ancient Egypt

How Ancient Egyptians Viewed Their Goddesses

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Egyptian goddesses portrayed women’s passive role in the community. Each goddess, regardless of her popularity or the power she sometimes exerted, reinforced the Egyptian female ideal who bore children and obeyed her husband. One goddess who fit the description of the ideal woman was Isis. The myth of Isis says that when the god Seth betrayed her husband Osiris and tore him to pieces, Isis and sister Nephthys gathered his remains and made Osiris whole again. Isis conceived a son named Horus with the resurrected Osiris. As a mother and a wife, Isis was particularly important to women. Isis was frequently invoked to protect children because she used her magical powers to hide her newborn son Horus in the marsh away from the jealous Seth. Isis and Horus were also frequently called upon to ensure a safe delivery for a woman in labor. Prayers and spells such as “For speeding up the child-birth of Isis” could be recited during a difficult delivery. Clearly Isis must have possessed great magical powers to resurrect her husband and protect her child, yet she still conformed to the ancient Egyptian feminine ideal. 

 

Although occasionally less benevolent than Isis, the goddess Hathor also acted the part of the model Egyptian woman. Hathor was the goddess of love and music who was often depicted as a cow because of her role as a nurturer and provider. The importance of Hathor was emphasized by her identification with royalty. The pharaoh could be identified with many gods, but he was often referred to as the son of the sun-god Re. As his wife, the queen wore the sun disc and horns of Hathor, who was the daughter of Re. Though the queen was the woman most directly associated with Hathor, ordinary people could call on Hathor for protection. One mother invoked Hathor to be present at a birth: “Rejoicing, rejoicing in heaven, in heaven! Birth giving is accelerated! Come to me, Hathor, in my fine pavilion, in this happy hour.” Hathor’s powers, like those of Isis, were used to protect women. Although these powers were vast, they never directly impacted the male worlds of politics and war. 

   

The ancient Egyptians viewed many of their goddesses as potentially good as well as potentially evil. Hathor could be either benevolent or destructive. The popularity of the nurturing version of Hathor reflected society’s idealized woman, but the Egyptians realized that even the nurturing mother could become violent. Goddesses were not always cast in traditionally feminine roles.  Hathor’s destructive counterpart was Sekhmet, the lion-headed goddess of war and sickness. When the god Re wished to destroy mankind he sent Sekhmet to carry out his wish. He later changed his mind but Sekhmet refused to stop, relishing the destruction she was causing. Re checked Sekhmet by getting her drunk and mankind was saved. Significantly, a male god stops Sekhmet’s plans, suggesting that regardless of her powers, no woman can override the wishes of a man.   

Nefertiti: Powerful Queen of Egypt

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When Akhenaten, (also known as Amenhotep IV) came to the throne in 1353 B.C., he and Nefertiti possessed power and wealth which equaled that of Akhenaten’s parents. Like his father, Akhenaten gave his wife more authority than most Egyptian queens.

 

By virtue of her physical appearance, Nefertiti gained her husband’s admiration and, through him, greater influence. Nefertiti’s literate contemporaries failed to comment on her appearance, but the meaning of her name as well as Akhenaten’s obvious devotion to her confirm that she possessed unparalleled beauty. Her beauty was acknowledged during her lifetime through her name, which means “A Beautiful Woman has Come.” The emphasis which Akhenaten placed on her beauty gave Nefertiti a unique role in public life which she later used to gain religious and political power. 

 

Akhenaten eliminated the Egyptian the other Egyptian gods and goddesses and commanded that the people worship only the sun god Aten. Since the female goddesses were no longer worshiped, the country had no female idol for its women to emulate or goddess to ensure the country’s prosperity. Nefertiti’s beauty, however, provided a solution. In the absence of female goddesses, the queen’s role took on a special significance. The king and queen formed a semi-divine triad with Aten like that of the creator god, his son, and his wife Tefnut. Tradition dictated that the pharaoh would be semi-divine, but Nefertiti’s beauty and Akhenaten’s devotion to her ensured her goddess-like status as well. In fact, Pharaoh Akhenaten and his consort were so god-like that they determined how the Aten was to be worshiped. A study of the ancient illustrations of Nefertiti and Akhenaten reveals that only they could worship the Aten directly and their subjects worshiped their god through the royal couple. Prayers from commoners and even officials to the Aten were addressed to the king and queen. For example, a burial petition of temple official named Panehesy requested the following from Nefertiti: “‘May she grant the entrance of favor and the exit of love, and a happy recollection in the presence of the king, and that thy name be welcome in the mouth of the companions.’” Nefertiti’s beauty led to Akhenaten’s devotion to her, and that devotion gave her power in the Aten religion.

 

Nefertiti attained other privileges in the state religion. Traditionally, women could serve as priestesses to female goddesses, but only male pharaohs could make offerings to the gods. Nefertiti, however, performed the religious duties from which other queens were barred. The Aten’s temple in Amarna holds traditional scenes of the king offering to the god, yet in one building the queen raises her hands in offering with only her eldest daughter in attendance. The act of offering to the Aten was an honor, but Egyptologists believe that Nefertiti may have presided over religious ceremonies as well. Each day at Amarna three ceremonies were held for the Aten at sunrise, noon, and at sunset. Nefertiti likely performed the sunset ceremony, reciting the Hymn to the Aten which her husband composed. The religious power granted to Nefertiti came as a result of her goddess-like status.

 

As her reign continued, Nefertiti used her beauty to achieve political power as well as religious power. Several ancient stelae depict Nefertiti performing a typically kingly act—slaying Egypt’s enemies. In one scene, Nefertiti wears only a long skirt and a blue crown while a female enemy kneels beneath her raised right arm. Nefertiti dons a king’s attire of skirt and a version of the king’s blue war crown. The artisans’ portrayals of Nefertiti in these smiting scenes suggest that she acquired great political influence. Nefertiti’s power undoubtedly came from her close relationship with her husband. These works must have received his approval. In his devotion to her beauty and his need for a female goddess, Akhenaten enhanced her political power.