Priestesses of Hathor Their Functions

Priestesses of Hathor: Their Function, Decline and Disappearance
Author(s): Robyn A. Gillam

Source: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 32 (1995), pp. 211-237
Published by: American Research Center in Egypt
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Priestesses of Hathor: Their Function,
Decline and Disappearance*
ROBYN A. GlLLAM
1. Introduction no more represent actual duties and responsi-

bilities than the archaic epithets held by Saite
Of the few functional titles held by officials.3
women Indeed, in this context, we should do
well to remember Herodotus' statement that
throughout the long span of Pharaonic history,
few are as celebrated or as seemingly ubiquitous
as the designation hm.t ntr Hthr, "priestess
No woman
(or holds priestly office, either in the
more properly prophetess1) of Hathor." Asservice
we all of goddess or god; only men are priests
in both cases.
know, Hathor is the goddess of love, childbirth
and other "female" pursuits like song and dance.
This certainly seems to be true from the New
It is easy to imagine these priestesses wielding
Kingdom onwards when the most common ca-
their sistra from prehistoric until Roman times.
pacity in which female members of the elite
served their gods was as smSyt or "musician priest-
2. Conceptual and Temporal Parameters
ess. As such they were members of a body
of the title hm. t ntr Hthr known as the /mr which had existed at least from
the middle of the Old Kingdom. For although

Unfortunately, the reality is not so simple.
these women could participate in the divine ser-
Priestesses of Hathor flourish only from thevice by providing musical and choreographic ac-
middle of the Old Kingdom to the early Mid- companiment, they could no longer perform the
dle Kingdom. After this time, the title occasion-
role of the hm ntr or god's servant, who fed and
ally occurs, held by such figures as Mry.t-imn,clothed the divine image every day. In order to
daughter of Ramesses II. However, we can beplay this role, a person had to be wcb or pure,8
sure that these women have appropriated this
along with other archaic titles to demonstrate " E. Otto, Die Bio gr aphis chen Inschriften der Agyptischen
political legitimacy and cultural capital. TheySpdtzeit

4 2:35.
(Leiden, 1954), 154fL, 157, 159, 164, 170.
Troy, Queenship 76-77; M. Gitton, La resiliation d'une

fonction religieuse; Nouvelle interpretation de la Stele de Do-
* A version of this paper was read at the Annual Meeting
of the American Research Center in Egypt, Toronto,nation 1994. d'Ahmes-Nefertary, Bulletin dlnstitut Francais d'Archeol-
For variant writings of the title, see M. Galvin,ogie "The
Orientale (hereinafter BIFAO) 76 (1976), 88.
On the early history of the hnr, see Del Nord, "The
Writing of the Hwt sign in Titles of the Cult of Hathor,"/owr-
nal of the American Oriental Society (hereinafter JAOS) Term103
hnr: 'Harem' or 'musical performers'?" Studies in the
(1983), 425-30. Aegean and the Sudan: Essays in Honor of Dows Dunham on the
Coptic, £ONT, W. Crum Coptic Dictionary (Oxford, 1939),
Occasion of His 90th Birthday, June 1, 1980 (ed. W. K. Simpson
and W. M. Davis, Boston, 1981), 137-45.
691b; J. Cerny, Coptic Etymological Dictionary (Cambridge,
1976), 288. On this ritual, see A. Moret, he Culte du divin journalier
See also Decree of Canopus, E. A. W. Budge, The Rosetta en Egypte (Paris, 1902).
Stone in the British Museum (London, 1929), 254ff., pl. 15 A. Erman and H. Grapow, Worterbuch der agyptischen
Lana Troy, Patterns of Queens hip in Ancient Egyptian MythSprache (7 vols., Leipzig, 1926-63), I 281.18-25 (hereinafter
and History (Uppsala, 1986), 74; K. Kitchen, Ramesside In- WB); Lexikon der Agyptologie (ed. W. Helck and E. Otto, Wies-
scriptions (Oxford, 1969), II, 924. baden, 1972-) V, 212-13 (hereinafter Lexicon).
211
212 JARCE XXXII (1995)
and it seems likely that at some

small in numbers, point
performed it was
all the functions
decided that women's of
bodily
governmentfunctions,
and cult without much namely
special-
childbirth and menstruation, rendered them un- ization. Cultic operations were organized, like
suitable for this role. For example in P. Westcar other tasks, on a shift basis. Although purity
XI, 18-19, Rudjedet purifies (wcb) herself for was essential for performing the god's service
14 days after the birth of her children. In the (irt wcb), it was not always performed by one
first tale of Setne, Ahwere, his wife, refers to her person all the time, so anyone who was pure at
menstruation as her purification. Funerary the time could perform it.
curses, dating from the Old Kingdom, threaten It has sometimes been suggested that, even in
those who enter the tomb in an impure state.11 the Old Kingdom, km ntr Hthr is merely an hon-
It is possibly a euphemistic reference to urina- ourary title or rank indicator, but clear proof
tion and defecation and suggests that, to the of its actual duties is provided by a table of ser-
Egyptians, like other ancient peoples, bodily vice drawn up for the 4th-5th Dynasty provincial
functions were unclean and created ritual danger administrator and overseer of priests (imy-r hmw
in sacred spaces. ntr), Nkj-Cnh. This was intended to serve the lo-
However, this concern with purity also reflects cal cult of Hathor Mistress of the Valley Mouth
the growing professionalizaton of the Egyptian (td in.t) near present day Tehneh and the funer-
priesthood over its history, which finally resulted ary cult of an earlier administrator Hnw-kj, a
in it becoming a closed caste for which one had foundation originally endowed by Menkaure. In
to prove membership over several genera- a pictorial table, Nkj-Cnh's wife and children are
tions. In the Old Kingdom and Archaic all allotted turns of duty at the cults of Hathor
periods a different state of affairs prevailed. and Hnw-kj; and the contract quite clearly stipu-
At this time, members of the ruling elite, very lates that they will perform wcb for Hathor.19 All
such persons are therein designated hmw ntr}^
chc.n Rwddt wcb.n.s m wcb n hrw 14
Hpr pjy.y sw ir.n hsmn bw pw.y ir hsmn cn, (When) my W. Helck, Untersuchungen zu den Beamtentiteln des agyp-
time of purification happened, I did not make purification tischen Alten Reiches (Gliickstadt, 1954), 15-44.
again. (Setne 3, 7, F. L. Griffith, Stories of the High Priest of On this system, see A. M. Roth, Egyptian Phyles in the
Memphis [2 volumes, Oxford, 1900] (I, 88-89.) Old Kingdom: The Evolution of a System of Social Organization
hsmn - purification, menstruation, Erichsen, Demotische (Chicago, 1991), 2ff., 197-216.
Glossar (Kopenhagen, 1954), 322, basic meaning "natron," A cylinder seal of the Archaic Period mentions an iry
cf. £OCM, \y. E. Crum, Coptic Dictionary, 713a; WB III iht Spdw (P. Kaplony, Kleine Beitrage zu den Inshcriften derAgyp-
162.11-163.10. tische Fruhzeit (Wiesbaden, 1966), 173, n. 231; Inschriften de
E.g. K. Sethe, Urkunden des alien Reiches (hereinafter
Agyptische Fruhzeit (Wiesbaden, 1963), abb. 339.
Urk.) (Leipzig, 1932), I 49.2-3: ir .s nb ck.t(y).f(y) r twwt A. pn
M. Blackman,
m "The Position of Women in the An-
wcbwf wnn.(i) wdc hncfm bw nt wdc im, As for any man
cient who Hierarchy," Journal of Egyptian Archaeology
Egyptian
(hereinafter
will enter before these statues in his purification, I will be JEA) 7 (1921), 25; A. Erman (ed. H. Ranke),
judged with him in the place in which there is judgement.
Aegyptern und aegyptisches Leben in Altertum (Tubingen,
I 142.15-17: irrmt nb ck.ty snrispn [m cb].sn [iw] (i)
1923)ritt ts.sn
, 332; J. Pirenne, Histoire de la Civilization de VEgypte an-
mi cpdw, As for any man who enters the tomb in his cienne (Neuchatel, 1961), 166, 261.
purifica-
tion, I shall seize him by the neck like a bird. Even Henry Fischer expresses some skepticism about the
Compare Urk. I, 50.16-51.11, 202.3-6, 213.7-13.
duties connected with this title in "Administrative titles of
Women
See further H. Sottas, La preservation de lapropriete in the Old and Middle Kingdoms," Varia (New York,
dans Van-
cienneEgypte (Paris, 1913), 28-31; K. Sethe and A.1976), 69.
Gardiner,
18 Urk.
Egyptian Letters to the Dead, Mainly from the Old and Middle I 24-32, 161-63; G. Fraser, "The Early Tombs at
King-
doms (London, 1928), 10, n. 3; E. Edel, "Untersuchungen
Tehneh," sur
Annals du Service des Antiquites dEgypte (hereinafter
Phraseologie der agyptischen Inschriften des alten ASAE) 3 (1902), 67-76, 121-30, pls. IV-V.
Reiches,"
Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archdologischen Instituts. 19 Fraser, loc. cit., pls. IV-V and Urk I, 25-26.
Abteilung
Kairo (hereinafter MDAIK) 13 (1944), 5-13. hmw ntr iry.w.n.(i) (i)pw m sw.(i) n dt r wcb n Hthr (Urk. I
25.2)
12 Mary Douglas, Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Con-
cepts of Pollution and Taboo (London, 1966). They are the priests whom I have appointed from among
For this development, see, in particular, H.my
Kees, Das to do priestly service for Hathor in perpetuity.
children
Priestertum im agyptischen Staat vom neuen Reiche bis zur Marianne
Spatzeit Galvin in "Priests and Priestesses of Hathor
in the
(Leiden, 1953-8) and W. Otto, Priesterund Tempel im Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period," Diss.
hellenis-
tischen Aypten (Leipzig, 1905-8). Brandeis U., 1981, 199-202, maintains that these persons
PRIESTESSES OF HATHOR: THEIR FUNCTION, DECLINE AND DISAPPEARANCE 213
Indeed Nkj-Cnh's wife, Hd.t-hknw, holds pride khet and

of the deceased Khufu. Priesthoods
place at the head of Hathor's roster, being ofre-gods like Thoth, Tjaisepef, Bapef and the
sponsible for the epagomenal days and the ing king were held by queens. Women at
first
month of Inundation. If there is any doubt templeas of Min at Akhmim also shared with m
to what this service entails, it is dispelled the responsibility of keeping watch through
in the
autobiographical inscription of the 6th Dynasty the day and night hours. During the Old Kin
overseer of Priests of Hathor of Cusae, Ppy-Cnh dom in particular, women's role in the cent
Hr-ib. He states not only that he was in the cult ritual was matched by greater participa
condition (ra-c) of being wcb for Hathor (Urk. I in positions of authority than at later perio
224.10), but specifically states that in his capacity Although these positions never match the po
of overseer of priests of Hathor that and responsibility of those held by men, they
clude posts such as imy-r pr, imy-r pr snc, hrp w
I entered (ck) before Hathor, saw her (and)
shd sdjwt, sdjwty, or imy-r swnw. Admitte
performed for her the ritual (hr irt.n.s. ht)
many administrative positions held by wom
with my (own) hands. (Urk. I 222.2)
reflect their responsibility for domestic activ
Of greatest importance here is the use of the such as clothing, linen, food preparation,
phrase try iht with reference to the actions of a
private person in the service of a god. Before Gotterwelt des Alten Reiches im Speigelder Privatgrdber der TV und
the New Kingdom, the daily cult of a god is VDynastie (Gottingen, 1981) 119-20; R. el-Sayed, La Deesse
seldom described as being performed by any- Neith de Sais (Cairo, 1982), 39-41.
one else but the king. However, Ppy-Cnh's text Pakhet, the goddess of Speos Artemidos, was vener-
ated in the First Intermediate Period and Middle Kingdom
reveals this as a necessary fiction and suggests
by the dignitaries buried at Beni Hasan. Female titleholders
that any purified person, even a woman, could are: Hthr(w)-htp.t, tomb of Imn-m-hjt (P. Newberry, Beni
enact the divine service.
Hasan I (London, 1893) pls. 12, 18; Hty, ibid., pl. 35.
And women did serve in the cult of the gods.
11 Mr.t-it.fs, mastaba of Shti-htp, G 7630 (W. S. Smith, A His-
tory of Painting and Sculpture in the Old Kingdom (herein-
Apart from well over 400 hmw. t ntr Hthr known
after HESPOK) (London, 1946), pl. 41a; Htp-hr.s, MM B2 (A.
from the Old through Middle Kingdoms, they
Mariette, Les Mastabas de VAncien Empire (Paris, 1889), 90-91.
are known to have been the servants (hmw.t) of
Bw-nfr (S. Hassan, Excavations at Giza (12 volumes, Ox-
a number of other gods such as Neith, Pa- ford and Cairo, 1936-1953), II 176-96, figs. 147a, 149, 150,
152, 156, 159, pls. 54-56, 58); Mrs-Cnh III, G7530 (W. K.
Simpson and D. Dunham, The Mastaba of Queen Mersyankh III
are wcb because they are not individually credited with
(Boston, 1974), figs. the
7, 9; Mrs-Cnh II (H. Gauthier, Le Livre des
hm ntr title. See however, the statement in the last note, Rois dtgypteT. I. (Cairo, 1907), 90-91; Htp-hr.s (L. Kuchman-
where the hmw ntr indicated are clearly the same persons Sabbahy, "The Development of the Titulary and Iconogra-
listed in the table. See also Frazer ASAE 3, pls. IV- V. phy of the Ancient Egyptian Queens from Dynasty One,"
21 Fraser, loc. cit. and Erich Winter, "Zur fruhsten Nen-
unpub. Diss. U of Toronto, 1982, 58-60; Hknw-hdt (ibid., 77-
nung der Epagomenentage und deren Stellung am Anfang 82); Hc-mrr-nbty II (ibid., 73); Hnt-kSw.s I (ibid., 77-82); Mrs-
cnh TV (ibid., 87-88). Kuchman's charts, 114-15, show that
des Jahres," Wiener Zeitschrift fur die Kunde des Morgenlandes
(hereinafter WZKM) 56 (1960), fig. 1, 262-66. these titles do not occur after the end of the 5th Dynasty.
11 Urk. I 221-24 and A. M. Blackman, The Rock Tombs of They held the title rswt or rswt Mnw. Examples include
MeirlV (London, 1914), pls. IV, IVa. InitlHwti, CG 28017 (P. Lacau, Sarcophages anterieurs au nouvel
See above n. 16. Most Old Kingdom texts which use Empire [Cairo, 1904], 36; cnh.s, CG 28002 (ibid., 17-19); Htp.i,
this phrase in reference to private persons are found in Liverpool
a City Museum 13.10.1.26 (P. Newberry, "The In-
mortuary context where the term is often connected with scribed Tombs of Ekhmim," Liverpool Annals of Arts and Archae-
the lector priest, e.g., Urk. I 186.14; 187.4; 189.16; 190.13;
ology (hereinafter LAAA) 4 (1912), 120; N. Kanawati, The Rock
199.14. Tombs of el Hawawish: The Cemetery of Akhmim VI (Sydney,
24 For a list of priestesses of Hathor, see Galvin, "Priest-1986), 60, pl. 14 (BM 1061), fig. 30a); Spss (ibid., Vol. VII
esses," 299-340. This list, however, includes male titlehold- (1987), 32, fig. 14); Kdwt (ibid., 29, fig. 18).
ers. A list of female titleholders only, which I have compiled For additional references, see Fischer, Varia, loc. cit., 69,
myself, totals 423. n. 8. On this title see H. Gauthier, Personnel du dieu Min
For examples, see Galvin, "Priestesses," notes 30-31. (Cairo, 1931), 118.
On the cult of Neith, see H. Junker, Bericht u'ber die Grabun-30 Fischer, Varia, loc. cit. 70-72; "Women in the Old King-
gen auf dem Friedhof von Giza (12 volumes, Vienna, 1929- dom and Heracleopolitan Period," Women's Earliest Records
55), IV, 7; B. L. Begelsbacher-Fischer, Untersuchungen zur from Ancient Egypt and Western Asia (ed. B. Lesko, 1989), 5-24.
enough, of
toilet. From the middle it hadthe
appeared5th
almost as suddenly in
Dynasty on-
wards we also find them holding titles in con
the mid-4th Dynasty.
nection with music, singing, and dancing,
although it must be noted that
3. Attestations prior
of Hathor and herto this tim
persons depicted in these activities
Priestesses were seldom
to the 4th Dynasty
named and were clearly not of the same rank a
the women who held hm.t ntr and other, admin- The earliest firmly attested holder of the title
istrative titles. There are also some men at- hm.t ntr Hthr is Nfr-htp.s, the daughter of King
tested as holding titles connected with Radjedef.
the hnrOn a statue base in his temple at Abu
and they are often depicted as attached Roasch,
to it. she is described as hm.(t) ntr Hthr nb.t
While we have already noted a gradual nht, Priestess
dis- of Hathor, mistress of the syca-
appearance of women from public life more. in No
thetitle holder can be safely dated any
course of the Middle Kingdom, of whichearlier.their
In fact, there is scarcely any textual attes-
removal from the performance of the tation of Hathor at all that is any earlier than
daily cult
this.
is an important part, nothing is as dramatic as
the disappearance of the hm.t ntr Hthr. A handful
Still well of sealings displaying the titles hm
attested at the close of the 11th Dynasty, by the
ntr Hthr and hm ntr Hthr nb.t nht are assigned by
Peter
reign of Senwosret II, the position has allKaplony
but to the Archaic Period. There is
vanished from the historical record. Oddly no mention of this deity on any of the inscribed
Ibid., for example, imy.t-r pr, imy.t-r pr snc, shd pr snc,

iry-c nsw, imy.t-r pr ssr, imy.t-r mrw. Deir el-Bahari, CG 28025 (Lacau, Sarcophages, op. cit., 61);
61 Examples: Phr.t-nfr.tlBbi, Tomb of Ppy-Cnh, D4, at Dendera,
Meir Wdjj.t/Hy.t (J. Vandier, "Quatre Steles in-
(Blackman, Meir IV, pl. 15); Hnw.t, G 3093 (C. Fisher, edites,"
The Mi- Revue d' Egyptologie [hereinafter RdE] 2 [1936], 52-
nor Cemetery at Giza [Philadelphia, 1924] 136-37, 49-50, 58, pl. pl.
2); Mry.t ]E 45970, Berkeley Museum 39115 (Dun-
44; Hrt-H G 3094, Philadelphia Museum E13529 [ibid., 146, op. cit., 24, 30, pls. 7.2, 10.1); Dhwty-kii, tomb of
ham, Stele,
Bjk.t,
pl. 49.1]); Inti (ibid., 163-66, pl. 55). This last cited as Beni Hasan (Newberry, Beni Hasan II, op. cit. pl. 29).
a hnw.t
by Galvin is not a musician; hnw.t is her name. The pertinent12th Dynasty: P(f)s, BM 832 (P. D. Scott-Moncrief, Hiero-
inscription reads: Hnw.t nist Inty, Hnw.t who is called glyphic Texts from Egyptian Stelae &. c. in the British Museum
Inty.
This was correctly translated in the original publication. Vol. 1 (hereinafter HT[1]) (London, 1911), pl. 32; Mrs,
tomb of Hnm-htp, Beni Hasan (Newberry, Beni Hasan I, 44,
An early holder of the title mitr.t is Nfr.htp.s, Pelizaeus
Museum 418 (H. Kayser, Die dgyptisches Altertumer impls. 35-36) Senwosret I; Mrsi, tomb of Snbi, Meir (Black-
Roemer-
man,
Pelizaeus Museum im Hildesheim [Hildesheim, 1973] 47, Meir VI, pl. 6); Mdhw, stela of Imny BM 162 (W. K.
colour
Simpson, The
plate 2). She is not, however, a priestess of Hathor. Nfr.s-rs, a Terrace of the Great God at Abydos: The Offering
5th Dynasty priestess, is the earliest known female Chapels of Dynasties 12 and 13 [New Haven, 1974], pl. 6); Hr-
overseer
of the hnr and ibw dancers (S. Hassan, Giza II [Cairo, 1936], ib, tomb of Ntr-nh.t, Beni Hassan (Newberry, Beni Hasan II,
204, 208, pls. 78-79). After Phr.t-nfr.t, the next hnw.t and pl. 24) Amenemhet II-Senwosret II; Hthr-htp.t, tomb of Imn-
priestess of Hathor is Hnw.t, attested at Naga ed-Der (Dun- m-hjt, Beni Hasan (ibid., I, pls. 12, 18); Sn.t, her tomb with
ham, Naga ed Der Stelae of the First Intermediate Period [Boston, husband Int.f-ikr, west Thebes (N. Davies and A. H. Gar-
1937], 80, pl. 23). diner, The Tomb of Antefoker and his Wife Senet [London,
For examples where the hnr is referred to see Nord, 1920], 2, pl. XIV); St.t-htp, tomb of SS-rnpwt II, Aswan (H. W.
Dunham, 137. H. G. Fischer, Dendera in the Third Millennium Miiller, Die Felsengrdber der Fursten von Elephantine [Gliick-
b.c. (Locust Valley, 1968), 24. In scenes where names are stadt, 1940], 79, fig. 42), mid 12th Dynasty. The latest date-
lacking, it is hard to know if labels on performers are actually able title holders are Hthr-htp, tomb of Dhwty-htp, el-Bersha
to be read as titles or descriptions, e.g., depictions in the (Newberry, El Bersheh [London, n.d.], 36-37, pls. 17, 20,
tomb of KSi-m-cnh (Junker, Giza IV [Vienna, 1940], fig. 9) 24), Amenemhet III or later; Ddw-hnm.t, tomb of Sj-rnpwtll,
shows ibj dancers and "singing by his children" (hs.t in Aswan (Miiller, Fensengrdber, op. cit., 86, fig. 42, pl. 34), Sen-
msw.f) . wosret III or later. On the date of these tombs see Gillam,
In the tomb of Mrs-Cnh\\\ (Simpson and Dunham, op. cit., "Topographical, Prosopographical and Historical Studies in
fig. 11) the deceased watches dancers and offering bearers the 14th Upper Egyptian Nome," Unpublished Diss. U. of
who are depicted on the same smaller scale. See also R. Lep- Toronto, 1991, 391
sius, Denkmdler aus Aegyptern and Aethiopen II (hereinafter LD: 36 Louvre, E 12632 (E. Chassinat, Monuments et Memoires
Geneva, 1972), pls. 14, 52, 53, 61. publies par Vacademie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres. Fondation
Nord, Dunham, op. cit., 143-44. Piot. 25,67-68).
11th Dynasty: Apart from the queens and associates of 37 Kaplony, Fruhzeit, nos. 328, 573, 574, 575, 577, 578,
Mentuhotep Nebhepetre discussed below there is ImnJat 579, 1399, 385, 398, 402, 629, 680.
material found in the major tombs of theenjoyed

first an independent cult into the Middle
Kingdom and beyond. A similar figure de-
two dynasties or in the Step Pyramid complex.
picted sitting in a palanquin in a relief of the
We first encounter the sign group Hthr written
Archaic
with the hw.t sign, hawk and t in the name of period, also noted by Fischer, is found
Nfr-htp-hthr, wife of Hcw-bjw-skr?8 Thisonpiece
the front of the representation of Triphis.
Our
probably dates from the reign of Snefru, al-first unequivocal textual reference to
though it may be somewhat earlier. Hathor is found on the facade of the valley
Although most scholars maintain that Hathortemple of Khafre. In a pair of inscriptions on
either side of the entrance, the king is said to be
is an ancient goddess, known from the predynas-
beloved of Bastet (north side) and beloved of
tic period, they refer to images that resemble
her later manifestations, none of which are Hathor
spe-(south side).49 Since the facade, with its
two hu-
cifically labelled. Most notable of these is the doorways is thought to represent the houses
man face with cows' ears and horns found on of Upper and Lower Egypt, the goddesses are
obviously conceived here as the patron god-
Arkell's so-called Hathor bowl,40 a fragmentary
palette from el-Gerzeh41 and on thedessesNarmer
of either half of the country. Although
palette where it appears both as a pair
King at theis associated with Hathor of the Syca-
Snefru
top of the palette and on the verso as more
a beaded
by the construction of a mr.t temple for her
adornment on the king's loin cloth. and the consecration of a golden statue of her
A similar
costume is also found on a fragmentary sonstatue
Ihi within it, our only knowledge of this
comes from the Palermo Stone, dated from the
of Djoser from the Step Pyramid complex.43
From the Middle Kingdom onwards, this reignisofone
Neferirkare.
of Hathor's most characteristic manifestations, With the reign of Menkaure, Hathor and her
found on everything from mirror handles topriestesses rise to prominence. The famous triads
monumental stone capitals in her places of wor-which depict the king with the goddess and per-
ship;44 and the Pyramid Texts45 obligingly tell ussonifications of selected upper Egyptian nomes
that "my kilt which is on me is Hathor." Henryidentify her as Hathor, mistress of the Sycamore
Fischer has shown that this human-faced horned in all her places.51 Wns.t, perhaps a true princess,
deity is also Bat, a goddess who, although iden- buried in G 4840, probably dates from this
tified with Hathor as early as the Coffin Texts,
38 Mariette, A2 (M. A. Murray, Saqqara Mastabas I [Lon-Hathor: hrw n hnnw n ts.t wsrw.t n sn.t tpw ntrw n sn.t itn hr cbiv
don, 1905], pl. 2). On the paleography of the Hathor sign,n ts.t hr bit, . . . [On] the day of tumult when the necks had
see Galvin, /AOS 103, loc. cit., 425-30. not yet been knit, when the heads of the gods had not been
* See H. Cherpion, "Le mastaba de Khabausokar: Pro- set, when the sun disk had not been attached and the face
blemes des chronologie," Axes prioritaires des recherches egyp-of Bat was not yet knit on.
tologiques, 2e Congres Internationale des Egyptologues (Grenoble, 4/ Fischer, "The Cult and Nome of the Goddess Bat,"
1979). JARCE 1 (1962), 7-24.
40 A. J. Arkell and E. M. Burgess, "The Reconstruction of Fischer, "Some Emblematic Uses of Hieroglyphs with
the Hathor Bowl,"/£A 44 (1958), 6-11, pls. 8-9. Particular Reference to an Archaic Ritual Vessel," Journal of
41 W. M. F. Petrie, G. A. Wainwright and E. Mackay, The the Metropolitan Museum of Art (hereinafter MMAJ) 5 (1973),
Labyrinth, Gerzeh and Mazguneh (London, 1912), pl. 6. 40-41, fig. 20.
42 J. E. Quibell, Hierakonpolisl (London, 1900), pl. 29. Uvo Holscher, Das Grabdenkmal des Konigs Chepren
43 J. E. Quibell, The Step Pyramid Vol. 1 (Cairo, 1935), (Leipzig, 1912), 16-17.
113, pl. 59. 50 Urk. I 247.15-16. Nsw bity Snfrw ir.n.f m mnw.f n [. . .]
Hans Bonnet, Reallexicon der Agypischen Religions- msi wpt-r dcm Ihi sms r Hthr nh.t Snfrw Mr.t, "Snefru made it as
geschichte (Berlin, 1952), 278. his monument for (Hathor?), an electrum (image) of Ihy,
§546b, see K. Sethe, Die Altdgyptischen Pyramidentexte manufacturing, performing the Opening of the Mouth,
Bd. I (Leipzig, 1908). sndw.t.f hr.f m Hthr sw.t.f m swt bik, conducting (it) to Hathor of the Sycamore (in) the Mr.t of
His kilt which is on him is Hathor, his feather is a falcon's Snefru."
feather. See W. Barta, "Zur Lokalisierung und Bedeutung der mrt
Of the two references to Bat in the Coffin Texts, only oneBauten," Zeitschift fur Agyptisches Sprache (hereinafter ZAS)
110 (1983), 99.
(A. De Buck, The Egyptian Coffin Texts [7 volumes, Chicago,
1936-1961], I, 181 1-p) suggests a direct connection with 51 G. Reisner, Mycennus (Harvard, 1931), 108-10.
as well as priestesses59
reign; and by the following dynasty, to do priestesses
her service. This
of Hathor of the Sycamore become
poses the question, particularly
just who or what was Hathor
numerous. As we haveand already
what functionnoted, Menkaure
did her service by numerous
was responsible for the foundation
highly-born women performof forthe the priest-
theocratic
hood of Hathor at Tehneh
regime of (RB-int), one of the
Old Kingdom Memphis?
new towns (niww.t mBBt) Studiesthat seem
of Hathor, to have
which emphasize her been
connection with colonization
part of a scheme for internal royalty and her functionof as a this
period. As well, we possess a number
goddess of women, tend to synthesize of cylin-
material
der seals which describe Menkaure as "beloved
from different periods in a way that may be
of" and "one who worships" Hathor. Although
misleading and anachronistic. Edward Wente
and Lana Troy, for example, have taken as
similar seals survive from the reign of Khafre,
their number is much greater under this king.55
their starting point texts and representations of
the mid to late 18th Dynasty, when the king
4. Hathor, the Divine Kingship and celebrated his cultic and regenerative potency
its Relation to her Priestesses through union with Hathor both as wife and
mother. Not only did this thought complex
The rulers of the 5th Dynasty were even give
more rise to funerary artifacts such as Tutankha-
enthusiastic in their devotion to this goddess
mun's golden chamber of rebirth, but it led to
its real-life acting out with the chief queen,
whom they coupled with that of the Heliopoli-
queen
tan god Re. As well as benentting from the vastmother, and princesses all taking on a
hecatombs which poured into the sun and Hathoric
mor- persona to some extent. Ph. Der-
tuary temples which celebrated both of them,°6
chain has identified an early version of this
magico-political
Hathor had priesthoods in the mr.t temples of psychodrama in the famous
Userkaf, Sahure, Menkaure and Isosi.57 Her cultin Sinu he where the prodigal is welcomed
scene
in the royal mortuary temples required priests
pl. 64) Neferirkare; Ni-cnh-rc-nds, CG 55 (Borchardt, Statuen

I, 49) Neferirkare; Ni-,mlct-sd, Mariette D 56, CG 58, 88, 133
52 H. Junker, Giza I, 249-54, abb. 63; B. Schmitz, Unter- (Borchardt, ibid., 51-52, pl. 5; Ni-kl-cnh, Mariette D 48 (M.
suchungen zum Titel sS njswt, "Konigssohn," (Bonn, 1976), Murray and H. Petrie, Seven Memphite Tomb Chapels [London,
123. 1952], 17-18, pl. 3, HT I [2], pl. 27) Neferirkare; Ni-k3w-rc,
53 Urk. 124.12. Vaucelles (de Bourget, "Le monument Vaucelles: Une Stele-
See Fischer, Dendera, 10, n. 51; N. Kanawati, Governmen- pancarte de l'Ancien Empire du modele peu commun," Me-
tal Reforms in Old Kingdom Egypt (Warminster, 1980), 2fL; langes Maspero I. Orient Ancien [Fasc. IV, Cairo, 1961], 11-16,
E. Martin-Pardey, Untersuchungen zur dgyptischen Provinzialver- pls. 1-5); Ni-kSw-rc, CG 1414, 1416 (Borchardt, Denkmdler I,
waltung bis zum ende des Alten Reiches (Hildesheim, 1976) , 70. 80-84, 87-89, pls. 19-20) Neferirkare: Rc-spss, CG 55 (Bor-
05 P. KzpXony, Die Rollsiegel des Alten Reiches (Brussels, 1977- chardt, Statuen I, 49, pl. 14) Neferirkare; Hc-bjw-pth, Mariette
81), Khafre: III, pls. 13-15, 19, 20, Ha, 36, 39, 55-58; Men- D 42 (Mariette, Mastabas, 295) Neferirkare; Shm-kS (Murray,
kaure, III pls. 32-36, Ha, 98, 99-101, 103-5, 108, 115-16. Saqqara Mastabas [London, 1905], pls. 7, 35) Neferirkare;
56 See Palermo Stone, Urk., I 240.14fL, 241.11-12, Kj(i)-m,-sniuy (C. M. Firth and B. Gunn, Teti Pyramid Ceme-
244.15-17, 245.14-15, 247.12-14; W. Helck, "Bemerkungen teries [Cairo, 1926], 157-66, 31-36, pls. 62-63) Neferirkare.
zu den Pyramidenstadten im alten Reich," Mitteilungen des Women in mortuary temples: Db.t, Bm 157 A, B (HT
Deutschen Archdologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo (herein- [2], pl. 6-7), see below; Men: Hnm-htp (Murray, Tomb Chap-
after MDAIK) 15 (1957), 96, 11. els, pls. 15-17, Mariette, Mastabas, 312).
57 W. Barta, ZAS 110 (1983), 99-100. "Hathor at the Jubilee," Studies in Honor of John A. Wil-
58 Priests in sun temples: Iti, G 6030 (LD II 59) Nefer- son (Chicago, 1969), 83-91.
irkare; Wr-ir-pth, CG 25, BM 718 (L. Borchardt, Statuen und 51 Patterns of Queenship, 6 Iff.
Statuetten vom Konigen und Privatleuten [Berlin, 191 1-], 26, Some depictions are B. Bothmer (ed.) The Luxor Museum
pl. 7; T. G. H. James, Hieroglyphic Texts from Egyptian Stelae etc. of Ancient Egyptian Art: Catalogue (Cairo, 1979), 48-49; Chicago
in the British Museum Part I [2nd Edition, London, 1961] Epigraphic Survey, The Tomb of Kheruef (Chicago, 1980), pls.
[hereinafter HT[2]], pls. 28-29), Neferirkare; Pth-mlc-hrw, 24-26; R. W. Smith and D. B. Redford, The Akhenaten Temple
Berlin E 1159 (J. Quibell, Excavations at Saqqara 1907-8 Project: Initial Discoveries I (Warminster, 1976), pl. 43.
[Cairo, 1909], 26, n. 916) Neferirkare; Pth-spss, Mariette C ' W. Westendorf, "Bemerkungen zur 'Kammer der Wie-
10, CG 54 (Borchardt, Statuen I, 47, pl. 14) Pth-kSp, CG 1563 dergeburt' im Tutanchamungrab," ZAS94 (1967), 139-50.
(Borchardt, Denkmdler des alten Reiches II [Cairo, 1964], 26-27, b4 Troy, Patterns of Queenship, 68ff.
back to life as an Egyptian by the royal women worshipped; and even there they are none too
personating Hathor and her entourage; the king plentiful. For example, at Cusae, one of her
is the god Re; and Sinuhe (=Sj-nh.t, the son of most important sanctuaries in Upper Egypt,
the sycamore) is welcomed into the celestial there is only one priestess of Hathor known for
barque as he would be after death. Although the entire Middle Kingdom;73 and with the ex-
Sinuheis fiction (and so for that matter is the tale
ception of Sn.t, wife of Antefoker, the vizier of
Senwosret I, there are none associated with the
of the three kings in P. Westcar) , Gabriella Scan-
done-Matthiae has suggested that the sceneroyal
in court whatsoever. This coincidence sug-
Sinuhe actually reflected cultic dramas stagedgests
by a hypothesis that the personification of the
goddess Hathor and other divine figures by
the rules of It-tjwy. Scandone-Matthiae also sug-
female members of the royal family somehow
gests that the jewelry and other personal effects
of the princesses of the mid-1 2th Dynasty arerendered the office of priestess of Hathor un-
not only gifts of the king but represent the
necessary. In order to test this theory, I shall
costumes that helped them personify variousnow try to evaluate the role played by these
aspects of divine royalty.6 Sj.t-hthr and SS.t-
priestesses under earlier regimes, no easy task,
hthr-iwn.t were decked out in the cobra, sacred given the paucity and ambiguity of the available
plumes, and lioness manifestations of Hathor; material.
and their toilet articles were decorated with the In attempting to answer our question, who
sacred Bat head which Hathor had appropri- was Hathor, two answers come to mind. The first
ated. Even their girdles were made so thatisthey
that she was a type of deity rather than a single
jingled like the sistrum.69 On the other entity
hand,that manifested itself in various forms and
Hnm.t, the daughter of Amenemhet II, places.
whose This plurality is well demonstrated in the
later notion of the "seven Hathors," bovine or
full name was Hnm.t-nfr-hd.t, "the one who bears
the beautiful White Crown," was provided cow-headed
with a creatures that assist in childbirth.
Indeed most of the goddess' common forms,
different panoply which featured the feathers
and claws of the vulture goddess Nekhbet,cows,the trees, or papyrus, all suggest a nurtur-
patron goddess of Upper Egypt. Hathor ing, was life-giving
at goddess of the type common to
this time closely identified with WSd.t, theallcobra
traditional societies.77 As Kurt Sethe long ago
goddess of Lower Egypt, in her capacity as the
observed in Urgeschichte und dgyptische Religion
eye of Re.71 der Agypter, Hathor undoubtedly concealed in
While Matthiae's arguments are suggestive herself the identity of many fertility and protec-
rather than convincing, it must be noted that, tive goddesses of the folk or "little tradition" of
with the accession of the 12th Dynasty, the office the non-elite classes.
of priestess of Hathor is confined to a few On the other hand, as her name suggests,
provincial cult centres where the goddess was Hathor was the creation, and, initially, a rather
bloodless and abstract one at that, of the specula-
tion of the elite aimed at providing an ideology
65 "Snefrou et les rameuses," Revue d'Egyptologie (herein-
after RdE) 21 (1969), 19-25.
66 "La dea e il gioiello: simbologia religiosa nella fa- See above n. 35. Attested at Abydos, Beni Hasan, Meir,
miglia reale femminile della XII Dinastia," La Parola del Pas-Aswan and el-Bersheh.
sato, fasc. 224 (1985), 321-37. Mrsi, sister of Snbi of Tomb B3 at Meir, and mother of
67 Ibid., 333fF. Wh-htp of Tomb B4 (Blackman, Meir III, pls. 18.1, 27, 4, 13;
58 Ibid., 327, 329; H. E. Winlock, The Treasure of el LdhunMeir VI, pl. 6; Gillam, "Studies," 413-15).
(New York, 1934), 3fF.; 12-17, pl. 16, fig. 3; 23-52, pls. 2-4, 74 See above, n. 35. The statuette of Nht, CG 409, men-
8,9, 12a; 60-62, pls. 14-15. tioning the priestess of Hathor, Sj.t-Cnhy, cannot be securely
Alix Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptian Jewellery (London,dated.
1971), 80; Scandone-Matthiae, loc. cit., 329. 75 Bonnet, Reallexicon, 270.
70 Scandone-Matthiae, 332-34. K. Sethe, Urgeschichte und dlteste Religion der Agypter
Ibid., 328; K. Sethe, Zur altdgyptischen Sage vom Son- (Leipzig, 1930), §123, 33, 27, 67.
nenauge das in der Fremde war (Leipzig, 1912), 10fF.; B. Alt- E. Neumann, The Great Mother (tr. R. Manheim) (2nd
enmiiller, Synkretismus in den Sargtexten (Wiesbaden, 1975), ed., New York, 1963), 240-80.
130-36. 78 §§49,50,61,57, 123 etc.
that was both political

nearbyand religious
Gerf Hussain.85 for insti-
Her celestial associations
tution of the kingshipnoand
doubt encouraged her absorption of the sky the-
the authoritarian
cow goddess Bat.
ocracy that it represented. Indeed, it could
Rudolf be argued
Anthes was
undoubtedly right when that wherever the ruling elite penetrated,
he suggested that local the
Pyramid Texts and othergoddessesearly
tended to be absorbed into
texts Hathor's
support an
identity, specifically
interpretation of Hathor, sell "the to support the ideologyof
house of Ho-
the kingship
rus," as the building in and its perpetuation.
Heliopolis where Horus,
the prototype king was The acclaimed
presence of boat-graves as in tombs
king as early
by his
as the First DynastyIn
peers, the pct or "patricians." suggests
a that the ideology of
similar way,
Isis was the throne which made
solar kingship a well
was already person into a
along in the pro-
cess of
king when he sat on it.80 Butformation.
this The model,
form of the Step Pyra-
reminis-
cent in many ways to mid,
that a staircase, evidence of building
suggested by activity
Thorkild
at Heliopolis
Jacobson in his theory of by Djoser, and the appointment
Sumerian primitive
democracy, could not have
of his held
first minister much
and architect appeal
to the post of
for a sentimental, family-loving people like the
Egyptians. The humanizing of this scenario, which
later produced the Osiris myth,82 also connected
Hathor with Horus, a god of kingship with celes-
temples of the 5th Dynasty where it was used in the Sokar
tial associations. Thesefestival were amplified with the
[see Gillam, "Studies," pp. 490-514].)
union of Horus and Re as Re-Horakhty when Hathor was here the goddess of the red mountain,
Hathor become the mother and protector of Gebel el-Ahmar, the site of a large quarry and grotto carved
both the creator sun and his earthly representa- in her honour by Ramesses II, who also described this god-
dess as nb.t dsr.t in the stela of Manshiyet es-Sadr, which
tive, the king.83 At Heliopolis, Hathor must have
dates from years 7-8 (Champollion, Notices Descriptives I
been associated with the original Benben, as the [Paris, 1864], 133; Vandier, RdE, loc. cit., 97, pl. 15; ID III,
copies in the Fifth Dynasty sun temples at Mem- pl. 178, A. B. Kamal, "Stele de l'an VIII de Ramses II," Re-
phis show. She was also conflated with the local cueil de travaux relatifs a la philologie et a Varcheologie egypti-
tree goddesses, Iusaas and Nebethetepet, and, ennes et assyriennes," [hereinafter RT] 30 (1908), 213-18; A.
Hamada, "Stela from Manshiyet es Sadr," ASAE 38 [1938]),
perhaps, even with the mountain goddess of
217-30, pl. 30). Perhaps this particular cult of Hathor,
where the goddess is identified with the mountain was anal-
"Egyptian Theology in the Third Millennium B.C.," ogous to other cults such as Deir el-Bahari, Serabit el-
Journal of Near Eastern Studies (hereinafter JNES) 18 (1959), Khadim or Timna (see E. Naville, The Xlth Dynasty Temple at
169-212. Deir el Bahari [London, 1907-13] I, 24-31, 63-7, III, 1-8,
Henri Frankfort, Kingship and the Gods: A Study
13-18,of
pls. 7-10, 14-16, 24-26; W. M. F. Petrie, Researches in
Sinai and
Ancient Near Eastern Religion as the Integration of Society [New York, 1906], 72-121, 133-62; B. Rothberg,
Nature (Chicago, 1948), 43-45; Sethe, Urgeschichte §85;
Timna [London, 1972], 125-76.) For Hathor as a goddess
M. Miinster, Untersuchungen zur Gottin Isis vom Alienof the quarry, see A. H. Gardiner and E. Peet, Inscriptions of
Reiches
zum ende des Neuen Reiches (Berlin, 1968), 137f. Sinai I (London, 1917), e.g., Hthr nb.t mfklt, pls. 18, 70, 56,
T Jacobsen, "Primitive Democracy in Ancient Meso-
67, 78, 76; nb.t inm nfr (mistress of good colour), ibid., pls.
potamia," JNES 2 (1943), 159ff. 26, 34, 47. However, as Vandier points out, the cult of
** J. G. Griffiths, The Origins of Osiris and his Cult Hathor
(Leiden,at Gerf Hussain does not seem to predate the New
1980), 50. Kingdom {RdE, loc. cit., 59).
83 H. Kees, Der Gotterglaube im alten Agypten (3rd ed., Ber- 86 Fischer, JARCE I, loc. cit.
lin, 1977), 233ff.; E. Hornung, Conceptions of God in Ancient They are first found in large private interments of this
Egypt: The One and the Many (tr. J. Baines) (Ithaca, 1971), period, originally identified by Emery as royal burials. See
227fL W. B. Emery, Archaic Egypt [Harmondsworth, 1961], 54-56,
84 J. Vandier, "Iousaas et Hathor Nebet-Hetepet," RdE 16 68; B. J. Kemp, "Abydos and the Royal Tombs of the First
(1964), 56, 76-78; RdE 17 (1965), 97ff.; Pyramid Texts Dynasty," JEA 52 [1966] 13-22; W. Kaiser and G. Dreyer,
§1210; Kees, "Zu den altagyptischen Mondsagen," ZAS 60 "Umm el Qaab: Nachuntersuchungen im fruhzeitlichen
(1925), 1-7. Konigsfriedhof. 2 Vorbericht," MDAIK38 [1982], 211-69.
By the 25th Dynasty, the temple of Nebethetepet de- See J. P. Lauer, Histoire monumentale des pyramides
picted on Turin 2682 (H. Ricke, "Eine Inventartafel aus dtgypte (Cairo, 1962) I, 69-74. Cf. Pyramid Texts §§ 472,
Heliopolis im Turiner Museum." ZAS 71 [1935], 111, 132) 971, 995-96.
contained many objects of Hathorian significance, such as 89 R. Weill, "Monuments nouveaux des premiers dynas-
shm-sistra and whs. (The wh was an object associated with ties," Sphinx 15 (1911-12), 1-26; Petrie, Hyksos and Israelite
Hathor at Cusae, but also found in the mortuary and sun Cities (London, 1906), 4.
very late source and Khufu was a famous fig-

chief priest of this centre, show that its impor-
tance considerably antedated the Fifth Dynasty.
ure, this statement seems virtually worthless. Of
more interest is that two women as well as two
5. Priestesses of Hathor and the men who are hmw. ( t) ntr Hthr are also priests of
Kings of the 4th Dynasty Khufu during the Old Kingdom.98 Two women,
Wmt.t-kj and Mr-it. f.s, were married to priests of
Evidence both of officers of the cult of Hathor
Khufu."
and her actual celebration by the ruler does not
seem to antedate the mid Fourth Dynasty. Al- 6. Priestesses of Hathor at Memphis
though later sources associate Snefru with the in the Old Kingdom
building of a mr.t temple for Hathor and he was
linked with her in later cults and legends (like
While the reign of Redjedef gives us our first
documented priestess, it was Khafre who in-
P. Westcar), the locus of Hathoric activity seems
to be the Giza necropolis. As Lehner has scribed the name of Hathor on his own funerary
shown, this cemetery was planned and land- temple. Perhaps it is the doorway inscribed for
scaped as a unity from the beginning, in theher that was tended by Db. t who was hm. t ntr Hthr
reign of Khufu, and significant nodal points likehnt.t Hc.f-rc}^ assuming that hnt.t means here
the Great Sphinx manifested the ideology of"in front of," rather than "preeminent." Db.t is
divine kingship. Another significant religious
also priestess of Neith who is in front of (the
site, which doubtless preceded Khufu's grand de-temple of) Khafre, Neith perhaps standing in
sign was a sacred sycamore tree, like many foundhere for Bastet as the goddess of the north, as
along the desert edge. This became part of the well as priestess of Hathor of the sycamore.
royal mythology when its goddess was identified Out of eighty-one priestesses of Hathor at-
with Hathor, conveniently, since sycamore god-tested at the Giza necropolis eleven are hm.t ntr
desses were also associated with the care of the Hthr nb. t nht and nine are hm. t ntr Hthr nb. t nht m
dead.95 That this was an ad hoc creation is dem-
sww.t nb.t, a total of twenty in all.102 Of sixty-five
onstrated by Hathor's appearance on the Men-
kaure triads, her first known anthropomorphic98 Women: Mr.t-itf.s, G 7650 (Smith HESPOK, pl. 41a);
depiction. Although she appears here with her
Htp-hr.s, Saqqara Mariette B2 (Mariette, Mastabas, 90-1).
Men: Pth-spss (unpublished false door fragment, Cairo,
familiar disk and horns, the iconography is still
Gillam, "Some Old Kingdom Blocks Seen in Commerce,"
evidently experimental, as the horns are wavy
ARCE Annual Meeting, New York, 1985): Tp-m-cnh II,
and slope backwards, more like the extinct
Saqqara Mariette D 11, CG 1417, 1415, 1564 (Mariette, Mas-
Egyptian ram than the familiar longhorn.tabas, 198, Borchardt, Denkmdlerl, 84-87, 89-91, pls. 19-20.
Although there are no contemporaryOnly
docu-
Mrt-itf.s dates from the 4th Dynasty.
ments to connect Khufu with Hathor, an in- Wmt. t-kj was married to WSs-pth, who was also imy-r
hmt wcb. t, hm ntr Pth, hr hkr, imy-r hkr pr CS, hm ntr Skr, imy-r
scription in the temple of Dendera states that
hm-kj nsw and rh nsw (Hassan, Giza II, 5ff.). An inscription
plans for the temple were found which dated
on the entrance of this tomb suggests that WSs-pth was
from his reign.9 However, given that thiseither
is aa dependent of Queen Hc-mrr-nbty or her funerary es-
tate (ibid., 10, n. 1, figs. 7, 8) and probably lived in the 4th
or early 5th Dynasty. Mrt.t.slHjp.t-k was married to SsD.t-htp,
90 C. M. Firth and J. E. Quibell, The Step Pyramid (Cairo, G5150 (LD II 23, 25; Junker, Giza II, abb. 28).
1935), pl. 58; M. I. Moursi, Die Hohenpriester des Sonnengottes 100 BM 157B (HT [2] I, pls. 6-7). This woman probably
von der Fruhzeit bis zum Ende des Neuen Reiches (Munich, lived in the 6th Dynasty and her title may point to a popular
1972), 15-16. cult of the goddess mentioned on the front of the temple. Her
Palermo Stone, see above n. 50. husband Tti was also a functionary of the Khafre pyramid.
92 See Derchain, RdE \oc. cit. 101 Ibid.
93 M. Lehner, "Giza: A Contextual Approach to the Pyra- 102 Giza; hm.t ntr Hthr nb.t nht: Inti, Boston MFA 31.781
mids," Archivfiir Orientforshung 32 (1985), 136-58. (B. Porter and R. Moss, Topographical Bibliography of Ancient
Leher, loc. cit.; C. M. Zivie, Giza au deuxieme millenaire Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs and Paintings [7 Volumes,
(Cairo, 1976), 305-7. Oxford 1927-51; 2nd ed. R. Moss and J. Malek, Oxford,
95 Sethe, Urgeschichte §Z3-M. 1960] [hereinafter PM] III2, 203), late Old Kingdom; Irrt
96 Reisner, Mycerinus, op. cit., 108-10. (A. Fakhry, Sept Tombeaux a Vest de la Grande Pyramide de
E. Chassinat and F. Daumas, Le Temple de Dendera (9 vol- Guizeh [Cairo, 1935], 47, fig. 2) 5th Dynasty; Wns.t G4840
umes, Cairo, 1934-87), VI, 173; Fischer, Dendera, op. cit., 47. (Junker, Gizal, 249-54, abb. 63) 4th-5th Dynasty; Mrs-Cnh,
priestesses of Hathor be attested

included in the greater
for Memphite
the Old necropo-
King
dom and First Intermediate Period at Saqqara, lis. A man who holds these titles is known
twenty are hm. t ntrHthr nb. t nh. tor m sw. t.s nb. t. from the 5th Dynasty necropolis at Sheikh S
Two women title holders from Dashur are also to and women from Zawyet el-Amwat and Ham
miyeh are known from the 6th. Apart fro
them, the only substantial group of hm.t ntrH
nb.t
Cairo JE 87797 (Hassan, Giza VI.3, 239, pls. 97, 98a) late 6th nh.t from outside of the Memphite area
Dynasty; Mri-pth (Junker, Giza VI, 239-40, abb. 107) 6th
found at Akhmim and is generally dated to t
Dynasty (?); Ni-cnh-hthr, Mastaba of Nsw-kdw (Junker, Giza
First Intermediate Period. We shall have more to
VI, 244fF., abb. 104) 6th Dynasty or later; Nb-htp , tomb of
say
Nb-m-^ht (Hassan, Giza IV, figs. 81-82) Menkaure; about these women below.
Nb.t,
tomb of TtwIKj-nsw G 2001 (Reisner, A History of theAlthough
Giza the Giza necropolis was obviously
Necropolis [2 Volumes, Cambridge, Mass., 1942-55] the main sanctuary of the royal cult of Hathor
I, 286
[2], fig. 183) 6th Dynasty; Nbty-hr-kSw.s G7836 (Reisner,
ofGiza
the Sycamore, far outlasting its royal patrons,
Necropolis I, 243) 6th Dynasty Nkj-nbty, mastaba of Ni-kjzv-rc
the titular variant "in all her (beautiful) places"
(LDll 15, Text I, 104-6) Menkaure; Htp-hr.s, Ssm-nfr family
mastaba (E. Brunner-Traut, Grabkammer Seschemnoferssuggests
III aus other centres of this cult, or that other
sycamores
Gisa [Mainz, 1977], pl. 13, Beitrage 3) 5th Dynasty, hm.t ntr were also included. This seems to be
Hthr nb.t nh.t m sww.t nb.t Nb-htp, tomb of Nb-m-jht the implication of the inscription on the Men-
(Hassan,
Giza VI, figs. 81, 82) Menkaure; Nbty-k^-n, Lepsius, Giza
kaure 87 triads which juxtapose the goddess of the
(ID II 15, Text I, 104-6) Menkaure; Hwt-bjw-iwnw, mastaba
sycamore in all her places with the nomes of
of Imi-swt-kj.i (Junker, Giza VI, 211, abb. 81; Ts.t, mastaba
of K3-m-cnh (Junker, Giza VI, 7, abb. 11) 6th Dynasty; Htpl Egypt which promise
Upper the king the bounty
of fig.
WM.t-Htp G2001 (Reisner, Giza Necropolis I, 286 [2], the south.106 From the New Kingdom the
183) 6th Dynasty; Hnw.tllnti G3008 (C. S. Fischer, Themost
Minor famous sanctuary of Hathor of Memphis
Cemetery at Giza [Philadelphia, 1924], 165-66, pls. 49.2,
was bb)that of Hathor of the Southern Sycamore,
5th-6th Dynasty; Hnt-klw.s, tomb of Snd-m-ib, G 2374 (LD
II, pl. 73-74, Erganzband, pls. XI-XIII) late 5th Dynasty; Ss-
ss.t, mastaba of cnh-m-sj.f (Hassan, Giza VI.3, 147-52, figs.
142-46, pl. LXVa) 5th Dynasty. fig. 58) 5th Dynasty; *Hthr-spss, mastaba of Nm.t-nfr, Mari-
The dates given here and elsewhere in this article etteare
D 44, CG 123 (Mariette, Mastabas, 298; Borchardt, Stat-
those generally assigned to the monument in question uen I,and
94, pl. 27) 5th Dynasty; * Hc-mrr-nbty, tomb of Pth-spss,
do not reflect the author's opinion unless otherwise Abusir
stated.(Borchardt, Grabdenkmal des NeuserRec [Leipzig,
105 Hm.t ntr Hthr nb.t nht: IhSt, CG 1414 (Borchardt, 1907],
Denk- 126-28, fig. 107, PM III2, 340-47) mid-5th Dy-
mdlerl, 80-84, pl. 19) Neferirkare or later; cnh-hthr, nasty;
Prince-Hnw.t (Moussa and Altenmiiller, Das Grabdenkmal
ton University Art Museum 42-48 (PMIII2, 746) Userkaf or
Nianchchnum und Chnumnhotep [Mainz, 1977], pls. 4, 46, 74,
abb. The
later; *Wr.t-th-hthr/Ss.ss.t, wife of Mrr-wi-ki(i) (P. Duell, 5, 18) Neuserre-Menkauhor; Hnw.t (Moussa and
Junge,
Mastaba of Mereruka [Chicago, 1938], pls. 57, 212, 26-27, 64,Two Tombs of Craftsmen [Mainz, 1975], pls. 10, 14)
Isesi; Hnti-kjw.s (Moussa and Altenmiiller, Nianchchum and
53, 96, 88, 149-50, 159, 166-67) Teti; Wtst-kSw.s, Saqqara,
Chnumhotep, pls. 5, 47, 68, 74, abb. 25, 19) Neussere-Men-
Mariette D 55 (B. Van de Walle, Le Mastaba de Neferirtnef
kauhor;
[Brussels, 1930], 46, 51, 54, 61, 62, pl. 6) Neferirkare or Smoc.t (Mariette, Mastabas, 442) 5th-6th Dynasty;
Tnt.t,
later; Mrt.f.s, tomb of Ssmw, Saqqara, Lepsius 5, Berlin mastaba of Dw3-n-rc, Mariette D 61 (Mariette, Masta-
Mu-
seum 1110 (LD II 97[a]) 5th Dynasty or later; Mrt.(i)t.f.s
bas, 349, 50) 5th Dynasty or later; Ts.t, mastaba of Pth-htp I
(A. Moussa and H. Altenmiiller, The Tomb of Nefer and (A. Badawi, "Denkmaler aus Sakkarah, II," ASAE 40 [1941],
Kahay
[Mainz, 1971], pl. 32, 42) Neuserre; Mrt-mn, tomb611-12,
23511, abb. 67) 5th-6th Dynasty. * m sw. t.s nb.t.
BM 1848 (G. Martin, The Tomb of Hetepka and Other Reliefs Nsw-nfr, mastaba of Km-kd (A. Barsanti, "Rapport sur
and Inscriptions from the Sacred Animal Necropolis,laNorth
fouille de Dahchour," ASAE 3 [1902], 202-3); Hiu.t-n-sw,
Saqqara 1964-1973 [London, 1979], 21 n. 4, pl. 21); Nb.t-Kj-nfr (C. Zeigler, "La Fausse-Porte du Prince
mastaba
Kanefer,
htp, CG 1415, Mastaba of Tp-m-cnh, Saqqara, Mariette D 11 'fils de Snefrou," RdE 31 [1979], 120-34).
Women and men from Sheikh Said and Zawyet el-
(Borchardt, Denkmdlerl, 84, pl. 19) mid 5th Dynasty; Nb.t,
Mastaba of Mrr-wi-kj(i) (G. Daressy, "Le mastaba deAmwat:
Mera,"Iwfi, Hemamiya (W M. F. Petrie, Bahrein and He-
mamiyeh
Memoires de VInstitut Egyptien III (1898), 563, 572) Teti; Nbty- [London, 1929], 33-35, pls. 20-24) 5th Dynasty;
spss.t, CG 1757 (Borchardt, DenkmdlerU, 179 (4th-5th Dy- Abydos, CG 1519 (Borchardt, Denkmdlerl, 221) 6th
Nb.tlBbi,
nasty); Nfr-htp.s, mastaba of Ty (H. Wild, Le Tombeau Dynasty;
de Ti A. Barsanti, "Rapport sur la fouille de Dachour,"
[Cairo, 1939-66]), pls. 31, 39, 170, 164, 56, 18, 19, 27, 17.1,
ASAE 3 [1902], 202-3) possibly 6th Dynasty; Zawyet el-
63) mid-5th Dynasty; Nfr.t (Murray, Seven Memphite Tomb
Amwat *Smr.t-H tomb of Hwns (Ld II 105, 109) 6th Dynasty;
Chapels, 17-18, pls. 1-2) 5th Dynasty or later; Hthr-shm
MrslBbi (male), (N. de G. Davies, The Rock Tombs of Sheikh Said
(Quibell, Excavations at Saqqara, 1907-8 [Cairo, 1909]), pl. 1901], pls. 19-20) 6th Dynasty. * m sw. t.s nb.t.
[London,
LXV; W. Hayes, The Scepter of Egypt I [New York, 1953], 102,
Reisner, Mycerinus, op. cit.
1 1 Q
whose site has been excavated by Saved Mah- times in all her places) , Hathor mistress of the
mud. However, there is concrete evidence desert {smit) , and from late in the 6th Dynasty,
that this second Hathor sanctuary existed Hathor in the mistress of Heaven.115 However, apart
Memphite necropolis as early as the late Old five priestesses of Hathor of Dendera,
from
Kingdom. Nb.t, the daughter of King Teti's vi- variations are statistically negligible. By far
these
zier Mrr-wi-kj(i) , is hm.t ntr Hthr nb.t rs.t.108 the greatest number of priestesses of Hathor
Hnm-htp, a male functionary who held office have inno special affiliation whatsoever, they are
the sun and pyramid temples of Userkaf and, hm.t. ntr Hthr At Giza fifty-one out of a
simply
perhaps, a close contemporary of this king, totalwas
of eighty-one women hold this title, and at
imy-r [hw.t] Hthr [n] nh.t. Since he was Saqqara buried fifty-three out of sixty-five.117 Taken
in the Saqqara necropolis (Mariette D 49), it is
together these women of the north and south
possible that he was responsible for the south- Memphite necropolis far outnumber those from
ern sycamore temple, which would thus all have
other centres for the 4th through the 12th
existed from the beginning of the 5th Dynasty. Dynasty. Out of all mentions of priestess of Ha-
This would make sense, since the funerary thor,
com- the plain variant occurs 259 times in this
plexes and sun temples of these kings, which whole allperiod. Although these numbers include
contained cults of Hathor, were far to the south instances where the plain title is held by women
of the Giza necropolis.110 Thus, it is likely that who also have specific variants, they are indeed
women who hold the title priestess of Hathor at striking and raise, even more urgently, the ques-
Saqqara are connected with the southern sanc- tion of what these women actually did.
tuary. Later references to the sycamores associ- Marianne Galvin has asserted that even where
ated with the funerary complex of Snefru at hm.t ntr Hthr occurs in a titular string with a place-
Dashur suggest yet further branches of this specific variant it is to be considered a separate
royal mortuary cult.111 Although it is likely that title rather than an abbreviation. However, it
a priestess would be attached to the sycamore
cult nearest the pyramid and residence city of 113 For mrt priesthoods see Baer, Rank and Title, 256;
the reigning sovereign, some had a wider juris- Barta ZAS loc. cit.
diction, as the title, Priestess of Hathor, mistress Dendera: *Name Lost, Giza (Fischer, Dendera, 24, fig. 5)
4th-5th Dynasty; Int-kls G1039, Berkeley (H. F. Lutz, Egyp-
of the Sycamore in all her places, suggests.
tian Statues and Statuettes in the Museum of Anthropology of the
Apart from the titles Priestess of Hathor of University of California [Leipzig, 1930], 15, pl. 23, 26B) Unas
the Sycamore, Priestess of Hathor of the Syca- or earlier; Mrs-Cnh II G7530 (Dunham and Simpson, Mas-
more in all her places, Priestess of Hathor in all taba of Mersyankh III, op. cit., figs. 7, 9) Khafre; Hnt-kjw.s,
her places, Priestess of Hathor before the temple Turin 1848 (Junker, Giza VII, 70, abb. 30; S. Curto, Gli Scavi
Italiani a el-Ghiza [1903] [Rome, 1963], 58-61, pl. 15, fig.
of Khafre, and of Hathor in the mrt buildings
19) 5th-6th Dynasty. *m sw.t.s nb.t.
of various kings, other cults of Hathor with 114 Pss.t, hm ntr Hthr nb.[t] smit nfr sw.t (Junker, Giza VIII,
female hmw.t ntr attested in the Memphite area 175, pl. 28a, abb. 91); Vienna Museum Inv. 8550; Ni-cnh-hthr
also include Hathor mistress of Dendera (some- (Junker, Giza IX, 9 Iff., abb. 39) possibly 6th Dynasty.
115 Ibi, Berlin, Charlottenberg 37/66 (W Kaiser, Agypti-
A. el-Sayed Mahmud, A New Temple for Hathor at Mem- sches Museum Berlin [Berlin, 1967], 33, no. 297). This form of
phis (Warminster, 1978). Hathor is found in mortuary texts of the late Old Kingdom
Daressy, "Mastaba de Mera," loc. cit. and the Coffin Texts.
109 HT [2] j pl 18; Mariette? Mastabas, 32; Murray, Tomb Another interesting variant is hm.t ntr Hthr nb.(t) idbwy, "mis-
Chapels, pl. 15, 17 etc. cf. PMIII2, 572. tress of the two banks," held by the woman Prt.i (G. Jequier,
W. Kaiser, "Zu den Sonnenheiligtum der 5. Dynastie," Lespyramides des Reines Neit et Apouit [Cairo, 1933] , 58, fig. 36) .
MDAIK 14 (1956), 103-16; see also Klaus Baer, Rank and 116 See above n. 113.
Title in the Old Kingdom (Chicago, 1960), 255-56. 1 For these persons, see Galvin, "Priestesses," Index. The
Women: hm ntr Hthr r hnt Hcfrc (Db.t,BM 157 A, HT [2]numbersI, I have used are based on a computer-generated
analysis of data collected at the University of Melbourne in
pls. 6-7. Man: hm ntr Hth hnt.t wcb sw.t Wsr-kj.f (Hnm-htp, see
previous note). 1977. Some persons documented by Galvin, chiefly from
111 Urk. I 212.5-6; H. Goedicke, Konigliche dokumente aus unpublished sources were lacking in my survey. However, I
dem alien Reich (Wiesbaden, 1967), 72, suggests nhw.t re- believe the relationships between the figures still reflect valid
ferred in Pepy II's decree is a general designation for trees. statistical relationships.
112 See above n. 102, 103. 118 Galvin, "Priestesses," 74-76.
is impossible to prove andthis

Barta have postulated some especially
assertion, kind of sacred
when dealing with the marriage with the king of
personnel and queen
theascult Re and of
smaller centres such as Cusae or Dendera. It can Hathor.122 On the other hand, Shafik Allam has
be demonstrated that male title holders of the asserted in his study of priestesses of Hathor that
plain variant are of lower rank than those queens
whohave nothing to do with the cult. Nei-
hold the place specific versions.119 Inther the position
Old seems adequate to characterize the
Kingdom, the congruence of title elaboration actual data from Old Kingdom Memphis.
with high rank seems to be the general rule. Material
It datable to the 4th Dynasty suggests
thatan
is likely that if the title hm.t. ntr Hthr is not although
ab- queens may be priestesses of
Hathor (Mrs-Cnh III, hm.t ntr H, hm.t ntr H nb.t
breviation of a place specific variant, it represents
a lower rank in the hm.t ntr hierarchy Iwn.t, G7530; Bw-nfr (h. n. H),124 it is certainly
through
which the holder had passed at an earlier time;
more it among sSw.t nsw n ht.f (Nfr-htp.s,
common
daughter
must not be forgotten that Old Kingdom of Dejedefre and both the above
title
strings record all the titles ever held byqueens),
an indi-and after the mid 4th Dynasty, rh.t
vidual (but, unfortunately for us, not always
nsw is a in
common complement of our title (see
comprehensible order of time or rank).Appendix
It is im- I). Although Junker's suggestion that
portant to establish that hm.t ntr Hthr is rh.t
a nsw means king's relative is unlikely to be
lesser
true,
version of place specific title since it puts toitrest
seems to suggest some extended family
connection,
the troubling vision of priestesses of Hathor at as does the honourary use of the ti-
large, an idea only attractive to those whotles think
king's son and daughter which become com-
of them as little more than itinerant musicians or mon at this time. It seems that in the 4th Dynasty,
wise women. These women performed the daily most of the title holders are connected with the
cult for Hathor in sanctuaries specifically con-

king, either as actual daughters or near relatives.
nected with the ruling family of Old Kingdom Apart from the women already mentioned there
Memphis. This may be demonstrated by closer is Nb-htp, wife of Nb-m-jht,127 the son of Mrs-Cnh III
examination of their ranking titles and family
(h. n. H. nb.t nh.t m sww.t.s nb.t [hw.t] nb.t (Hassan,
connections. Giza IV) and Mr.t-it.fs, probably a daughter of
In later times Hathor is closely associated withand his priestess (h. n. H, G 7650). 128 Wns.t
Khufu
the queen ( hm. t nstv wr. t) ; and scholars like(h. n. H, G 4840) is sB.t nsw n ht.f; and Spss.t-kjw, a
Wente
rh.t " nsw (G 2150), is unlike the other women, not
" .1 9Q
Note marrie
that rank
hm ntr Hthr at M
acarum. Pelizaeus
Alien 122 W. Barta, ZAS 110, 102-3; Wente, Studies, 91, cf. Du-
Reiches [h
(rh nszv);
ell, Mereruka pl. 141. The enigmatic*Pth-
inscription in the mas-
chardt,
taba of Mrr-wu-kj(i)Statuen
, cited by Barta is too damaged and
Saqqara, Mariet
brief to prove anything. It reads pj [about two groups lost]
89-91) nfrw.t iw.t.s hr Hr nb.t nh.t. Barta
hri ssti thinks this provides evi- sd
(P. Kaplony,
dence for a sacred marriage of Horus (i.e., the king) and"N
Alten Hathor, as is attested in Ptolemaic times at Edfu and Den-
Reiches," M
(hereinafter
dera (cf. Fischer, Dendera, 124ff.). MIO
(P. de 123 Allam, Hathorkult, 15.
Bourget,
Cairo, Dunham and Simpson, Mastaba of Mersyankh II,11
1961),
snwy figs. 7-9; Hassan, Sw.t
(m Giza III, 176-79, figs. 147, 149, 150, ib
156,
31-36, 159, 157-66, pls. 54-55, 58. p
sun temples; 125 Chassinat, Mon. Piot. 25, 67-68. Dw
(Mariette, 126 Junker, Gizal, 33. Masta
hri wdb Hassan,rhy.t,
Giza IV, figs. 8, 82; cf. Dunham and Simpson, ti
This Mersyankh,particula
is 14-15; W. S. Smith, Cambridge Ancient History
tres are examined, Gillam, "Studies," 155-56, 213-23. (2nd ed., Vol. 1, chapter XI, Cambridge, 1964) (hereinafter
As is proven by detailed autobiographical inscrip-CAH), 32-33.
tions like those of Wni or Nhbw, where high officials de-128 Smith, HESPOK, pl. 41a.
scribe the acquisition of low-level titles early in their 129 Junker, Gizal, 249-54, abb. 63; Reisner, Giza Necropo-
careers (e.g., Urk. I 98ff., 215fL). lis I, 437-40, fig. 258.
this time we also begin to see, among the like

women
Bastet, Neith represents the northern king-
of the elite, the popularity of the priesthood
dom, while
of Hathor represents the southern one.
Neith, sometimes localized as north of the wall,
which reached its height in the 5th Dynasty. Al-
7. Changes in the Function and Rank of the
though there is a strong correlation between the
Office of Priestess and Other Hathoric Title-
two titles, it is by no means invariable. At Giza, in
the Old Kingdom, the title hm ntr Nt occurs with holders in the 5th and 6th Dynasty
Hathor priesthoods thirteen times, Hm.t ntrNt
As the pattern of title holders who are rh.t nsw
wp.t wdwA (mh.t inbw) eight times, at Saqqara,
and priestess of Neith asserts itself at the begin-
the correlation of the simple Neith title is ten,132
ning of the 5th Dynasty, there is a change in the
the more complex one ten also. It seems that
rank and occupation of male relatives and asso-
ciates. While in the 4th and early 5th Dynasty,
At Giza, the following women have the simple Neiththey are sd nsw n ht.flsS nsw or of the rank of
title (* indicates the variant m sww.t.s nb.L): Name Lost (Fis-
hjty-c or smr wcty}^ there is a downward move-
cher, Dendera, 24, fig. 5) 4th-5th Dynasty; Wns.t (Junker,
ment of rank of functionaries of Hathor to the
Giza I, 249-54, abb. 63) possibly Menkaure; Mrit.t.s/HB.t.k,
level of rh/iht nsw1^ which remains consistent
G 5750 (LD II, 23, 25; Junker, Giza II, abb. 28) 5th Dynasty;
Nww.t, G 2184 (W. Wreszinski, Atlas zur altdgyptischen until
Kul-the reign of Isosi and the rise of the Ssm-
turgeschichte [3 Volumes, Leipzig, 1928-38] III, pl. 69)nfr
5th or
and Snd-m-ib families.
6th Dynasty; *Nbty-kB-n (LD II, 15b, Text I, 104fT.) Khafre or
later; HBp-n-nbty (Reisner, Giza Necropolis I, 242) late 5th Dy-
nasty; *Hp.t-kBlMri.t.t.s (Junker, Giza II, abb. 28, 29) 4th Dy-
nasty; Htp-hr.slHnw.t (Hassan, Gizall, 208ff., fig. 230, pl. 80)
5th Dynasty; Hn.t (Junker, Giza II, 177, 185-86, 187, abb.
Neferirtenef, 46, 51, 54, 57, 61, 62, pl. 6) Neferirkare; Nb-
27-28, 30, 32) 5th Dynasty; Sn.t-it.s (Junker, Gizair.t, V, 18,
CG 55 (Borchardt, Statuen I, 48-49, pl. 14) Nefer-
irkare
pl. 5, abb. 23, 29) late 6th Dynasty; Ss-ss.t (Hassan, Giza VI. or
3, later; Nb.t (E. Drioton, "Description sommaire des
147-52, figs. 142-47, pl. LXVa) 5th Dynasty; *Spss.t-kBw chapelles funeraires de la Vie dynastie recemment decou-
(Reisner, Giza Necropolis I, 437-40, fig. 258) later 4th vertes derriere le mastaba de Mererouka a Saqqarah," ASAE
Dy-
[1942], 495, pl. 40) very late Old Kingdom; Nfr-htp.s,
nasty; Ttw.t (Hassan, Giza III, 78fL, pl. 27, fig. 70) 6th Dynasty.
131 Mrr.t (Junker, Giza IX, 235-36); Mr.t.f.s, BerlinSaqqara,
1110 Mariette D 47, CG 1484 (Borchardt, Denkmdler I,
(LD II 97 [a]) 5th Dynasty or later; Mr.t.(i).tf.s (Moussa and177-81 (early 5th Dynasty); Nfr-htp.s (Wild, Tom-
140, pls.
beau de Ti, pls. 31, 39, 176, 164, 56, 18, 19, 27, 171, 63) Neu-
Altenmiiller, Nefer and Kahay, pls. 32, 42) Neuserre; Nb-htp,
G 4710 (LD II 87 [also simple variant]) 4th-5th Dynasty;
serre or later; Nfr.t (Murray, Seven Memphite Tomb Chapels,
17-18,
Hnw.t.sn (Brunner-Traut, Grab Seschemnofers III, colour pls. 11-12) 5th Dynasty or later; Hthr-shm (Quibell,
pl. 5,
Saqqara
pl. 19, add. pl. 3) mid 5th Dynasty; Hnt-kBw.s (Junker, Giza,1907-8, 115-25, pl. LXV; Hayes Scepter I, 102, fig.
VIII, 70, fig. 30; Curto, Gli Scavi op. cit., 58-61, pl. 58)
15,5th Dynasty; Hwi-n-sw, Dashur (J. de Morgan, Fouilles a
fig.
19) 5th-6th Dynasty; Tst.t (Junker, Giza IV, 7, abb. 11) Dachour
6th [2 volumes, Vienna, 1895-1903], 29; Ziegler, RdE
Dynasty; Db.t (hnt.t Hcf-rc) BM 157 A-B (HT [2] I, pls. 31, 6-7)
120-34); Hntit-kB, Mariette D 49 (Murray, Chapels, pl.
perhaps 6th Dynasty. 15; Borchardt, Denkmdler I, 30-31) late 5th Dynasty.
134 Mr.t-it.fs, G 7650 (Smith, HESPOK, pl. 41a), a hus-
Inti, Saqqara, Mariette E 1, 2 (Murray, Saqqara Mastabas
I, 28, pl. 31; Mariette, Mastabas, 377) Teti or later; WBd.t-kBw.s
band Bhti-htp, smr wcty, hm ntr Hwfw; Nb-htp, tomb of Nb-m-
(Hassan, Hemet-Rc and others [Cairo, 1975] 68-81, pls.Bht, see above, n. 127; Nbty-kB-n (LD II 15b, Text I, 104ff.)
53-55,
figs. 38b, 39) end 6th Dynasty; Nb-htp, Mariette D 11 (Bor-Ni-k3w-rc, iry-pct, sB nsw n ht.f tBty, hBty-c, smr wcty;
husband
Hpt-kB, G 5150 (Junker, Giza II, abb. 28, 29) husband SsBt-
chardt, Denkmdler I, 81, pl. 19) mid 5th Dynasty; Hnw.t.sn,
MMA 5137 (Scott, Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin htp
Decem-
sd, nsw n ht.f smr wcty, imy-r kB.t nb.t nswt.
ber 1952 (hereinafter MMA Bulletin), 116-18, figs. 117-19)
135 Despite the difficulty of precise dating of monuments
of this
5th Dynasty; *Htp-hr.s, Mariette B 2 (Mariette, Mastabas, 90-period, it seems that a major administrative reform is
all but complete by the end of the reign of Userkaf, from
91) 4th Dynasty; Hthr-spss, Mariette D 44, CG 123 (Mariette,
which time probably dates Pth-htp, Saqqara, Mariette D 81,
Mastabas, 298; Borchardt, Statuen I, 94, pl. 27) 5th Dynasty;
Hwit (Fischer, "Three Old Kingdom Palimpsests inCG 156 (Mariette, Mastabas, 314, 15; Borchardt, Statuen I,
the
Louvre," ZAS 86 [1961], 28-29) 5th-6th Dynasty; Hnw.t 113) and certainly Hwfw-Cnh, CG 1790 (Borchardt, Denk-
(Martin, Hetepka, pl. 24, n. 27) Late Old Kingdom; Smr.t-mn, mdler II, 209-12, pl. 112) which exhibits lower ranking, and
Mariette C 15, CG95 (Borchardt, Statuen, 75, pl. 21, Mariette, different type of occupational titles.
Mastabas, 140-41) Sahure or later; Ts.t (Moussa and Alten- 136 For example, Hnt-kBw.s, wife of Snd-m-ib, G 2378 (LDU
miiller, Nianchnum und Chnumhotep, pls. 80-81). 73-74, Ergdnzband, pls. XI-XIII). His titles include hBty-c, iry-
133 Wr-th-hthr (Duell, Mereruka, pls. 57, 22, 26-27, 64, 53, pct, tBty sBb tBty, imy-r kB.t nb.t nsw. Htp.hr. 5 was the wife of Ssm-
96, 88, 149-50, 159, 166-67) Teti; Wtst-kBw.s (Van de Walle, n/r III, who was sd nsw nht.f hjty-c, t3ty sBb tBty (Brunner-Traut,
After the beginning for

ofexample
the married
5th Dynasty,
Pth-spss}^ Junkerthebelieved
royal children seem tothat disappear from
members of the old the
ruling house ad-
had mar-
ministration. The sun ried commoner and
temples officials, but more
royal likely the
priest-
hoods are staffed with men of the rank of rh entire ruling elite was so small that it constituted
nsw. The tend to hold the post of wcb nsw an extended
and kin group. If, as the Turin Canon
suggests,
the hri sstj titles, which generally imply service to the rulers of the 8th Dynasty were de-
scended from those of the First, a large pool
the king or a post in the judiciary (see Appendix
2). Many men who hold priesthoods ofof Repersons
and must have existed with royal blood in
Hathor in the pyramid and sun temples are their veins that would provide outsiders with an
mar-
entree into Memphite society. It also seems that
ried or closely related to priestesses of Hathor.138
The persistence of certain names among these of this class helped perpetuate the royal
females
women is to be noted: Hnw.t.sn, Hc-mrr-nbty, house
Mrs-through a form of ancestor worship via the
cnh, Htp-hr.s and Hnt-kjw.s are those of goddess
the 4th who created the divine king.
Dynasty royal family. Some of these women, of
the rank of princess, married viziers. Hc-mrr-nbty,
officials connected with the judiciary, scribal organization
and the royal cult, like those found in the sun temples, e.g.,
Seschemnofers, pl. 13, Beitrage III). On the rule Htp-hr.s, of these married to Nht-kB (Hassan, Giza VII, 21ff., pls. 18-
families, see ibid, 15-16; Junker, Giza III, 14; Smith, 20, figs. 18, 20-21) early 5th Dynasty; Htp-hr.s, married
CAH5
op. cit., 44ff. Spssi (Mariette, Mastabas, 207; Borchardt, Denkmdler I, 37)
3 See above n. 119. Offices higher in the hierarchy, like early 5th Dynasty; five priestesses named Hnt-kBw.s are
shd or imy-r hmw ntr also hold this or a comparable rank, known from the Memphite area in the 5th Dynasty. One
e.g., Pth-spss, Saqqara, Mariette D 54 (Mariette, Mastabas, was married to the vizier Sndm-iblMhi (LD II 73-75, Ergdnz-
323), shd hm ntr Hthr, rh nsw; Mmi (Hassan, Giza VII, 45-48, band, pls. XI-XVI) and two others of the middle range
fig. 38, pl. 27a), s[h]dhm[w] ntr Hthr, rh nsw. officials mentioned above (Moussa and Altenmuller, Nefer
lM In-kB.f (Hassan, Giza IX, 21-24, figs. 7-8, pl. 7; Wr- and Kahay, 16, pls. 36, 38; Nianchchnum and Chnumhotep, pls.
ir(i).n-pth, CG 25, BM 718 (Borchardt, Statuenl, 26, pl. 7; HT 5, 47, 68, 75, 28, figs. 3-4, 6-8, 12; HT [1] I, pl. 32). For the
[2] I, pls. 28-29), married to Hnt-kBw.s; Mn-hm, Saqqara, D original queens and other higher ranking women, possibly
11, CG 1417 (Borchardt, Denkmdlerl, 89-91, pl. 20) husband royal descendants, who lived during the 5th Dynasty, see
of Nb-htp; Nfr-ir.t.n.f (Van de Walle, Neferirtenef) , married to Barbara Mertz, "Certain Titles of the Egyptian Queens and
Wts.t-kBw.s-, Ni-kBw-rc, CG 1414, 1416 (Borchardt, Denkmdlerl, Their Bearing on the Hereditary Right to the Throne," Un-
80-84, 87-89, pl. 19-20) married to IhB.t, Rc-spss, CG 55 published Diss., U. of Chicago, 1952, 71, fig. 2; Bettina
(Borchardt, Statuen I, 49, pl. 14) son of Nb-ir.t; Kj(i)-m-snwy Schmitz, Untersuchungen zum Titel sB njswt "Konigsohn"
(Firth and Gunn, Teti Pyramid Cemeteries, 157-66, 31-36, pls. (Bonn, 1976), 28-34; Junker, Giza II, 39-41.
62-63) married to Ir.t-nb; TnB (Junker, Giza VIII, 85-88, 14U Borchardt, Grab des Neuserre, 126-28, fig. 107; PMIII3,
abb. 31, pls. 11 a-c) perhaps related to Hnt-kBw.s, ibid., 58- 340-47. See also Schmitz, SB-njswt, 29-30. Pth-spss had the
61, 70, abb. 30, pls. 15-19; Tp-m-cnhll, Saqqara, Mariette D title of king's son, but, like other viziers of this period, this
11, CG 1415, 1417, 1564 (Mariette, Mastabas, 198; Borchardt, was perhaps a rank indicator and not an actual filiation (M.
Denkmdlerl, 84-87, 89-91, pls. 19-20) married to Nb-htp, Romer, Zum Problem von Titular und Herkunft bei den dgypti-
parents of Mn-hm; Hnm-htp, Saqqara D49 (Murray, Tomb schen "Konigsohnen" des Alien Reiches [Berlin, 1977] 108-9).
Chapels, pls. 15-17; Mariette, Mastabas, 312; HT [2] I, pl. 18, Note also that King Isosi may have married a Mrs-Cnh (Kuch-
etc.) married to Hntit-kB. man, 87fL).
For a general discussion of family connections of priest- This pattern seems to have been established under Shep-
esses of Hathor, see Galvin, "The Hereditary Status of the seskaf, when he married his daughter Hc-mjj.t to Pth-spss,
Titles of the Cult of Hathor," /£A 70 (1984), 42-49. the high priest of Ptah (N. Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt
139 Two women named Mrs-Cnh, at Giza and Maidum, do [trans. I Shaw, Oxford, 1992], 78).
not record the name of a spouse (Hassan, Giza VI. 3, 229, 141 Junker, GizaV, 18; VI, 12.
pls. 97-98; Barsanti, ASAE 3, 202) and probably date from A. H. Gardiner, The Royal Canon of Turin (Oxford,
the 6th Dynasty. Hnw.t.sn (Brunner-Traut, Grabkammer Se- 1959), pl. 2, col. IV, fragment 44. Although the name of Djo-
schemnofers III, colour pl. 5, pl. 19, Beitrage 3) was the wife of ser is noted in red ink in Col. Ill, frag. 18, this is actually a
Ssm-nfrll and the other of Ssm-nfr III; Hnw.t.sn {LD II, 34; patch, there seems little reason to doubt that all these kings
Reisner, Giza Necropolis I, 234-35) was the wife of Hwfw-htp, formed one ruling house. At the end of the 8th Dynasty,
imy-r kS.t nb.t nswt; Hc-mrr-nbty (LD II, 71-72, Text I, 49) was after Ibw and before Nfr-kj- rcand Hty, there is given a total,
married to Htp-n-pth, hri-sstB nsw c hBsw.t, imy-r hntspr cd nsw c of years since Mni, of 955 years and 10 days. See also Bor-
and probably dates from the reign of Isesi. A Htp-hr.s was chardt, Die Annalen und die Zeitliche Festlegung des Alien Reiches
married to the vizier Ssm-nfrlll, himself a sd nsw n ht.f (Brun- der Agyptischen Geschichte (Berlin, 1917), 42-47; D. B. Red-
ner-Traut, Grabkammer Seschemnofers III, pl. 13, Beitrage 3). ford, Pharaonic King-lists, Annals and Day Books (Mississauga,
Other women of this name were married to mid-range 1986), 11-13.
In trying to understand the function of The only exception is the title s?.t ntr, the sig-
priest-
nificance
esses of Hathor in the Old Kingdom, it is useful to of which at this period is not clearly
understood. Fourth Dynasty representations
note what they did not do. They did not operate
in the sun temples; they did not hold any ad- do not portray them any differently
of queens
from other women; their clothing and general
ministrative office connected with the priesthood
appearance are quite unremarkable. They
above the rank of phyle or shift coordinator;
beginorto be depicted in the vulture headdress
and with very few exceptions, they did not sing
play musical instruments. They had nothing in representations
to and texts during the 5th
do with the queen. In fact, the only queensDynasty151
who and by the 6th Dynasty are shown
hold priesthoods of Hathor can be argued to the cnh, hitherto reserved only for the
holding
have done so, while not in the position of king and other gods.152 The queens of Pepy II
royal
spouse. For example Mrs-Cnh III, although arecer-
given lavish burial places equipped with texts
tainly a queen, was only a titular princess,inbeing
the burial chambers, a prerogative not per-
mitted other commoners at this period, and
the daughter of prince K3-wcb. She probably
acquired her title as priestess of Hathor in hernon-royal mother cnh.n.s-mry-rc's father
Pepy's
youth, before becoming queen. Bw-nfr, who Hwi was
was permitted to call himself "father of the
probably the wife of Shepseskaf, seems to god.'
haveBerlev has seen this as evidence of the
outlived him and his branch of the rulingdevelopment
house, of a theory of a king being con-
being buried in a relatively humble tomb andceived by the god through a mortal woman.
sur-
vived by a son with only the lowly titles ofSuch notions illustrate not only tenuous claims
judge
and superintendent of scribes (sjb shd to ss).
the throne through existing family ties, but
Thereafter there are no other queens who thehold
difficulty of explaining the existence of the
the title of priestess of Hathor until the reign
king asofthe only living, breathing divine being in
Mentuhotep Nebhepetre of the 11th Dynasty. a world of mortals.
Queen's titularies of the Old Kingdom stressWhile the theory of divine queenship was later
their relationship to the king as a divine developed
being to solve such problems, the evidence
presented above suggests that this did not
and they also are often hm.t ntr of other gods.
143 Kaiser, MDAIK 14, 104ff. 149 Mertz, "Titles," 160-61.

Interestingly enough, the only known priestesses of For example, the female determinative on Htp-hr.s I's
Hathor, who are also imy wr.t, are from Naga ed Der, not decorated furniture (W. S. Smith, The Art and Architecture
Memphis, and are to be dated to the very late Old Kingdom [2nd ed., revised by W. K. Simpson, Harmondsworth, 1981],
or afterwards (Dunham, Stelae, 65-66, pl. 16.1; H. F. Lutz, 89, 92, figs. 82, 86); see also the inscriptions on the tomb of
Egyptian Tomb Steles and Offering Stones of the Museum of Anthro- Mrs-Cnh III (Dunham and Simpson, Mastaba of Mersyankh,
pology and Ethnology of the University of California [Leipzig, passim); Radjedef and his queen (Smith, Art, 113, fig. 109;
1927] , pl. 19). One of the women is imy. wr.t of hnww.t or mu- Menkaure and Hc-mrr-nbty (ibid., fig. 108).
sicians (see below). On the title imy. wr.t, see Roth, 11-26. 151 See G. Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt (Cambridge,
The title hm.t ntr Hthr wr(t) sww.t.s nb.t, which Galvin inter- Mass., 1993), 23; Troy, Queenship, 61ff., 68. For a possible ear-
prets as "chief priestess" ("Priestesses", 80) of the king's lier example see Holscher, 102-3, figs. 140-44. For the early
daughter Hm.t-rc (Hassan, Hemet Rec and Others, 5 pls. 2-4; 5th Dynasty in representations of Hnt.kjw.s; Hassan, Giza IV,
Borchardt, Denkmdlerl, 22 [CG 1524] ) does not exist. The wr fig. 2; for later attestations, Kuchman, 314-17; P. Posener-
sign is, in fact, an m. Krieger and J. L. de Cenival, Hieratic Papyri in the British Mu-
The only hnw(t) known from the Old Kingdom at seum, Fifth Series: The Abusir Papyri (London, 1968), pl. IV,
Memphis is a man named Tnmw, buried at Giza (Fischer, "A cols, h, f; pl. LXV
False Door of the Old Kingdom in Bologna," Varia, 11, n. 9. 152 Robins, Women, 24-25; Goedicke, Konigliche Dokumente,
The other title holder from the Old Kingdom is Phr-nfr.t, a fig. 4; Firth and Gunn, Teti Pyramid Cemeteries II, pls. 56.1, 57;
priestess of Hathor, who was married to Ppy-Cnh Hr-ib, the Fischer, The Orientation of Hieroglyphs (vol. 1, New York, 1977),
overseer of priests of Hathor of Cusae in the latter part of fig. 58; Fischer, "An Eleventh Dynasty Couple Holding the
the reign of Pepy II (Blackman, Meir IV, pl. 15; Gillam, Sign of Life," ZAS 100 (1973), 16ff.
"Studies," 135-39,230-44). E.g., G. Jequier, La pyramide d'Oudjebten (Cairo,
146 See Romer, 28ff. 1928); Les pyr amides des reines Neit et Apouit (Cairo, 1933).
147 Hassan, Giza III, 176, 196, figs. 147, 149, 150, 152, 154 O. D. Berlev, "The Eleventh Dynasty in the Dynastic
156, 159, pls. 54-56, 58. History of Egypt," Studies in Honor of Hans Jakob Polotsky (ed.
H. Gauthier, "Le titulaire des reines des dynasties D. Young, East Gloucester, Mass., 1981), 368.
Memphites," ASAE 24 (1924), 198-209. 155 Ibid., 363.
happen before the end ofatthe

tested Old
any other site Kingdom.
for the whole of the At Old
this period, the king'sand Middle Kingdoms.
divinity was They
the also result
predate officeof
union with gods not mortals. holders at the other
Just sites.as
Indeed,
the it seems
Pyramid
Texts show that Isis, the obviousthrone,
that the cult ofbrought
the royal goddess fol-
about
the rebirth of the king lowed the in the
ruling next
elite as world
it organized the townsas
explained in the mythofof Upper Egypt (evidence
Osiris, Hathor, for the Delta
the is not
en-
closure or hw.t maintained so clear) as centres
the for the redistribution of of the
legitimacy
King in this one. In contrast goods and services forwith the Coffin
its benefit.
Texts, the Pyramid Texts contain only a few Whereas the officials who administered the
references to this goddess, suggesting that hinterland during the 4th Dynasty, officials like
her role as a mortuary deity was not one that Mtn or Ntr-Cpr.f, governed largely out of the cap-
the house of Memphis needed to appropriate. If ital or, at least, were buried there, the 5th
Hathor played a role in the king's afterlife at this Dynasty regime settled its officers in the actual
period, it was as the congener of Re with whom centres.165 As we have already noted in the case of
he was closely identified as ruler of gods and Nkj-Cnh of Tehneh, such officials often held the
mortals.159 The priestesses of Hathor were em- office of Overseer of the New Towns (imy-r niww.t
ployed to maintain this relationship in her own niDDW.t)}^ suggesting a policy of internal coloni-
temples, in the royal funerary complexes, and in zation and a need to administer the ever growing
the mr.t buildings built within the precinct of the number of royal and elite estates whose existence
palace and often maintained for generations. is attested in Memphite tomb chapels and royal
Whatever went on in these temples, it was cer- mortuary complexes of this period. Officials
tainly not the sacred marriage of king and queen holding this and similar titles are found at
suggested by Barta. Attempts to connect these Hagarsa, Hemamiya Sheikh Said, Zawyet el-
structures with the mrw buildings of the Amarna Amwat, and Deshasheh, suggesting a policy to
period or the Mammisis found in Graeco-Roman settle and control the underdeveloped middle
temples cannot be proven. Egyptian area, valuable for its large tracts of
arable land. Both men and women holding
8. Priestesses of Hathor outside priesthoods of Hathor are found among this new
Memphis in the Old Kingdom class of administrators, representing as they do
We have already observed that the priestesses

of Hathor of Memphis far outnumber others163 See
at-above n. 36. Nkj-Cnh of Tehneh, and his family, who
are the earliest precisely dated title holders outside Memphis,
lived in the reign of Menkaure (Urk. I 25). Although Ni-ibw-
156 J. G. Griffiths, The Conflict of Horus and Seth (Liver- nswof Dendera has been dated as early as the 3rd Dynasty, sev-
pool, 1960), 7-8; see also above nos. 79, 80, Pyramid Texts eral factors, including his use of the title rh nsw, place him in
§1025-26, §1327. On the relationship of the house of Ho- the 5th Dynasty (Fischer, Dendera, 16-18).
rus to Hathor, see Junker, Der Sehende und Blinde Gott (Mu- 154 Fischer, Dendera, 3-12.
nich, 1942), 41-42. bo Ibid., 12, N. Kanawati, Governmental Reforms in Old
157 See Coffin Texts, I, 181, 184, 190, 192, 204, 214, 258,Kingdom Egypt (Warminster, 1980), 2-10.
261, II, 61, 124, 199, III, 1, 30, 112, 124, 161, 240, IV, 9, 17, Fischer, ibid., 19; Kanawati, Governmental Reforms,
47-48, 52, 172-76, 179-83, 343, V, 32, 38, 41, 53, 159, 242, op. cit., 2-10.
273, VI, 9, 22, 48, 53, 54, 65, 79, 80, 83, 84, 91, 127-31, 135- ' H. K. Jacquet-Gordon, Les noms des domaines funeraires
36, 137, 138, 139-42, 209, 225, 239, 275, 277, 284, 290, 298, sous VAncien Empire Egyptien (Cairo, 1962) passim; cf. Helck,
301, 330, 331, 335, 341, 342, 349, 376, 382-83, 403, VII, 79, Zur Verwaltung des Mittleren und Neuen Reiches (Leiden,
99, 112, 152, 159, 224, and E: Drioton, Review of The Ancient 1958), 195, n. 1.
Egyptian Coffin Texts VI by A. de Buck, Bibliotheca Orientalis 15 168 Fischer, Dendera, 11, n. 51.
(1958), 187-90. Dieter Kessler, Historische Topographie der Region zwi-
158 Pyramid Texts §§466, 546, 705. schen Mallawi und Samalut (Wiesbaden, 1981), 11; W. Kaiser,
W. Barta, Die Bedeutung der Pyramidentext fur den ver- "Zur Siidausdehnung der vorgeschichtlichen Delta Kul-
storbene Konig (Munich, 1981), 149. turen und friihen Entwicklung Oberagyptens," MDAIK 41
150 Barta, ZASloc. cit., 101-2. (1985), 61-87; Gillam, "Studies," 32-51.
During the Old Kingdom, women can be found at
161 Ibid., cf. Duell, Mereruka II, pl. 141 and above n. 122.
Troy, Queenship, 56, assumes that the names of all the following sites; Naga ed-Der, Dendera, Hemamiya,
these buildings come from the same root, mri, love. Nagada, Aswan, Akhmim, Kasr es-Sayt, Zawyet el-Amwat,
the Memphite elite. That priestesses of Hathor of Hathor continue to flourish and there are
are to be found among these provincial admin- more hmw.t ntr Hthr than even before. Al-
istrators is no surprise, since as high rankingthough some, like Mrr-wi-kj. (z)'s wife Wr-th-hthr
members of the elite descended from the Fourth preserve the old titular and ranking pattern of
princess and priestess of Neith, most are of
Dynasty royal family, they made a desirable match
for any ambitious bureaucrat. the mid-range rank, the main difference being
A special case seems to be that of Dendera,
that the ranking title rh.t nsw has been replace
whose cult of Hathor is the only non-Memphitewith hkr.t nsw/wct.t and for a brief period in
form of this goddess attested at the capital in the
4th Dynasty. Although there has been some 176 See Appendix 1 for the title holders who are rh nsw. A
speculation that Dendera (Iwn.t) was equated
total of sixty-four female title holders from the Memphite
area may
with Heliopolis as its feminine counterpart, as be dated to the 6th Dynasty.
177 See Duell, Mereruka, pl. 57, 212, 26-27, 64, 83, 96, 88,
Hathor was Re's feminine counterpart, it may
149-50, 159, 1566-67. Other Nt titles are held by WU.t-k3w.s
also be possible that the goddess of Iwn.t, which
(Hassan, Hemet-rec and Others, 68-81, pls. 53-55, figs. 38b, 39);
had been settled before the Archaic period,
Nww.t, G 2184 (Wreszinski, Atlas III, pl. 69); HtplWU.t-htp,
had a popularity that allowed her to be G
iden-
2001 (W. K. Simpson, Mastabas of the Western Cemetery: Part I
tified with her royal equivalent. [Boston, 1980], 13-14, pls. 19, 22, figs. 17, 20); S.ss.h, G 2009
(PMIII2, 67); Hnw.t-mt, G 3033 (Fischer, Minor Cemetery, 136-
38, 49-50, pl. 44); Inti, Saqqara, Mariette E 1 and 2 (Murray,
9. The Cult and Personnel of Hathor Saqqara Mastabas, 28, pl. 31; Mariette, Mastabas, 377).
in the 6th Dynasty and Later In the later 6th Dynasty only one woman holds the Neith
title at Saqqara: Nb.tllby (Drioton, ASAE 43, 495, pl. 40). At
At the beginning of the 6th Dynasty, Gizawhen
are found the following: Mrr.t, mastaba of Mst, Giza
(Junker, Giza IX, 235-36); Hm.t-rc, wife of IdwINfr, vizier of
the central government was reorganized,
Pepy II (Helck, Beamtentiteln, 141; Junker, Giza VIII, abb. 36,
attempts to order and exploit the resources pl. 146).
of
the countryside were redoubled. If the Mem- 178 At Memphis in the Old Kingdom, only three priestesses
phite necropolis is any guide, the population, of Hathor hold this title prior to the 6th Dynasty: Nn-sdr-kj,
especially of the official class, burgeoned; and G2101 (Junker, Giza II, lllff., abb. 7, 8, 10, pls. 3, 4); Nfr-
htp.s (Wild, Tombeau de Ti, pls. 31, 39, 164, 56, 18, 19, 27, 171,
power came to reside in the hands of powerful
63); Hc-mrr-nbty (Borchardt, Grabdenkmal des Neuserre, 126-28,
viziers like Kj-gm.n.(i) cnh-mc-hr and Mrr-wi- PM III2, 340-41).
kS(i), who also controlled the pyramid city of From the 6th Dynasty come the following: (earlier) Bity
the current ruler. All the cultic installations (Maspero, Memoires publies par les membres de la mission arche-
ologique frangaise au Cairel (1884), 199; Bhnw, BM 1330, 1319
(HT[2] I, 33, pl. 32-34).
Deshahsheh, Sheikh Said, Dara, Tehna, Cusae, Deir el- Later 6th Dynasty: Ns-wsr.t Cairo JdE 57186 (cf. A. Moret,
Gebrawi, Abydos, and Athribis; and men connected with des Alten Reiches III [ed. D. Abou-Ghazi, Cairo,
Denkmdler
the cult of Hathor are found at Dendera, Cusae, Tehneh, 1980], CG 1688, 1753); Inti, Richmond, Va. 71.39 (Reed, An-
and Sheikh Said. See further, Galvin, "Priestesses," 65- cient Art in the Virginia Museum [Richmond, 1973], 19 [10]);
105, map., p. 4a. cnh.n.s, CG 1357 (Borchardt, Denkmdler \t 26); cnh.n.s-ppy, CG
1522 (ibid., 22-23); Sbw.t.t CG 1687 (ibid. II, 135); Initl
171 Mrs-Cnh III was hm ntr Hthr nb[t] Iwn.t (Dunham and
Int.t(f).s (PM III2, 567); Isti (Jequier, Tombeaux de particuliers
Simpson, Mastaba of Mersyankh III, figs. 9, 7). A slightly later
inscription, showing the title, but lacking a name is dated by
contemporaines dePepi II [Cairo, 1929] , 87, fig. 98) ; InilHnt-kiw.s
Fisher (Dendera, 24) to the late 4th or early 5th Dynasty.(Jequiet, La Pyramide d'Aba [Cairo, 1935], 22-24); WBd.t (Je-
172 Fischer, op. cit., 30-35. quier, Tombeaux des particuliers, 90); Ppy-Cnh (Jequier, Neit et
115 Ibid., 1-2. Apouit, 56, fig. S3);Mrt-(i)t.fs/Mr.t.i, (Quibell, Saqqara 1906-7,
174 Kanawati, Governmental Reforms, 27-36, 44-56.73, Hepl. 9.1); MstnilTs.t (Quibell, Saqqara, 1905-6, pl. 16); Nsit
(Jequier, Tombeaux des Particuliers, 34-35, fig. 36); Nt (ibid.,
notes, especially, references to pride of officials in increased
productivity and more efficient tax collection. 75) Hby(m)t (PM III2, 566); Hnw.hwit (ibid., 511); SS.t-iy-tnw
(Fischer, "A Stela of the Heracleopolitan Period at Saqqara:
Firth and Gunn, Teti Pyramid Cemeteries, 1-6; N. Strud-
The Osiris Iti," ZAS 90 [1963]), 36-37; SS.t-in-tti, Firth and
wick, The Administration of Egypt in the Old Kingdom (London,
1985), 317, cf. Helck, Untersuchungen zu dem BeamtentitelnGunn,
des Teti Pyramid Cemeteries, pls. 20 [c,d], 21); Sni (PM III2,
dgyptische Alten Reiches (Gltickstadt, 1954), 129. 568); Sn.ti (Jequier, Le Mastabat Faroun [Cairo, 1928], 24, 29,
n. 1) Sn.t(i)(f).t.s (PM III2, 568) St.ib.tilBb-ibi (Jequier, Tom-
Mrr-wi-kj(i) , Ttw: Firth and Gunn, Teti Pyramid Cemeteries,
151-56, pl. 61; Tp-m-cnh: CG 1415, Saqqara D 11, Bor- beaux des particuliers, 56) Sdhi (Drioton, Une groupe de tombes
a Saqqara: Icheti, Nefer-Khou-Ptah, Sebek-em-khent et
chardt, Denkmdler I, 84; Hnti-kj: T. G. H. James, The Mastaba
ofKhentika called Ikheki (London, 1953), pls. 5, 7, 19. Ankhi," ASAE55 [1958], 230-31, pl.20);
the reign of Pepy II,ofspss.t

works, Nhbw, nsw.
tells us that he embarked on a
Although the
programme
hkr.t nsw titles probably of irrigation improvement
represent all over
a hierarchy of
elaboration, it is also possible that in some the country. The remains of one of the kS
cases the short form is just an abbreviation of houses Pepy built for himself throughout Egypt,
the other.180 which has been found at Bubastis, prominently
Indeed the cult was encouraged by a particular displays Pepy's connection with Hathor. The
link between the religious ideology of this exer-
interest that the kings of the Sixth Dynasty felt
for Hathor of Dendera. Teti dedicated an alabas-cise and its economic benefits hinge on the fact
ter sistrum to the goddess and his son that Pepy I mortuary foundations were one of the
royal
made a point of styling himself son of Hathor main methods
of of economic redistribution and
Dendera. He lavished his patronage on the sources of employment for the expanding elite
temple of this town and installed a new line of class.186 A plethora of decrees dating from the
provincial administrators
1 8^
who were also over- 6th Dynasty shows that the employees of these
seers of the cult. Pepy's architect and overseerestablishments benefitted from all manner of ex-
1 8^7
emptions from taxation and forced labour.
Given Pepy's interest in Hathor, this pro-
Sm,DC.t (Jequier, Tombeaux des Particuliers, 76, pl. 11); Ksw.Lt/
gramme of cultic colonization is probably re-
Nw.t-wdnw (Firth and Gunn, Teti Pyramid Cemeteries, 196-
97); Gm.n.i-s.tlDwDW.htp (Firth and Gunn, Teti Pyramid Ceme-
sponsible for the origin of most of the centres
teries, 188, 54, 258-59, pl. 75); Dft.s (Jequier, Tombeaux des of Hathor's worship in Upper Egypt. In a cen-
Particuliers, 86, fig. 97). tres, like Thebes, his favourite goddess, Hathor
This material is all later 6th Dynasty; cnh.n.s-ppy CG of Dendera, was later equated with a local deity
1522 (Borchardt, Denkmdlerl, 223-24, pl. 46); Mrri, CG 369
like the goddess of the western mountain.188
(Borchardt, Statuen I, 194); Name Uncertain, JdE 40708
But at Cusae, the centre of a particularly fertile
(C. Lilyquist, Ancient Egyptian Mirrors from the Earliest Times 1 SQ
through the Middle Kingdom [Berlin, 1979], 14, 89, 92, pl. 14); area in middle Egypt, her cult, which arrived
Isti (Jequier, Tombeaux des particuliers, 87, fig. 98); ItilHnt- with the canal digging programme of Pepy I
kSw.s (Jequier, Pyramide d'Aba, 22-24); MstnilTs.t (Quibell,
Saqqara 1905-6, 24, pl. 16; Snt.i (Jequier, Le mastabat Faroun,
29, n.i, fig. 24): Smjc.t (Jequier, Tombeaux des particuliers, 76, 184 Urk. I 220-21, cf. D. Dunham, "The Biographical In-
pl. 11); Gm.n.i/Dwjiv-htp (Firth and Gun, Teti Pyramid Ceme- scriptions of Nekhebu in Boston and Cairo,"/£A 24 (1938),
2-3.
teries, 54, 188, 258, pl. 75). The suppressed writings, ^q apQ
found in the cases of Iti/Hnt-kjw.s, Snt.i and Smjc.t all occur 185 L. Habachi, Tell Basta (Cairo, 1957), 1-25; Fischer,
in the burial chamber also pointing to a later date. See review of Tell Basta, American Journal of Archaeology (herein-
P. Lacau, "Supressions et modificatons designes dans les after AJA) 62 (1958), 331.
textes funeraires," ZAS 51 [1913], 3-12 and Fischer, "Ar- lbb Goedicke, Konigliche Dokumente, 239-44.
chaeological Aspects of Epigraphy and Paleography," Ancient 187 Ibid., 236-37.
Egyptian Epigraphy and Paleography (New York, 1976), 32-33. 188 For the 6th Dynasty priestesses at this site, Im, and
As for example, smrlwcty, hri sst3ln pr dwj.tlwd mdw Mr.t-{i)t.fs,
n see M. Saleh, Three Old Kingdom Tombs at Thebes
(Mainz, 1977), 11, 23-26, pls. 14, 17, figs. 55, 59.
hw.t wr.t (etc.), imy-r kj.t/nb.t nsw (etc.), cf. Helck, Beamtent-
iteln, 24-25, 66, 43-44, 99, 105 (etc.). See also Gillam, The cult of Hathor in west Thebes may date from the
"Studies," 225-28. Although hkr.t nswlwct.t matches the11th fre-or 12th Dynasty. Senwosret III erected many statues of
quency of rh.t nsw in the Memphite area, it never exceeds himself
it. in Mentuhotep's temple at Deir el-Bahari, where he
See Appendix 1. also had himself depicted before this king, together with
181 N. de G. Davies, "An Alabaster Sistrum Dedicated by (Naville, The Xlth Dynasty Temple at Deir el Bahari [3
Hathor
King Teta,"/£A 6 (1920), 69-72. Volumes, London, 1894-1908] III, 10-11). The other evi-
Fischer, Dendera, 37-40. On Ptolemaic commemora- dence for the early existence of Hathor's cult and what later
tion of this king at Dendera, see further, D. Kurth, "Zu den became The Feast of the Valley is largely based on (1) the
Darstellung Pepi I. im Hathortempel von Dendera," Tempelexistence of Thutmose Ill's Hathor shrine next to Mentu-
und Kult (ed. W. Helck, Wiesbaden, 1987), 1-23. hotep's temple and (2) New Kingdom votive objects that
183 Part of a statuette of Pepy, contemporary with hisshow Hathor and Mentuhotep (Naville, Xlth Dynasty Temple
reign, was found on the site of the Mammisi of Dendera I, 61; Allam, Hathorkult, 61ff., G. Pinch, Votive Offerings to
(F. Daumas, "Le trone d'une statuette de Pepi Ier trouve aHathor [Oxford, 1993]).
Dendara," Bulletin d'Institut Francais dArcheologie Orientate 189 See Gillam, "Studies," 23-67.
(hereinafter BIFAO) 52 (1953), 163-72; Fischer, Dendera, 190 An earlier mention of Hathor in connection with the
38, 45-50, n. 157, 65-77, 93-108. A gap exists at this site be-Cusite nome is found in a list of funerary estates in the
tween earlier tombs and those of the 6th Dynasty. fragmentary name of the establishment Mr[hthr-Cnh] Ni-wsr-rc
and later hw.t k? of his son, seems to have which connected him with the celebration of
been created ex nihilo. Every significant aspectthe sed festival,195 an event, which, one imag-
of the cult, from the sacred tnt.t cows, the wh ines, could only take place in the capital. Both
fetish, to the office of hnw.t or female musician
his wives and all his daughters were priestesses
priest, which was just beginning to be adopted of Hathor. Perhaps he was imported as a rit-
in the capital, can be seen to originate in the ual expert to found the cult, while others took
Memphite area. The ideological and eco- care of the economic infrastructure of the area.
nomic importance of the cult of Hathor of Cu-It may have been for this reason that he was
sae is demonstrated by the fact that the main buried at Quseir el-Amarna, right across the
river from Cusae, rather than the necropolis of
players in this nome are the overseers of priests
and not the administrators (hryw tp-cj). Hw- Meir, the remote western cemetery where his
n-wh, one of the earlier functionaries, who was successors were buried. Cusae's close con-
originally a shd hmw ntr and later elevated to nection with the metropolis is also seen in th
overseer of priests,19 had a peculiar titulary titulary of a later overseer of priests, Ppy-C
Hr-ib, whose autobiography we have alrea
quoted. Apart from holding a number of sac
("Hathor desires that Neuserre might live") (Jacquet- dotal titles, which also seem to connect him
Gordon, op. cit., 71). However, there is no proof of an ac-
tual cult or personnel of the cult of Hathor in the Cusite
with the royal cult and sed festival, Ppy-Cnh
nome at this early date. was also a vizier, although perhaps only respon-
Pepy I's architect and overseer of works, Nhbw, states that sible for the middle Egyptian area. Needless
"his majesty sent me ... to dig [a canal?] for his . . . to say, there are priestesses of Hathor at Cusae
[of Hathor] of Cusae" (Urk. I 221.6-7; Dunham, JEA 24,
in the Old Kingdom, although their relative
loc. cit., pl. 2). See also Gillam, "Studies," 90-91.
For the kS house of Pepy II, see G. Jequier, Le Monu-
numbers are few in relation to Memphis.
ment funeraire de Pepi II (t. Ill, Cairo, 1940), pl. 27 and Perhaps this is because there was only one cult
Gillam, "Studies," 73-74. centre of Hathor and the overseer of priests
The first known functionary of the tnt.t ("outstand- played a major cultic role in it.
ing?") cows is mniw (herdsman) , Rc-mnw-kj, who was buried at
Two other important centres for priestesses of
Giza in the late 6th or early 6th Dynasty (Hassan, Giza II,
169ff., figs. 204, 208, 210, pls. 61-62). The ht-wr tnt.t, cnh-ir.s,
Hathor in Upper Egypt are Akhmim and Naga
also from Giza (Curto, Gli Scavi I, 78-83, pls. 23-25, figs. 32- ed-Der. We have already noted four priestesses
33; Reisner, Giza Necropolis, 492) may be somewhat later. As of Hathor of the Sycamore at Akhmim, which
Fischer (Dendera, 25-26) has pointed out, since Rc-mnw-kj is
also a priest of Harsomtus, and his tomb preserves a fragmen- Hw-n-wh has similar titles to a Memphite official, Wr-
tary mention of Hathor of Dendera, the tnt.t cows are to be as- nww, who probably dates from some time later in the 6th
sociated with this town. However, it should be noted that the Dynasty. See W. V. Davies, A. el-Khouli, A. B. Lloyd and A. J.
first mention of the tnt.t cows at Dendera itself is no earlier Spencer, Saqqara Tombs I: The Mastabas of Mereri and Wernu
than the end of the 6th Dynasty (Fischer, Dendera, 120). (London, 1984), 1, 22-24, pls. 26-29; Junker, "Zu den
On the hnw.t priestess, see above n. 32. Titeln des," ^ 5oo ASAE 49 (1949), 207-15; Gillam,
"Studies," 183-98.
The wh is a cultic object, first found in the sun and funerary
196 Kanawati and El-Khouli, Quseir el-Amarna, 35-37, pls.
temples of the 5th Dynasty (F. W. von Bissing, Untersuchungen
14, 22, 32, 34-35, 41, 44, 45-46. The woman, Hth-m-hBt, is
zu den Reliefs aus dem Re Heiligtum des Rathures, III Abhandlung
Bayersiche Akademie 32 [Munich, 1922], pl. 28 [432], either
pl. a31
daughter (Kanawati, loc. cit.) or a secondary wife
[477]; Posener-Krieger and Cenival, Hieratic Papyri, (Gillam,
op. cit.,"Studies," 201-5) depending on how one inter-
pl. 14. See also Gillam, "Studies," 160-73, 230-44, 490-514.
prets a caption on a female figure in the papyrus marsh
See H. Kees, Kulturgeschichte des alien Orients: Agypten
scene which reads Hthr-m-hot sj.t.s/Sj.t.i rn.s nfr cn.
(Munich, 1933), 202; Fischer, Dendera, 19-21; Gillam, See Blackman, Meir I, 5-11; Kanawati and el-Khouli,
"Studies," 141-43, cf. Blackman, Meir I, 5-11. Quseir el-Amarna, 11, 14ff.; Gillam "Studies," 133. On the re-
N. Kanawati and A. el-Khouli, Quseir el-Amarna: Thelationship of the choice of such sites to adjacent water-
Tombs ofPepy-ankh and Khewen-wekh (Sydney, 1989), 33-35, courses, see Gillam ibid., 52-67.
pls. 32-46. The latter title (imy-r hmw ntr) only appears on 198 Blackman, Meir TV, pls. 4, 6; Gillam, "Studies," 145-
the outside of the tomb. Although I placed Hw-n-wh later, 46.
in the middle of the reign of Pepy II (Gillam, "Studies," 199 Kanawati and el Khouli, Quseir el Amarna, 19-21;
Gillam, "Studies," 145-46.
486-89; review of Quseir el-Amarna, Discussions in Egyptology
20 [1991], 75-87), it now seems clear that Kanawati 's dating im Galvin, "Priestesses," 102-4; JEA 70 loc. cit., 42-49;
of Hw-n-wh, in the reign of Pepy I or Merenre, is correct. Gillam, "Studies," 213-23.
has seemed puzzling, This,

since most
which of place
as the burial them
of thehave
rulers of
been dated to the First Intermediate Period.
the Archaic Period and probably their ancestra
However, if we accept Naguib Kanawati home.205
's sugges- In the first half of the Sixth Dynasty
whenof
tion that many of the monuments thought upper
as Egypt was apparently divided into
characteristic of the First Intermediate Period two separate administrative areas, This be-
came
are to be dated to the earlier 6th Dynasty, it its
is administrative centre. As late as the
probable that some of these women followed
8th or 9th Dynasty, an administrative counci
their husbands straight from the Memphiteknown as the Council of the Overseer of Upper
Egypt existed here, although if we are to be-
court when they took up their new administra-
tive posts. However, since Akhmim was already
lieve cnh.ty.fy, it has lost any real power it might
everof
the centre of an ancient and important cult have had.208
the god Min, these priestesses augmented It is, therefore, not remarkable that there are
their duties to their official deity with positions so many priestess of Hathor in the Thinite
90^
in the local cult as keepers of the sacred nome. Most of them lack a site-specific designa-
vigil.
The possibility raised by Kanawati that much
inscribed material formerly dated to pl. the32);First
Hny, Boston MFA 12.1478 (Dunham, 16, pl. 3.2);
Intermediate Period may be as early as thetomb
Hnni.t, late3792, inscribed coffin, Naga ed-Der, unpub-
5th or early 6th Dynasty helps explainlished theslip,
pres-
Topographical Bibliography, Oxford; Hsi, Cali-
ence of more priestesses of Hathor fornia
and 3910
Naga(Lutz, pl. 19); Hdw[i], Boston MFA 25.677
(Dunham, 35-36, pl. 12.1); Htp.t[i] (Dunham, 85-86, pl.
ed-Der and its environs than anywhere else
26.1); Hnw.t (ibid., 80, pl. 23.2); Swcw.t.tn, Cairo JdE 48032
other than Memphis itself, a total of thirty-four
(G. E. Wainwright, "Three Stelae from Nag' ed Dier," ASAE
in number. These cemeteries served25Abydos/
[1925], 165-66, pl. 3); Shws, Oriental Institute 16958
(Dunham, 106, pl. 33.2); St-nt-inhrt (Lutz, pls. 15, 20), pos-
sibly two people, Sm3ct, Cairo JdE 48030 (Wainwright, ASAE
Kanawati, "The Dating of the Tombs of el-Hawawish," 25, 164, pl. 1); Kni.tlMrr.n.s, Boston MFA 25.67 (Dunham,
32, pl. 11.1); Ky, Philadelphia 600 (Dunham, 82-83, pl.
Fifth International Congress of Egyptology: Abstracts of Papers
(Cairo, 1988). There exists evidence that many important 24.2) [Km.t] in.t, tomb of T^-mrry, Naga ed-Der, N248 (Peck,
titleholders date from the earlier 6th Dynasty and not the "Decorated Tombs," 56ff., pls. 3-5).
Heliopolitan period as suggested by other scholars like Go- On the Thinite Nome see Fischer, "Four Provincial
Administrators at the Memphite Cemeteries," JAOS 74
maa, Fischer, Brovarski and others (see E. Brovarski, "Akh-
mim in the Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period," (1954), 26-34; Dendera, 69.
Melanges Gamal Mokhtar [vol. 1], Cairo, 1985), 117-53. The following priestesses of Hathor from Abydos proper
202 Gauthier, Personnel, 5ff. are known from the Old Kingdom and First Intermediate
203 See above, n. 29, Gauthier, 118. Period: Iwti, CG 1590 (Borchardt, Denkmdlerll, 69, pl. 78);
204 Name Lost (Lutz, Steles, 2, pl. 12, n. 3794; Dunham, Msn.tlH3.t-kM CG 1576, Borchardt, Denkmdlerll, 57, pl. 75;
Stelae, 41); Name Lost, California TMN 37 (Lutz, Steles, Nb.tlBbi, CG 1579 (ibid., 103); Rhti, CG 1602 (ibid., 78);
pl. 5); Name Lost, Cairo JdE 45969 (Dunham, Stelae, 68-69,
Htp.w.t, CG 1615 (Fischer, JARCE 1, 11-18, fig. 3); Sn.t, CG
pl. 17.2; Name Lost, tomb of TwSw, Naga ed-Der, n. 359 1654 (Borchardt, Denkmdlerll, 115, pl. 86).
(C. Peck, "Some Decorated Tombs of the First Intermediate On the dating of tombs of the 6th Dynasty at Abydos, See
Period at Naga ed-Der," Diss., Brown University, 1959, llff.,E. Brovarski, "Abydos in the Old Kingdom and First Inter-
29, pl. 2; ... z(?) (Lutz, Steles, pl. 18, n. 34; Dunham, Stelae,mediate Period: Part II," For His Ka: Essays Offered in Memory
49-50); Iy, Boston, MFA 25.227 (Dunham, op. cit., 23, of Klaus Baer (ed. D. Silverman, Chicago, 1994), 15-44.
pl. 6.2); Iy, Cairo JdE 48871 (Dunham, 76, pl. 21.2); Ini-it.s, Kanawati, Governmental Reforms, 65-80, summarizes
California 1001 (Dunham, 38-39; Lutz, pl. 10); Idi; (Dun- evidence for, and arguments about, the existence of this
ham, 89-91 pl. 27.2); "m.t, Oriental Institute 16959 (Dun-division.
ham, 107-8, pl. 34); cnh-n.s.-ppy, stela, Cairo JdE 37737 207 See above, n. 205. Although Fischer (JAOS 74, 32) sug-
(Dunham, 65-66, pl. 16.1); cnh.m.s-ppy, Boston MFA 26.678, gests religious and historical reasons for the prominence of
5/5128, coffin, Museum of Art and Architecture, UniversityAbydos, Kanawati (Governmental Reforms, 31ff., 48, 62-64)
of Missouri 61.69 (Dunham, 36-37, pl. 12.2); Bnit (Dun-thinks this may have more to do with the marriage of Pepy I
ham, 83-84, pl. 25.1); Bnit Oriental Institute 1695 (Dun- to the two like-named daughters of Hwy, the first of a line of
ham, p. 101, p. 31), possibly same as previous; Pry.t, Caironomarchs of Abydos, who held many other important posi-
19:11:26:2 (Dunham, 74-75, pl. 20); Mw.t-mw.t, Boston tions, including the Vezirate. By the latter part of the reign
MMA 25.2.3 (Dunham, 92-94, pl. 28); Mri, JdE 45971 (ibid.,of Pepy II, this family had disappeared and the rulership of
70, pl. 18.2); Mry, Boston MFA 25.676 (ibid., 33.5, pl. 11.2);the Thinite nome seems to diminish in importance (ibid.,
Nb.t-it.f, California 3110 (Dunham, 39-40; Lutz, pl. 10.2, 92-94).
n. 19); Hnw.t.sn, Oriental Institute 16956 (Dunham, 102-3, 208 J. Vandier, Mo'alla (Paris, 1950), 186, II, y3- 115, 1.
tion and almost all are associated with men of himself bringing the entire country under con-
higher ranks. Such persons simply repre- trol for her. The reliefs also show the first
sented a branch-plant operation of the central depictions of Hathor offering her sistrum and
government complete with its official cult of menat to the kings, suckling him both in human
royal self perpetuation. As at Akhmim, there and cow form.2 These representations suggest
was no attempt to start a new local cult or inter- not only the contamination of the original Mem-
fere with the venerable, existing local cults. phite royal theogony from other sources, but
show Mentuhotep meant that his position as
10. Mentuhotep Nebhepetre Hathor's son was to be taken extremely liter-
and the Cult of Hathor ally. As Labib Habachi has shown, Mentuhotep
used his monuments to identify himself as closely
When the Memphite system of government as possible with a number of gods, apart from the
and ruling house finally collapsed at the traditional
end of Re-Horus association.
the 8th Dynasty, a period of internal struggleThe
and king's theological legitimacy was to be
economic decline ensued. This seems to have expressed in his funerary complex at Deir el-
been exacerbated by famine and plague; Bahari,
and just as his Old Kingdom predecessors'
it could have been well over a centurywas in their
before a pyramid ensembles. Sometime in
ruler strong enough to unite the whole the period prior to his final conquest of the
country
emerged. That person was Mentuhotep, north, Mentuhotep decided to strengthen his
the sec-
legitimacy
ond of that name, of the house of Inyotef, a fam- and that of his successors by actually
marrying a number of priestesses of Hathor.
ily originating in the general area of Thebes.
Although his name linked him with In the local
the plan of the temple at this time, their
warrior god, Mentuhotep realized that chapels with their tombs underneath them,
Egypt had
to be united by propaganda as much asformed part of a unified complex like the sub-
military
might. Early in his long reign he began sidiary pyramids of the queens of the Old King-
describ-
dom. Although it is puzzling that these
ing himself as the son of Hathor of Dendera,212
women had
who as well as being worshipped at Thebes, do not hold the title of hm.t nsw on
the cachet of the great rulers of old like Teti and

Pepy I. He was, no doubt, also aware of 213
theG.an-
Daressy, "Chapelle de Mentuhotep III a Den-
dereh," ASAE 17 (1917), 226-35; L. Habachi, "King
cient cult of Hathor that had perpetuated the
Nebhepetre-Mentuhotep: His Monuments, Place in History,
Memphite succession. Deification and Unusual Representations in the Form of
However, unable to trace his descent from the Gods," MDAIK19 (1963), 19-28, pls. 4-8.
900 year old house of Memphis, Mentuhotep had ^ Habachi, loc. cit., pls. 6-8, fig. 7-8.
to become creative in his use of the royal goddess. 1 Compare the depictions of suckling cows and offer-
ings of milk in private funerary scenes of the period, as in the
In the earlier part of his reign he celebrated his
chapels of Mentuhotep's queens (Naville, DeirelBaharil, pls.
connection with the goddess in a hw.t k? he had 13, 17, 22, III, pl. 2; Lilyquist, Ancient Egyptian Mirrors, fig.
constructed at Dendera, optimistically showing 129). Of particular note is the milking scene in the burial
chamber of Kmsit (Naville, op. cit., Ill, pl. 2) which takes
place in a papyrus thicket. Does it represent the cow in her
See above no. 205. The most common ranking natural
titleenvironment,
of the marshes, or is it an early depiction
of Hathor
these women is hkr.t nsw wct.t occurring twenty-nine in the papyrus? (See Junker, Giza IV, fig. 8, LD II
times.
The most common ranking titles of close male 12, 60; Naville, Deir el Bahari I, pl. 30, III, pl. 30 [1], [3];
associates
are hjty-c and smr wcty occurring eighteen and fourteen
Sethe, Urgeschichte, §§67, 10).
For a depiction of an 1 lth Dynasty king, probably Mentu-
times respectively, followed closely by sdSwty bity occurring
thirteen times. hotep, suckling from the Hathor cow, see Hannover 1935,
210 B. Bell, "The Dark Ages in History: The First 200,
Dark 22 (I. Woldering, Ausgewahlte Werke der dgyptischen Samm-
Age in Egypt," AJA 75 (1971), 1-26; B. G. Trigger, lung
B. J.[Hannover, 1958], 66, pl. 27).
Kemp, D. O'Connor and A. B. Lloyd, Ancient Egypt: A Social 216 MDAIK, loc. cit., 16-52.
History (Cambridge, 1983), 180ff. D. Arnold, Der Tempel des Konigs Mentuhotep von Deir el-
Grimal, History, 143ff.; E. Brovarski, "Two Monuments Bahari I (Mainz, 1974), 72-75; R. Stadelmann, Die Agypti-
of the First Intermediate Period from the Theban Nome," schen Pyramiden: Von Ziegelbau zum Weltwunder (2nd rev. ed.,
Studies in Honor of George R. Hughes (Chicago, 1976), 31-40. Mainz, 1991), 230-33.
212 Fischer, Dendera, 52, n. 209. 218 Stadelmann, ibid., 223.
their actual grave goods and only on their wished to make innovations in the depiction of
chapels, this is likely because the king married the myth of divine royal theocracy. The burial of
them because they were priestesses of Hathor, MSy.t, a five year old child, does not record any
in contravention of earlier custom. That he did
titles. A possible reason for this may be that
so in a hurry could be for a number ofshe
rea-
was the child of one of the other women by a
sons - a high mortality rate due to disease or marriage, or that she died too suddenly
previous
childbirth (one of the burials is that of a for her burial equipment to be inscribed. Still, it
child), a need to legitimize his position by crea-
is strange that if she is the offspring of one of
ting heirs - all are more acceptable than Ward's
these women and Mentuhotep, that she does not
suggestion that they died before they actuallybear the title of king's daughter.
became queens. No one would be given such The king also had two other wives, presum-
an exalted title, so publicly displayed unless
ably his principal consorts, who both bore the
they were entitled to use it. title hm.t nsw wr.t. The earlier one, queen Nfrw,
Of the women buried in this complex, cSsy.t, who was also s?.t nsw wct.t^^ is thought to be
Mentuhotep's full sister since both their moth-
K3wi t, Kmsi. t and Sjdh are designated as hm. t nsw,
either in their funerary chapels or in the templeers are called Ich, although Ward has ques-
reliefs proper. While Hnhn.t is not attested as this on the basis of differences of
tioned
spelling. She was buried in a lavish rock-

hm.t nsw in any surviving inscription, she shares
the other designations of these women, hkr.t tomb
nsw in the face of the cliffs bordering
temple precinct, at some period before the f
wct.t and hm.t ntr Hthr, it seems likely, given the
phase of the construction of the temple fol
position of her chapel in line with the others, that
ing the reunification of Egypt. Winlock
she was also a queen. Other priestesses of Hathor,
identified the donor of a piece of linen i
obviously not queens, such as Imn.t were buried
elsewhere in the complex, but since they were communal burial of this period, hkr.t nsw w
not placed near the chapels, should be consid- hm.t ntr Hthr, Nfrw as this queen, and W
ered as regular courtiers. That these women suggests that the wives of Mentuhotep w
drawn from a common pool of such court
functioned as actual consorts of the king is shown
unambiguously by reliefs from the chapels whichwomen. However, tempting as it is to see this
depict the woman in question seated on a wide king married to another priestess of Hathor,
seat or bed, embraced by her husband.223 Suchthis is tenuous evidence indeed, considering
depictions of marital relations are unknown that
in Nfrw is an extremely common name, as is
the royal art of the Old Kingdom, and like much
else in Mentuhotep's temple were borrowed from
Paris 1952-1981) III, pls. 25-32, 34 (4), 37 (6); IV, 68-80;
private iconography224 indicating that heFischer,
was "Memphite Influence in a Theban Stela of the 11th
not yet confident of his royal status, much as he
Dynasty," Artibus Asiae 22 (1959), 24ff., fig. 1; Petrie, Qurneh
(London, 1907), pl. 2; Peck, "Decorated Tombs," pls. 2.5;
W. Ward, "The Harem of Mentuhotep Nebhepetre," G. Gauthier-Laurant, "Les Scenes de Coiffure Feminine
Essays on Feminine Titles of the Middle Kingdom and Related dans Sub- l'ancienne Egypte," Melanges Maspero, Fasc. I (Cairo,
jects (Beirut, 1986), 113. 1935-36), 673-96; Fischer, Inscriptions from the Coptite Nome
220 C3sy.t\ Naville, Deir el Baharil, pl. 17, II, pls. 6, 14, 17,(Rome,
18; 1964), pl. 23.
Another
KBwlt, ibid., I pls. 17, 20; Kmsi.t, ibid., I, 49, pl. 23, III, 9, pls. 2, fragmentary depiction of Mentuhotep in such a
scene is in Munich, AS 1621 (Staatliche Sammlung Agyptischer
3; J. Clere and J. Vandier, Textes de la premiere periode intermedi-
are et de la Xleme dynastie (Brussels, 1948) , 34: PMII2, 389; Kunst
Sldh: [Munich, 1976], 109).
225 H. E. Winlock, Excavations at Deir el Bahari 1911-1931
Naville, DeirelBahari I, pls. 17a, 18, II, 6, pls. 11, 12, 13; Ward,
loc. cit., 110-12. (New York, 1942), 37fL, 40, fig. 4; Ward, loc. cit., 109.
221 Naville, Deir el Bahari I, 50, pl. 21; Hayes, Scepter I, 226 See PM I2, 651-52.
161, fig. 98. 227 Berlev, loc. cit., PM, loc. cit.; Winlock, The Rise and Fall
111 CG 2805, Lacau, Sarcophages I, 61-65; Ward, loc. cit., of the Middle Kingdom at Thebes (New York, 1947), 62-64, pl. 12.
108. 228 Loc. cit., 104.
223 Naville, DeirelBahari, I, pls. 12(b), 18(a), II, pl. 9(f ). 229 Ward, 104, n. 112, cf. Winlock, Rise and Fall, 27, 63.
The only previous exception is the Menkaure dyad 2 Winlock, "The Eleventh Egyptian Dynasty," JNES 2
(Smith, Art, op. cit., 112, fig. 108). For such depictions of (1943), 274, n. 149.
private persons in the Old Kingdom and First Intermediate See H. Ranke, Die dgyptischen Personenamen (2 vol-
Period, see J. Vandier, Manuel d'Archeolgie Egyptienne (6 vols., umes, Gluckstadt, 1935-52) I, 203.18.
this combination of titles. Another queen, and the later Feast of the Valley. This suggests
Tm, whose importance was signalled by the fact that Sn. t both originated from this area and rep-
that she was mother of the King of Upper and resented a member of the old elite of the 11th
Lower Egypt, was buried within the precincts Dynasty, a possibility also in the case of her hus-
of the temple proper at some time after the band, whose name associates him also with the
construction of the earlier royal tomb ("Bab el- earlier house of Inyotef. Perhaps Senwosret ap-
Hosan") and the lesser queen's chapels, possible pointed this representative of the old ruling
as late as the final years of Mentuhotep's reign. house as vizier to guard against a possible counter
That Tm postdates Nfrw is suggested by her coup, like the plot that killed his father.238
being credited with the heir to the throne. It is With the exception of Sn.t, almost all 12th
also noteworthy that she is nowhere mentioned Dynasty priestesses of Hathor are found in the
as being a priestess of Hathor. It seems that after households of provincial governors, and, even
the reunification of the country Mentuhotep here, their numbers are greatly diminished.
sought other ways to demonstrate his legitimacy, For example there is only one at Cusae, a major
as when he depicted his actual parents in a center of the cult of Hathor, for the whole
commemorative graffito in the Shatt er-Rigal. Middle Kingdom.240 What we do notice is the
Oleg Berlev has suggested that this depiction depiction of women offering the menat and
represents a development of the "divine birth" sistra to revivify the deceased (a ceremony first
theory of kingship were a mortal woman is di- attested in the late Old Kingdom) and the re-
rectly inseminated by the god.235 Mentuhotep's placement of women by men as functionaries of
determination to secure his line of succession this cult (not just as hm ntr, but wcb, or temple
i- \ 241
is also seen in his designation of Tmcustodian).
as king'si- \
mother. Apparently union with priestesses of
Hathor as a way of legitimizing his rulership was
238 Grimal, History, op. cit., 161-64, cf. G. Posen
abandoned when his unification of Egypt was
terature et Politique dans lEgypte de la Xlle Dynast
complete, although his burial complex is posi-
1956), 61-72; J. Foster, "The Conclusion to the Te
tioned in front of the local cult of the
ofgoddess
Ammenemes, king of Egypt ," JE A 67 (1981), 36
Theriault, "The Instruction of Amenemhet as Propa
of the west, long identified with Hathor; and
JARCE30 (1993), 151-60.
she seemed to play an important role in the cultabove, n. 35.
239 See
and depictions of his temple proper. 240 Mris, tomb B3, Meir, Blackman, Meir VI, pl. 6.
1 At Cusae during the Middle Kingdom, we fin
holding the following titles: imy-r htmty, overseer of
11. Priestesses of Hathor and the Royal Cult
sury (although it is not clear if the valuables for wh
of the Goddess in the Middle Kingdom
official was responsible belonged to the temple or t
treasury); hrp hsww hr Psd.t, controller of singers be
Priestesses of Hathor can be attested for the
Ennead; ss mdS.t ntr, scribe of the god's book; hri h
remainder of the 11th Dynasty throughout the wcb, wab priest; stp sd hry wcb, controller o
priest;
country, but they almost entirely disappear from
over the wab priests; imy-r hw.t ntr, overseer of the
imy-r wcr.t [n] hw.t ntr, overseer of the district of th
the royal court after the beginning of the 12th.
sdw cd, concierge; imy-r hwy.t, overseer of a sh
The last important one is Sn.t wife of Ini-it.f-ikr,
Gillam, "Studies," 406-13.
vizier of Senwosret I. In her tomb at Thebes, she Male functionaries from other centres during this period
is hm. t ntr Hthr and imBy. t hr Hthr hry[t] tp st, andinclude: Snwsr.t, imy-r pr hw.t pr Hthr, overseer of the estab-
revered before Hathor, mistress of the desert. lishment of the temple of Hathor (Gulbenkian Museum,
n. 501; Birch, Alnwick Castle [London, 1880], 60-62); Snbbi,
This likely refers to Deir el-Bahari and the cult of
hm ntr n hw.t nb.t tp, overseer of the house of the mistress
Hathor, already commemorated by Mentuhotep of Atfih, CG 20030 (H. O. Lange and H. Schafer, Grab und
Denksteine des mittleren Reiches (4 vols., Berlin, 1902-1925), I,
232 See above, n. 178. 38; cnhw, iry mni.t, keeper of the menat, Boston MFA
233 Winlock, Rise and Fall, 43, n. 60, cf. Ward,
1971.403 (W K.loc. cit.,"A Tomb Chapel Relief of the
Simpson,
104ff. Reign of Amenemhet III and some Observations on the
234 Winlock, ibid., 62, pls. 12, 36. Length of the Reign of Sesostris III, Chronique d'Egypte 47
Studies in Honour ofH. J. Polotsky, loc. [1972],
cit. 45ff., fig. 1; cntr, ss ntr n hw.t ntr Hthr cgn, god's scribe
l6b See above n. 35. of the temple of Hathor of Agni (A. Sayce, "Excavations at
ed-Der,"
2 Davies and Gardiner, Antefoker, 2, pl. 14. ASAE6 [1905], 164); Imn-m-hlt-snb-snfrw, sdSw hgr
Already in the story

tions of
of queens
Sinuhe,
in sphinx almost
form are known;
cer-
tainly contemporaryand it is Nfr.t,
with the queen
reignof Senwosret II, who is
of Senwos
ret I we find the offering of
shown wearing themenats andwith
distinctive coiffure sistra
curl-
performed by the queening plaits which
and later became so closely
princesses in iden-
th
role of the goddess. tified
Bywith the reign
Hathor, a goddess of Amenem
known as "she of
het II, specifically Hathoric
the plait."249 jewellery began t
be made for queens and princesses. It is also
significant that the name of the Nekhbet-iden
12. Conclusion
tified princess Hnm.t-nfr.hd.t also was used as
To conclude, I would
queen's title at this period. Inlike to
theoffer this evi-
later 12th
Dynasty Amenemhetdence IIIfor depicted
a hypothesis that Hathor offer-
the cultic activity of
ing the menat in the Old Kingdom
temple priestesses
of of Hathor
his was origi-
ancestor
Amenemhet I and at Medinet Maadi, his nally devised by the rulers of the 4th Dynasty to
ensure
daughter Nfrw-pth is shown playing a sistrum the religious legitimacy and perpetua-
for
the goddess Renenutet and wearing ation diadem
of their hegemony. Since all the rulers of
with plumes at the back, similar to that the Old Kingdom were part of a single extended
belong-
ing to princess Sj.t-hthr-iwn.tr It is also from the ideology of the king-making god-
kin-group,
the late 12th Dynasty that fragmentary dess and her cult remained unchanged while
depic-
they held sway. However, with the disappear-
ance of this line and the anarchy of the First In-
" Hthr nb[t] Tp ihw, sealbearer . . . ? of Hathor, mistress termediate
of Period, when royal legitimacy had to
Atfih (Hermitage 1080, Index Slip, Topographical Bibliog- be created ex nihilo, more dramatic and tangible
raphy, Oxford); Sj-ns-mt, ss hw.t Hthr, scribe of the temple of
proofs of the right to rule had to be produced.
Hathor, UC London 14726 (A. Page, Egyptian Sculpture:
Archaic to Saite [Warminster, 1976], 112, n. 144); Si-mnttv,Mentuhotep tried to create a new myth of the
royal succession, first by calling himself son of
imy-r pr [n Hthr nb.t] Iwn.t, overseer of the house of Hathor,
mistress of Dendera, Kestner Museum, Hannover 1926.191 Hathor, like Old Kingdom rulers, and then ac-
(Maria Kramer, "Agyptische Denkmaler im Kestner-Mu- tually marrying her priestesses. Given the insta-
seum zu Hannover," ZAS 72 [1936], 88-89, pl. 5 [2]); Snbi,bility of dynastic rule as demonstrated by the fall
wcb C3 [n] Hthr, great wab of Hathor, CG 20780 (Lange and
Schafer, op. cit. II, 409).
of his house, that of Inyotef, it seemed logical
The imy-r hmw ntris, of course, still found at Cusae duringthat the divinity of the ruler and his right to rule
this period: Wh-htp, tomb B2, Meir (Blackman, Meir II, pls.be directly embodied in his own person and
6, 10, 11, 12, 15); Wh-htp, tomb B4, Meir (ibid., Ill, pls. 3, 4,those of his wife and children, who played the
9, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19); Wh-htp, tomb Cl, Meir (ibid., VI, pls.
role of Hathor/Buto and Nekhbet opposite his
11-13, 15, 17-19; Snbi, tomb Bl, Meir (ibid. I, 18-19, pls. 2,
9, 11; Snbi tomb B3, Meir (ibid. VI, 3-7, pl. 8; Snbi, graffito,
Re/Horus. That this development also coin-
Aswan (Petrie, A Season in Egypt, 1887 [London, 1888], 11 cided with the gradual exclusion of women from
[15], pl. 8 [211]), probably identical with the preceding; the daily cult of the gods explains the disappear-
overseers of other priests from other centres are Sn-wsr.t,ance of the office of functioning priestess of
statue from temple at el-Kab, CG 407 (Borchardt, Statuen II,
Hathor that had been such an important part of
19; A. H. Sayce, "Gleanings from Egypt," RT 20 [1898], 112);
Tpy-sw-m-nw, imy-r hmw ntr [n] Hthr nb.t Iwn.t, Walters Art
the life of the elite women of ancient Egypt for
Gallery 22,209 (G. Steindorff, Catalogue of Egyptian Sculpturethe best part of a millennium.
in the Walters Art Gallery [Baltimore, 1946], 25, pls. 6 [35],
110 [35]). York University
242 Posener, Litterature et Politique, 102ff. Toronto, Canada
243 Sinufo B268-86.
244 A. Wilkinson, Egyptian Jewellery (London, 1971), 50-
55, 55-90; E. Staehelin, "Zur Hathorsymbolic in der agypti-
schen Kleinkunst," ZAS 105 (1978), 81ff.; Scandone-Mat- Zona di Madinet Madi (Campagna in Verno e Primavera 1935-
thiae, La Parola del Passato, loc. cit. XII) (Milan, 1936), 28.
245 Mertz, "Queens' Titles," 72-81. lroy, Patterns of Queens hip, 65ff.
J. E. Gauthier and G. Jequier, Memoire sur les fouilles 249 Smith, Art, 181, fig. 173; Staehelin, ZAS 105, 79ff.;
deLicht (Cairo, 1902), 105, fiff. 131. F. Daumas, "Les propylees du temple d'Hathor a Philae et
A. Vogliano, Primo Rapporta delgi Scavi condotti de la le culte de la deese," ZAS 95 (1968), 14, n. 109; Derchain,
Missione Archeologia d'Egitto delta R. Universitd di Milano nella RdE 21, 24ff.
Appendix 1
Name Lost, CG 900 (Borchardt, Statuen III, 144) Mrt-mn, tomb of S 3511, Saqqara, BM 1848 (Mar-
5th-6th Dynasty; Name Lost, false door in com- tin, Hetepka, 21, n. 14, pl. 21) 5th Dynasty; Mtw.t,
merce, Cairo 1980 (Gillam, ARCE Meeting, 1985) Mastaba of Ddi, Saqqara, Mariette, E 9 (Mariette,
5th-6th Dynasty; Name Lost, mastaba of Shi, B 14, Mastabas, 402) Pepi I or later; Mtw.t (Firth and
Saqqara CG 44 (Borchardt, Statuen I, 40, pl. 77) Gunn, Teti Pyramid Cemeteries, 224, pl. 11 [1]) Old
Kingdom or later; Nww.t, Giza, G 2184, Boston
6th Dynasty; ly-mry, false door of IkS, Saqqara, JdE
72201-2 (Z. Saad, "A Preliminary Report onthe MFA 13.4352 (Wreszinski, Atlas zur altdgyptischen
Excavations at Saqqara, 1939-40," ASAE 40 Kulturgeschichte, III, pl. 69) 5th or 6th Dynasty;
[1941], 676-78, pl. 73) 4th-5th Dynasty; Ifi-mry, Ni-cnh-wjd.t, tomb of Mry, Saqqara (W. S. Smith,
mastaba of Rc-mnw-kj, Giza (Hassan, Gizall, 170, "The Origins of Some Unidentified Old King-
fig. 210) end 5th Dynasty; Pr.ti (Jequier, Neit et dom Reliefs," AJA, 46 [1946], 5704; Borchardt,
Apouit, 58, fig. 36) late Pepi II; Iny, tomb of Mrri, Denkmdler I, 49) 4th Dynasty; Ni-cnh-hthr, slab of
Saqqara (E. Drioton, ASAE 43 (1942), 488-96) Mni, Cairo JdE 38427, Giza or Saqqara (Fischer,
mid 6th Dynasty; Inbhw (Firth and Gunn, Teti Pyr- Dendera, 27ff., fig. 6, pl. IV) possibly early 6th Dy-
amid Cemeteries I, 200) 6th Dynasty or later; Inti, nasty; Ni-cnh-hthr (Junker, GizalX, 91ff., abb. 39)
Giza, Boston MFA 31.781 (PMIII2, 203) late Old possibly 6th Dynasty; Nb-ir.t, statue group of cnh-n-
Kingdom; Inti, mastaba of Pth-spss II, Saqqara, rc, CG 55 (Borchardt, Statuen I, 48-49, pl. 14)
Mariette E 1-2 (Murray, Saqqara Mastabas I, 28, Neferirkare or later; Nb-htp (Hassan, Giza IV,
pl. 31; Mariette, Mastabas, 377) Teti or later; Init, fig. 8, 82) Menkaure; Nb-htp, mastaba of Stw, G
Saqqara (PMIII2, 567) 6th Dynasty or later; Iri.t- 4710 (LD II, 87); Nb-htp (Hassan, Giza VI.3,
nb, chapel of K3i-m-snwy (Firth and Gunn, Teti Pyr- 11 Off.) 5th Dynasty; Nb-htplBbi, Saqqara (Saad,
amid Cemeteries, 31-36, pl. 62) Isosi; Irr.t (Fakhry, ASAE 40 loc. cit., 683, fig. 72) 6th Dynasty; Nb.t
Sept Tombeaux, 4-7, fig. 2) 5th Dynasty; IhS.t, false (Moussa and Altenmiiller, Nefer and Kahay, 10)
door of Ihj.t and Rc-n-kjtu, Saqqara, CG 1414 mid 5th Dynasty; Nb.t, G 2001 (Reisner, Giza
(Borchardt, Denkmdler I, 80-84, pl. 19) Nefer- Necropolis I, 286 [2], fig. 183) 5th-6th Dynasty;
irkare or later; hi (Drioton, ASAE 55, 229, pl. 5d) Nb.t (Daressy, "Le Mastaba de Mera," Memoires de
late 6th Dynasty; cnh-hthr (Record of the Museum of llnstitut Egyptien III [1898], 563, 572) Teti; Nb.t
the History of Art, Princeton i [Fall, 1942], 10-11) Saqqara (Drioton ASAE 43, 495, pl. 40) very late
Userkaf or later; cnh-kjw.s, mastaba of Nfr-htp, Old Kingdom; Nb.t (Firth and Gunn, Teti Pyramid
Giza (Hassan, Giza IX, 63-76, fig. 29a, pl. 27) Cemeteries, 226 [3]) Old Kingdom or later; Nbty-
4th-5th Dynasty; Wjd.t-kjw.s, tomb of Hr-mrw, hr-kSw.s, G 7836 (Reisner, Giza Necropolis I, 243);
Saqqara (Hassan, HemetRec, 68-81, pls. 53-55, Nbty-spss.t, Saqqara, CG 1757 (Borchardt, Denk-
figs. 38b-89) end 6th Dynasty; Wm.t.t-kj, mastaba mdler II, 179) 4th-5th Dynasty; Nbty-kj-n, Giza,
of W?s-pth, Giza (Hassan, Gizall, 5fL, fig. 12) 4th- Lepsius n. 87 (LD II, pl. 156, Textl, 104ff.) Khafre
5th Dynasty; Wr.t-kj, mastaba of K3w-nsw, Giza or later; Nb-dwSt, Saqqara, Mariette B 14, CG 44
(Hassan, Gizall, 75-86, pls. 24-26, fig. 86) Wts.t- (Borchardt, Statuenl, 40-41, pl. 11) 6th Dynasty;
kSw.s, Saqqara (B. Van de Walle, Neferirtenef 46, Nfr-htp. s, false door of Nn-hft-kj, Saqqara, CG
51, 54, 57, 61, 62) Neferirkare or later; Ppi, mas- 1487, Mariette D 47 (Borchardt, Denkmdler, I, 177,
taba of Snsn, Giza (Junker, GizalX, 87, abb. 36, pl. 81, pl. 40) early 5th Dynasty; Nfr-htp.s (Wild, Tom-
10a) end Old Kingdom; Pss.t, architrave of Ni-pth, beau de Ti, pls. 31, 39, 170, 164, 156, 18, 19, 27,
Giza (Junker, Giza VIII, 175, pl. 28a, abb. 91) 171, 63) Neuserre or later; Nfrw.t-iw.s (Hassan,
later Old Kingdom (?); Mnib, mastaba, Giza GizaVl.3, 39, pls. 19a, 20): Nfr-ts.t, Saqqara, Berlin
(Junker, Giza IX, 218) late Old Kingdom; Mrri, 7767 (G. Roeder, Agyptische Inschriften aus den
Saqqara, CG 369 (Borchardt, Statuen I, 194) 6th Koniglichen Museen zu Berlin (Leipzig, 2 volumes,
Dynasty; Mrs-Cnh, Cairo JdE 87797 (Hassan, Giza 1913-24), I, 38) 5th Dynasty; N.t, Saqqara M XI
VI. 3, 239, pls. 97, 98a) late 6th Dynasty; Mrit.tsl (Jequier, Tombeaux des particuliers, 75) Pepyll; M-
HSp.t.k,G5l50 (LD II 23, 25; Junker, Gizall, abb., ki-nbty, mastaba of Ni-k?-rc, Giza (LD II, 15, Textl,
28) 5th Dynasty; Mrt(i)tfs (Moussa and Alten- 104-5) Menkaure; Ni-kS-nbty, Giza, CG 82 (Bor-
muller, Nefer and Kahay, pls. 32, 42) Neuserre; chardt, Statuen I, 66, pl. 19) 5th Dynasty; Hb.ti
(Hassan, Giza II, 34 ff, Old Kingdom;

fig. 35, Hnw-hwi.t,
pl. 12) Saqqara, Mariette D 45 late
possibly
4th Dynasty; Hip-n-nbty, (Mariette, G
Mastabas,
7815 300) 5th Dynasty; Hnnw.t,Giza
(Reisner,
Saqqara, Dynasty;
Necropolis I, 242) late 5th D 45 (Mariette, Mastabas,
Hy,300) 5th Dy-
offering
cup, Saqqara, CG 1296 (Borchardt, Denkmdlerl,
nasty; Hnw.t-mt, G 3093 (Fisher, Minor Cemetery, 2,
pl. 1) Old Kingdom; Hpw, Saqqara,
136, 7, 49-50, Marie
pl. 44) 6th Dynasty; tte E 14
Hn.t (Junker,
(Mariette, Mastabas, 392)Giza III,6th
177, 185-87, abb. 27-28, 30, 32)
Dynasty; 5th Dy-
Hm.t-rcl
nasty; Hnti-kjw.s
Hmi, Saqqara D 65 (Hassan, (Moussa and Altenmiiller,
HemetRec, 5, fig. Nefer 2,
pls. 2-4) 5th-6th Dynasty;
and Kahay, pls.Hnw.t-sn, tomb
36, 38); Hnti-kiw.s, (Moussa and of
Hwfw-htp, Giza (ID II, pl. Nianchchnum
Altenmiiller, 34c, Reisner,
and Chnumhotep, pls.Giza
5,
Necropolisl, 234-35) 5th 47, 68, abb. 25, 19, 6, pl.Hnw.t.sn
Dynasty; 74); Hnt-kBw.s, Saqqara
(Brun-
ner-Traut, Grab des Seschemnofers, BM 718 (HT [2] 1, pls. 28, colour
32) 5th Dynasty;
pl.Hnt-
5, pl.
19, add. pl. 3) mid 5th Dynasty; kBw.s (Junker, Giza VII, 70, fig. 30; Curto,
Hnw.t.sn, statue Gli of
Hnw. t.sn and Dmd, Saqqara, Scavi, 58-61,Newpl. 15, fig. 19) 5th-6th
York MMA Dynasty;51.37
(Scott, MMA Bulletin, December 1952, 116-18, Hni.t-H Saqqara D 49, CG 1367 (Murray, Chapels,
figs. 117, 119) 5th Dynasty; Hn.ti, G 2001 (W. K. pl. 15; Borchardt, Denkmdlerl, pls. 30-37) late 5th
Simpson, Mastabas of the Western Cemetery, Part I, Dynasty; Sbwt.t, Saqqara, CG 1687 (Maspero,
fig. 15) 5th-6th Dynasty; Htp-hr.s, Saqqara, Mari- Memoires I, 199-200; Borchardt, Denkmdler II,
ette B 2 (Mariette, Mastabas, 90-91) 4th Dynasty; 135) late Old Kingdom; Sfg.t (Fischer, "Some
Htp-hr.s (Brunner-Traut, Grabkammer Seschemnof- Early Monuments from Busiris in the Egyptian
ers III, pl. 13, Beitrage 3) 5th Dynasty; Htp-hr.s Delta," MMA] 11 [1976], 21-22, fig. 12) 6th Dy-
(Hassan, GizaVlI, 21f., 24, fig. 18, pl. 18) 5th Dy- nasty; Smr.t-mn, Saqqara C15, CG 95 (Borchardt,
nasty; Htp/Wjd.t-htp (Simpson, Mastabas of the Statuen I, 75, pl. 21, Mariette, Mastabas, 140-41)
Western Cemetery, pls. 19, 22 [a], figs. 17, 20) 6th Dy- Sahure or later; Sn.t-it.s (Junker, Giza\, pl. 5, abb.
nasty; Hpt.t-kBIMrit.Ls, G 3150 (Junker, Giza VII, 23, 27, 29a) very late 6th Dynasty; St.t-itrw (PM
abb. 28, 29) 4th Dynasty; Htp-hr.s I Hnw. t (Hassan, III2, 546; Firth and Gunn, Teti Pyramid Cemeteries,
Giza II, 208fL, fig. 230, pl. 80) 5th Dynasty; Htp.t, 213) 6th Dynasty; Sdhi, Saqqara (Drioton, ASAE
Giza, Berlin 15415-18 (G. Roeder, Aegyptisches In- 55, 230-31, pl. 20) very late 6th Dynasty; Spss.t-
schriften I, 17) 5th-6th Dynasty; Hthr-shm (Qui- kBw, G 2150 (Reisner, Giza Necropolis I, 437-40,
bell, Saqqara [3], pl. LXV; Hayes, Scepter of Egypt!, fig. 258) later 4th Dynasty; Smst.t.s-kB (Mariette,
102, fig. 58); Hthr-spss, Saqqara, Mariette D 44, Mastabas, 442) 5th-6th Dynasty; Gfi (Simpson,
CG 123 (Mariette, Mastabas, 298; Borchardt, Stat- The Mastaba ofQarandldu [Boston, 1976], fig. 25,
uen I, 94, pl. 27) 5th Dynasty; Hc-mrr-nbty, tomb of pl. 19a) Pepy I; Gmni.st/Dwjw-htp (Firth and
Htp-n-pth, Giza (LD II 71-72) 5th-6th Dynasty: Gunn, Teti Pyramid Cemeteries, 188, 258-59, pl. 75)
Hwi-n-sw (J. de Morgan, Fouilles a Dahchour [2 vol- Old Kingdom or later; TBs.t (Junker, Giza VIII,
umes, Vienna, 1895-1903], II, 23; Zeigler, RdE 136, pl. 23c, fig. 64) late Old Kingdom; Tnt.ti,
31, 120-34) possibly late Old Kingdom; Hwi.t, Saqqara, Mariette, B 12, CG 89 (Borchardt, Stat-
Louvre E 17233 (Fischer, "Three Old Kingdom uenl, 70, pl. 20) 5th Dynasty: Tnt.t, Saqqara, Mari-
Palimpsests in the Louvre," ZAS 86 [1961], 28- ette D 68 (Mariette, Mastabas, 349-50) 5th
29) 5th or 6th Dynasty; Hw.t-bSw-iwnw (Junker, Dynasty or later; Ts. t, Saqqara, mastaba of Pth-htp
GizaVl, 211, fig. 81) Old Kingdom; Hni.t (Junker, I (Badawy, ASAE 40, 611-12, fig. 67) 5th-6th Dy-
Giza VIII, 241ff., abb. 101-2) 5th-6th Dynasty; nasty; Ts.t (Junker, Giza IV, 7, abb. 11) 6th Dy-
Hnw.t (Moussa and Altenmiiller, Nianchnum and nasty; Ttw.t (Hassan, Giza III, 78ff., pl. 27, fig. 70)
Chnumhotep, pls. 4, 46, 74, abb. 5, 18) Neuserre- 6th Dynasty; Db.t, Giza, BM 157 A, B (HT [2] I, pl.
Menkauhor; Hnw.t (Moussa and Altenmiiller, 6-7) 6th Dynasty; Name Lost, Giza, Junker exca-
Two Tombs of Craftsmen, pls. 10, 14) possibly Isosi; vation, Pelizaeus Museum 30546 (CAA 7, 82) pos-
Hnw.tllnti, G 3008 (Fisher, Minor Cemetery, 165-sibly late 6th Dynasty; Grg.i, Saqqara (S. El-
66, pls. 49.2, 55) 5th-6th Dynasty; Hnw.tlHnw.t-m- Fikey, The Tomb of the Vizier Re-wer at Saqqarah
Bht, Saqqara (Martin, Hetepka, pl. 24, n. 27) late (Warminster, 1980) 42, fig. 12) late 6th Dynasty.
Appendix 2
See note 119. See also In-kB.f (n. 137), wcb nsw, shd mdB.t sBb; Ni-kBw-rc, n. 119, hri sstB n hw.t wr.t,
shd wcb nsw, hm ntr SB-hw-rc; Iti, G 6030 (LD II 59) wcb nsw, hri sstB, sBb shd mdB; Nfr-sfh-pth {LD, Text
wcb nsw, imy-r hsw.t pr CB, hm ntr Nfr-ir-kB-rc I SB-hw- I, 96 II, 94e; Reisner, Giza Necropolis I, 239), wcb
rc/N-wsr-rc; Bhti-htp (n. 119) sBb shd ss, hri sstB n nsw; Rc-spss, ss nsw c wcbof Userkaf; Htp (Hassan,
wdc mdw n nb n prw.t, hri sstB, in addition, priest Hemetrec and Others, 53-58, fig. 29, pls. 32, 35-
of the pyramids of Unas and Isosi; Pth-mBc-hrw 38) , hri sstB; Hc-bBw-pth (Mariette, Mastabas, 295) ,
(Quibell, Saqqara 1907-8, 26, n. 916), sBb, shd sc, wcb nsw, hri sstB n nb.f, hri sstB n ntr.f, hri sstw ntr
sBb smsw hBy.t, hri sstB, wcblhm ntr Rc; Pth-spss, mrr.f nb.f, hri sstB shkr.t n ntr, Hnm-htp, n. 119, hri
Mariette D 54 (Mariette, Mastabas, 323), sBb shd sstB n pr dwB.t; SBbw, n. 119, hri sstB n kB.t nb.t, hri
mdw, hri sstB p pr wr, Pth-kBp (n. 119), hri sstj, s3b sstB n nsw m sw. tf nb, ss sstB n mdw n wr hrp hmw. t,
cd mr, hri sstj wcb nsw; Mmi (n. 137) hri sstj dbS.t, hri sstB n ntr.f and numerous priesthoods in sun
wcb nsw; Mn-hm (n. 119), hri sstB, wcb, htmty mdB.t and royal temples; Shm-kB, n. 119, hri sstB, sBb iry
sstB, hm ntr and wcbof Userkaf and Menkaure; M- Nhn n hw. t wr. t wd mdw mBc n hri wdb; KBi-m-snwy,
cnh-rc-nds, CG 55 (Borchardt, Statuen I, 49), hm n. 119, numerous royal hm ntr and wcb titles; Tp-
ntr of Userkaf and Neuserre; Nfr-ir-n.f (Van de m-cnh II (Mariette, Mastabas, 198; Borchardt,
Walle, Neferirtenef) sib shd ss, hri sstB n wdc, hri sstB Denkmdlerl, 84-87, 89-91, pls. 19-20) hri sstB,
ntr.r.f, hri sstB nb.f hrw, wcb nsw; Ni-mBc.t-sd wcb, hri sstB pr CB, ssrw pr CB r ht, hri sstB nsw c r pr
(n. 119), hri sstB, hri sstB wd mdw n hw.t wr.t; CB, hm ntr and wcb titles of numerous kings and
Ni-kB-cnh, n. 119; Ni-kBw-rc (de Bourget, Melanges pyramids (see Helck, Beametentiteln, 127-28).
Maspero, loc. cit.), wcb nsw, hri sstB n hw.t wr.t, sBb

Priestesses of Hathor Their Functions

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Priestesses of Hathor Their Functions

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Priestesses of Hathor: Their Function, Decline and Disappearance

Author(s): Robyn A. Gillam

1. Introduction no more represent actual duties and responsi-

the middle of the Old Kingdom. For although

political legitimacy and cultural capital. TheySpdtzeit

Troy, Queenship 76-77; M. Gitton, La resiliation d'une

and it seems likely that at some

Indeed Nkj-Cnh's wife, Hd.t-hknw, holds pride khet and

Ibid., for example, imy.t-r pr, imy.t-r pr snc, shd pr snc,

material found in the major tombs of theenjoyed

pl. 64) Neferirkare; Ni-cnh-rc-nds, CG 55 (Borchardt, Statuen

that was both political

very late source and Khufu was a famous fig-

priestesses of Hathor be attested

is impossible to prove andthis

cult for Hathor in sanctuaries specifically con-

this time we also begin to see, among the like

After the beginning for

143 Kaiser, MDAIK 14, 104ff. 149 Mertz, "Titles," 160-61.

happen before the end ofatthe

We have already observed that the priestesses

the reign of Pepy II,ofspss.t

has seemed puzzling, This,

the cachet of the great rulers of old like Teti and

spelling. She was buried in a lavish rock-

Already in the story

(Hassan, Giza II, 34 ff, Old Kingdom;

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