The God’s Wife of Amun: Powerful Women in Ancient Egypt | NOVA | PBS
RzMeBErmmUY • 2025-02-13
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Language: en
when the kushites conquer Egypt around
700 BCE they decide to embrace the
Egyptians religious customs and
beliefs this strategy is best seen at
caruk a vast Temple complex where
Pharaoh's dedicated great building
projects to amoon the king of the
Gods one of The Monuments reveals a new
and distinctive level of power for women
in Egypt it depicts two figures
protecting a sacred
tomb on either side the figures are
facing outward as a way of protecting it
in Egyptian art it's very rare for
figures to be facing outward and not
toward the center the king is throwing
four balls and he's aiming at four
targets east west north and
south opposite the king a female figure
she's complimenting his actions
asserting the Royal dominion over the
four extremities of the earth she is
drawing an arrow through a double arched
bow and this is very rare to find a
woman actively arching very rare who is
this
woman her title is God's wife of a
moon to understand how a woman might
attain such power in Egypt we need to go
back 800 years when the title of God's
wife of a moon first appears
carved on a stone slab or Stila is the
title's earliest evidence this is the OS
nefetari's donation stealer ahm nefari
was the wife of King aosa the founder of
the 18th Dynasty as part of his larger
State policy to put trusted family
members in key positions around the
realm she was appointed as the God's
wife of
Amen as far as we know she's the first
woman to hold that title
with this Stila King agos establishes
the estate of the God's wife as a source
of revenue for his Queen the Stila
records large amounts of Gold Silver and
copper as well as servants in
land on the donation stil of aari there
is a very telling line it says no future
king shall ever revoke the estate of the
God's wife of Amed the women who held
that title remained financially
independent and it seems plausible to
suggest that it's because of that
initial Endowment in the 25th Dynasty
the God's wife of Amon was much more
important than in previous
times the God's wife of Amon was the
female substitute of the
king the God's wife of Amon was as
important as a medieval Pope in terms of
the temporal and religious power that
she held
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