinct of Mut
Ni

Luxor Temple

0 miles 2 miles

0 km 3 km

Map of Luxor
 A bb r e v iati o ns

AJA American Journal of Archaeology, Baltimore

ANET Ancient Near Eastern Texts
ASAE Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte, Cairo
BdE Bibliothèque d’études, Institut français d’archéologie orientale, Cairo
BIE Bulletin de l’institut d’Égypte, Cairo
BIFAO Bulletin de l’institut français d’archéologie orientale, Cairo
BSEG Bulletin de la Sociéte d’égyptologie de Genève, Geneva
BSFE Bulletin de la Sociéte française d’égyptologie, Paris
Cd’É Chronique d’Égypte, Brussels
CG Catalogue général des antiquités égyptiennes du Musée du Caire, Cairo
CRAIBL Comptes rendus des séances de l’Academie des inscriptions et belle lettres,
Paris
DE Discussions in Egyptology
EEF Egypt Exploration Fund, London
EES Egypt Exploration Society, London
ET Études et travaux
FHN Fontes Historiae Nubiorum: Textual Sources for the History of the Middle
Nile Region between the Eighth Century bc and the Sixth Century ad. Vol
1: From the Eighth to the Mid-Fifth Century bc, eds. T. Eide, T. Hägg, R.
H. Pierce, and L. Török. Bergen: University of Bergen, Department of
Classics, 1994
GM Göttinger Miszellen, Göttingen
IFAO Institut français d’archéologie orientale, Cairo
JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society
JARCE Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt
JEA Journal of Egyptian Archaeology
JEOL Jaarbericht van het Vooraziatisch-Egyptisch Genootschap “Ex Oriente Lux”,
Leiden
JESHO Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient
JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Chicago
JSSEA Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities
LÄ Lexikon der Ägyptologie, Wiesbaden
MÄS Münchner Ägyptologische Studien, Berlin

xvii
 L ist o f abb r e v iati o ns

MDAIK Mitteilungen des Deutschen Ärchäologischen Instituts, Abteilung Kairo

MIFAO Mémoires Publiés par les membres de l’institute francais d’archéologie
orientale du Caire
MMA Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
MMAF Mémoires publiés par les members de la mission archéologique française au
Caire, Paris
OIP Oriental Institute Publications, The University of Chicago, Chicago
PÄ Probleme der Ägyptologie, Leiden
PM Porter and Moss, Topographical Bibliography
PN H. Ranke, Die ägyptischen Personennamen. 3 vols. Glückstadt: J.J.
Augustin, 1935, 1949, 1977.
Rd’É Revue d’Égyptologie, Cairo
RT Recueil de travaux rélatif à la philology et à l’archéologie égyptiennes et
assyriennes, Paris
SAK Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur, Hamburg
SAOC Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilizations, The Oriental Institute of the
University of Chicago, Chicago
WB Wörterbuch
ZÄS Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde, Leipzig, Berlin

xviii
 I nt ro ducti o n

This book revolves around a short Egyptian phrase, composed of just three
hieroglyphic signs: . The signs spell the title hemet netjer, or “God’s Wife.” The
Egyptians typically referred to a specific deity by name, only rarely using the generic,
more general word for “god”, netjer.1 This book deals specifically with five royal
women who bore the title hemet netjet en imen, or the “God’s Wife of Amun,” between
754 and 525 bc, a period when the title, and the institution, of God’s Wife reached
its zenith.
In the period spanning 754–525 bc, one Libyan, two Nubian, and two Saite
women held the title of the God’s Wife of Amun. Yet, despite their different ethnic
backgrounds, all five women shared certain common features. Each was the daughter
of a king. Almost invariably, each of the God’s Wives placed the title sat-nesou, or
“King’s daughter,” before the royal circle (“cartouche”) enclosing her name, often
using this, their most explicit link to the royal house, as their sole identifying title.
Long after the title ceased to be held by queens, each of these royal princesses assumed
queenly attire: the vulture headdress, surmounted by a rearing cobra (uraeus), or
(in the case of the Nubian God’s Wives), a double uraeus. But just like a king, a
God’s Wife assumed a prenomen, or “throne name,” upon ascension to office and
adopted feminine versions of several kingly titles. Thus, a God’s Wife could also
be a “(female) Horus,” a “Mistress of the Two Lands,” or a “Mistress of Diadems/
Appearances.” Additionally, the Libyan, Nubian, and Saite God’s Wives were often
depicted presenting Maat to the gods, who, in return were regularly shown crowning,
suckling, or protectively embracing a God’s Wife. These were all aspects of temple
ritual that had previously been the prerogative of the king only. Yet despite their
obvious importance, outside a small circle of specialized academics, these women
remain unknown. And even within academic circles, scholars who have previously
dealt with this title have tended to view the office, particularly during the Third
Intermediate and Saite periods, as a monolithic whole. In this study, I intend to show
that this view is far from accurate. Indeed, the ever-expanding repertoire of the titles
borne by the God’s Wife and her increasingly sacred iconography indicate that the
office of the God’s Wife continued to change and evolve even within the relatively
short span of this 200 year period.
Although it has long been recognized that the God’s Wives of Amun of the
Twenty-third to Twenty-sixth dynasties (c. 754–525 bc) assumed several aspects of

1
 G o d ’ s wi f e , g o d ’ s se rvant

Figure 0.1 Chapels of the God’s Wife of Amun, Karnak (Photo © M. Ayad)

the royal iconography and royal titulary, to date, a comprehensive study of the God’s
Wives of Amun is still lacking. This study attempts to define as accurately, and as
comprehensively, as possible the duties of the God’s Wife, both in the temple and
beyond. Although this book primarily focuses on the Libyan, Nubian, and Saite
God’s Wives, their titles and roles must be seen, not only within the framework of the
historical and social milieu in which they lived, but also as a product, if not a direct
extension, of the title’s Eighteenth dynasty origins.
Much of the evidence presented in this study derives from the iconographic scenes
found on the walls of a few, small, little known, and poorly preserved chapels (Figure
0.1). The chapels, which lie to the east and north of the main temple of Amun-Re at
Karnak, were constructed by the God’s Wives of Amun. Compared to the plethora of
texts and monuments documenting other individuals and other periods of Egyptian
history, the evidence for these women is scanty, rather random, and understudied. The
dearth and relatively poor state of preservation of the scenes showing these woman
is nowhere more evident than at Karnak, where, just a hundred yards away from
the chapels they erected for Osiris, lie the grand monuments of the New Kingdom
Thutmoside and Ramesside rulers.
Regardless of the quality of its preservation, this kind of pictorial evidence is
especially important when dealing with almost any aspect of the Libyan, Nubian,
and Saite dynasties, a period from which no “historic documents survive” as Redford
recently put it.2 Much reliance will be placed on the evidence provided by the
adoption decrees of the Saite princesses Nitocris and Ankhnesneferibre, and what
little historic information that may be gleaned from the textual and iconographic
evidence preserved in the tombs of their officials and the funerary and cultic chapels
they erected at Medinet Habu and Karnak.

2
 1
T he histo r ical setting

The God’s Wife: historical development and associated titles

Three hieroglyphic signs spell the Egyptian title hemet netjer , a title commonly
translated into English as “God’s Wife.” The short, straightforward phrase hides
Egyptologists’ vague understanding of the nature and role that the bearers of this
title played in temple ritual. In modern scholarship, two other titles have been used
interchangeably to refer to the women who bore this enigmatic title. These titles are
douwat netjer (often translated as “Divine Adorer,” “Divine Worshipper,” “Divine
Adoratrix,” or “Divine Adoratrice”) and djeret netjer (or, “God’s Hand”).
Placed at the beginning of each of the titles, in “honorific” transposition of the
hieroglyphic signs, is the logographic sign (Gardiner sign list # R 8), which has
the phonetic value of netjer. The sign represents a “cloth wound on a pole.”1 The
“clothing” of this staff signifies its status as a sacred object, or fetish, “charged with
(divine) power.”2 A secondary, derived interpretation of this sign is that it represented
a cult flag. Entrances to Egyptian temples (Greek: pylons) were typically decorated
with tall flagpoles.3 Considered a fetish, or “an emblem of divinity,”4 this sign may
be viewed as an attribute of divinity, placed at the entrance of temples to mark
them as places of divine residence. Whatever its origin may be, this sign became the
“commonest Egyptian hieroglyph for ‘god’.”5 The second part of the title hemet netjer
spells the word for “wife” in Egyptian. The sign on top: (Gardiner sign list #
N 41), represents a “well full of water,” but came to represent a female’s organ, or a
vagina.6
Next to the staff symbolizing “god” in the title douwat netjer, or “Divine
Adorer,” is a star (Gardiner sign list # N14).7 This sign occurs in the Egyptian words
for “morning,” “rise early,” “dawn,” and “morning star,” but also in the verbs “to
praise, worship” and “‘to adore’ (in the morning).”8 The hand in the title djeret
netjer (“God’s Hand”) is a hieroglyphic ideogram, i.e. it literally conveys the idea
of a hand, which here has the phonetic value of djeret. Each of the three titles ends
with a short, flat hieroglyphic sign: . Representing a cross-section of a rounded loaf
of bread, this sign has the phonetic value “t,” and was added at the end of Egyptian
words to render them grammatically feminine.
While the title douwat netjer, or “Divine Adorer,” clearly relates to the
God’s Wife’s role as the chief worshipper of Amun, the title djeret netjer, or

3
 G o d ’ s wi f e , g o d ’ s se rvant

“God’s Hand,” seems to emphasize her sexual role in relation to the creator god,
who, according to the Heliopolitan creation myth, used his hand to masturbate and
thus set creation in motion9. Indeed, the title djeret netjer (“God’s Hand”) seems to
emphasize its bearer’s sexual role in relation to the creator god. How such a sexual role
was enacted in temple ritual remains unknown. Although one or both of these titles
were occasionally borne by the God’s Wife, in ancient times, the three titles were not
used interchangeably, and were, for the most part, held by different women. Indeed,
during the reign of Hatshepsut, who was herself a God’s Wife of Amun, the daughter
of the high priest of Amun Hapuseneb, whose name was Seniseneb held the title of
Divine Adorer.10

The God’s Wife prior to the New Kingdom

Prior to the Eighteenth dynasty, the title of “God’s Wife” is attested only in an
abbreviated form, hemet netjer, without a reference to any particular deity. During
the Middle Kingdom, two women, both non-royal, held this abbreviated form of the
title. Their names were Iy-meret-nebes and Neferu, and it is possible that both were
priestesses.13 The absence of the name of a deity does not necessarily mean that these
women did not have a particular god in mind. Hornung remarked that, for the most
part, the Egyptians confined their interactions to a particular god of the pantheon,
who then acted more or less as a patron deity. So that when ancient Egyptians referred
to “a god,” without specifying a particular deity, it was this personal patron deity that
they had in mind.14
When a god was first mentioned as having a “wife,” it is the ithyphallic god,
Min.15 This “Wife of Min” had a name that incorporated her divine consort’s:
Wenou-Min, and had a tomb hewn in the cliffs near the Middle Egyptian town of
Akhmim. Although the exact date of the tomb’s construction cannot be precisely
known, Wenou-Min’s tomb probably dates to the same time period as similar near-
by tombs: the First Intermediate Period (c. 2181–2040 bc).16 The fact that Wenou-
Min owned her own tomb indicates that she was a woman of means. Indeed,
her other two titles link her to the king. Wenou-Min was both a “Sole Lady-in-
Waiting” (Egyptian: khekeret nesout watet literally: “the King’s sole ornament”) and a
“King’s noblewoman” (Egyptian: Shepset-nesout).17 The latter title was an archaizing
title, common in the Old Kingdom, but one that did not survive into the Middle
Kingdom.18 Both titles, but especially the former, place her securely within the ranks
of the Egyptian “Aristocracy.”19

The God’s Wife during the New Kingdom

The earliest known association of a God’s Wife with Amun occurs at the beginning of
the New Kingdom, when the fuller, more complete form of this title hemet netjer en
imen, or “God’s Wife of Amun,” appears on the Donation Stela of Ahmose-Nefertari.20
Although the name of Queen Ahhotep, Ahmose-Nefertari’s mother, occurs next to the
title of God’s Wife of Amun, the title was probably given to Ahhotep posthumously.21
Shortly after expelling the Hyksos from Egypt, Ahmose (c. 1552–1527 bc) conferred

4
 T he histo r ical setting

The mythic conception 1: Atum and the Heliopolitan creation myth

Ennead
Atum

Shu = Tefnut
(Air, Male) (Moisture, Female)

Geb = Nut
(Earth, Male) (Sky, Female)

Osiris = Isis Nephthys = Seth

Horus

The Ancient Egyptians constructed several myths to account for the genesis of their
world. It seems that each major cultic center developed its own account of creation.
Sometimes, these myths converged. But when they did not, the multiplicity of
approaches did not seem to bother the Egyptians. It is almost impossible to know
whether these myths were propagated, and held in belief, simultaneously or in
succession. But we know that some developed before others.
Known by its Greek name of Heliopolis, the ancient city of Iounou produced one
of the oldest and most enduring Egyptian accounts of creation. According to the
Heliopolitan creation myth, the creator god Atum, whose name means “the Complete
One,” “the Undifferentiated One,” “Lord of all,” or “the All,” having no partner and
existing all alone, set creation in motion by masturbating.11 From his issuance came
the first divine pair: Shu and Tefnut, the personifications of “air” (male) and “moisture”
(female), respectively. In turn, this divine pair coupled and gave birth to Geb, the
male personification of earth, and Tefnut, the female personification of the sky. Four
children were produced from the union of Earth and Sky: two brothers (Osiris and
Seth) and two sisters (Isis and Nephthys). Two brother-sister marriages ensued.
Horus, “King of the Living,” was born to Osiris and Isis, while the union of Seth and
Nephthys remained childless. The group of nine gods preceding Horus became
known as the “Ennead” (Chart above). Venerated as primeval gods, the Ennead,
in a sense, formed a sort of a royal genealogy.12 The king was the living image, the
incarnation, of Horus on earth.

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 G o d ’ s wi f e , g o d ’ s se rvant

the title of God’s Wife on Ahmose-Nefertari, his half sister and Chief Royal Wife.
The Hyksos, a group of semi-nomadic western Asiatic herdsmen, had occupied part
of the Egyptian Delta during the Second Intermediate Period (c. 1720–c. 1550 bc).
The Donation Stela records Ahmose’s decision to appoint his wife to two prominent
religious positions: Ahmose-Nefertari was to become a Second Priest attached to
the priesthood of Amun, as well as a God’s Wife of Amun.22 In creating the office
of God’s Wife of Amun, Ahmose took an obscure Middle Kingdom title and gave
it national importance. Bolstering the cult of Amun served to establish his control
over his newly unified country. Investing loyal members of his immediate family with
power could only secure his own position. Ahmose’s decree was monumentalized on
a stela and publicly displayed near the third pylon at the temple of Amun at Karnak.
The stela, whose three fragments were recovered over a period of twenty years, also
recorded the establishment of a generously endowed estate of the God’s Wife. Besty
Bryan pointed out that the language of this decree was not particularly ecclesiastical,
but contained distinct economic and administrative details, including the price
paid by Ahmose to purchase the priesthood for his wife. The decree established
the perpetual rights of the God’s Wife and her successors to this newly-endowed
estate, and specifically stated that the God’s Wife’s right to the estate’s income was
“independent of any kings who should arise in future generations.”23 From the time
of Ahmose-Nefertari onward, the title, and office, of God’s Wife of Amun became
closely connected with the Egyptian ruling house. With Ahmose-Nefertari, the title
of God’s Wife became a royal prerogative held exclusively by a king’s Chief Wife,
or a king’s daughter. Ahmose-Nefertari, Hatshepsut, and her daughter Neferure, all
frequently used the title of God’s Wife as their sole identifying title, which probably
indicates that it was their favorite title.24
In the latter half of the Eighteenth dynasty, however, and for much of the rest of
the New Kingdom, the title of God’s Wife occurred only sporadically. This relative
obscurity of the title has caused speculation that the title, once used to bolster
Hatshepsut’s claim to the Egyptian throne, was intentionally given less prominence
as a reaction to her rule.25 Indeed, linking the stela’s condition (“broken in three
sections”), to the place of its discovery, (“placed as fill” within the Third Pylon),
suggested to Bryan a somewhat intentional demolition of this monument by
Thutmosis III and his successors – possibly as part of a larger state-sponsored attempt
to overhaul the conditions set forth in the Donation Stela. Certainly, hiding this
decree from public view signaled an official reversal of its stipulations – particularly
as these stipulations pertained to the God’s Wife’s right to, freely and independently,
control the wealth of the second priesthood and her own estate.26
Remarkably, though, in the Nineteenth dynasty, Tausret, widow of Seti II, who
ruled on her own as a queen regnant (c. 1209–1200 bc) after her husband’s death,
was also a God’s Wife.27 But it is the fact that the Chief Royal wives of the first three
rulers of the Nineteenth dynasty were God’s Wives that gives us an impression of the
political importance attached to the title of God’s Wife even at the beginning of the
Nineteenth dynasty. In appointing their Chief Wives – Sat-re, Tuya, and Nefertari-
Merymut – Ramses I, Seti I, and Ramses II were merely following the precedent set
by Ahmose, founder of the Eighteenth dynasty and the New Kingdom.

6
 T he histo r ical setting

The mythic conception II: the king’s divine conception

The association of the title hemet netjer en imen with royal women, in particular with
the king’s Chief Wife, gave rise to the theory that this title reflected the idea of a marital
union that took place between the supreme god Amun-Re and a mortal woman.28
Along with receiving the milk of goddesses, a union between the king’s mother and
the supreme deity imbued the future king with his divine nature. It was precisely this
divine nature that enabled an Egyptian king to serve as a mediator between mankind
and the gods. This sacral function made the king irreplaceable and consequently
provided him with the mythological and ideological underpinnings of his power.29
Temple scenes representing the king’s divine conception and birth are known from
the reigns of Queen Hatshepsut (c. 1479/73–1458/57 bc) and Amenhotep III (c. 1390–
1352 bc). The former comes from the second terrace of Hatshepsut’s funerary temple
at Deir el-Bahri, while the latter is found in one of the side chambers at the back of
Amenhotep III’s temple at Luxor.30 Both cycles show Amun sitting on a platform bed
with the queen mother. But while Hatshepsut’s relief cycle was “almost completely
[erased] under Akhenaton,” Amenhotep’s copy was not as severely damaged.31
Amenhotep III’s birth cycle, engraved on the walls of the so-called Birth Room, depict
queen Mutemwia sitting next to Amun. She is fully dressed in a tight sheath dress, a
vulture-headdress, and a double-feathered crown (Figure 1.1). Her knees obscured
from view by Amun’s, the queen receives life from the god, who places the key of
life (an ankh-sign) at her nose. Amun, wearing a long kilt, an upper body garment, a
pectoral, and his customary double-feathered crown, holds the queen’s hand. The
couple’s feet are supported by the goddesses Selket and Neith, both depicted as
slender women sitting on another bed placed under the divine couple. Each goddess
is identified through the emblematic symbol placed vertically on her head: Selket,
the scorpion and Neith, the shield. The texts accompanying this scene narrate how
Amun, hearing of the queen’s surpassing beauty decided to take on the guise of her
husband, the ruling king, in order to visit her at night. Inevitably, though, the queen
recognizes Amun by virtue of the aroma of incense emanating from his divine body.32
Typically, the king’s birth cycle would be narrated retroactively, i.e. after a king
had already attained the throne. Represented most conservatively, the imagery of this
union was never intended to convey an account of what actually took place between
the queen and her nocturnal visitor. Rather, the imagery was used to propagate the
king’s right to rule by emphasizing his divine pedigree. Although earlier references to
the king’s divine parentage are alluded to in literary texts, for example in the prophetic
account of the birth of three Fifth Dynasty kings,33 Hatshepsut’s cycle of scenes is
the earliest known pictorial record of this narrative.34 Hatshepsut’s emphasis on her
divine parentage, including her account of how both her earthly and divine fathers
chose her to rule, probably stemmed from her need to solidify her claim to the
Egyptian throne. “The motif of divine appointment [and birth] effectively negated

7
 G o d ’ s wi f e , g o d ’ s se rvant

the issue of usurpation.”35 Likewise, Amenhotep III’s birth cycle, an almost verbatim
copy of Hatshepsut’s, was a part of an overall program designed to emphasize his
“embodiment of creative divinity”36 in a process that aimed to declare Amenhotep III’s
deification during his own lifetime.37
Scholars who would link the title of “God’s Wife of Amun” to this imagery
seem to ignore the fact that neither in the birth cycle of Hatshepsut nor in that of
Amenhotep III, does the queen mother bear the title God’s Wife of Amun – despite
the explicit representation of Amun-Re’s visit and the inclusion of birth scenes in
both cycles.38 They choose, instead, to derive support for this connection from the
iconography of the Donation Stela of Ahmose-Nefertari, where Ahmose-Nefertari is
depicted standing behind the figure of her son, who is represented there as a child.
On that stela, Ahmose-Nefertari also bears the epithet “she who says all things and
they are done for her,” a title thought to have been borne exclusively by the royal
mothers of the Old Kingdom.39 Moreover, the idea that the title God’s Wife is linked to
the king’s divine conception does not adequately explain the occurrence of this title
in association with kings’ daughters.

Egypt at the end of the New Kingdom

The last few reigns of the New Kingdom’s Twentieth Dynasty witnessed much
corruption, economic instability and political turmoil. It was during the long
reign of Ramses IX (c. 1127–1108 bc), for instance, that tomb robbers violated
the great tombs of earlier kings. Although the culprits were caught and tried, the
investigation revealed extensive corruption and neglect “extending to the very top
of the administration.”40 Matters did not improve much under Ramses X (c. 1108–
1104 bc), whose reign witnessed the strike of the workmen and artisans responsible
for excavating and decorating the royal tombs. Papyri from the workmen’s
settlement at Deir el-Medina reveal that delays in delivering the workmen’s rations
caused much resentment and discontent. To demand back pay, the workmen went
on strike. Likewise, the king’s influence and the power of his senior administrators
– especially the vizier, his second in command – became increasingly weaker.
Effective power shifted to the South, where the Viceroy of Kush (Nubia’s main
administrator) and the High Priest of Amun at Karnak acquired progressively
expanding powers. The expanding influence of the holders of these two positions is
best seen in the mode of transmission of their offices. Under earlier, more powerful
kings, the Viceroy of Kush and the High Priest of Amun were both royal appointees.
But by the end of the New Kingdom, both positions had become hereditary, their
holders dispensing of them as they would personal property.
It was inevitable that such powerful and ambitious individuals would eventually
vie for more power. During the reign of Ramses XI (c. 1104–1075 bc), a military
conflict (read: civil war) erupted between the High Priest Amenhotep and the Viceroy

8
 T he histo r ical setting

of Kush Panehsy, who now controlled a sizeable portion of Egypt’s military forces.
Although Panehsy was initially successful, extending his forces into Middle Egypt, the
conflict ended in his withdrawal to Nubia around 1087 bc, where shortly afterwards,
he died. With Panehsy’s death, the office of Viceroy of Kush became part of the
responsibilities assumed by the High Priest of Amun at Thebes: Herihor. Combining
his newly acquired military powers with his earlier religious responsibilities, Herihor
became the de facto ruler of Upper Egypt. During Ramses XI’s eleventh regnal year,
Herihor inaugurated a new “Renaissance” era, which Herihor now used to date newly
constructed or decorated monuments. (The Egyptian term “wehem mesout” used in
the dates, literally translates as “repetition of births.”) In addition to discarding the
king’s regnal years when dating new monuments, Herihor had monuments inscribed
with his own titles instead of the king’s. These titles, as seen on the walls of the temple
of Khonsu at Karnak, included not only his regular priestly titles but also the royal
title of “King of Upper and Lower Egypt.”41 In doing so, he outright challenged
the authority of the last Ramesside ruler Ramses XI, who had already abdicated all
effective power not only in the South, but also in Lower Egypt. It was a high official
by the name of Smendes and his wife who greeted Herihor’s emissary Wenamun
at the Royal residence at Tanis. Wenamun had been dispatched from Thebes to
purchase Lebanese cedar wood for the sacred barque of Amun and it was Smendes,
not the king, who supplied him with the necessary documents for safe passage to the
Levant.42
It was during the turbulent reigns marking the end of the New Kingdom that a
much weakened king turned to his daughter to help consolidate his power at Thebes.
Isis (also known by her Egyptian name Aset), daughter of Ramses VI, was dispatched
from her father’s residence in the Egyptian Delta to Thebes, where she became a
God’s Wife of Amun. Surviving into the reign of Ramses IX, Isis held office for at
least 25 years.43 Isis features prominently in the history of the God’s Wives as she
seems to have been the earliest known single God’s Wife of Amun.44 Prior to Isis’
appointment, the office of the God’s Wife of Amun was primarily held by the king’s
chief queen. Her immediate predecessor was another Isis, the wife of Ramses III.45
And just as her namesake, Isis, the wife of Ramses III combined the titles God’s Wife
and Divine Worshipper, so did this daughter of Ramses VI. Furthermore, Isis was
the only attested God’s Wife since Ahmose-Nefertari to hold the title in its complete
form: hemet netjer en Amen.46 Recently, Luc Gosselin suggested that the appointment
of Isis as God’s Wife did not curb the influence of the Amun priesthood. Instead,
he suggested that using an oracle to confirm her appointment was a concession of
royal power that may be viewed as an acknowledgement of the “triumph of the High
Priesthood of Amun.”47
With Ramses XI’s death, Egypt’s Twentieth Dynasty came to an end, and with its
end Egypt’s New Kingdom gave way to a period known as the Third Intermediate
Period. Kingship seems to have passed rather peacefully to Smendes (1075–1044 bc),
who had been the effective ruler in Lower Egypt, even prior to Ramses XI’s death.
Of obscure origins, Smendes probably married into the royal family to further his
political ambitions. His reign marked the beginning not only of the Twenty-first
Dynasty, but it also ushered in a new era of increasing instability and fragmentation.

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 G o d ’ s wi f e , g o d ’ s se rvant

The scanty evidence of the early Third Intermediate Period coupled with the
random chances of survival of what little evidence we do possess hinder our ability to
formulate sweeping theories regarding the transmission of the title of “God’s Wife,”
or the associated titles of “God’s Hand” and “Divine Adorer” during this turbulent
period. While other women may have held one or all three titles, only three women
are known to have held the title of douwat netjer, or “Divine Adorer,” during the
early part of the Third Intermediate Period: Maatkare (I) Mutemhat, daughter of
King Psusennes I of the Twenty-first dynasty and his wife Henuttawy; Henuttawy,48
a daughter of the High Priest of Amun Pinudjem II and his wife Isetemkheb, also of
the Twenty-first dynasty; and Karomama Merytmut of the Twenty-second dynasty.49
Of these, only Maatkare (I) Mutemhat combined the two titles douwat netjer and
hemet netjer en imen.50 It thus seems that just as in the Eighteenth dynasty, different
women held the titles hemet netjer, “God’s Wife” and douwat netjer, “Divine Adorer,”
so also was the case in the early part of the Third Intermediate Period.
Whether taking on the title of God’s Wife or identifying herself as a Divine
Worshipper, Maatkare Mutemhat enclosed her name in the royal cartouche.51
Uniquely, Karomama of the Twenty-second dynasty bore the title “Divine
Worshipper of Amenope” (Egyptian: douwat netjer en Amen <en> ipet).52 Sometimes
also known as Amun of Luxor, Amenope was an ithyphallic form of the god Amun.
Karomama appears to have been the earliest known God’s Wife to place feminine
versions of the distinctly royal titles “Son of Re” and “Lord of Appearances/Diadems”
before her cartouche-enclosed name, becoming a “Daughter of Re” and a “Mistress
of Diadems.”53

Egypt during the Libyan period

By the beginning of the Twenty-third dynasty, the stability that had characterized
earlier periods of Egyptian history was long gone. The most characteristic aspect of
this period is the total disintegration of central authority. Egypt was now divided
into rivaling fiefdoms, with several competing dynasts ruling at the same time, each
claiming royal authority. While each ruler claimed complete overlordship over all of
Egypt, in reality, their influence may have extended only a few miles beyond their
residence. Extensive inter-marriage between the various competing ruling houses and
the rather limited pool of names shared among these rival dynasts, their spouses, and
their offspring, further complicates the picture. Three names in particular were almost
universally borne by the male members of the rival families: Osorkon, Sheshonq,
and Takeloth. Likewise, their queens and princesses shared an almost equally limited
number of names. This particular aspect makes the history of this period very difficult
to write. The general trend of the period seems to be toward increasing fragmentation
such that by the time of the Nubian invasion of Egypt in 730 bc, multiple dynasts
ruled at Tanis, Leontopolis, Bubastis and Sais.54 Along with several other “lesser”55
chiefs, these dynasts rivaled for control over the Egyptian Delta. Anthony Leahy
suggested that this set-up did not particularly bother the Libyan rulers themselves
who preferred to rule alongside one another in “a loose confederation reinforced
by family alliances.”56 Indeed, as Robert Ritner recently pointed out, the “natural

10
 T he histo r ical setting

tendency of such tribal units [was] to fragment.”57 In this chaotic time, two cities
emerged as particularly important: Tanis and Leontopolis, while the peripheral city
of Sais controlled more than a third of the Delta, extending west to the Libyan border
and north to the shores of the Mediterranean. In Middle Egypt, Hermopolis and
Heracleopolis each had their own king. Such was the situation when the Nubians
started their northward march.

The Nubians in Egypt

Although the de-centralization of power under the Libyan rulers may be attributed
to their feudalistic culture, it clearly represented a break from the Egyptian norm.
The Nubian invaders of Egypt definitely thought so. Accordingly, they portrayed
themselves as restorers of order (Egyptian: Maat). What exactly prompted the
northward expansion of the Napatan kingdom remains a mystery. Similarly unknown
(and unknowable) is the early history of the Napatan kingdom itself.58 The Napatan
Kingdom’s rise to power may have started as early as the late tenth or early ninth
century bc. Nubia’s geographic location and its role as an intermediary in the trade
of exotic goods and gold undoubtedly contributed to the rise of a complex state in
Napata, and evidence from early grave goods at el-Kurru suggests “intense contacts
with Thebes”59 even at this early stage. Evidence from the cemetery of el-Kurru
further suggests that the kingdom of Kush may have arisen five to six generations
prior to the rule of Kashta,60 the first Napatan ruler whose name is attested in Egypt.
On the Egyptian side of the border the evidence is equally scanty. After the tenure of
Panehsy, a royal representative of the Egyptian King in Nubia (whose more traditional
title was Viceroy of Kush), Nubia appears to have remained without a Viceroy for the
duration of the Libyan Period.61 Then appears one Pamiu, whose name means “The
Tom Cat,” and is consequently suggestive of his Delta origin, where the cat goddess
Bastet was especially venerated in the city of Bubastis, a city named after her in the
central Delta. In addition to his responsibilities south of the border, Pamiu kept busy
at home, holding the titles of Priest of Amun, Scribe of the Temple in the Domains
of Amun, Accounts Scribe, and Overseer of the City and Vizier. As Viceroy of Kush,
Pamiu’s tenure in office was probably sometime between 775 and 750 bc.62 The extent
of Pamiu’s authority over Nubia has been questioned recently, with scholars arguing
that it was limited to the oversight of Lower Nubian temples.63
It is around this time that a Napatan ruler by the name of Alara (c. 780–760 bc)
appears on the scene. “Alara is the first member of the dynasty of the kings of Kush
whose name is preserved to us. He is first mentioned in the text of the funerary stela
of queen Tabiry, who was his daughter by Kasaqa, and wife of Piye.” 64 There, his name
is enclosed in the royal cartouche. Elsewhere though he is given the title of wer, or
“tribal chief.”65 This title, coupled with the fact that Alara’s name occurs in Egypt only
on monuments belonging to his descendants, suggest that he never claimed kingship
of Egypt.66 Moreover, as Russmann pointed out, Alara’s titles seem contrived, giving
the impression that they were “partial (or pseudo-)Egyptian royal titles.”67
Alara’s successor was Kashta (c. 760–747 bc), who in all probability was also his
brother. Kashta was apparently able to spread his influence over all of Lower Nubia

11
 G o d ’ s wi f e , g o d ’ s se rvant

The 25th Dynasty genealogy

Kasaqa = Alara Kashta = Pebatma

(770–760 bc) (760–747 bc)

Tabiry = Piye GW AMENIRDIS I Shabaqo

(747–716 bc) (716–702 bc)

Shebitqo Taharqo GW SHEPENUPET II HPA, Haramakhet

(702–690 bc) (690–664 bc)

Tanwetamani GW AMENIRDIS II HPA, Harkhebi

(664–656 bc)

and down to Egypt’s southern border at Aswan, where a stela bearing his name
was recovered. Found by Maspero just outside the granite portal of Alexander II at
the temple of Khnum on the Island of Elephantine at Aswan, the stela is currently
housed at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (JE 41013).68 It gives Kashta’s titles as: the
“King of Upper and Lower Egypt Maat-Re,” the “Son of Re, the Lord of the Two
Lands, Kashta.”69 But it remains questionable whether Kashta actually extended his
influence as far north as the Theban region. 70 Elsewhere in Egypt, Kashta’s name, like
Alara’s, appears only in the filiation of his descendants.
Sometime around 747 bc, Kashta’s son Piye (or Piankhy) was crowned in Napata.
There, “he declared himself … ruler of Egypt and absolute overlord of all kings, chiefs
and princes in his kingdom.”71 Piye’s Egyptian policy was more aggressive than his
father’s, and in his fourth year (c. 744 bc), he marched his army into Thebes. His visit
appears to have been peaceful with the primary purpose of attending the Opet festival
and presenting Amun-Re with many gifts.72 Piye’s visit may have been motivated by
political reasons as well as religious ones though.73 By paying homage to Amun, Piye
undoubtedly strengthened his ties with the Theban elite and promoted his image as
a religious traditionalist. Remarkably, no Theban pontiff appears to greet Piye on this
occasion, or some 15 years later (728 or 730 bc), when Piye launched his second
military campaign.74 It is possible that Piye was able to cash in on relationships that
were established (or developed) during his first visit. The narrative preserved on
his victory stela suggests that the success of his second campaign was largely due
to the support and loyalty of the Theban community.75 Once more, Piye timed his
campaign so that he could participate in the religious festivities taking place at the
time. After celebrating the Opet and Beautiful Valley festivals, Piye joined his army in
its northward pursuit of the Egyptian/Libyan dynasts, or “rebels,” as Piye called them
on his great triumphal stela, where we read:

I shall sail north myself, that I may overthrow what he has done, that I may cause
him to leave off fighting forever. After the ceremonies of the New Year have been

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performed, I shall offer to my father Amun on his beautiful festival, when he

makes his beautiful appearance of the New Year that he may send me in peace
to see Amun in the beautiful festival of the Feast of Opet. I shall cause him to
appear in his sacred image (on his way) to Harem-of-the-South (Luxor) in his
beautiful festival of the “Feast of Opet by Night” and on the festival “abiding-in-
Dominion (Thebes),” which Re made for him on the first occasion. I shall cause
him to go in procession to his house resting on his throne on the day of “Making
the God Enter,” in the third month of the season of Inundation, day 2.76

Piye’s Great Triumphal stela details how his army put Memphis under siege. Soon
after Memphis fell into his grip, the rest of the Delta submitted. Eventually the Saite
ruler Tefnakht, whose southern expansion may have triggered Piye’s campaign in the
first place, was captured and, reportedly, murdered.77 The new epithets Piye acquired
in Memphis (“Son of Bastet, beloved of Amun” and “Son of Isis, beloved of Amun”)
were clearly designed for propagandist purposes, and boldly declared his dominion
over Lower Egypt.78 Without making any provisions for a governor, viceroy, or deputy
to hold the reins in his absence, Piye returned to Nubia shortly after his victory and
remained there until his death in c. 716 bc.79
Possibly because Piye never appointed a deputy governor, the Saites, this time led
by Tefnakht’s son, Bakenrenef, revolted again. Sometime between 715 and 712 bc,
Shabaqo (c. 716–702 bc), who had just ascended to his brother’s throne, had to re-
conquer Egypt.80 Once more, this invasion, which took place in Shabaqo’s second
regnal year, did not eliminate the Nubians’ Delta rivals, who seem to have survived
under “Kushite overlordship.”81 Manetho, an Egyptian priest-turned-historian
who lived in the third century bc, reports that after his capture, Bakenrenef was
burned alive.82 Manetho’s vivid account of the Nubian victory, however, remains
unsubstantiated. In fact, the only contemporaneous account of Shabaqo’s victory
survives on a scarab.83 The scarab records that Shabaqo

has slain those who rebelled against him in the South and the North, and in every
foreign country. The Sand-dwellers who rebelled against him and fallen down
through fear of him, that come of themselves as prisoners. Each one has seized
his fellow among them, because he (the king) has performed the benefaction for
<his> father (Amun), so greatly does he love him.84

Like his predecessor before him, Shabaqo may have been able to depend on
Theban support to achieve his victory. Shabaqo moved his residence to Memphis,
possibly to quench the expansionist efforts of the Delta rulers, especially of the Saite,
Bakenrenef.85
Because Shabaqo was the first Nubian ruler to reside in Egypt, he is sometimes
considered the true founder of the Egyptian Twenty-fifth dynasty. Shabaqo followed
an Egypto-centric policy and set the stage for his successors to pursue a similar
policy.86 It was under Shabaqo that Nubian “administrative control, royal regalia,
iconography, and artistic style were formulated …”87 Evidence of his active building
program in Egypt is attested from as far north as the Delta cities of Bubastis and

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Athribis, all the way south to the Upper Egyptian cities of Esna and Edfu. Shabaqo
also expanded or renovated temples at Memphis, Dendera, and at Thebes, where his
activity is attested at the temples of Karnak, Luxor and Medinet Habu. Shabaqo’s
active building program all over Egypt may be viewed as a sign of his desire to be
acknowledged as ruler of all the land.88 Shabaqo also secured Egypt’s eastern border
in the Sinai peninsula, and attempted to put the dangerous western Delta under
a governor: a policy which was later revoked under his successors Shebitqo and
Taharqo.89 Shabaqo’s extensive building activity in Egypt contrasts sharply with his
near neglect of Nubia, where he erected very few monuments. The scarce monuments
he left in Kush suggest that “his principal aim was the consolidation of his dynasty in
the Egyptian half of the double kingdom.”90
It was during Shabaqo’s reign that the high priesthood of Amun-Re was
resurrected. Haremakhet, son of Shabaqo became the first High Priest of Amun
to hold office at Karnak in some 40 or 50 years.91 Haremakhet’s appointment is
sometimes interpreted as an attempt on Shabaqo’s part to gain legitimacy in Egypt.92
This appointment may be better understood, however, as part of Shabaqo’s multi-
faceted program to resurrect, or assume, older Egyptian traditions. Just as moving
his residence to Memphis signaled his desire to be viewed as an Egyptian king, so
could his appointment of a High Priest be considered an attempt to assert himself
as a restorer of all things Egyptian. Shabaqo’s Egypto-centric policy seems to have
worked. It is Shabaqo who appears as the first king of the Twenty-fifth dynasty in
Manetho’s account of Egyptian history.93
Shabaqo was succeeded by his nephew Shebitqo, the son of Piye. Shebitqo’s
brief reign (c. 702–690 bc) is attested from a few remains found in Thebes and at
Memphis where he resided.94 He seems to have been more involved with foreign
policy, intervening in Syro-Palestine against the Assyrians.95
In due course, Shebitqo was succeeded by his “field-director” Taharqo (690–
664 bc), another son of Piye’s. In a grand ceremony held at the city of Memphis,
Taharqo was crowned King of Egypt.96 Two stelae erected at the temple of Amun in
Kawa (Temple T) commemorate the events surrounding Taharqo’s ascension to the
throne. Interestingly, a stela recording an exceptionally high flood level tells of his
mother’s journey north to attend the coronation at Memphis:

Now my mother was in Bow-Land (Nubia); namely the king’s sister, sweet of
love, the king’s mother, Abar, may she live. Moreover, I had departed from her as
a recruit of twenty years when I came with his majesty to North-land. Then she
came sailing north to see me after a period of years. She found me appearing on
the Throne of Horus, after I had received the diadems of Re, and was wearing
the uraei on my head, all the gods being the protection of my body. She was
exceedingly joyful after seeing the beauty of His Majesty (just) as Isis saw her son
Horus appearing on the throne of his father Osiris after he had been a youth in
the nest of Khemmis.97

This stela probably records events related to Taharqo’s coronation. Only such a
momentous event would merit the arduous journey north.98

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 T he histo r ical setting

That the first decade and a half of Taharqo’s reign was a period of prosperity is
clear from the vast building activity undertaken during this period, both in Egypt
and Nubia.99 In Egypt, Taharqo constructed four gateways at Karnak’s four cardinal
points, of which only remnants of the one he constructed in the First Court survive.100
Taharqo’s building activity was not limited to the Theban area, but extended from
Philae in the south to the Delta in the north.101 In addition, he erected temples in
his homeland: at Sanam, Gebel Barkal, and Kawa. In Nubia, his monuments were
of a scale unknown since the New Kingdom, turning Napata into a “monumental
complex of sanctuaries.”102 Furthermore, there is evidence that some of the work
done in Nubia was carried out by craftsmen who were brought there all the way from
Memphis.103
Taharqo is also known for his opposition to the Assyrians. He was the reigning
king in Egypt when Esarhaddon’s armies reached Memphis in 671 bc. While Taharqo
seems to have survived this invasion, a second invasion drove him all the way back
to Nubia.
In 664 bc, Taharqo was succeeded by Tanwetamani.104 Soon after his coronation
in Nubia, Tanwetamani went to Thebes, and from there marched northward to
Memphis. For a brief while, he was able to defeat the Saites having eliminated their
leader, Necho, an Assyrian vassal. The Assyrians, however, soon retaliated and in
663/64 bc re-invaded Egypt, captured Memphis, and installed Psametik I, a Delta
ruler and a descendant of Tefnakht, as King of Egypt. That Tanwetamani’s reign
started in the year 664 bc is supported by Serapeum Stela no.192, in which Psametik I
“counted his regnal years in direct continuation of those of Taharqo.”105 The two
kings thus seem to have ruled concurrently.106 Psametik I marshaled his troops south,
bringing Middle Egypt under his control. Subsequently, Tanwetamani fled to Nubia,
where he continued to rule for an unknown period of time. The evidence suggests that
Tanwetamani was still recognized in Upper Egypt until 656 bc, when Nitocris, the
daughter of Psametik I, was appointed a God’s Wife of Amun.107 His name survives
on a small chapel dedicated to Osiris-Ptah in South Karnak.108 With Tanwetamani’s
flight to Nubia, Kushite rule in Egypt came to an end.

The Libyan and Nubian God’s Wives of Amun

On the eve of the Nubian invasion of Egypt, one of the most prominent individuals at
Thebes was the God’s Wife of Amun, Shepenwepet I. Shepenwepet was the daughter
of Osorkon III (c. 777–749 bc), the penultimate ruler of the Twenty-third dynasty.109
After a long hiatus, she was now the incumbent God’s Wife of Amun. While other
women of the Third Intermediate Period bore the title of Divine Worshiper, none
seems to have held the title of God’s Wife since the time of Isis, daughter of Ramses
VI. While Isis’s appointment may have marked the initial politicization of the office
of God’s Wife, it was not until the Twenty-third dynasty that the full political
potential of the office was realized. Like her Ramesside predecessor, Shepenwepet I
seems to have been a single woman.110 There is no record of anyone claiming to be
her husband. Likewise, the archaeological and textual records make no mention of
any children that may be attributed to her.

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 G o d ’ s wi f e , g o d ’ s se rvant

Shepenwepet’s genealogy is mentioned on the southern part of the east wall in

room II in the chapel of Osiris, Ruler of Eternity. There, she is identified as “the
Mistress of the Two Lands, Khnemetibimen, the Mistress of Diadems, Shepenwepet,
King’s Daughter of the Lord of the Two Lands, the Lord of Ritual, the Son of Re,
the Lord of Diadems, Osorkon (III), son of Isis, whose mother is the Chief Royal
Wife Karoatjet.”111 Karoatjet is the only woman named as Shepenwepet’s mother
in this inscription – and there is little reason to doubt that she was her biological
mother.112 In other words, no “adoptive mother” appears in that inscription. In fact,
when Shepenwepet I was appointed as a God’s Wife, there was no incumbent to
“adopt” her.
Shepenwepet I was probably installed by her brother Takeloth III, shortly after his
accession to the Egyptian throne as his father’s co-regent (c. 754–734 bc).113 But because
no record of her installation survives, it is not quite clear whether it was her father’s
or brother’s decision to appoint her as God’s Wife. Either way, her appointment was
probably timed to fill the gap caused by the elevation of Takeloth III to the Egyptian
throne. Takeloth III, who had been a High Priest of Amun, probably relinquished
his priestly duties upon ascension to the throne. Another individual was needed to
fulfill the High Priest’s ritualistic duties. In the aftermath of civil war, appointing a
male member of the dynasty to the priesthood could potentially undermine the king’s
authority. Reviving a distinguished priestly title and bestowing it on the king’s daughter/
sister was less threatening. With no offspring of her own, she could not engender a rival
dynasty; thus her loyalty to the reigning king was further ensured.
Shepenwepet’s elevated status found expression in the location chosen for her
funerary chapel: within the temple enclosure of the mortuary temple of Ramses III
at Medinet Habu (Figure 1.1).114 Shepenwepet’s mud-brick chapel anticipated later
use of the space by the God’s Wives of the Nubian and Saite dynasties. Although
destroyed in antiquity,115 hers was the earliest of four funerary chapels that once stood
in a row, their façades facing the small Eighteenth dynasty temple of Amun djeser-set
constructed by Hatshepust (c. 1473–1458 bc) and Thutmosis III (c. 1479–1425 bc).
But nowhere is Shepenwepet’s status more visibly declared than in the reliefs surviving
on the walls of a small chapel in East Karnak (Figure 1.2). The chapel, which was
dedicated to Osiris, Ruler of Eternity, features several members of the Twenty-third
dynasty: King Osorkon III, his son and co-regent, Takeloth III, and Shepenwepet,
who despite the presence of her brother and father, is represented as the main cultic
officiant in that monument116 (see Chapter 2).
The Nubians were quick to recognize the political potential of the office of God’s
Wife, and immediately took advantage of this institution to establish their authority
over Thebes. Before they had completed their invasion of Egypt, a Nubian woman,
Amenirdis I, was appointed as a God’s Wife.117 Amenirdis I was the daughter of
Kashta and his wife Pebatma, and the sister of kings Piye and Shabaqo (see chart on
p. 12).118 Upon assuming office, Amenirdis acquired a new “throne,” or official name,
Khaneferoumout, which translates as “May the Perfection/Beauty of Mut appear.”119
Extant evidence suggests that both Amenirdis’ mother and her sister accompanied
her from Napata to Thebes, which may indicate that she was a mere child when she
was appointed God’s Wife of Amun.120

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 T he histo r ical setting

Figure 1.1 Remains of Shepenwepet I’s funerary chapel (Photo © M. Ayad)

Figure 1.2 Chapel of Osiris, Ruler of Eternity (Photo © M. Ayad)

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 G o d ’ s wi f e , g o d ’ s se rvant

Figure 1.3 Chapel of Osiris, Ruler of Eternity, façade (after Schwaller Du Lubicz, Temples of
Karnak, pl. 233)

That Amenirdis survived into the reign of Shebitqo (702–690 bc) is clear from
representations preserved on the walls of the chapel of Osiris, Ruler-of-Eternity in East
Karnak (Figures 1.2 and 1.3). Shebitqo, whose Horus name, Djed-khaou (lit. “Stable
of appearances”), is still clearly visible on the façade of this chapel, was responsible
for the addition of a third, outer, room to the earlier, bi-partite Twenty-third dynasty
structure.121 The room, whose proportions were wider than those of the earlier chapel,
was added to the north of the original structure and incorporated the façade of the
earlier chapel as its southern wall. On the eastern half of the newly-constructed Nubian
façade, Shebitqo receives symbols of the sed festival from Amun (Figure 1.3). Next
to Shebitqo’s gigantic representation is a series of four small vignettes, one atop the
other, showing the God’s Wife Amenirdis I standing before various deities.122 The
inscriptions accompanying these vignettes give Amenirdis’ names and titles, where after
the cartouche containing her name is the epithet ankh.ti “alive.” Likewise, Amenirdis
“who is alive” dominates the decorative scheme of the room added by the Nubians.

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 T he histo r ical setting

Amenirdis seems to have been the first known woman to combine the three titles:
“God’s Wife,” “Divine Adorer,” and “God’s Hand.”123 Although the three epithets
are now commonly associated with the office of God’s Wife of Amun, and are used
interchangeably in scholarship, in the late New Kingdom and early Third Intermediate
Period, different women held the titles “God’s Wife,” and “Divine Adorer.” In adding
the title “God’s Hand” to her predecessors’ more customary titles, Amenirdis I “may
have intentionally evoked a direct connection with Ahmose-Nefertari, the first God’s
Wife of Amun and the first to use the title … [ “God’s Hand”].”124 Indeed two
inscribed statues of Ahmose-Nefertari were recovered from the chapel of Osiris Heqa-
Djet at Karnak, a chapel in which Amenirdis I is extensively represented. Amenirdis
also adopted a variant of Ahmose-Nefertari’s epithet: “The one who speaks and
everything is done for her because of the greatness of his love for her.”125
Sometime during her long tenure, Amenirdis I adopted Shepenwepet II, daughter
of Piye and Shebitqo’s sister as her successor. As a God’s Wife, Shepenwepet took on
the official, or throne, name of Henutneferoumout-iretre, which may be translated as
“Mistress of Perfection/Beauty is Mut, the Eye of Re.”126 Along with King Taharqo,
Shepenwepet erected a small chapel in North Karnak. The chapel was dedicated
to Osiris in his special function as “Lord of Life, Answerer of the Afflicted.”127
Shepenwepet II was also solely responsible for the construction of several chapels
in East and North Karnak. To the west of the chapel of Osiris, Ruler of Eternity,
she dedicated a chapel to Osiris: this time in his incarnation as “Osiris-Onnophris,
who-is-in-the-midst-of-the-Persea-Tree.”128 In North Karnak, Shepenwepet built a
chapel whose reliefs partially record Shepenwepet celebrating certain aspects of the
sed festival.129
Significantly, Shepenwepet II made the decision to demolish a funerary chapel that
Amenirdis had originally erected at Medinet Habu. The chapel had been constructed
of unfired mud-brick and resembled the adjacent earlier chapel of Shepenwepet I
in plan and construction. Shepenwepet II replaced Amenirdis’s mud-brick funerary
chapel with a stone chapel (Figure 1.4).130 Shepenwepet II monumentalized her
decision in an inscription that runs along the doorway leading into Amenirdis’s
newly constructed stone cella (inner chapel). It declares that Shepenwepet “built this
monument for eternity for her mother.”131 The date of construction of Amenirdis’s
chapel may thus be assigned the latter part of Shebitqo’s reign (702–690 bc), or more
probably, the early years of Taharqo’s reign (690–664 bc)..132
The new design chosen by Shepenwepet II differed completely from the earlier
architectural plan. In fact, the architectural design Shepenwepet chose for her adoptive
mother’s chapel was quite unique, and unprecedented in Egyptian temple or funerary
architecture.133 A narrow doorway in its single-towered pylon-façade leads to a columned
court. Currently, only the bases of the four columns that once stood in the court are
preserved. In antiquity, the columns supported a roof that covered a colonnade that
ran along the two sides of the court, but left the middle aisle open. The rectangular
court is wider than it is deep. Doorways in its east and west walls led to the adjacent
chapels of Shepenwepet I and II, respectively. A third door in the court’s south wall
leads to the cult chapel of Amenirdis I, also known as a cella.134 In fact, the south wall
of the court forms the façade of Amenirdis’s cult chapel. A single chamber constitutes

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 G o d ’ s wi f e , g o d ’ s se rvant

Figure 1.4 Façade of the funerary chapel of Amenirdis I (Photo © M. Ayad)

the shrine that covers the tomb of Amenirdis I. This shrine is independently roofed
with a stone barrel vault and is about 3 m. deep and 2 m. wide.135 This chamber is set
within a larger roofed building. The resulting corridor created in the space between
the two structures is quite narrow and is about 4 m. high. The corridor surrounds
Amenirdis’s cella. The burial chamber of Amenirdis I lies underneath her cult chamber;
and although Hölscher indicated that this crypt was accessible in 1954, currently it
is not.136 Both crypt and cella are (exceptionally) devoid of inscriptions, “[i]nstead,
scenes and texts from Amenirdis’s funerary service are found on the wall of the corridor
surrounding the cella.”137 The exterior wall surfaces of the cella form the inner walls of
the passage. These are engraved with offering lists and cult representations, while the
outer walls of the passage depict scenes from the funerary cult of Amenirdis. Forty-
five scenes from the Opening of the Mouth ritual are engraved on the upper register
of these outer walls while the lower register includes excerpts from the Pyramid Texts
and two sun hymns.138 The choice of which texts to include in her mother’s chapel
undoubtedly fell to Shepenwepet and her scribal staff. These texts thus probably also
reflect Shepenwepet II’s religious beliefs. The texts preserved on the walls of this chapel
are especially significant in light of the dearth of evidence documenting the funerary
beliefs of the Nubian God’s Wives.
Without easily identifiable prototypes, the funerary chapel of Amenirdis I
constitutes a pivotal, albeit intriguing, link in the development of Egyptian mortuary
and cultic architecture. Essentially, Shepenwepet, or her architect(s), combined older
architectural elements in new and innovative ways. For instance, Shepenwepet II

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took an ancient architectural form, the so-called “Tent Shrine,” which was already
in use in the Third dynasty temple-complex of King Djoser at Saqqara, and placed
it within another, but larger, tent shrine.139 The corridor created around the inner
shrine later became a standard feature of Greco-Roman temple architecture, but it
appears for the first time in the chapel of Amenirdis I. Similarly, the use of stone
masonry in constructing the chapel forms a break from earlier Third Intermediate
Period practice.140 In addition, the vault in Amenirdis’s cella, while small, is possibly
the earliest example of “a true [stone] vault in the Late Period.”141
That Shepenwepet II decided to demolish Amenirdis I’s mud-brick funerary
chapel and erect another in stone further manifests the extent of resources available
to the God’s Wife under the Nubians.142 Shepenwepet II was also responsible for a
considerable amount of construction in the Theban area. Next to her predecessor’s
funerary chapel, Shepenwepet II started to erect a funerary chapel of her own. Her
chapel seemed to copy the architectural design of Amenirdis: two tent shrines, set one
inside the other. However, at some point, the plan of Shepenwepet II’s chapel was
altered to accommodate two extra side chapels (or cellae). These additions belonged
to the Saite God’s Wife of Amun, Nitocris and her biological mother Mehetnusekhet.
These later additions replaced the corridor created between the two independently
roofed shrines that would have surrounded Shepenwepet II’s cella.143
Forty years after her own adoption, Shepenwepet II adopted Amenirdis II, daughter
of Taharqo, as her “heiress apparent.”144 The evidence concerning Amenirdis II is quite
scanty. Her name is hardly attested on any Theban monuments, appearing only next
to her adoptive mother’s on blocks recovered from the ramp in front of the Monthu
temple in North Karnak.145 It is not clear what became of Amenirdis II once the
Saites controlled Thebes. She may have been bypassed in favor of Nitocris, daughter
of Psametik I, when the latter was “adopted” into office in c. 656 bc. Subsequently,
Amenirdis II may have had to return to her ancestral home with the retreating
Nubian armies.146 It should be noted though that the Nubian royal cemeteries at
Kawa and el-Kurru have not yielded any direct evidence of Amenirdis II, nor for that
matter her adoptive mother Shepenwepet II nor of Amenirdis I.147 Similarly, none
of the sarcophagi belonging to the Nubian God’s Wives has been recovered.148 The
absence of evidence has not prevented theories concerning the fate of Amenirdis II
from emerging. Habachi reconstructed the partially preserved name of the wife of
the Vizier Mentuhotep as Amenirdis, suggesting that Amenirdis II married this vizier
after she was ousted from her position as presumptive God’s Wife of Amun.149 This
suggestion, however, was debunked by Morkot, who suggested that only a king, not
“a mere vizier” would be a proper match for a prospective God’s Wife.150 Because
Amenirdis II’s name occurs on very few monuments, Leclant concluded that she never
attained the status of a God’s Wife.151 More recently, Aidan Dodson suggested that
while Amenirdis II never actually attained the position of God’s Wife, she may have
retained her status as a “God’s Hand” even under Nitocris I. According to Dodson,
Amenirdis II would have acquired this title at her appointment as Shepenwepet’s
successor.152
The idea that the title “God’s Hand” may have been used for “the heiress
apparent” was strongly opposed by the German scholar Erhart Graefe who has

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Table 1.1 Dates and affiliation of the God’s Wives of Amun of theTwenty-third to Twenty-
fifth dynasties
God’s Wife Father Dynasty Approximate dates (in office)
Shepenwepet I Osorkon III XXIII (Libyan) c. 754–714 bc
Amenirdis I Kashta XXV (Nubian) c. 740–700 bc
(installed between 747–735 bc)
Shepenwepet II Pi(ankh)y XXV (Nubian) c. 710–650 bc
Nitocris Psametik I XXVI (Saite) c. 656–586 bc
Ankhnesneferibre Psametik II XXVI (Saite) c.595–525 bc

conducted extensive research on the staff associated with the God’s Wives.153
Supporting Graefe’s argument are several scenes dedicated by Amenirdis I and
Shepenwepet II. At the chapels of Osiris, Ruler of Eternity and Osiris, Lord of
Life, Amenirdis I bears the titles of God’s Wife as well as God’s Hand. In the
chapel of Osiris, Ruler of Eternity, the title “God’s Hand” occurs as part of a longer
dedicatory inscription, in which Amenirdis I announced that she had erected the
chapel “for her father, Osiris, Ruler of Eternity” (Figures 2.12, 2.15).154 The title
also occurs in the scenes inscribed on the south, north, and west walls of Room E
in the Edifice of Taharqo by the Sacred Lake in Karnak and in Hatshepsut’s chapelle
rouge (Figures 2.23, 2.24). There, the “God’s Wife, God’s Hand” engages in highly
charged cultic activities: she ignites fans bearing the image of Egypt’s enemies in the
Hatshepsut’s Red Chapel and performs various rites aimed at proclaiming divine
and royal dominion in the Edifice of Taharqo.155 Just as in the chapel of Osiris,
Ruler of Eternity, the bearer of this title is the incumbent God’s Wife, not her
“heiress apparent.” But perhaps most significantly, the title “God’s Hand” appears
in the filiation of Shepenwepet II in the chapel of Osiris, Lord of Life and on the
blocks depicting her sed-celebration (Figures 2.20b and 2.28). In both instances, the
title is borne by “Amenirdis (I), the justified.”156 Indicating her decease, Amenirdis’s
cartouche-enclosed name is followed by the epithet “maa-kherou” (literally, “True-
of-Voice”) in both instances.

Egypt under Saite rule

Descended from the Twenty-fourth dynasty rulers whom Piye and later Shabaqo
encountered during their northward expansion, the Twenty-sixth dynasty rulers are
designated Saite after their city of origin: Sais, in the western delta. From the outset,
the Saite rulers were “trying desperately to shore up their position, both at home
and abroad.”157 This they achieved through a series of alliances. The dynasty did not
officially commence until Psametik I (664–610 bc), aided and supported by the
Assyrians, was crowned King of Egypt. Psametik seems to have succeeded his father
Necho as ruler of Sais.158 And just like his father, he ruled as a vassal-king, loyal to
the Assyrians. Indeed, Psametik’s alliance with the Assyrian king Assurbanipal, which
probably lasted for the duration of his (Psametik’s) reign, seems to have set the tone
for his successors who continued to form alliances both internally and abroad.

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Psametik was able to extend Egypt’s influence into the Levant – and while he may
not have resurrected the imperialistic glories of the New Kingdom, he maintained
a form of an Egyptian “commercial monopoly” over Lebanon.159 Psametik also
installed a garrison on Elephantine, an island opposite Aswan at Egypt’s southern
border at Aswan and sent military expeditions into Nubia. Much like Old Kingdom
rulers, Psametik I had to call on his district leaders (nomarchs) to gather troops for
his expeditions, both against the Nubians to the South, and also against the recurring
Libyan incursions from the West.160 Increasingly, Psametik began to rely on foreign
mercenaries, particularly Carian and Ionian troops, to shore up his power – a policy
that was faithfully followed by his successors. Although the unreliability of mercenary
soldiers became evident early on, a strong belief that their military prowess was much
superior to what was available locally, kept them employed. These foreign contingents,
however, were never integrated into the Egyptian army: Egyptian and Greek soldiers
served under different commanders.161
While initially Psametik I tolerated officials who had served under the Nubians
(such as Mentuemhat, the powerful Mayor of Thebes and Fourth Prophet of Amun),
he gradually began appointing his own “Delta men” in key positions in Upper Egypt.
For instance, one Nesaiu became mayor of two important southern cities: Edfu and
el-Kab. In Middle Egypt, shipmasters who had been politically powerful under the
Nubians were marginalized.162 But perhaps Psametik’s most significant appointment
was that of his daughter, Nitocris, as God’s Wife of Amun.

Nitocris
Assuming the official name of Nebetneferoumout, or “Mistress of Beauty/Perfection is
Mut,” Nitocris became a God’s Wife of Amun in 656 bc.163 The events surrounding

The 26th Dynasty genealogy

Necho I

Psametik I = Mehitemweskhet
(664–610 bc)

Necho II GW NITOCRIS I
(610–595 bc)

Psametik II = Takhuit
Tasheritense (595–589 bc)

Amasis Apries GW ANKHENESNEFERIBRE

(570–526 bc) (589–570 bc)

Psametik III GW NITOCRIS B

(526–525 bc)

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 G o d ’ s wi f e , g o d ’ s se rvant

her appointment were recorded on a granite slab stela and were publicly displayed in
the first court at the temple of Amun at Karnak. Known as the “Nitocris Adoption
Stela,” the decree starts off with Psametik’s initial pronouncement of his desire to
install his daughter as God’s Wife (line 2).164 Psametik’s decision was made in the
presence of Saite court officials, who indicated their pleasure with his decision by
prostrating themselves before him, giving thanks to the King of Upper and Lower
Egypt, and verbally declaring their unanimous approval of his plans (lines 5–7). The
stela records the date of his speech as the twenty-eighth day of the first month of the
Akhet season (summer) of his ninth regnal year.165 This date coincided with March
2, 656 bc.166 Apparently, either because Psametik lacked the political clout to initiate
such an appointment, or possibly because Nitocris was too young, Psametik I could
not immediately appoint his daughter to office, but had to wait nine years to bring
about this monumental shift in local power.
The text also records Nitoicris’s departure from her father’s palace in the Delta,
“clad in fine linen and adorned with new turquoise” on the twenty-eighth day of the
first month of Akhet (line 7). Sixteen days later, she arrived at Thebes on the fourteenth
day of the second month of Akhet (line 11), where she was greeted “with throngs
of men and crowds of women standing and jubilating to meet her, surrounded by
oxen, fowl, and abundant provisions, many in number” (lines 11–12).167 But more
importantly the stela details the vast estates and great quantities of daily provisions
that were granted Nitocris. Psametik was not entirely responsible for provisioning
his daughter. A large portion of her sizeable endowment came from independent
temple estates and private individuals.168 Psametik’s pragmatism and diplomacy are
most evident in his ability to induce temple personnel and private individuals alike
to endow his daughter’s position. But his diplomatic agility may also been in the
wording of the decree itself. Instead of clearly ousting Amenirdis II from office, the
text of the stela is sufficiently vague as to leave the identity of Nitocris’s “adoptive
mother” open to debate.169 Caminos suggested that it was probably Amenirdis II
who served as Nitocris’s adoptive mother.170 Caminos uses Psametik I’s assertion in
line 3, “I will not do what in fact should not be done and expel an heir from his seat
… ,” as a basis for inserting specific names into the text. Thus his translation of the
passage in question reads: “I will give her (my daughter) to her (Taharqo’s daughter)
to be her eldest daughter just as she (Taharqo’s daughter) was made over to the sister
of her father” (line 4).171 On the other hand, scholars such as Kitchen and Grimal
have suggested that both Shepenwepet II and Amenirdis II “accepted … [Nitocris]
as their successor.”172 I think that this view is probably an accurate understanding of
what transpired. It is also in agreement with the stipulations of the document.
In attempting to establish his daughter’s “legal” claim to succeed the Nubian
princesses as the new God’s Wife, Psametik had the incumbent Nubian God’s Wives
draw up an official transfer of title deed naming his daughter Nitocris as its beneficiary
(lines 15–17).173 The Nubian God’s Wives bequeathed all their property “in country
and in town” to Nitocris. Known in Egyptian as an imyt-per document (literally
meaning “that which is in the house”), this document gave its beneficiary the right
to enjoy, use, and bequeath the property named in the document.174 In other words,
it unequivocally transferred the property in question to the beneficiary. Typically, an

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 T he histo r ical setting

imyt-per was not needed for a son to inherit his father’s property, and was never used
when inheritance passed to the actual “eldest son.”175 The document was needed only
when the transaction benefited someone “other than the normal heir.”176
The appropriation of adoption phraseology in line 4 (“I will give her (my daughter)
to her … to be her eldest daughter”)177 merely reflects the need to establish Nitocris’s
new status as the heir to the incumbent God’s Wife, thereby establishing her right of
succession. The assumption of adoption phraseology was occasionally used in New
Kingdom transfer of property deeds. For instance, a husband, having no children of
his own, needed to “adopt” his wife as his child in order to ensure her right to inherit
his property. In due course, the wife who inherited her husband’s property adopted
her brother in order to leave him her inherited property legally.178 As in the case of
Nitocris, the “legal fiction of adoption” was a matter of necessity.
Further underscoring the legal nature of the Nitocris Adoption Stela is the
inclusion of dates and lists of witnesses in the document. Dates and a list of witnesses
were two integral aspects of an imyt-per and as such were always recorded in imyt-per
documents.179 Psametik’s initial pronouncement of his intention to appoint Nitocris
as a God’s Wife is witnessed by Saite courtiers. Once at Thebes, another group of
Theban officials and clerics, “prophets, priests and friends of the temple,” witnessed
the transfer of property from the Nubian God’s Wives to Nitocris.180 From an ancient
Egyptian legal perspective then, the Nitocris Adoption Stela, being an imyt-per,
unequivocally established Nitocris’s legal rights not only to her predecessor’s property,
but also to her official position.181
According to the stela, this transfer of property “was done in writing,” further
affirming the decree’s legal nature. But that was not all that Nitocris received. The
stela also records that the incumbent(s) proclaimed Nitocris as their successor, stating
that she would be “established on our throne firmly and enduringly till the end of
eternity.”182
Monumentalized on a granite slab stela and erected and publicly displayed in the
first courtyard in Karnak, the stela was visible for all to see. Public display in a temple
ensured public and divine acceptance of its contents. Significantly, Psametik chose
to resort to our equivalent of a civil contract to confer the office of the God’s Wife
on his daughter. That Psametik I would use a legal method (rather than ideological,
mythological, or religious parlance) to establish his daughter’s right to hold office at
Thebes seems to support Spalinger’s assessment of the Saite monarchy as primarily
pragmatic and secular.183 Indeed, Nitocris’s appointment is probably best understood
as part of Psametik I’s policy of forming alliances.184 In fact, it may be that this
single act achieved the unity of Egypt under Saite hegemony. Spalinger remarked
that Psametik “preferred to deal more diplomatically than militarily”185 – and it is
this tendency toward diplomacy that induced Psametik to choose a relatively peaceful
method of extending his influence over the Thebaid.
Much like her predecessors, Nitocris embarked on an active building program
in Thebes. At Karnak, she continued the tradition set by her Nubian and Libyan
predecessors, dedicating shrines to Osiris just north of the main sanctuary and within
the precinct of the temple of Monthu in North Karnak.186 Nitocris used some of the
epithets employed by the Nubians to refer to Osiris, but added her own to them. For

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 G o d ’ s wi f e , g o d ’ s se rvant

example, one of the chapels she erected within the precinct of Monthu was dedicated
to Osiris, Lord-of-Life (a Nubian epithet) to which she added Dihebsed, an epithet
that means “he-who-grants-sed-festivals.”187 She also erected a columned building in
the village of Malqata.188
Nitocris also chose to place her funerary chapel next to her predecessors’ at
Medinet Habu. But for some unknown reason, instead of erecting her own structure,
Nitocris elected to squeeze her mortuary chapel in the narrow space available between
the chapels of her Nubian predecessors (Figure 1.5).189 To provide access to her cella,
Nitocris also installed a second doorway into the pylon-façade of Shepenwepet’s
funerary chapel (Figure 1.4). When it was time to bury her own mother, Nitocris
chose to erect a similar cella for her on the other side of Shepenwepet’s cella. The
burial of Nitoricis’s mother Mehetnusekhet indicates that Nitocris was probably
accompanied to Thebes by her biological mother: an indication of her tender age
when she assumed office as God’s Wife of Amun. Nitocirs died in 586 bc, having
held office as God’s Wife for sixty years.190 She was succeeded by Ankhnesneferibre,
daughter of Psametik II.
In 610 bc, Necho II (610–595 bc) succeeded Psametik as ruler of Egypt and, like
his father before him, he continued to rely on mercenaries which led to disastrous
results. Necho II was defeated at Megiddo and had to withdraw from the Levant.
Possibly because of his repeated military defeats, Necho was vilified by his own people.
In an attempt to remedy a bad military situation, Necho turned his attention to the
Navy and developed Egypt’s maritime connections with the Greeks.191 Necho II was

Figure 1.5 Doorway leading to the tomb chapel of Nitocris (Photo © M. Ayad)

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 T he histo r ical setting

succeeded by Psametik II (595–589 bc), who continued his predecessor’s maritime

commercial activities successfully – and in 593 bc launched an attack on Nubia. The
Egyptian southern border had been secure at Aswan for the first half of the dynasty.
And it may be that this seemingly unprovoked attack was a diversion, launched for
propagandist purposes and intended to erase the effects of Necho’s repeated defeats
elsewhere.192 At any rate, several accounts of the battle, which was fought at the
third cataract in Lower Nubia, were commemorated on stelae, which were erected
at Karnak and at Aswan.193 Psametik II dispatched his daughter Ankhnesneferibre to
Thebes, where as heiress apparent, she became a “first prohet(ess) of Amun.”

Ankhnesneferibre: the last God’s Wife of Amun

Sixty years after Nitocris’s appointment in 656 bc, Ankhnesneferibre, daughter of
Psametik II, finally succeeded her as a God’s Wife of Amun in 586 bc.194 As “heiress
apparent,” Ankhnesneferibre had already acquired the title and duties of the High Priest
of Amun, thus becoming the first Egyptian woman to attain this high distinction.195
For her official, or “throne” name, Ankhnesneferibre took on Heqatneferoumout, or
“The Female Ruler of Perfection/Beauty is Mut.” Ankhnesneferibre appears opposite
King Amasis (Ahmose II) in the chapel of Osiris-Wennofer-Neb-djefa, or “Lord of
Offerings,” in North Karnak and enlarged a near-by earlier chapel constructed by
Nitocris.196 Ankhnesneferibre also enlarged the chapel of Osiris-Pededankh dedicated
by Shepenwepet II and Amenirdis II in North Karnak197 and added a pro-pylon
to the so-called “Edifice of the God’s Wife” that Shepenwepet II erected in North
Karnak. Like her adoptive mother before her, Ankhnesneferibre erected a building
in the village of Malqata. Hers was a temple dedicated to Osiris Pameres, or “Osiris,
who loves her.”198 Just as her predecessors erected funerary chapels at Medinet Habu,
so did Ankhnesneferibre, whose chapel lay closest to the pylon-façade of Ramses III’s
mortuary temple at Medinet Habu.199
Ankhnesneferibre’s tenure in office coincides with a period of intense political
instability. The reign of Apries (589–570 bc) was marked by many revolts. A stela
erected at Aswan records the defection of military personnel to Nubia. The reason?
Growing resentment over the king’s preferential treatment of the foreign contingents
of his army, particularly the Greeks.200 Possibly entertaining ambitions of westward
expansion, Apries sent troops in support of a Libyan group in its war against the
Greek Kingdom of Cyrene. The campaign, which was launched in 571 bc, was
poorly conceived and eventually failed. The Egyptian troops, who had suffered
massive losses, revolted against Apries. In the ensuing conflict, Apries relied primarily
on his Greek navy to fend off the angry Egyptians. In the midst of the resulting
conflict, an army general by the name of Ahmose (better known by the Hellenized
version of his name: Amasis) proclaimed himself king in Sais. The rapidly succeeding
events of this period possibly included an attempt on Apries’ part to seize back the
Egyptian throne, but the Egyptian troops rallied around Amasis and crowned him
King of Egypt. One of Apries’s attempts to regain the throne involved taking refuge
in the Babylonian court and persuading Nebuchadnezzar to invade Egypt in order to
re-instate him. If successful, the Babylonian court stood to gain enormous power and

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 G o d ’ s wi f e , g o d ’ s se rvant

prestige in the region. Having formed an alliance with the king of Cyrene, Amasis
was able to fend off the invading Babylonian troops. In the course of battle, Apries
was killed.201
Amasis’s long reign (570–526 bc) was characterized by considerable pragmatism
and foresight. He instituted several judicial reforms. Greek mercenaries were
relocated from their base at Pelusium, along Egypt’s eastern border, to Memphis – a
move that kept them closer to home, and consequently, more controllable. Amasis
also established long-term alliances with Cyrene, a former foe, Lydia, and Samos
and conquered Cyprus. It was during Amasis’s reign that Demotic, a highly cursive
script, became widely used in all of Egypt.202 Some time during her long tenure,
Ankhnesneferibre chose a successor: Nitocris, daughter of Amasis, who in due course,
was named High Priest of Amun. Although the exact date of her appointment cannot
be precisely determined exactly, Nitocris (B), daughter of King Amasis, seems to have
assumed office as High Priest(ess) of Amun in 569 bc or shortly thereafter.203
The Saite dynasty finally came to an end with the short-lived reign of Psametik III
(526–525 bc), which was cut short by the invading Persian troops led by Cyrus.204
That Ankhnesneferibre survived long enough to witness the Persian conquest of
Egypt in the spring of 525 bc is evident from remains at Karnak.205 Shortly after the
Persian invasion, Ankhnesneferibre died, and with her death the office of God’s Wife
disappeared, never to re-emerge. Her heiress-apparent never attained the status of
God’s Wife,206 thus making Ankhnesneferibre the last God’s Wife of Amun.
Ankhnesneferibre’s sarcophagus was recovered in 1832 from a deep shaft behind
Deir el-Medina. Currently housed at the British Museum (where it was assigned the
object number EA 32), the lid of the sarcophagus is dominated by a near life-size
figure of Ankhnesneferibre.207 Carved in raised relief, Ankhnesneferibre wears a long,
loose-fitting pleated garment. In her hands she carries a flail and a hook: shepherd’s
tools that came to signify the king’s role as leader of his people. The royal insignia
Ankhnesneferibre held in her hands may be a direct reflection of her “official” name:
Heqaneferumut or “(female) Ruler of Perfection is Mut.”
The inclusion of direct or indirect references to the goddess Mut in the names of
the God’s Wives of Amun, combined with the fact that to date no individuals have
been identified as either the husbands or biological children of the God’s Wives, led
scholars to speculate widely. Two main areas of speculation clearly emerged: (1) the
nature of the God’s Wife role in temple ritual (which was often interpreted in sexual
terms); and (2) the notion that religiously-mandated celibacy was imposed on the
God’s Wives of the Twenty-third to the Twenty-sixth dynasties. To address these two
issues adequately and assess their validity, it is necessary to examine the scenes in
which the God’s Wives appear.

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 T he histo r ical setting

Amun, Mut, and the “throne names” of the God’s Wives

In the period between 740–525 bc, the five women who held the title of the God’s
Wife of Amun all acquired “official” names upon becoming a God’s Wife of Amun.
The acquisition of a new, official, name was a customary feature of the Egyptian
rituals of accession to the throne. But outside the royal realm, this was not a common
practice. Just like a king, a God’s Wife enclosed this newly acquired official name in
the royal cartouche. And just as the king’s throne name was placed before his given
name, giving rise to the term prenomen, a God’s Wife’s newly acquired official name
was also placed before her given name. The God’s Wife’s newly acquired official
name may thus be referred to as a “prenomen.” The more politically loaded “throne
name” is intentionally avoided in this discussion. Instead, the more conservative label
“official name” will be used to refer to the God’s Wife prenomen. The official names of
the five women who became God’s Wives in the Libyan, Nubian, and Saite Dynasties
all referred directly or implicitly to the goddess Mut, Amun’s divine consort.208 Thus,
Shepenwepet I became Khenemet-ib-Amun, or the “One who is United with the
Heart of Amun,” while Amenirdis I was Khaneferumut, “May the Perfection of Mut
appear” or the “One who appears (in) the Perfection of Mut.” Shepenwepet II and
Nitocris acquired similar names: Henutneferumut and Nebetneferumut, respectively.
Both names mean “Mistress of Perfection/Beauty is Mut.” The last God’s Wife of
Amun, Ankhnesneferibre, also had a similar, but more assertive name. She was
Heqatneferumut, or “The Female Ruler of Perfection/Beauty is Mut” (see Table 1.2).
While each of these five names reflected the elevated status of the God’s Wife
and her intimate relationship with, and easy access to, the god Amun, the names
also exhibit subtle differences. Four of the names include a direct reference to the
goddess Mut, while only Shepenwepet I utilized the name of Amun in her prenomen.
Shepenwepet I’s choice of prenomen may have been influenced by her Libyan
heritage. In the chapel of Osiris, Ruler of Eternity, Shepenwepet partners with her
father Osorkon III in presenting offerings to Amun-Re, Ra-Horakhty, and Ptah. In
her choice of prenomen, she may have been influenced by her father’s devotion to
Amun. Osorkon III had chosen the prenomen “Step-en-Amun” or “Chosen one of

Table 1.2 Official, or “throne,” names of the God’s Wives of Amun, Twenty-third to
Twenty-fifth dynasty
God’s Wife Official name Translation
Shepenwepet I Khenemet-ib-Amun United with the Heart of Amum
Amenirdis I Khaneferoumout May the Perfection (Beauty) of Mut Appear
Shepenwepet II Henoutneferoumout Mistress of Perfection (Beauty) is Mut
Nitocris Nebe(t)neferoumout Mistress of Perfection (Beauty) is Mut
Ankhnesneferibre Heqatneferoumout Female Ruler of Perfection (Beauty) is Mut

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Amun” upon ascending to the Egyptian throne. He also added the epithet Mery-Amun
“Beloved of Amun” to his given name.209 Osorkon’s devotion to Amun, however, was
not unique to the Twenty-third dynasty. Names of Third Intermediate Period rulers
exhibit a distinct bias towards Amun.210 Similarly, kings of earlier periods of Egyptian
history regularly evoked the name of Amun in both their official/throne names and
given names. Much rarer in use was the verb khnem, “to be united with.” Apart
from Shepenwepet’s name, the verb occurs in five other royal names only. Four of
these names post-date the Twenty-third dynasty and could not therefore have inspired
Shepenwepet’s. Only one name predates Shepenwepet’s. Once the heart-sign is
removed from Shepenwepet’s name, a very clear precedent emerges. Shepenwepet
I’s prenomen, Khnemet-Ib-Amen clearly evokes an epithet acquired by Hatshepsut.
Acquired at some point in her twenty-year reign, the epithet Khnemet-Amun, or “United
with Amun,” was enclosed in the royal cartouche along with Hatshepsut’s given
name: var. .
The epithet khement-Amun also regularly appears next to depictions of Hatshepsut as
a king, as seen for example on the walls of the Chapelle rouge at Karnak.211 In a recent
article, Gay Robins suggested that Hatshepsut added this epithet to her “Son of Re”
name as part of her newly formulated royal titulary. Robins noted that Hatshepsut’s
four other royal names each utilized Hatshepsut’s feminine gender to incorporate the
reference to a goddess, possibly as a word play on the feminine participle.212 Robins
further argued that since Hatshepsut’s given name lacked a direct reference to a
deity, it needed this additional epithet, which served to link Hatshepsut to her divine
father Amun and further emphasized her intimate relationship with him.213 Modeling
her new name after Hatshepsut’s was a logical thing for Shepenwepet to do. After all,
Hatshepsut herself was also a God’s Wife of Amun who clearly valued her role as a
God’s Wife and often used the title of God’s Wife as her sole title.
Much like other royal personages adopting the name(s) of a predecessor or
an ancestor, Shepenwepet chose to formulate her prenomen along the same
general lines as Hatshepsut’s epithet. Rather than assuming a name that was an
identical copy of Hatshepsut’s, Shepenwepet’s use of a slightly different version of
Hatshepsut’s name was congruent with the manner in which other royals adopted the
epithets of revered historical figures. Török noted that when the rulers of the Twenty-
fifth dynasty adopted the names and epithets of Old Kingdom or Eighteenth dynasty
rulers, they invariably used a slightly different version of the earlier epithet or name.214
The resulting effect ensured that the new ruler would be recognized in his own right.
The inspiration behind these acquired names, however, is immediately noticeable
to modern scholars, and undoubtedly was also clearly visible to ancient Egyptians
as well. The transparency of this kind of copying was undoubtedly intentional and
was designed to clearly declare (at least the hope) that a particular king’s era would
emulate that of the earlier ruler(s), i.e. that it would follow policies similar to those
established during the earlier reign.215

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 T he histo r ical setting

The absence of similar names strongly suggests that the composers of

Shepenwepet I’s titulary intentionally evoked an epithet of Hatshepsut’s. Shepenwepet
became a God’s Wife of Amun at a time of weakened royal authority. What better
figure to evoke than that of a female ruler who was clearly proud of her religious
title as God’s Wife and often used it as her sole title. At a time when the office of
God’s Wife was being “re-established,” Shepenwepet wanted, indeed needed, to
emphasize her intimate relationship with Amun. Evoking a name used by the all-
powerful Hatshepsut may have served to legitimate Shepenwepet’s claim to office
and shore up her position as a God’s Wife.
When the Nubians took over, they too manipulated the official name acquired
by Amenirdis to convey a political message. Upon ascension to office, Amenirdis
acquired the prenomen Kha-neferu-mut , also written with the variants
, and .216 Traditionally, her name has been
translated as: “May the Beauty of Mut Appear,”217 with khai considered a prospective
verb form. Grammatically, however, the kha may be parsed in several different
ways: Khai may be considered a noun, which would lend her prenomen to the
translation rendered “The Appearance/Manifestation of Perfection is Mut”/“Mut is
the Appearance/Manifestation of Perfection.” Khai may also be considered an active
participle, making the prenomen an adjectival phrase describing (or referring to) its
holder: “She who Appears in/with the Perfection of Mut.” The preposition supplied in
this translation may have been omitted for space considerations.218
Her name may thus be translated as “May the Perfection of Mut Appear,” “The
Appearance/Manifestation of Perfection is Mut,” or “She who Appears in Glory with
the Perfection of Mut.” The use of the Egyptian verb khai “to appear in glory” in
Amenirdis’s prenomen is quite intriguing. Once more, we find that the God’s Wife’s
name was reflected in the epithets she used. Amenirdis chose the epithet, which may
be translated as “She who Appears in Glory on the Throne of Tefnut.” Amenirdis’s
use of several early Eighteenth dynasty titles and epithets, particularly those held by
Queen Ahmose-Nefertari, clearly indicates an awareness on her part of the history of
the office she was coming to. That she also intentionally evoked a link, albeit obliquely,
with Hatshepsut’s Golden Horus name , or “Divine of Appearances,” 219

may be reasonable to conclude.

While Hatshepsut’s Golden Horus name may have inspired Amenirdis’s throne
name, a more likely influence may be found in the names utilized by Amenirdis’s
immediate family members, the rulers of Egypt’s Twenty-fifth dynasty. Piye initially
took the Horus name of “Appearing in Glory in Napata,” before changing it to
“Appearing in Glory in Thebes” in, or shortly after, c. 728 bc.220 Piye’s two sons,
Shebitqo and Taharqo, who later became the fifth and sixth rulers of the Twenty-
fifth dynasty, respectively, likewise utilized that verb in their royal titulary. Shebitqo,
in particular, employed several variants of the epithet “Enduring of Appearances” in
both his Horus and “Two Ladies,” or Nebty, names. Shebitqo also adopted the fuller

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epithets “Enduring of Appearances” as well as his father’s “Appearing in Glory in

Thebes” in his Horus name. Additionally, Shebitqo assumed the epithet “One Who
is Caused to Appear in Truth, Beloved of the Two Lands” (which may be alternately
translated as “Who Caused Maat to appear, Beloved of the Two Lands …”) in his
“Two Ladies” name.221 His successor Taharqo likewise adopted similar Horus and his
Nebty names, both of which were variants on the epithet, “Exalted of Appearances.”
222
Khai thus emerges as an element clearly favored by the Nubian rulers.
In its most basic meaning, the verb khai means “to appear in glory.”223 It is often
said of the king upon ascension to the throne. It is also the verb used of the sun
at sunrise. It is not surprising, therefore, that this verb, along with its grammatical
derivates, was often used by rulers, not only of the Twenty-fifth dynasty, but also
of earlier periods, who wanted to declare that their regimes commenced a new
era. Tuthmosis I of the Eighteenth dynasty adopted the epithet for his “Two Ladies”
name.224 Likewise, Ramses I of the Nineteenth dynasty adopted a “Two Ladies” name
which declared him “Appearing in Glory as King like Atum.”225 Indeed, as Kitchen
pointed out, in their simplicity and lack of extraneous epithets, the double cartouches
of Ramses I evoked those of Ahmose I, the founder of the Eighteenth dynasty.226
Likewise, Seti I’s titulary “emaphasised a glorious new beginning inspired by the
Eighteenth dynasty.” His Horus name declared him “appearing in Thebes,” while
in his Golden Horus name, Seti I was “renewing appearances.” Seti’s Horus name
directly linked him to the “famous warrior-king, Tuthmosis III, while the other two
additions were used to mark a new era.”227
Judging by how frequently they used it in their titulary, the verb khai seems to
have had very special connotations to the Nubian rulers of the Twenty-fifth dynasty.
The Nubians portrayed/propagated themselves as restorers of Maat. Using khai in
their royal titulary declared “the dawn of new era of order.” One can even argue that
the frequent use of the verb khai in Nubian titularies marked it as their own. Indeed, it
seems that the close association of this verb with the Nubian rulers of Egypt, led the
Saite rulers to avoid it altogether. By using khai in her prenomen, Amenirdis declared
herself to be a member of this new order.
Furthermore, Amenirdis set herself apart from her Libyan predecessor by directly
referencing the goddess Mut in her prenomen. Faithfully shown standing behind her
husband Amun-Re, Mut was typically represented as a woman, a tight sheath dress
covering her slender figure. A broad collar adorning her neck was often the only piece
of jewelry worn by Mut. Mut, whose name is spelled using the hieroglyph for vulture
(Gardiner sign # G14)228 is occasionally linked with another vulture goddess:
Nekhbet, the titular goddess of Upper Egypt. Like Nekhbet, Mut was represented
wearing a royal crown. But while Nekhbet typically wore the White Crown of Upper
Egypt, Mut was shown wearing the peschent, or Double Crown, of Upper and Lower
Egypt.229 Whereas Nekhbet was specifically associated with the South, Mut was a
goddess of “royalty and coronation who [could] personify … kingship.”230 It is not

32
 T he histo r ical setting

surprising therefore that Mut was often represented carrying the symbols of the
exclusively royal sed festival. Just as Nekhbet was associated with Thebes (southern
Heliopolis), so Mut, the mistress of Isherou, was associated with southern Karnak.
Indeed, the southern precinct of Karnak was the domain of Mut. She was known
as the “Great Mut, the mistress of Isherou, the mistress of the sky, the mistress
of the gods.” While Isherou could refer to the entire domain of Mut in southern
Karnak, more specifically, Isherou was the crescent-shaped lake that dominates the
landscape there. Isherou was also the mythic location where “lion-goddesses were
appeased.”231 Mut, Amun’s divine consort, was undoubtedly also his “favorite,” and
the one who is “united with him.” In this sense, Shepenwepet’s name, while directly
evoking Amun’s, includes an oblique reference to the goddess.
With its direct reference to the goddess Mut, Amenirdis’s prenomen still evoked
the conjugal union of Amun and Mut, but it simultaneously set her apart from
Shepenwepet.
As a God’s Wife, Amenirdis needed to emphasize her intimate relationship with
Amun. But as a member of the new ruling house, she wanted to distance herself
from her Libyan predecessor. In choosing to include Mut in her name, Amenirdis
set the precedent for her successors’ choice of name: the later God’s Wives also
incorporated the name of Mut, instead of Amun’s, in their official names. It may be
that Amenirdis, or her theologians, wanted to evoke the notion of Amun’s and Mut’s
Divine union. Indeed, her successor, Shepenwepet II, appropriated the iconography
of the sacred marriage, as seen on the jambs of the chapel of Osiris Wennofer-Hery-
ib-Ished, in East Karnak.232
The God’s Wives’ official names thus seem to have been very carefully formulated.
The deliberate choice of names served to proclaim their special status in relation to
Amun, but it is also clear that Shepenwepet’s prenomen included a direct reference
to Hatshepsut, who was probably still quite revered as a God’s Wife, if not as a ruler in
her own right. Amenirdis’s name, on the other hand, linked her directly to other (male)
members of the dynasty, while simultaneously ushering a new political era.

33
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 – Na, azok ott négyen jó fészekre találtak.
Egy reggel aztán, mikor az öregasszony egyedül volt otthon, a
messzeségben egy embert vett észre, aki a síkon át az ő háza felé
igyekezett. Csakhamar megismerte, az a gyalogosember volt, aki a
leveleket szokta szétosztani. A levélhordó összehajtogatott papírlapot
adott át neki, az öregasszony pedig elővette a tokból a pápaszemét,
amelyet varrásnál szokott használni. Aztán olvasta:
Sauvage-né asszony, jelen soraimmal szomorú hírt tudatok. A maga
fia, a Victor, tegnap elesett, egy ágyúgolyó úgyszólván derékba szakította
őtet. Én egészen a közelében voltam, tekintve, hogy egymás mellett
szolgáltunk a századnál és ő mondta nekem, hogy azonnal értesítsem
magát, ha nekije valami baja találna lenni.
A Victor zsebibül kivettem az óráját, azt majd visszaviszem magának,
ha a háborúnak vége lesz.
Tisztelem és üdvözlöm
Césaire Rivot,
közkatona a 23-ik mars második
századjában.

A levél dátuma háromhetes volt.

Az öregasszony nem sírt. Mozdulatlan maradt, annyira
meglepődve és elképesztve, hogy még szenvedni sem tudott. »Hát a
Victort is megölték« – gondolta. Aztán lassanként mégis megjelentek
szemében a könnyek és a fájdalom elborította a szívét. Gondolatai is
megvilágosodtak, szörnyű, gyötrelmes egymásutánban. Többé nem
csókolja meg már a nagyfiát, soha többé! A csendőrök megölték az
apát, a poroszok megölték a fiút… Az ágyúgolyó szétzúzta a derekát.
És úgy rémlett neki, mintha látná az iszonyúságot: a lehanyatló fejet
a nyitvamaradt szemekkel, miközben a száj a nagy bajusz tövét
rágja, ahogy Victor szokta volt, mikor nagyon haragudott…
Vajjon mit csináltak a holttesttel? Ha legalább visszaadták volna
neki a gyermekét, mint ahogy a férjét is visszaadták, a golyóval a
homloka közepén…
 Egyszerre hangok zaját hallotta. A poroszok voltak, akik
hazajöttek a faluból. Az öregasszony gyorsan elrejtette a levelet a
zsebébe és nyugodtan, a rendes arckifejezésével fogadta a
katonákat. A szemét volt ideje előbb jól megtörölgetni.
A négy porosz mind röhögött, oda voltak örömükben, mert egy
szép nyulacskát hoztak magukkal – persze, biztosan lopták – és
jelekkel mutogatták az öregnek, hogy most valami jó falat kerül az
asztalra.
Sauvage anyó rögtön hozzálátott a villásreggeli elkészítéséhez, de
mikor le kellett volna vágnia a nyulat, nem volt hozzá bátorsága.
Pedig nem ez volt az első nyúl, amelyet megölt! Az egyik katona
aztán végzett az áldozattal, nagyot ütve öklével a nyúl füle tövére.
Amint az állat kiszenvedett, az öregasszony lehúzta a bőrt a
vörös testről; a vértől azonban, amelyet látnia kellett, mert ott jártak
benne az ujjai és mert belepte a kezeit, a vértől, amelynek érezte
elhűlő langyosságát és a megalvadását, egyszerre tetőtől-talpig
reszketni kezdett: egyre a nagyfiát látta, derékba törve, éppen ilyen
véresen, mint ezt a még vonagló állati testet.
Ő is asztalhoz ült a poroszaival, de enni nem tudott egy falatot
sem. A katonák elpusztították a nyulat, őrá ügyet sem vetettek. Ő
pedig a szeme sarkából nézte őket, szó nélkül, egy gondolatot
érlelgetve, de olyan szenvtelen arccal, hogy semmit sem vettek
észre.
Az öregasszony hirtelen megszólalt:
– Lám, még a neveteket se tudom, pedig már jó egyhónapja,
hogy együtt vagyunk.
Azok megértették, persze nem minden kínlódás nélkül, hogy mit
akar a gazdasszonyuk, aztán megmondták a nevüket. De neki ez
nem volt elég; feliratta velük a nevüket egy papírra, a családjuk
címével együtt, azzal föligazítva pápaszemét nagy orrára, jól
megnézte az ismeretlen írást, majd összehajtogatta a lapot s betette
a zsebébe, a levél fölé, amely a fia halálát közölte vele.
Mikor az étkezésnek vége volt, azt mondta az embereknek:
– Most pedig dolgozom egy kicsit értetek.
És szénát kezdett hordani fel a padlásra, ahol a katonák aludni
szoktak.
Azok csodálkoztak ezen a műveleten, de ő elmagyarázta, hogy
így majd kevésbbé fognak fázni a padláson. Erre segítettek neki a
szénahordásban. Felhalmozták a kötegeket egészen a szalmatetőig
és ilymódon valóságos nagy szobát raktak ki maguknak, amelynek a
négy fala meleg és illatos takarmányból volt és amelyben
csodálatosan jó alvás igérkezett.
Estebédnél az egyik poroszt nyugtalanította, hogy Sauvage anyó
még mindig nem eszik semmit. Az öregasszony azt állította, hogy
görcsei vannak. Azután jó nagy tüzet rakott, hogy fölmelegedjen, a
négy német pedig felmászott a pihenőhelyére azon a létrán, amelyet
minden este használtak.
Mihelyt a padlásajtó becsukódott mögöttük, az öregasszony
elvette a létrát, majd zajtalanul kinyitotta a kifelé szóló ajtót, hogy
aztán szalmakötegekkel térjen vissza, amelyekkel telerakta a
konyhát. Mezítláb járt-kelt a hóban, oly csöndben, hogy nem
hallhatta meg senki. Olykor-olykor fölfigyelt a négy alvó katona
zengő és egyenetlen horkolására.
Mikor úgy vélte, hogy mindent eléggé előkészített, az egyik
szalmaköteget bevetette a tűzhelyre s mikor a köteg tüzet fogott,
szétszórta a többi szalma közé, azzal kiment és nézte, mi lesz.
A kunyhó belsejét pár másodperc alatt vad világosság ragyogta
be, aztán rettentő parázshalommá vált az egész, gigászi, ízzó
kemencévé, amelynek fénye kicsapott a szűk ablakon és éles sugarat
vetett a hóra.
 Erre nagy kiabálás hallatszott a háztető alól, aztán emberi
ordítozás lármája, az ijedtség és rémület szívtépő kiáltásai. Aztán,
mikor a padlásajtó lezuhant a kunyhó belsejébe, a padlásra
tűzoszlop csapott fel, áttörte a szalmatetőt és fölnyilalt az ég felé,
mint egy roppant fáklya lángja. Az egész kunyhó lobogott.
Belülről ekkor már nem hallatszott más, csak a tűzvész
pattogása, a falak recsegése, a gerendák tompa zuhanása. A tető
hirtelen bedőlt és a ház égő váza szikrák nagy, bokros csóváját
röpítette a levegőbe, a füstfelleg közepén.
A fehér síkság a tűz fényében úgy csillogott, mint egy nagy ezüst
lap, amelyet vörösre festettek.
A messzeségben egy harang kezdett kongatni.
Az öreg Sauvage-né pedig ott állt összeomló otthona előtt,
puskával a vállán, a fia puskájával, mert attól félt, hogy valamelyik
áldozat még megmenekülhet.
Mikor látta, hogy mindennek vége, fegyverét bedobta a parázs
közé. Durranás hallatszott.
Emberek szaladtak össze, parasztok meg poroszok.
Az öregasszonyt ott találták egy fatönkön ülve, nyugodtan és
elégedetten.
Egyik német tiszt, aki úgy beszélt franciául, mint egy született
francia, megkérdezte:
– A legényei hol vannak?
Sauvage anyó kinyujtotta sovány karját a tűzvész vörös
tömkelege felé, amely már kihúnyóban volt s erős hangon felelte:
– Odabenn vannak!
Az emberek köréje tolúltak. A porosz tovább kérdezte:
 – A tűz hogyan támadt?
Az öregasszony megmondta:
– Én csináltam az egészet.
Nem hitték el neki, – azt hitték, hogy a szerencsétlenség
egyszeriben megőrjítette. Ekkor azonban, mikor mindenki ott
sereglett körülötte és őt hallgatta, elbeszélte az egész dolgot elejétől
végig, a levél érkezésétől a házába égett emberek utolsó kiáltásáig.
Egyetlen részletet sem felejtett ki, mindent elmondott, amit érzett és
művelt.
Mikor befejezte, a zsebéből előhúzott két papírdarabot és hogy a
tűz utolsó fényénél megkülönböztethesse őket, még egyszer feltette
a pápaszemét, aztán így szólt, felmutatva az egyik lapot:
– Ez itt a Victor halála.
A másikat is felmutatta s a fejével odabökött a vörösen ízzó
romok felé:
– Ez meg ezeknek a neve, hogy írhassatok az otthonvalósiaknak.
Nyugodtan átnyujtotta a fehér papírt a tisztnek, aki a vállainál
fogva tartotta. És tovább beszélt:
– Irjátok meg nekik, hogy hogy’ esett a dolog és mondjátok meg
apjuknak-anyjuknak, hogy ezt pedig én csináltam, Victoire Simon, a
Sauvage! A »Kegyetlen«-familiábul! El ne felejtsétek!
A tiszt német parancs-szavakat kiáltott. Az öregasszonyt
megragadták s odadobták a háza még meleg falai elé. Aztán tizenkét
ember gyorsan sorba állt, szemközt vele, húsz méternyire. Az
asszony meg se mozdult. Tudta, mi következik. Várt.
Vezényszó harsant, rá azonnal hosszan dördülő csattanás. Egy
elkésett lövés egyedül szólalt meg, a többi után.
 Az öregasszony nem esett el. Csak összébb roskadt, mintha
alatta elkaszálták volna a lábát.
A porosz tiszt közelebb lépett. Az asszony teste majdnem
derékba volt szakítva, keze még görcsösen szorította a vértől ázott
levelet.

Serval barátom még hozzátette a történethez:

– A németek aztán megtorlásul a falu kastélyát rombolták le, az
enyémet.
Én pedig a négy bennégett jámbor legény anyjára gondoltam,
meg annak a másik anyának vad heroizmusára, akit főbelőttek itt e
mellett a fal mellett.
És fölszedtem ott egy apró kődarabot, amely még fekete volt a
koromtól.
 FÜGGELÉK.

A millió.

A szerény, hivatalnoki család életét élték. A férj korrekt, nagyon

lelkiismeretes miniszteri tisztviselő volt, aki munkáját szigorú
pontossággal végezte. Léopold Bonnin-nak hívták. Ez a jelentéktelen
fiatalember minden téren úgy gondolkodott, ahogyan gondolkodni
kell. Vallásos nevelésben részesült, de később már nem volt olyan
hívő, mióta a Köztársaság az Egyház és az Állam különválasztására
törekedett. Hangosan mondogatta a minisztérium folyosóin:
»Vallásos ember vagyok, sőt nagyon is az, de ez csak azt jelenti,
hogy hiszek Istenben és nem azt, hogy klerikális vagyok.« Bonnin
főleg azt domborította ki mindig, hogy becsületes ember, – a mellét
verte, mikor erről beszélt. És az is volt, becsületes ember, a szónak a
leghétköznapibb értelmében. Pontosan járt be, pontosan ment el,
nem »lógott«, és ha »pénzről volt szó«, nem igen értette a tréfát.
Egyik szegény kollégája leányát vette feleségül, de a kollégának volt
egy gazdag nővére, aki annak idején szerelemből ment férjhez s
most egy milliót mondhatott magáénak. Ez a hölgy gyermektelen
volt, ami miatt borzasztóan szomorkodott és ami miatt vagyonát
csak unokahúgára testálhatta.
Ez az örökség járt állandóan a család eszében. Ez a gondolat ott
lebegett a ház fölött, sőt az egész minisztérium fölött is; mindenki
tudta, hogy »Bonnin-ék milliomosok lesznek.«
Gyermeke a fiatal házaspárnak sem volt, de ezt nem is bánták,
nyugodtan élték korlátoltan és békésen tisztes életüket. Lakásuk
tiszta, rendes, zajtalan hely volt, mert csöndesek és mérsékeltek
voltak mindenben s azt gondolták, hogy egy gyerek megzavarná ezt
az életet, ezt az otthont, ezt a nyugalmat.
Nem gátolták meg semmivel, hogy utódaik legyenek; de ha
egyszer az isten nem adott egyet sem, annál jobbnak találták
magukra nézve.
A milliomos nagynéni kétségbe volt esve meddőségük miatt s
tanácsokat adott nekik, amikkel végét vethessék. Annak idején ő is
megpróbált, – eredménytelenül – ezer gyakorlati útmutatást,
amelyeket baráti körből vagy kuruzslóktól kapott; mióta pedig ő
maga túl volt a fogékonyság korán, újabb ezer módszert tanult meg,
amelyekről elhitte, hogy csalhatatlanok. Ha már kétségbeesve kellett
belátnia, hogy sajátmagán nem próbálhatja ki ezeket, szívósan
oktatgatta rájuk a két fiatalt, lépten-nyomon ismételgetve: »Na,
kipróbáltátok-e, amit a minap ajánlottam, mi?«
A nagynéni meghalt. A fiatalok szívében az a titkos öröm ébredt
fel, amelyet a gyásszal szokott eltakarni az ember önmaga és mások
elől. A lelkiismeret feketébe öltözik, a lélek azonban remeg a
jókedvtől.
Értesítést kaptak, hogy a közjegyzőnél végrendelet van letéve. A
templomból egyenesen a közjegyzőhöz szaladtak.
A nagynéni, híven egész élete rögeszméjéhez, millióját a
házaspár elsőszülött gyermekére hagyta, a jövedelem élvezetét a
szülőknek biztosítva halálukig. Ha a fiataloknak három éven belül
nem születnék örököse, a vagyon a szegényekre száll.
El voltak képedve, le voltak sujtva. A férj beteg lett s egy hétig
nem ment be a hivatalba. Mikor fölgyógyult, energikusan
elhatározta, hogy apává lesz.
Félévig olyan elkeseredetten igyekezett a célra, hogy végül is
árnyéka lett önmagának. Most eszébe jutott a sok módszer, amiket a
néni ajánlott, s lelkiismeretesen végigcsinálta mind, de hiába.
Kétségbeesett akarata olyan ál-erőkifejtésekre ragadta, amelyek
csaknem végzetessé váltak ránézve.
Vérszegénység ásta alá egészségét; a sorvadás réme kerülgette.
Az orvos, akit megkérdezett, ráijesztett s visszaterelte csöndes
életmódjába; amely még csöndesebb lett, mint a régi volt, erőpótló
rendszabályokkal.
A minisztériumban vidám pletykák szállingóztak. Mindenki tudta,
hogy felsültek a végrendelettel és az osztályok sorba tréfát űztek a
híres »milliós hecc«-ből. Voltak, akik ugrató tanácsokat adtak
Bonnin-nek; mások elbizakodott hangon ajánlkoztak, hogy eleget
tesznek a bajos végrendeleti pontnak. Főleg egy hatalmas fickó, aki
szörnyű életművész hírében állt és akinek a szerencséje a nők körül
közismert volt a hivatalban, döfködte felé a célzásokat, a sikamlós
kiszólásokat, mondván, hogy húsz perc alatt boldog örökössé tudja
tenni Léopold Bonnint.
Bonnin egyszer aztán méregbe jött s hirtelen felpattanva, – a
tollszár oda volt dugva a füle mellé, – ráripakodott:
– Uram, maga egy közönséges pimasz; ha nem tisztelném
önmagam, a szeme közé köpnék önnek!
Ki-ki megnevezte a segédeit, a minisztérium három álló napig
ettől izgult. Csak a két ellenfél ügyét tárgyalták a folyosókon,
jegyzőkönyvekről folyt a szó, meg hogy kinek mi a felfogása. Végül
találtak egy formulát, amelyet a négy segéd egyhangúan elfogadott
s amelyhez a két érdekelt is hozzájárult. Komolyan köszöntötték
egymást és kezet fogtak a hivatalfőnök előtt, miközben néhány
bocsánatot kérő szót dadogtak.
A rákövetkező hónapban kimért szertartásossággal köszöngettek
egymásnak, jólnevelt túlbuzgósággal, mint ellenfelekhez illik, akik
szembenálltak. Egy napon aztán, mikor egyszer a folyosó
fordulójában nekiütköztek egymásnak, Bonnin méltóságos
udvariassággal kérdezte: »Nem történt valami baja, uram?« Amire a
másik felelt: »Oh, egyáltalán nem, uram!«
 Ettől a pillanattól kezdve illendőnek vélték, hogy mikor
találkoznak, pár szót váltsanak. Aztán lassan-lassan bizalmasak
lettek egymás iránt, megszokták, megértették és megbecsülték
egymást, mint két férfi, akik eddig félreismerték egymás értékét.
Elválhatatlanokká lettek.
Léopold azonban boldogtalan volt a családi életében. Felesége
kínos célzásokkal bántotta, félreérthetetlen döfésekkel. Az idő pedig
múlt; a nagynéni halála óta már egy év telt el. Az örökség
elveszettnek látszott.
Bonnin-né, ha asztalhoz ült, ilyeneket mondott:
– Alig van valamink ebédre; bezzeg máskép lenne, ha gazdagok
volnánk.
Mikor Bonnin a hivatalba indult, az asszony ezzel adta oda neki a
sétabotját:
– Ha ötvenezer livre járadékunk volna, nem kellene annyit
veszkődnöd odabent, tintanyaló úr!
Ha Bonnin-né esős időben készült valahová, ezt sziszegte:
– Volna csak kocsija az embernek, nem kéne agyonsároznia
magát ilyen ronda időben!
És végül már minden alkalom, minden óra csak arra volt jó, hogy
szemére vessen a férjének valami szégyenletes dolgot, őt hibáztatva,
őt téve felelőssé egyedül a nagy vagyon elvesztéseért.
Végső kétségbeesésében Bonnin elvitte a feleségét egy híres
orvoshoz, aki, hosszú vizsgálat után, nem mondott semmi bizonyost,
kijelentve, hogy semmi különöset sem talál. Az eset elég gyakran
előfordul, – mondta – a test életével is úgy áll a dolog, mint a
lélekével: amint igen sokszor láthatni házasságokat, amelyeket a két
természet összeférhetetlensége miatt kell felbontani, épúgy nincs
csodálnivaló azon sem, ha más házasságokat a fizikai
összeférhetetlenség tesz meddővé. Ez pedig belekerült negyven
frankba.
Újabb év telt el, és a két házastárs közt kitört a háború, a
szüntelen, kegyetlen harc, melyet valami rettenetes gyűlölet fűtött.
Az asszony egyre ismételte: »Hát nem szörnyű, csak azért veszteni
el egy nagy vagyont, mert az ember egy hülyével állt össze!« –
vagy: »Ha akkor egy másik akad az utamba, ma ötvenezer livre
járadékom lenne!« – vagy: »Vannak emberek, akik mindig csak
útban vannak. Ezek rontanak el mindent.«
Főleg az estebédek lettek elviselhetetlenek. Léopold, – nem
tudva mit csinálni, – egy este, mikor félt, hogy újra szörnyű családi
jelenet várja, magával vitte a barátját is, Frédéric Morel-t, azt, akivel
majdnem párbajba keveredett. Morel rövidesen a ház barátja lett,
mindkét házasfél tanácsadója, akire hallgattak.
Már csak félév volt hátra az utolsó határidőig, ameddig a
szegényeknek haladékuk volt a millióra; és Léopold lassanként
megváltoztatta viselkedését feleségével szemben; most ő maga lett
az agresszív, ő osztogatta a szúrásokat homályos célzásaival,
titokzatosan beszélve olyan hivatalnok-feleségekről, akik értettek
hozzá, hogy segítsenek a férjük helyzetén.
Időnként elmesélte egy-egy előléptetés történetét, amely
meglepetésszerűen érte valamelyik tisztviselőt. »A kis Ravinot, aki
már ötödik éve volt számfölötti, most főnökhelyettesi kinevezést
kapott.« Bonnin-né erre így felelt: »No, te ugyan nem tudnád ezt
megcsinálni.«
Amire Léopold elkezdte a vállát vonogatni. »Még ha többet tudna
másnál az a Ravinot! De értelmes felesége van, ez az egész! A
hölgyike értett hozzá, hogy megtessék az osztályfőnöknek és azt
kapja meg tőle, amit csak akar. Az életben az embernek tudnia kell
alkalmazkodni, hogy a körülmények ki ne fogjanak rajta.«
Mit akart mondani voltaképpen Bonnin? És a felesége mit értett
meg mindebből? Mi történt közben? Mindegyiknek külön-külön
megvolt a maga naptárja, amelyen megjelölték, hány nap választja
még el őket a végzetes határidőtől. És minden újabb héten érezték,
hogyan vesz erőt rajtuk az őrület, a kétségbeesett düh, az
eszeveszett reménytelenség, amely már odáig sodorta őket, hogy
bűntett elkövetésére is képesek lettek volna, ha a szükség úgy
parancsolja.
És íme, egyszer csak egy reggel Bonnin-né, akinek a szemei
ragyogtak és az egész arca szinte sugárzott, két kezét rátette a férje
vállaira és tekintetével a férfi lelkéig hatolva, – erős és vidám
nézéssel, egészen halkan mondta:
– Azt hiszem, teherbe estem…
A férfinak olyat dobbant a szíve, hogy majd nem hanyatt esett a
rázkódástól. Hevesen a karja közé ölelte a feleségét, eszeveszetten
csókolgatta, a térdére ültette, újra és újra összeszorongatta, mint
egy imádott gyermeket, majd, nem bírva tovább indulatával, sírni
kezdett, zokogott.
Két hónap elmultával már nem volt többé kétségük. Bonnin akkor
orvoshoz vitte a feleségét, hogy konstatáltassa az asszony állapotát s
a kapott bizonyítvánnyal elment a közjegyzőhöz, akinél a végrendelet
le volt téve.
A törvény embere kijelentette, hogy attól a pillanattól kezdve,
amelyben a gyermek létezése kétségtelen, – tekintet nélkül a
születés megtörténtére vagy meg nem történtére, – nekik ad igazat
s felfüggeszti a végrehajtást a terhesség végéig.
Bonnin-éknak fiúk született, akit Dieudonnénak, azaz az Isten
ajándékának neveztek el, mert eszükbe jutott, hogy a királyi
házaknál is ez volt a szokás hasonló esetekben.
Aztán gazdagok lettek.
Egy este pedig, mikor Bonnin hazatért a lakására, ahol
barátjának, Frédéric Morel-nek is ebédelnie kellett volna, a felesége
egyszerű hangon így szólt hozzá:
 – Éppen most kértem meg Frédéric barátunkat, hogy ne tegye be
ide többet a lábát. Illetlen volt velem szemben.
Bonnin egy másodpercig hálás mosollyal nézett a felesége
szemébe, aztán kitárta a karjait. Az asszony odaröpült hozzá s
hosszan, nagyon hosszan összecsókolóztak, mint két nagyon derék,
nagyon gyöngéd, szívvel-lélekkel egybeforrt házastárshoz illik.
És hallani kell, hogyan szokott Bonnin-né nagyságos asszony
beszélni azokról a nőkről, akiket elbuktatott a szerelem, vagy akiket
szívük nagy fellobbanása a házasságtörésbe sodort.
 TARTALOM.

Miss Harriet 5
Az örökség 31
Denis 127
A szamár 137
Idill 150
A zsineg 157
Pincér, egy pohár sört!… 167
A keresztelő 176
Késő bánat 183
Jules bácsi 192
Úton 203
»Kegyetlen« anyó 211
A millió 222
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MISS HARRIET ***

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