Divine Adoratrice of Amun
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The title Divine Adoratrice of Amun can be seen as a resurgence of the title God's Wife of Amun which had fallen out of use until the 19th Dynasty, where Ramesses IV's daughter Aset held the role, as well as the additional title of Divine Adoratrice. She never married and seems to have been the first of the celibate holders of the role.
Towards the end of the Third Intermediate Period and the start of the Late Period, during the 25th and 26th Dynasties the office was at its height both politically and economically. As the role of the high priests of Amun changed from a mostly spiritual to a more 'earthly' role, the Divine Adoratrice became the main focus of the cult Amun in Thebes. The role generally being filled by the daughter of the current king, who was adopted as the daughter of the incumbent Divine Adoratrice.
When the Napatan kings from Kush started to extend their power into Upper Egypt, the reigning God's Wife of Amun Shepenupet I was persuaded to adopt, Amenirdis, the daughter of Kashta as her heir. This sequence was followed throughout the 25th Dynasty until Egypt was conquered by Psamtek I, who had his daughter, Nitocris I, adopted by Amenirdis II. The Adoption Stelae of Nitocris' shows the ceremony involved by this event, and the prestige of the role:
| "I have given to him my daughter to be a god's wife and have endowed her better than those who were before her. Surely he will be gratified with her worship and protect the land who gave her to him. |
At this time, the dynastic rulers were based in the Delta, and the Divine Adoratrice was a means to secure peaceful relations with the Theban area. A number of these God's Wives had mortuary shrines constructed on the west bank, mostly alongside the Medinet-Habu of Ramesses III.
Because of the power and prestige of the role, the ceremony of adoption by the current incumbent of post was used as a way for the king's of the delta area to project their power into the south of Egypt. In the same manner it was used by Napatan king's to project their power northwards into Egypt proper. The actual power of the Divine Adoratrice was limited to the area around Thebes, and came with the denial of the 'normal' (to Egyptian society) role of wife and mother. This was perhaps a condition of the times, with their fathers not wanting to allow the inter-marriage of their daughters to be used as a way of attaining the throne by ambitious nobles.
| Name | Comments | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Shepenupet I | 754 – 714 BCE | |
| Amenirdis I | 740 – 720 BCE | |
| Shepenupet II | 710 – 650 BCE | |
| Amenirdis II | 670 – 640 BCE | |
| Nitocris I | 656 – 586 BCE | |
| Ankhnesneferibre | 595 – 525 BCE |
[edit] References
- Strudwick, N & H. Thebes In Egypt, 1999, British Museum Press, London
- Watterson, Barbara, Women In Ancient Egypt, 1994, Sutton Publishing, Stroud
- Robins, Gay. Women In Ancient Egypt, 1993, British Museum Press, London
- Kuhrt, Amelie. The Ancient Middle East – Vol. II, 1995, Routledge, London
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