Categories
Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Hatshepsut – Dispelling Misconceptions

There are many misconceptions about Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ, and I want to show why they are misconceptions.

It was always said by historians that Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ was β€œshowing herself as a male” or β€œtrying/wanting to be a man.” These statements are just not true. Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ never portrayed herself as a man π“Šƒπ“€€π“€. She portrayed herself as a Pharaoh 𓉐𓉻, which she was! In fact, she very much referred to herself as a woman π“Šƒπ“π“‚‘π“π“. How do we know? It’s all in the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ!

Let’s take a look at the titles she gives herself.

The inscription reads: π“„€π“ŠΉπ“π“ŽŸπ“π“‡Ώπ“‡Ώπ“‡³π“¦π“‚“π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽŸπ“ŽΌπ“ŽΌπ“ŽΌπ“‡Ώπ“‡Ώπ“ŒΈπ“‡Œπ“‹Ήπ“˜π“†–

π“„€π“ŠΉπ“ – β€œPerfect goddess”
π“ŽŸπ“π“‡Ώπ“‡Ώ – β€œLady of the Two Lands”
𓇳𓁦𓂓 – β€œMaatkare” (Hatshepsut’s throne name)
π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ– – Amun
π“ŽŸπ“ŽΌπ“ŽΌπ“ŽΌπ“‡Ώπ“‡Ώ – Lord of the Thrones
π“ŒΈπ“‡Œ – Beloved
π“‹Ήπ“˜ – May She Live!
𓆖 – Eternity

So the inscription reads β€œPerfect goddess, lady of the two lands Maatkare, Beloved of Amun, Lord of the Thrones, May She Live, For Eternity.”

If Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ was referring to herself as a man π“Šƒπ“€€π“€ or trying to be a man π“Šƒπ“€€π“€, the inscription would read like this:

π“„€π“ŠΉ π“ŽŸπ“‡Ώπ“‡Ώ 𓇳𓁦𓂓 – β€œPerfect god, lord of the two lands Maatkare.”

The addition of the β€œπ“β€ makes the words the feminine version! β€œπ“ŽŸ – Lord” becomes β€œπ“ŽŸπ“ – Lady” and β€œπ“ŠΉ -God” becomes β€œ π“ŠΉπ“ – Goddess.” So as you can see, Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ is very much referring to herself as a woman π“Šƒπ“π“‚‘π“π“ – it’s in the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ!

Here is the other inscription that is on the statue:

The inscription reads:π“…­π“π“‡³π“ˆ–π“π“„‘π“π“†‘(π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ)π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“‡³π“‡“π“π“ŠΉπ“₯π“Œ»π“‡Œπ“‹Ήπ“π“†“π“†‘

𓅭𓏏𓇳 – Daughter of Ra
π“ˆ–π“π“„‘π“π“†‘ – Bodily/Of Her Body
(π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ) – Hatshepsut’s cartouche (birth name)
π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“‡³ – Amun-Ra
𓇓𓏏 – King of (feminine form of King)
π“ŠΉπ“₯ – Gods
π“Œ»π“‡Œ – Beloved
𓋹𓏏𓆓𓆑 – She Live Forever (forever is usually written as β€œπ“†–β€)

Put together, the inscription reads: β€œBodily daughter of Ra, Hatshepsut, beloved of Amun-Ra, King of the Gods, May She Live Forever.”

Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ is very much referring to herself as a woman π“Šƒπ“π“‚‘π“π“ – it’s in the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ! If she called herself the β€œSon of Ra” the inscription would look like β€œπ“…­π“‡³β€ instead of β€œπ“…­π“π“‡³. ” The word for β€œbodily π“ˆ–π“π“„‘π“π“†‘β€ is also feminized, and would be written as β€œπ“ˆ–π“π“„‘π“†‘β€ if it was referencing a male. The word for β€œking 𓇓” is also written in the feminine form and has the β€œπ“β€ at the end (𓇓𓏏).

There was no word for β€œqueen” in Middle Egyptian, the closest word that exists is β€œπ“‡“π“π“π“ˆž,” which translates to β€œThe King’s Wife.” Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ was certainly not the King’s Wife: she was the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻/king 𓇓𓏏.

This misconception needs to be squashed, because it very much erases Hatshepsut’s π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ identity π“‚‹π“ˆ– and as we know, the name/identity π“‚‹π“ˆ– of a person was essential to Egyptian cultural beliefs. Referring to Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ as anything but how she referred to herself is an insult to her.