Great royal consort of Amun

From the New Kingdom ( 18th dynasty ) onwards, the designation Great Royal Wife of Amun was part of the name " Wife of God of Amun ".

From the late period , this part of the name was no longer linked to the role of queens . Against this background, it is understandable that the “Wives of Amun” were not appointed queen in the late period and that they only concentrated on the Amun cult .

background

Divine marriage and procreation of the heir to the throne

The goddess Mut was the "heavenly consort of Amun". Accordingly, the proclaimed "God's Wife of Amun" practiced as a counterpart the underground from Office of the companion. The associated mystery , which was performed after the consecration as the “wife of God of Amun”, was part of the ritual activities , especially in the 18th dynasty :

After Amun had promised in the Theban assembly of gods that he would beget a new earthly king , a discussion between the assembly of gods and the Amun priesthood took place in the subsequent procession . Immediately after the announcement of the resolution, Amun penetrated the reigning king with his divine nature. The performing Thoth servant then led the king to "his wife of God". In the final union, Amun named the “wife of God” the name of the next heir to the throne.

Effects

In the further course of the 18th dynasty, the “divine procreation” represented an increasingly growing instrument of power for the Amun priesthood; she could exert direct influence on the heir to the throne by interpreting the “will of Amun”.

Since it was a “divine marriage”, the reigning king only played a subordinate role and could be replaced by another person at any time if this was the “will of Amun”.

literature

Constantin Emil Sander-Hansen: Amun's divine wife . Munksgaard, København 1940

Web links

Digitalegypt: Wives of Amun (English)