Hem-netjer
| Hem-netjer in hieroglyphics | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old empire |
Hem-netjer Ḥm-nṯr Servant of God ... / Prophet of ... |
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Hem-netjer was an ancient Egyptian priestly title with reference to a certain deity or a deceased king ( Pharaoh ).
function
In the temples of ancient Egypt, the priests served various gods and deceased kings. The name of the serving deity / king was added as an appendix to the term Hem-netjer . For example, the full length priestly title for gods was Hem-netjer-en- Amun (" Servant of God / Prophet of Amun"). In the case of deceased (and thus deified) kings, the title could, for example, be Hem-netjer- Sened (" Servant of God / Prophet of the [King] Sened"), as in the case of the Servant of God Scheri .
Hierarchy
The superior rank of the Hem-netjer was the Hem-netjer-tepi ("First Servant of God / First Prophet"), who directed a fixed number of servants of God. Hem-netjer and Hem-netjer-tepi were subordinate to a "subordinate of the phyle ", the Sehedj . Hem-netjer, for their part, had one or more Wab priests who performed menial services for them.
activities
The activities of a hemnetjer were mostly limited to simple services in the lowest hierarchy. He was active as an active minister for the higher-ranking priests. Other tasks of the simple Hem-netjer consisted in supporting functions of processions and the daily donations of sacrifices for the respective idols and statues of gods. In addition, the Hem-netjer were used to control the entrance areas of the sanctuaries.
See also
literature
- Dieter Arnold : The temples of Egypt: apartments of gods, places of worship, monuments . Bechtermünz, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-86047-215-1
- Dietrich Wildung : The role of Egyptian kings in the consciousness of their posterity. Volume 1: Posthumous sources on the kings of the first four dynasties (= Munich Egyptological Studies. Vol. 17, ZDB -ID 500317-9 ). Hessling, Berlin 1969 (at the same time: Munich, Univ., Diss.), Pp. 44-49.
- Wolfgang Helck : Investigations into the thinite age. (= Egyptological treatises. Vol. 45). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1987, ISBN 3-447-02677-4 , pp. 105-107.
- Peter Jánosi : The pyramids: myth and archeology . Beck, Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-406-50831-6 , pp. 28 & 29.