Henmemet
| Henmemet in hieroglyphics | |||||||
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| Old empire |
Henmemet Ḥnmmt sun people from Heliopolis / followers of the sun |
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Henmemeti Ḥnmmtj Mein Volk (People of the King) |
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| as a determinative |
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Henmemet is documented as the ancient Egyptian name of the "royal sun people " as early as the early dynastic period . In particular, it was about the following of the king ( Pharaoh ), whom he also called with the synonyms "his people", "all people of Egypt" and "humanity of Egypt".
history
In the early dynastic period, "Henmemet" only meant the closest confidants of the king in his immediate vicinity, who followed him into his death on his ascent into the sky until the end of the 1st dynasty . Corresponding mass burials of the royal family are well documented, but end with the beginning of the 2nd dynasty . The "Henmemet" took on the mythological role of the escort of Horus . During their earthly life the "Henmemet" therefore represented the rank of "semi-divine persons" in the population.
In the social hierarchy , the "Henmemet" formed the top class, while the Pat was seen as the "subordinate elite ". At the lowest level, the Rechit stood in their role as "recipient of orders" and symbol of "submissive people".
literature
- Rainer Hannig : Large Concise Dictionary Egyptian-German: (2800 - 950 BC). von Zabern, Mainz 2006, ISBN 3-8053-1771-9 , p. 578.
- Jose M. Serrano : Origin and Basic Meaning of the Word ḥnmmt (The So-Called "Sun-Folk"). In: Studies on Ancient Egyptian Culture. (SAK) Vol. 27, 1999, pp. 353-368.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Simson Najovits: Egypt, the trunk of the tree. A Modern Survey of an Ancient Land, Vol.1 . Algora Publishing, New York 2003, ISBN 0-8758-6221-7 , p. 247.