Nefertiti

According to Buffy Naillon's article, "Females in Power in Ancient Egypt," on Classroom.com, Neferneferuaten Nefertiti of Ancient Egypt, was often admired for her beauty and for supporting her pharaoh husband, Akhenaten, in his efforts to convert Egypt to a monotheistic culture that worshipped Aten, the sun god, rather than a polytheistic culture that celebrated several gods. At this time in history, not many women displayed real affection towards their husbands, but Nefertiti did. She actually loved him and he built a temple in her honor for people to worship her as a goddess.  It also discusses that while this is still under debate, historians believe Nefertiti became the pharaoh of Egypt after her husband’s death and before the rule of Tutankhamun. Nefertiti’s husband dedicated much of his time emphasizing the fact that she should be seen as equal to him, never lowered because of her gender. The image to the right shows a bust of her that made Nefertiti so famous. This bust is the number one copied image in all of Ancient Egypt and it definitely highlights her beauty ("Females in Power in Ancient Egypt"). 

The article "Nefertiti Biography.com," on biography.com discusses how through archaeological findings, it has been proven that Nefertiti has been depicted twice as much as her pharaoh husband. While there are images of Nefertiti standing behind her husband, supporting him in his rule as pharaoh, there are also many images of her in scenes that were only given to kings, such as striking and capturing enemies, riding in chariots, and worshipping like a pharaoh. It also says that she was held at the same elevation as a king, which shows her true female power. Nefertiti is, to this day, known as one of the most powerful women to ever rule Egypt. She was very loved and popular for about 12 years, and then disappeared from the records completely for reasons that are still unknown to scholars. Some believe it was because she died, while others believe that once she was elevated to the level of a pharaoh, she dressed and composed herself as a man, which I do not understand if she was receiving so much respect as a woman figure. The image to the left depicts Nefertiti and her husband with their children in a very natural and comfortable manner. This was a very unique way of showing a royal family in that time. Normally, royalty was marked by stiff looking statues to show strength. The fact that her and her husband are the exact same size in this image shows the equality shared between them. Usually, a pharaohs wife would be shown much smaller next to their husbands to show hierarchy of scale and who holds all of the power ("Nefertiti"). 

I love Nefertiti's story because while she was beautiful and loving towards her husband, she was still respected and given power without being degraded for her femininity. The fact that there are depictions of Nefertiti defeating enemies in battle next to her husband tells me that there was no holding her back or stopping her from ruling Egypt with all of her might, just like any male ruler would have done. Until Nefertiti, Ancient Egyptian culture was not favorable over women rulers but she went against the grain and proved people wrong, raising the bar for any potential future female rulers. Whether or not she disguised as a male when she became the pharaoh is still unknown, but I personally feel as though she had no issue expressing her femininity as a ruler because she had done so for so long while her husband was still alive. 

References 

“Females in Power in Ancient Egypt.” Synonym, classroom.synonym.com/females-power-ancient-egypt-11123.html.

“Nefertiti.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 28 Apr. 2017, www.biography.com/people/nefertiti-9421166.