Naville, Edouard: The temple of Deir el Bahari (Band 2): The Ebony shrine, northern half of the middle platform (London, 1896)

IB

DEIR EL BAHARI.

IIP
III

maat Set

seeing Set

maat
seeing

&3k?

ba
the ram

:\

merijt
loving

zettu

I) a
the vam

samyt Hor meryt-f zett

consort of Horns loving him said

khet neb drtu lis

things all done to her

"............ in thy high dignity of princess, the head

of the favourites and the head of the preferred, the
well-pleasing mistress, very affectionate and loving,
who sees Horus and Set, who loves the sacred ram,

......... the sacred ram, the consort of Horus, who

loves him ; these are the things done to her."

If we compare these titles with those of the queens
of the Old Empire, we find a remarkable similarity,
especially in two of them, which have a symbolical
meaning, v^ ^T (1(1 <= Hor samyt, " she who is united
to Horus," the consort of Horus, is generally joined
to the analogous title, C\ IH <=> Hor semert, "the
friend of Horus," which occurs in the next plate.
Both together form a combined expression, v\ 1 fi
Y Y^ <=> Hor semert samut, "the friend and consort
of Horus."

In this expression " Horus " is probably not a god;
it is the divine name of the king, whose titles generally
begin with 'igy Hor nvb, " the golden Horus." I have
supplied the name of Set in the erasure under the arm
of Thoth, on the analogy of the titles of the queens
of the Old Empire, who are styled v\ "xl *sJp <K\ ^
Hor Set maat, " who sees Horus and Set." I can give
no explanation of this title, which may mean that
the queen's dominion extended over both parts of
Egypt. Later we shall see the god Set appearing
at the coronation of Hatshepsu.

Pis. XLIX. and L.<—Eighth Scene. Aahmes is
being led by Khnum and Heqet into the chamber
where she will give birth to Hatshepsu. The
hieroglyphs engraved above her head are similar
to those in the preceding plate; they give her
titles and dignities, with the addition of ^z^

hont hemtu neb, " the sovereign of all women." The
figure of Aahmes is perhaps the finest piece of work in
the whole temple. Though it is in a very low relief,

the admirable modelling of the delicate and refined
features, and the smiling expression, give to her face a
beauty which bears witness to the skill of the Egyptian
artists, and causes us to regret more keenly that so
little has been left of the original work.

Beyond stood three rows of divinities, twelve in
number; they seem to be accompanying Aahmes into
the chamber, whither she is led by Khnum and Heqet.
The long text which was engraved in front of Amon
(pi. L.) is completely desti*oyed.

Plate LI.—Ninth Scene. Birth op Hatshepsu
and of her lea (Double). A scene much erased;
the figures have been partially restored, but only in
paint. The queen Aahmes, the royal mother, is
seated on a throne placed upon a long couch.
She has the child in her arms. In front of her are
divine nurses and midwives, holding in their hands
several of the ka of the future queen. Behind the
queen-mother is an unknown goddess, touching the
head of Aahmes with the sign of life, together
with Nephthys, Isis and other deities. Beneath the
couch are genii with crocodile and human heads, also
holding the sign of life. These I take to be the
genii of the East and of the West, for on the lower
row are other genii with heads of jackals and
hawks which are well known : they are called the
spirits of Z. Pe, and oa Nekhen, viz. of North and
South. Thus at the birth of Hatshepsu the deities
presiding over the four cardinal points are all present.

Just below the seat of the queen are two human
figures with raised hands, having on their heads the
palm of years. This probably means that millions of
years or of Sed periods are given to the child which
is just born, that she is to have eternal duration.
The same idea is expressed by the •¥■ and the u
which are between these figures.

In the lower row, towards the right, we find two
divinities, generally represented on the cornices or on
the entrances of the mammisi or birth temples. The
grotesque appearance of both, and especially of the
male god, suggested that such buildings were dedicated
to Typhon: the old guide-books often speak of a
Typhonium, built close to a great temple. These
deities are the dwarf god Bes, and the female
hippopotamus, called either Thueris, Beret, Api, or
Apet. The large blank space next to Bes con-
tained a text having symbolical connexion with
the birth. It referred to the lighting of a flame or