Uncovering the Mysteries of Queen Nefertiti

Figure 1: Bust of Nefertiti

Today’s blog post will address the mysterious past of Queen Nefertiti, one of Egypt’s most well-known queens (Figure 1).  The image of her iconic bust (housed in a museum in Berlin) has captured the attention of the public for generations, but very little attention is paid to her life and rule over Egypt.  This blog post will rectify that oversight and explore her life before and during her tenure as an Egyptian Queen.

Very few details are available about Nefertiti’s life before she married Akhenaton, Egypt’s heretic king.  It is known that she was not a direct relation to Akhenaton, which was uncommon among Egyptian royalty who often married siblings as per religious doctrine.  Some scholars believe that Nefertiti was the daughter of a prominent nobleman, while others claim she was a princess of another kingdom.  What is clear was that she was chosen by Akhenaton to be his wife, and she was deemed his favorite consort of all (as he had several). 

Upon elevation to the status of pharaoh, Akhenaton instituted a series of religious changes in Egypt that moved worship away from polytheism (the worship of multiple gods) to monotheism (the worship of one god).  These changes cascaded into several sociopolitical changes within Egypt, specifically in the realm of the royal family.  When Akhenaton canceled the acknowledgement of all but one of the Egyptian gods he elevated his and his family’s status to taking on the roles of those other gods.  This resulted in the elevation of Nefertiti to a goddess of fertility, beauty, sexuality, and creation.  According to Jacquelyn Williamson, a visiting lecturer at Harvard University, Nefertiti may have been regarded as the pinnacle of beauty and sexuality of the day, being held to as the standard of femininity that all Egyptian women were expected to strive to achieve.

Traditionally, in Egypt the pharaoh’s wife was meant to support her divine husband and his rule, but it appears that under this new religious order Nefertiti was elevated to equal status as her husband.  There are several images of her taking on authoritative roles, including worshiping the paramount god alone and her solely and bravely fighting off enemies of the state.  When Nefertiti and Akhenaton are present together in images she takes on a slightly smaller body build as compared to her husband, but they are always working together as, according to scholars, he lovingly looks on.  According to interpretation of Egyptian historical records it appears that Nefertiti may have also held similar responsibilities, power, authority, and status as her husband.  While Akhenaton commissioned the construction of temples for himself he also had one built for Nefertiti, to which would have enabled (or required) Egyptian citizens to worship and pay appropriate homage to her.  There is also evidence that suggests that she may have ruled after her husband’s death, but this is still debated.

Unfortunately, due to her husband’s infamous reign much of what could have been learned about Nefertiti was destroyed by Egyptian elites and priests in the years after his reign.  What little survived provides us some but not all of the details of her life.  Therefore a great deal of speculation remains, but what is known is that she was held in high regard at that time, embodying femininity, sexuality, and power.

References

History.com Editors. Nefertiti. 7 June 2019. Electronic. 20 December 2019.

Taronas, Laura. Nefertiti: Egyptian Wife, Mother, Queen and Icon. n.d. Electronic. 20 December 2019.

Vande Panne, Valerie. Nefertiti as sensual goddess. 18 November 2013. Electronic. 20 December 2019.