Wife Of Akhenaten Essay

Hatshepsut’s appearance and portrayal changed as her usually feminine features were replaced by kingly accessories such as the royal kilt, Nemes headdress with uraeus, Atef crown and symbols of Egypt’s enemies under her feet when represented in statues. The seated limestone statue from Deir El-Bahri is the best example of this portrayal of Hatshepsut as a female but with kingly accessories. This transition from a female representation to a more manly and masculine appearance reflects Hatshepsut to have a more kingly identity and because traditional most Pharaohs were male. Egyptologist Peter Dorman also explains this transition as the “strictures of functioning solely as a queen were inconsistent with that role. Hatshepsut’s royal image changed over time as her feminine appearance gradually changed as she began to be depicted in royal masculine

Reading the Aristotle's work On a Good Wife from Oikonomikos that was written in c. 330 BCE, one may see the reflection of the leading ideas, opinions, and rules in the Ancient Greek society. This work concentrates its attention on the guidelines for the young wives and husbands, their chords, values, and relationships. Reading through a long list of the requirements the wife should meet in order to acquire the respect and understanding of the husband, it becomes clear that the wives were expected to accomplish all the monotonous routine work and keep away from complaints. The author puts a strong emphasis on the importance of the reciprocity of the appropriate treatment in order to make the patriarchal way of life seem more democratic and

Queen Nefertiti, the most powerful woman in Egypt since the Pharaoh Hatshepsut 100 years earlier. She was as influential as she was beautiful, being a partner in power with her king and husband, Akhenaten. Together, the couple co-reigned over Egypt attempting to completely transform Egyptian religion.

Egyptian women were fortunate in that they were equal to men as far as the law was concerned. They could own property, borrow money, initiate divorce, and many other things unheard of in the Greek civilization. The Egyptian royal line was matriarchal, meaning that royalty was passed down from mother to son. The Greeks, in comparison, were patriarchal, meaning control was passed from father to son. It was also necessary for a man to marry a woman of royalty in order to become a Pharaoh. Because of this, it was common for brothers to marry sisters. Sometimes, women were even known to become a Pharaoh. There are at least four documented female Pharaohs with the most notable being Hatshepsut (1479-1458 B.C.) (McKay 2009). Hatshepsut, though a very powerful ruler, was often times depicted in men’s clothing and with a false beard (McKay 2009). This shows that even though women were much more important in Egyptian society, there was still a stigma around women leaders.

Egyptian ancient civilization was born along the Nile River and lived for more than 3,000 years. Not only famous for the pyramids at Giza staying there with dignity reminding the wonderful past, Egypt is also famous for its pharaohs. Nefertiti and Cleopatra important figures of Egypt, famous for their beauties and deeds appear remarkable in many parts of the great ancient history. Staying in front of each other these queens have so many differences but so many things in common too. Each lady has her own personality and beauty and did great things for her country and people. But what do modern and ancient people think about them? Do they respect and admire them the same?

Egyptians paid great respect to women at least in the upper classes, in part because marriage alliances were vital to the preservation and stability of the monarchy. The Egyptians believe that the royal family was immortal. The word family brings every member of the family to the same circle of respect and power. The man like in the Mesopotamian civilization was the head of the family. That is also seemed in today’s daily life in most cases. A statue of Pharaoh Mycerinus and his queen represents the wife presenting her husband and not the husband presenting his wife as the powerful one.

Queen Tiye played a great religious role and according to Historian Nicholas Grimal she was the personification of Maat goddess of justice and truth. She was also depicted as goddess ta weret in statues representing fertility and motherhood (mother of Egyptians). A temple was also dedicated to her in Sedianga(Nubia) meaning she was worshiped as a goddess. Commemorative and marriage scarabs were made for her publicising their marriage and promoting the pharaonic cult as everyone that attended received one meaning they would be remembered. She also participated in religious festivals such as the Sed festival. She also served as a priestess within Amun-Re suggesting that her religious roles were not extensive yet they were still an increase on the contributions to that of her predecessors.

Along with his striking religious changes, Akhenaten also led a political revolution, namely in the perception of the pharaoh. One of the most visible changes in Akhenaten’s reign was a drastic change in art. Public perception of the pharaoh was essential to political power, but Akhenaten's portraits do not portray the pharaoh in the “larger-than-life” style associated with other New Kingdom rulers. Firstly, Akhenaten was feminine in appearance, and is shown affectionately playing with his children and Nefertiti. Amarna art is realistic and Akhenaten chose to portray a reality no other pharaoh had been willing to show. Nicholas Reeves explains these changes: “In Akhenaten’s ‘new look’ these striking changes in composition and gesture, which

His shrouded human form and tight-fitting cap make him quite recognizable. The high quality of workmanship indicates that the sculpture was produced in a royal workshop as a gift from the pharaoh to the god in his great temple in Memphis. It could also have been dedicated to a shrine outside the capital city, as the cult of Ptah became more widespread in the late New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period (ca. 1190–664 B.C.). As one of ancient Egypt’s oldest gods, possessed of creative power, Ptah was a potent deity. By the Early Dynastic period, Egypt’s kings were revered as gods in human form. He had been alongside other Egyptian gods at the entrance of the Temple of Ramses II which was in fact dedicated to him as well as Ramses, Amun, and Ra-Horakhty. Over the course of ancient Egyptian history, Amun (chief god of Thebes, represented as blue and wearing a plumed crown), Ra (of Heliopolis), and Ptah (of Memphis) became the primary national gods. (Stokstad & Cothren, 51) In order to please the gods and ensure their continuing good-will toward the state, kings built splendid temples and provided priests to maintain them. The priests saw to it that statues of the gods, placed deep in the innermost rooms of the temples were always

The women of William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom! embrace fundamental characteristics of the nature of the South and its relation to the women who inhabit the area. The women particularly challenge the reader to an examination of the time of the Civil War, the relation of the war to the South, and the relation of the people to their surroundings. There is a call for recognition of the intrinsic complexities of the South that stem from the mythological base of the gentlemen class and the qualities of hierarchy that so ensue. The women are very much caught in the web that is the South, the intricacies of their lives linked to the inherent social structures.

This first act as king brought with him a shocking speculation and hostility between his throne and the priesthood of Amun. Inside the temple was an entirely new style of art, which was often described, as “naturalistic” in Akhenaten’s portrayal of the human body. No longer was the Pharaoh portrayed as half animal with the perfect body fitted for the afterlife. Akhenaten and the royal family were shown with long toes, massive hips, extremely long fingers, skinny torso, ample breasts, big buttocks, and an elongated face. This exaggeration of the royal family’s bodies altered classic Egyptian art and became better known as Amarna Art.

In the late 19th century, the Seated Statue of Ramesses II was uncovered in the Temple of Harsaphes, Heracleopolis, by Sir William Flinders Petrie (Horne 1985, 22). Currently, it rests in the Mummies Gallery in the Egyptian section of the Penn Museum. The king sits heroically with his hands resting on his lap and wears the nemes headdress on his head. Made of quartzite sandstone, the statue sits at an impressive height of 226 cm, with a width of 74 cm and length of 149 cm. On his arms, there are faint traces of red and the nemes headdress has touches of blue and yellow. When it was originally crafted, the statue’s colors would have been more prominent than they currently are; there also would have been a false beard inset that has been lost to history.

The Bust of Queen Nefertiti, which was created in 1340 BC by an unknown artist, is perhaps the most famous depiction of the Queen during her reign. The bust, being held at the Egyptian Museum in Berlin, shows an important connection between the artist and the queen herself

One of the central values of ancient Egyptian civilization, revolves around the concept of harmony and balance in all aspects of one's life. This ideal equality was the most important responsibility observed by the pharaoh who, as a mediator between the gods and the people, was supposed to be a role model and set by an example for how one achieving a balanced life, as all people sharing a common relationship with pharaoh. Through this relationship all men and women acquired equality to one another. Therefore, not to the world's surprise, women in ancient Egypt, compared to other civilizations, were ahead of their time. Women in ancient Egypt did not only rule the country and become pharaohs, but also shared equal basic human rights as men. Women such as Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, and Cleopatra were able to take the stand and break the stigma of the typical minority that are deprived of many rights, and most importantly legal, and educational rights.

The women nearest to the king had a statue in their honor. The name of the wife of the king was, from the Second Middle Period, written in a sign, and several Old and Middle Kingdom wives of kings were buried in a pyramid.