The Egypt story......love in Ancient Egypt

Most people don't understand the ancient Egyptians because they look at them from the perspective of how humans live today, and they assume they were very much different from us. This is wrong simply because those ancient Egyptians were humans very much like me and you. They had their moments of happiness as well as sadness, had fun listening to music, dancing, traveling, hunting, camping, fishing and playing sports... and of course they had their love stories and made love. 

One of the most beautiful and true love stories comes to us from the time of the most famous pharaoh ever ruled, Ramses the Great, and his beloved queen Nefertari. Ramses the Great, like most of the pharaohs and the kings of the ancient civilization, had many wives. His main concern was to conceive as many children as he could, so one of them will succeed him upon the throne. The story between Ramses and Nefertari started while he was the crown prince, and even before becoming the king. Most likely she was a daughter of one of the nobles, and we are quite sure that between them was a great love story almost 3300 years old.

Nefertari was the most beloved woman by the king until she died after almost more than 25 years of marriage. He dedicated lots of work to her. Most of his statues have small statues of her attached to him, and although her size is much smaller than him, the difference in the size was not because she was a woman and he was a man. It was because he was a god and she was a queen (human). The way she was standing behind his left leg, touching it gently says a lot: "I am supporting my king, my beloved husband, I and push him to do all his best." His answer back is "My beloved, I believe that behind every successful man is a great woman like you, Nefertari." At the site of Abu Simbel, he built and dedicated a temple to her as a goddess, and next to his statues were statues of her, the same size as the king.

Nefertari held many titles, including, "bnrt-mrwt" (sweet of love), "nbt-im3t" (lady of grace), "wrt-hzwt" (great of praises), "hmt-niswt-wrtmeryt-f" (great king's wife, his beloved), "hmt-ntr" (god's wife), "hmnt-shm'w-mhw" (mistress of upper and lower Egypt), "nbt-t3wy" (lady of the two lands), "hmwt-t3w-nbw" (lady of all lands), and "hmt-k3-nxt" (wife of the strong bull). But the most beautiful title was given to her by the king himself: "The one for whom the sun shines." When he lost her after almost 25 years and was showing his weakness, he said: "My love is unique - no one can rival her, for she is the most beautiful woman alive. Just by passing, she has stolen away my heart."


Written by:
Hisham El Meniawy
Guest lecturer & Egyptologist
www.hegyptology.com