tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16338860880978619562024-02-07T04:10:24.558-08:00The Good, the Bad, and the BEAUTIFULMore than you ever wanted to know about Nefertiti!!Anna Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921616646967509168noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1633886088097861956.post-75186093245054386632008-12-16T07:58:00.000-08:002009-01-05T10:57:44.681-08:00And the Infamy Begins<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYRfgwBJyA71oVXgLzKPBylGKdZrkpC6G4VWkxmN4EcOKQ6Jsxhh8IuHtGdIOfumDYRm3Lr6wT6l22hqfe-w8aWUuowbg5Stev_7JXLNr5HzLc_iGGm0Ic6Wqp-CEFtjW7uQXEMeI-YSG0/s1600-h/nefertiti4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280422590886556546" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 280px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYRfgwBJyA71oVXgLzKPBylGKdZrkpC6G4VWkxmN4EcOKQ6Jsxhh8IuHtGdIOfumDYRm3Lr6wT6l22hqfe-w8aWUuowbg5Stev_7JXLNr5HzLc_iGGm0Ic6Wqp-CEFtjW7uQXEMeI-YSG0/s320/nefertiti4.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,204,204)"><span style="font-family:verdana;">In this picture Nefertiti is depicted giving offerings to the sun god Ra. Nefertiti played a big role in the religious reform, during the time that Nefertiti and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Akhenaten</span></span> were trying to convert Egypt to Monotheism. It was originally Amenhotep III, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Akhenaten's</span></span> radical daddy, who wanted to worship Ra only. When he died, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Akhenaten</span></span> and Nefertiti inherited the task of getting the ball rolling on the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">religious</span> reform, (ooh, fun!)<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Akhenaten</span></span> changed his name from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Amonhotep</span></span> IV to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Akhenaten</span></span>, meaning beams of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Aten</span></span> (another name for Ra). The biggest part Nefertiti played in the religious reform was starting the cult that rejected the other gods and goddesses and only recognizing Ra as a god, or <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">the</span> god, I guess. Anyway, Nefertiti fully supported her husband's teachings and even helped create new religious ceremonies. The coolest part is that the Egyptians thought that they would only receive Ra's blessings through Nefertiti and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Akhenaten</span></span> together. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Awww</span>, so sweet! Apparently, later on after Egypt started to settle down a <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">little</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Akhenaten</span></span> was starting to regret reverting Egypt and Nefertiti still thought it was the right thing, and, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">viola</span>, she was banished (maybe) just like that. (So now is when <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Akhenaten</span></span> banishes her for defying him? He's just a little late for that...) And this is where things start going haywire. Just because Nefertiti disagrees with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Akhenaten</span></span>, her popularity plummets and things go way down for her.<br /></span></span>Anna Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921616646967509168noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1633886088097861956.post-36162199285757440552008-12-16T07:33:00.000-08:002009-01-05T11:01:49.123-08:00Ding Dong the Pretty Queen is Dead<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-C-JMmMVPxOB854T2KnEepNqDWxmkniQ1_gagVWOEsDQ58v7LEJPa8U6j1oGb-bNLc-LCcEvsSrcVLhbkyXGv6i7vPqea8sSs2WtReua65JSPTl4wuLJwB3Pksfm9B7gXu2u1j6Ni2woY/s1600-h/abu_simbel_temple_of_nefertiti_3_copy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280412295316778930" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-C-JMmMVPxOB854T2KnEepNqDWxmkniQ1_gagVWOEsDQ58v7LEJPa8U6j1oGb-bNLc-LCcEvsSrcVLhbkyXGv6i7vPqea8sSs2WtReua65JSPTl4wuLJwB3Pksfm9B7gXu2u1j6Ni2woY/s320/abu_simbel_temple_of_nefertiti_3_copy.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,204,204)"><span style="font-family:verdana;">After <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Akhenaten</span> and Nefertiti died, the old gods and goddesses were restored and Nefertiti and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Akhenaten's</span> names sere taken off of documents. The state of chaos that Egypt was in was blamed on Nefertiti and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Akhenaten</span> because they rejected the other gods and goddesses. In restoring them, King Tutankhamen promised restored order. A negative side affect of this was that Nefertiti and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Akhenaten's</span> names were more despised and feared than "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Voldemort</span>". All of Nefertiti's fancy burial things were melted down to use for King Tutankhamen. Sorry, for doing this but I have to bring <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Smenkhara</span> up again. Yet another thing we don't know about Nefertiti is when she died, but it is hypothesized that she died before <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Akhenaten</span> (if she wasn't <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Smenkhara</span>) and that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Akhenaten</span> was actually <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Smenkhara</span>. If that's true, then Nefertiti and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Akhenaten's</span> daughter <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Ankesenpaaten</span> married King Tutankhamen, her half brother, in an attempt to resolve the rift that formed when Nefertiti was banished by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Akhenaten</span> and King Tutankhamen. It gets worse: Nefertiti and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Akhenaten's</span> oldest daughter <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Meretaten</span> married her dad, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Akhenaten</span>. Congratulations if you kept up with that-you know how Egyptian family trees are! You've got an <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">enviable</span> attention span.</span></span>Anna Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921616646967509168noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1633886088097861956.post-32549827197398115462008-12-16T06:54:00.000-08:002009-01-05T08:41:48.886-08:00The Prodigal Queen Returns<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFfWhwMWFi4xGiNGe2oXbM-kbnXtN6DzrJAsaDdw2YW9V75I8JLEkJbCSw0jBHF4SukJx1yU1uPliksqJ40LT0pTsB90VRLj81iZIF-0sGOhhv4hvJMQSo1KIhekYEBMNl5xCA3d1wbOMt/s1600-h/tell_el-amarna_temple03.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280411270573570130" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 231px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFfWhwMWFi4xGiNGe2oXbM-kbnXtN6DzrJAsaDdw2YW9V75I8JLEkJbCSw0jBHF4SukJx1yU1uPliksqJ40LT0pTsB90VRLj81iZIF-0sGOhhv4hvJMQSo1KIhekYEBMNl5xCA3d1wbOMt/s320/tell_el-amarna_temple03.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,204,204)"><span style="font-family:verdana;">In a previous post I talked about Nefertiti's big climb on the ladder of power. So what now? Where does she go from there? Well, to tell you the truth, after the religious reform (more on that later) Nefertiti basically disappears from history, as if she spontaneously fell off the face of the earth. What we know: after <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Akhenaten</span> died, a pharaoh named <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Smenkhara</span> ruled for a short time. What we don't know: everything else-the gender, the origins of him/her, and where he/she ties into the story. There are many theories on what happened to Nefertiti and who <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Smenkhara</span> was. The story of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Smenkhara</span> is very intriguing because we don't know anything about him/her except that he/she ruled after <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Akhenaten</span> before King Tut the boy king took over (and very rudely erased his father and stepmother, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Akhenaten</span> and Nefertiti, off the records making it very difficult to find any solid information on them!). Some people think that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Akhenaten</span> ruled as <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Smenkhara</span> and others believe that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Smenkhara</span> was Nefertiti herself. You might be wondering why Nefertiti would have such a major identity crisis that she would want to be a completely different person. How did Nefertiti lose popularity so fast you ask? Well, this is also unclear but again, there are many theories. One idea is that Nefertiti was banished to her palace in the new capital, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Amarna</span>. I'm sure you see the huge hole in this theory though. Nefertiti was co-king, beloved by her people, a goddess serving Ra. My point is, if <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Akhenaten</span> said "Jump!", Nefertiti wouldn't say, "How high?". Similarly, if <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Akhenaten</span> says, "You're banished," she wouldn't say, "How long?" For now, we can draw our own conclusions on who <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Smenkhara</span> was.</span></span>Anna Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921616646967509168noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1633886088097861956.post-49505405916541869542008-12-15T10:57:00.000-08:002009-01-05T08:42:15.651-08:00Subservient? Never!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGwACu9rk6TrDSK02jfdTn-zLaKenkucCwt2Vaiq5EZ3mShes653BLfDBXov89lrxda8pIE2xLEYbWpJeq8vy4amqoJJOMcssXdWqqfgf6q6xqlF-HMfr_giqwIXPHzRHsLG_r1r6XoqNQ/s1600-h/nefertari2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280098847694964274" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 271px; HEIGHT: 243px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGwACu9rk6TrDSK02jfdTn-zLaKenkucCwt2Vaiq5EZ3mShes653BLfDBXov89lrxda8pIE2xLEYbWpJeq8vy4amqoJJOMcssXdWqqfgf6q6xqlF-HMfr_giqwIXPHzRHsLG_r1r6XoqNQ/s320/nefertari2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,204,204);font-family:Verdana;" >So, earlier I mentioned that Nefertiti became a co-ruler, right? But in ancient Egyptian society, even though women in Egypt were treated very well, women weren't typically thought of as equals. I, being a feminist and all, thought that it was great that Nefertiti blatantly ignored the "rules". So what made them equals? (Not that I believe that Nefertiti had to do something to be equal to her husband) The ancient Egyptians thought that their pharaohs were gods, but the cool thing about Nefertiti and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Akhenaten</span> (or <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Akhenatiti</span>, as I like to call them) is that the Egyptians thought that only together could the power of Ra be present. Further more, Nefertiti started the cult that recognized Ra as their only god. This might be why there are pictures of her and Ra together without <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Akhenaten</span>. (More power to ya!) I suppose it helped her popularity that she was the most common model for artists. They loved her for her beauty (strangely enough, she shaved her head so that she could wear her tight fitting crown). In one picture Nefertiti was even shown standing next to her husband and wearing a king's crown. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Quelle</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">horreur</span>! (the horror!)</span></div>Anna Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921616646967509168noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1633886088097861956.post-50774122250582764822008-12-11T11:23:00.000-08:002009-01-05T08:42:57.359-08:00From Commoner to Queen<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGzUGUxHF0tZ6oL8Xn4sednKSX521ZiUOpJxpwt3_MwvMqTH46EuS3xmCFeWwmn2s-3eS2ik814GUvFgd4gaP_7CIchaisUB6Zdw3T4bLKgRiyi5IhcywGMZ7pnksn1HG0rpy3s7VV6fMD/s1600-h/Nefertiti.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278616383206023522" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGzUGUxHF0tZ6oL8Xn4sednKSX521ZiUOpJxpwt3_MwvMqTH46EuS3xmCFeWwmn2s-3eS2ik814GUvFgd4gaP_7CIchaisUB6Zdw3T4bLKgRiyi5IhcywGMZ7pnksn1HG0rpy3s7VV6fMD/s320/Nefertiti.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color:#00cccc;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">You have probably heard about the crazy Egyptians who married their cousins right? Well, thankfully, Nefertiti wasn't one of those people. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Archeologists</span> guess that she was just an <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">extraordinarily</span> beautiful commoner and heir to the throne <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Ahkenaten</span> must have noticed. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Ahkenaten</span> wasn't even pharaoh yet and he had numerous wives (the pig!). However, Nefertiti was his <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">favorite</span> and was eventually appointed the position of co-ruler. I'm guessing that Vizier <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Ay</span> was glad that she named her daughter Nefertiti meaning "the beautiful one has come". Rest assured, this very famous queen wasn't reliant on just her beauty and her husband. For a short while after her husband's death, Nefertiti might have ruled as pharaoh <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Smekhkara</span>. This pharaoh was thought to be male but maybe Nefertiti was tired of being "just a pretty face" and decided to embrace her masculine side? Whatever floats your boat...</span></span>Anna Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921616646967509168noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1633886088097861956.post-53190099972861167772008-12-11T11:15:00.000-08:002008-12-16T08:49:20.929-08:00After Nefertiti and Akhenaten died, what did King Tut restore and on what grounds?Anna Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921616646967509168noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1633886088097861956.post-84778396155410421622008-12-11T11:13:00.000-08:002008-12-16T08:46:38.080-08:00What event led to Nefertiti's downfall and why?Anna Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921616646967509168noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1633886088097861956.post-34388425970106319212008-12-11T11:11:00.001-08:002008-12-11T11:11:56.458-08:00What are areas of strength for this blog?Anna Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921616646967509168noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1633886088097861956.post-72328586749947270362008-12-11T11:07:00.000-08:002008-12-11T11:10:39.774-08:00What are areas of improvement for this blog?<span style="font-family:verdana;color:#33ccff;"></span>Anna Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05921616646967509168noreply@blogger.com1