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Egyptian Artifacts

Hatshepsut and International Women’s Day

Yesterday 𓋴𓆑𓇳 was International Womens Day and I didn’t get a chance to post, so I am going to post today π“‡π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‡³! This picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 is ten years π“Ž† old (it’s from 2013) and of course it’s me and Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ at the MET! This gallery looks a little bit different now and the Maned Sphinx π“Ž›π“…±π“ƒ­π“€ of Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ is no longer with the White Limestone π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“Œ‰ Statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 of Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ! Not going to lie, but I love seeing these two 𓏻 together π“ˆ–π“Š— and I miss the old Gallery 115 setup!Β 

Hatshepsut and International Women's Day
Me and the Maned Sphinx of Hatshepsut (left) and the White Limestone Statue of Hatshepsut (right)

Let’s learn a bit more about my favorite pharaoh 𓉐𓉻, the legendary Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ!Β Not only was she the most successful female pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 in Egyptian history, she was just one of the most successful pharaohs 𓉐𓉻π“₯ ever!

Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ was the first pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 to state her divine conception and birth π“„Ÿ through images 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 and text π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ at her mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri 𓂦𓂋𓂦π“₯𓉐. Hatshepsut’s π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ story shows that the god π“ŠΉ Amun π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“€­ was her father, and this reinforced her right to rule π“ˆŽπ“π“‹Ύ. These images 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 were not available to the public, but only to a select few such as priests π“ŠΉπ“›π“ͺ and officials π“‹΄π“‚‹π“€€π“ͺ so it probably wasn’t propaganda. 

What caused Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ to want to claim herself as pharaoh 𓉐𓉻? We will probably never know the events that caused this to happen, so anything written by Egyptologists is mostly speculative. Whatever the reasoning, I’m glad that she did become pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 because Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ has been my inspiration ever since I was a little girl and my Nonno taught me about her for the first 𓏃 time! I’ll never forget learning that a woman π“Šƒπ“π“‚‘π“π“ was the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 of Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–! Seeing these statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾π“ͺ in the museum give me joy each time!