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Tiye › Who Was
Definition and Origins
Tiye (also known as Tiy, 1398-1338 BCE) was a queen of Egypt of the 18th dynasty, wife of the pharaoh Amenhotep III, mother of Akhenaten, and grandmother of both Tutankhamun and Ankhsenamun. She exerted an enormous influence at the courts of both her husband and son and is known to have communicated directly with rulers of foreign nations. The Amarna letters also show that she was highly regarded by these rulers, especially during the reign of her son. Although she believed in the traditional polytheistic religion of Egypt, she supported Akhenaten's monotheistic reforms, most likely because she recognized them as important political stratagems to increase the power of the throne at the expense of the priesthood of Amun. She died in her early sixties and was buried in the Valley of the Kings. Her mummy has positively been identified as that known as the 'Elder Lady', and a lock of her hair, possibly a keepsake of the young king's, was found in Tutankhamun's tomb.
EARLY LIFE & MARRIAGE
According to some scholars (Margaret Bunson, among them), Tiye's father was Yuya, a provincial priest from Akhmin, and her mother was Tjuya, a servant of the queen mother, Mutemwiya. Other sources, however, claim Yuya was Master of the Horse of the royal court and Tjuya a priestess. Tiye grew up in the royal palace but was not a royal herself. She would have been a part of the court life if her mother had been the queen's servant but it seems more likely that both her parents enjoyed a more elevated status. She had one brother, Amen, who later took over his father's position and eventually became high priest of the cult of Akhmin, and she may have had another brother, Ay, who would later rule Egypt (though this is disputed). Her parents' names, some claim, are not Egyptian, and it has been suggested that they were Nubian. Scholars who have noted Tiye's unusual role in the affairs of state point to the Nubian custom of female rulers. The Candaces of Nubia were all strong female rulers, and so some scholars speculate that perhaps Tiye felt free to wield power in the same way as a male ruler because of her upbringing and heritage.
TIYE RULED WITH THE SAME AUTHORITY AS A MAN AND EXERCISED HER POWER IN EQUAL MEASURE WITH THE GREAT KINGS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD.
This theory is disputed, however, as it has been pointed out that women in ancient Egypt had more rights and were held in higher regard than in most other ancient cultures and, therefore, there is no need to seek a reason in neighboring Nubia for Tiye's behavior. The counter-argument, however, is that this latter objection does not account for the Nubian-sounding names of Tiye's parents. The Egyptologist Zahi Hawass claims that the names are not Nubian and that “some scholars have speculated that Yuya and Tjuya were of foreign birth, but there is no good evidence to substantiate this theory” (28). He also contradicts Bunson by claiming that Tiye's parents were associated with the clergy from the Egyptian region of Akhmin, serving the gods Amun, Hathor, and Min; Yuya was Master of the Horse and Tjuya was not a servant of the royal house but a priestess of considerable power. If Hawass is correct, this would explain how Queen Tiye came to wield as much power as she did -- far more than any other queen of Egypt before her (as Hatshepsut was pharaoh, not queen, she cannot be considered in this equation).The historian Margaret Bunsone note that, "Tiye probably married Amenhotep while he was a prince. She is believed to have been only 11 or 12 at the time” (265). When Amenhotep III came to the throne, Tiye ascended with him.
QUEEN TIYE
From the beginning of her husband's reign, Tiye was a significant force at court. Bunson writes that she was “intelligent and diligent, the first queen of Egypt to have her name on official acts, even on the announcement of the king's marriage to a foreign princess” (265). Hawass agrees, stating, “Tiye is featured prominently on her husband's monuments, and seems to have borne more real power than the queens who came before her. Her name is even written in a cartouche, like that of the king” (28). Amenhotep III's reign was luxurious, and Egypt was the most powerful and richest nation in the region, if not the world, and so the king was free to expend this wealth in building a grand palace for his queen at Malkata, across the river from Thebes and the old palace of his father.
Queen Tiye
Tiye and her husband lived at Malkata where she gave birth to six children: two sons, Thutmosis, Amenhotep IV; and four daughters, Sitamen, Henuttaneb, Isis, Nebetah, and Baketaten. Thutmosis died early in life, and Amenhotep IV (later known as Akhenaten) was pronounced heir to the throne. Images from the time show Tiye with her family enjoying domestic life, but she was equally involved in affairs of state. Besides the customary titles for a queen, like Hereditary Princess, Lady of the Two Lands, King's Wife, or Great King's Wife, Tiye was also known as Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt and Mistress of the Two Lands. The royal couple presented a united front in dealing with domestic and foreign policies, and the reign of Amenhotep III is considered a high point in Egyptian history. Hawass writes:
Putting her non-royal origins beside her evident power, scholars have long assumed that the marriage between Amenhotep III and Tiye was a love match. However, scholars now think it possible that her parents, Yuya and Tjuya, actually held a good deal of influence in the central administration under Thutmosis IV, and may even have served as regents during the minority of the young king. The marriage may then have been a successful bid for power by an ambitious family. They were granted the unusual privilege of burial in the Valley of the Kings, where their partially plundered but still rich tomb was discovered in 1905 (28).
There is no doubt, however, that the king and queen loved each other and enjoyed each other's company. They are depicted as constant companions and, as Hawass notes, “The palace at Malkata had an enormous artificial lake attached to it.Amenhotep III and Tiye took pleasure cruises on this lake in their Aten bark” (31) and also strolled in the gardens. Every inscription, statue, or letter presents the couple as equal partners in both domestic and public life.
Tiye's importance is evident in that she is depicted in statuary as the same height as her husband. Previously, in dyad statuary representing pharaoh and his queen, the king was considerably taller to symbolize his greater power and prestige. From inscriptions and the letters found at Amarna, it is clear that Tiye was in every way the equal of her husband and presided at festivals, met with foreign dignitaries, and directed both domestic and foreign policies. Bunson writes that “Tiye was mentioned by several kings of other lands in their correspondence, having been made known to them in her official dealings” (265).Amenhotep III's great contribution to Egyptian culture was the peace and prosperity which enabled him to erect his great monuments, temples, public parks, and palaces. Bunson writes, “While Amenhotep busied himself with his own affairs, Queen Tiye worked tirelessly with officials and scribes overseeing the administrative aspects of the empire. She was devoid of personal ambition and served Egypt well during her tenure” (18). The royal couple ruled Egypt successfully for 38 years until Amenhotep III's death in 1353 BCE when he was 54 and Tiye was 48 years old.
THE KING'S MOTHER
Tiye assumed the title of King's Mother upon the ascent to the throne of her son Amenhotep IV. Initially, he ruled from Malkata and continued his father's policies but, in the fifth year of his reign, he abolished the old religion of Egypt, closed the temples, and proclaimed a new order based on the worship of the one true god Aten. He changed his name to Akhenaten and built a new city, with an even grander palace, on virgin land in the middle of Egypt, which he called Akhetaten (horizon of Aten).Even though there is no indication that Tiye had ever entertained anything like monotheistic leanings, she seems to have supported her son's radical departure from the religious policies of the past. The priests of Amun had gradually been growing in wealth and power throughout the 18th dynasty until, by Amenhotep III's reign, their influence was on par with the royal house. Whatever Tiye may have thought of her son's monotheism privately, she would have approved of a measure to increase the power of the throne at the expense of the clergy.
Funeral Mask of Queen Tiye
During Akhenaten's reign, Tiye is depicted in the role of a grandmother sitting with the royal children of her son and his wife, Nefertiti, but she continued to play an important role in the political life of Egypt. The king of Mitanni, Tushratta, carried on a correspondence directly with Tiye and even mentioned matters having nothing to do with state issues such as the pleasant times they had passed together in visits. Akhenaten is routinely depicted with his mother in domestic scenes or official visits to Akhetaten, and he was clearly very fond of her. Even her servants held her in high regard. She is depicted with her family enjoying a banquet on the wall of the tomb of her steward Huya, where she is bathed in the light of the god Aten and is surrounded by her grandchildren. Bunson writes that depictions of Tiye at this time “show a forceful woman with a sharp chin, deep-set eyes, and a firm mouth” (265), and she continues to be depicted as a figure of prominence and royal stature. Her example is thought to have served as a model for her daughter-in-law, as Nefertiti enjoyed much the same status as Tiye, served the court in the same capacity, and, most importantly, took care of the affairs of state when her husband was otherwise occupied or distracted from his duties.
TIYE'S DEATH & LEGACY
It is not known when Tiye died, but it was most probably around the twelfth year of Akhenaten's reign in the year 1338 BCE.The painting and inscription on Huya's tomb is the last known mention made of her and is dated to that year. Her death is seen by some as coinciding with Akhenaten's seeming loss of interest in foreign affairs, and perhaps his grief over the loss of his mother influenced his withdrawal. It has also been suggested, however, that he may have had no interest all along and simply left affairs of state to his mother and Nefertiti. Either way, his reign suffers a marked decline after Tiye's death, and he largely neglected foreign policy, preferring to remain in his palace at Akhetaten and attend to his new religion. This preoccupation with Aten led to a decrease in Egypt's prestige and the loss of a number of territories long held by the crown, notably Byblos, as well as the rise in strength of the Hittites to the north since there was no longer a significant Egyptian foreign policy to check their expansion. These circumstances have led scholars to speculate that, had she lived longer or perhaps exerted more direct influence on her son's religious interest, the Amarna Period would have been remembered more favorably by future generations of Egyptians. As it came to be, however, Akhenaten would come to be considered `the heretic king' and his reign wiped from memory.
Following Akhenaten's death, his son Tutankhamun took the throne, repealed his father's religious reforms, and re-instituted the old religion of Egypt. Akhenaten's monotheism was so hated by the people of Egypt that measures were taken by his successors, Tutankhamun first and then Ay following him, to bury the legacy of the `heretic king', put his reign behind them, and build Egypt back to its former height. The last king of the 18th dynasty, Horemheb, took these measures further and, claiming the gods had chosen him to restore Egypt to its former glory, tried to erase Akhenaten from history. He ordered the temples to Aten, the stele, and even the city of Akhetaten destroyed. The only way scholars in the modern day know anything about the Amarna Period is because Horemheb used the ruins from Akhenaten's reign as fill in constructing new temples to the ancient gods of Egypt and, from these ruins, the reign of the heretic king has been pieced together. It is for this reason, also, that Tiye's death date, and even her initial place of burial, is a matter of debate.
Tiye appears to have first been buried in the tomb of Akhenaten and then re-buried in the tomb of her husband Amenhotep III.There is no clear agreement on this, however, because the argument for burial in Amenhotep III's tomb is based on the discovery of her Shabti dolls there but nothing else. Further, her actual mummy was discovered (by the archaeologist Victor Loret in 1898 CE) in the tomb of Amenhotep II. The claim that she was first buried in her son's tomb is supported by inscriptions but, as these writings are not clear and often incomplete, they are open to interpretation. Her mummy was first identified only as “The Elder Lady” and it was only later, when more information came to light on the reign of Akhenaten, that she was positively identified by name. At this time it became clear that, centuries before the reign of Cleopatra, well known from Greek and Roman accounts, there existed a queen of Egypt who ruled with the same authority as a man and exercised her power in equal measure with the great kings of the ancient world.
Apis › Who Was
Definition and Origins
Apis was the most important and highly regarded bull deity of ancient Egypt. His original name in Egyptian was Api, Hapi, or Hep; Apis is the Greek name. He is not, however, associated with the god Hapi/Hep who was linked to the inundation and is depicted as the god of the river.
Worship of the Apis bull is recorded as early as the First Dynasty (c. 3150 - c. 2890 BCE) in ceremonies known as The Running of Apis but veneration of the bull in Egypt precedes this time, and so it is thought that Apis may be the first god of Egypt or, at least, among the first animals associated with divinity and eternity. He was originally a god of fertility, then the herald of the god Ptah but, in time, was considered Ptah incarnate. He was also, in some eras, depicted as the son of Hathorand was closely associated with her goodness and bounty.
There were many bovine deities in ancient Egypt, Hathor simply being the best known, but Apis was the most significant because he represented the core cultural values and understanding of all Egyptians. Each individual deity had their own sphere of influence and power, but Apis represented eternity itself and the harmonious balance of the universe. Other bovine deities such as Bat, Buchis, Hesat, Mnevis, and the Bull of the West, no matter how powerful, would never have the same resonance as the incarnated deity of the Apis bull.
Apis is depicted throughout Egypt's history as a striding bull, usually with a solar disc and uraeus (the sacred serpent which symbolized the king's power) between its horns. In the Late Period of Ancient Egypt (525-332 BCE) he is sometimes depicted as a man with a bull's head, and, in Roman Egypt, this becomes the most popular representation of the god. During the Ptolemaic Period (323-30 BCE), which comes between these two, he was represented in anthropomorphic form as a bearded man in robes, much in the fashion of Greek gods like Zeus, under the name Serapis. The Apis bull was always associated with the king of Egypt and, among its many meanings, represented the strength and vitality of the reigning monarch.
ORIGIN & SELECTION
There are no myths related to the origin of Apis, but he is attested to through engravings from the Predynastic Period (c. 6000-3150 BCE). Apis was a god of fertility and primordial power who then came to be associated with the creator god Ptah. At what point he first became linked with Hathor is unclear, but this association is established firmly by the time of the Early Dynastic Period in Egypt (c. 3150 - c. 2613 BCE), during which time the bull was also linked to the power of the king (as evidenced on the Narmer Palette ). The Apis bull was worshiped ceremonially from this era through the Ptolemaic Period and on into the Roman Period consistently no matter which other deities were in vogue at a given time. During different eras of Egypt's history various gods assumed supremacy in different regions, or even nationally, such as Osiris, Isis, Amun, Atum, Ra, but the worship of Apis never dramatically changed.
Painted Coffin Footboard with Apis Bull
In the Early Dynastic Period, the ritual known as The Running of Apis was performed to fertilize the earth. The bull is shown in engravings wearing the menat, the necklace/collar sacred to Hathor. Where the bull ran during this ceremony is unclear, but most likely, it was in the temple precinct at Memphis, the capital of Egypt at the time, which would symbolically fertilize all the land.
The bull was selected, after a careful search, based upon its appearance: it had to be black with a white triangular marking on its forehead, another white marking on its back in the shape of a hawk's or vulture's wings, a white crescent on its side, a separation of the hairs at the end of its tail, (known as the "double hairs") and a lump under its tongue in the shape of a scarab.If a bull were found with all of these characteristics, it was instantly recognized as Apis, of course, but even a few or one would suffice. A white marking in the shape of a triangle on the forehead and the scarab-shaped lump under the tongue were often enough for the bull to be chosen.
WORSHIP
Once selected, the bull was brought to Memphis and housed in the temple precinct along with his mother. People would travel to the city from all over the land to worship the animals. Egyptologist Richard H. Wilkinson describes the bull's life in the city:
In Memphis the Apis bull was kept in special quarters just south of the Temple of Ptah where it was adored by worshippers and entertained by its own harem of cows. In addition to its participation in special processions and other religious rituals, the animal was utilized in the delivery of oracles and was regarded as one of the most important oracular sources in Egypt. (172)
On feast days, festivals, and other special events like a king's coronation, the bull was turned loose in a special chamber with different gates leading from it. Symbols and foodstuffs were placed on the other side of the chamber's gates, and people would ask questions regarding the future while the bull was led into the room. Whichever gate the bull chose to go through would provide an answer to the people's questions.
Once the oracle had been given and interpreted by the priests, the bull was allowed to roam at will within the enclosure while the people knelt before it in worship. To the ancient Egyptians, every kind of life was an extension of the divine and all of life was sacred. Although the Egyptian diet did include meat, it was largely vegetarian, and when animals were eaten, thanks were offered for the sacrifice.
Apis
Although the people would have known that this particular bull they were seeing would die, they also knew that the spirit which inhabited that bull was eternal; a particular bull's body might die but not the bull itself, not the soul which animated the animal.It was this eternal aspect of the Apis bull which made it so significant at religious festivals and other public gatherings.
One of the most important events the bull participated in was the Heb-Sed Festival, held every thirty years of a king's reign in order to rejuvenate him. The Heb-Sed Festival included a number of physical acts the king had to perform to show he was still fit to serve the gods and the people. The bull, from earliest times, had been associated with the king and monarchial power, and so the Apis bull would walk beside the king as a show of divine approval. At the conclusion of the festival, when the people were invited to a communal feast in honor of the king, the Apis bull would remain in the king's presence as a continual reminder of power and virility.
DEATH & REPLACEMENT
After a period of 25 years, if the bull suffered no disease or accident, it was ceremonially killed. Certain parts of the animal were eaten by the priests, and then the carcass was taken to a special part of the temple precinct at Memphis to be embalmed. A state of mourning was decreed during which the bull's body was mummified with the same care given a king or noble, and at this same time, priests were sent out to find a replacement. Once the embalming was completed, the mummified bull was conveyed along the sacred way from Memphis to the necropolis at Saqqara where it was buried in the Serapeum, a subterranean series of chambers dug for this purpose under by the fourth son of Ramesses II (1279-1213 BCE), Khaemweset. It was also Khaemweset, who was devoted to preserving history, who ensured the careful recording of the deaths of Apis bulls and date of burial. As High Priest of Ptah at Memphis, Khaemweset would have presided over the funeral ceremonies for the bulls.
Bulls were buried in granite sarcophagi, some of which were ornamented, while the bull's mother - who had also been ritually killed and embalmed - was buried in a similar style in the Iseum catacombs dedicated to Isis. Any calves the bull had produced were likewise killed and embalmed, although their burial place is unknown.
THE BULL'S DEATH WAS NOT THE END OF ITS LIFE BUT A MOMENT OF TRANSITION FROM ONE STATE TO ANOTHER & THE CEREMONY WHICH INVOLVED ITS KILLING WAS NOT CONSIDERED SLAUGHTER BUT TRANSFORMATION.
The reason for the bull's death was to join it with Osiris and ritually re-enact the cycle of life, death, and resurrection. The bull had represented the living creator Ptah while it lived and became Osiris when it died and was then referred to as the god Osirapis. Osiris was the first king of Egypt, and the first to die and return to life among all sentient beings, and therefore the ritual act of killing the animal which was so closely associated with kingship and the divine merged the monarchy with resurrection. The death of the Apis bull symbolized the eternal nature of life. Instead of waiting for the bull to die of old age or disease, it was sent to Osiris while still fit, and after it was entombed, a bull looking very much like the last took its place. This new bull would, in fact, house the same eternal spirit as the last since it was believed that the soul of the old bull was reborn in the one that would be chosen to replace it.
It was for this reason that, at the beginning of the Ptolemaic Period, Ptolemy I chose to merge Apis with the Greek god Zeus and others to create his new god Serapis for the multicultural society he was trying to form in Egypt. Ptolemy I built his great Serapeum in Alexandria, nearby the famous library, to elevate his new god as a deity who embraced and welcomed everyone. Apis was not just another god in the Egyptian pantheon but the embodiment of Egyptian values, and once Ptolemy I merged him with Greek divinities, he became the pre-eminent god of the nation who died only to live eternally. The bull's death was not the end of its life but a moment of transition from one state to another, and the ceremony which involved its killing was not considered slaughter but transformation.
Serapis
This ritual might seem to contradict the value ancient Egyptians placed on individuality and a long, full life but, actually, it illustrated that very concept. The bull would never grow old and die - it was an eternal being - and it would remain eternally fit and healthy passing from one body to another in an endless progression. The reason the worship of the Apis bull never significantly altered in over 3,000 years is because it embodied the deepest Egyptian values concerning life, time, and eternity.One's time on earth was only a brief sojourn in an eternal journey which would take one out of time but not out of place. The Egyptian afterlife was a continuation of life on earth, only on a different plane; one would still enjoy one's home, pets, land, and loved ones in paradise. The Apis bull assured people of this by its constancy; no matter the era in which one lived, there had been this divine manifestation before, there was one at the present, and there would be one in the future, and all would be the same entity eternally.
CAMBYSES II & CHRISTIANITY
In 525 BCE the Persians under Cambyses II invaded Egypt, and Herodotus reports that Cambyses II himself killed the Apis bull before its allotted time (a story also told by Diodorus Siculus) and had the carcass flung into the street where it was eaten by dogs. These accounts have been challenged because Cambyses II knew and respected Egyptian culture and so it seems out of character to some scholars that he would knowingly commit such a sacrilege.
Actually, however, the story is not so hard to believe. Cambyses II had only recently conquered Egypt at the Battle of Pelusium by using the Egyptian's own beliefs against them. Knowing their veneration for animals generally, and the cat in particular, he had his soldiers round up as many stray animals as possible and paint the image of the Egyptian cat goddess Bastet on their shields. He then marched on Pelusium, driving the animals before his forces and demanded the city's immediate surrender. The Egyptians complied rather than risk hurting the animals and enraging Bastet. There seems little difference between Cambyses II's actions here and his later killing of the Apis bull. In both instances he was making use of Egyptian belief for his own ends: by slaying the Apis bull before its time he was announcing himself as the new king of Egypt and dismissing the old Egyptian monarchy, and rituals concerning it, to highlight his triumph and the dawn of a new regime.
Herodotus goes on to explain how Cambyses II paid for his crime with his life; as he was mounting his horse, he accidentally stabbed himself in the thigh - in the same place where he had first pierced the bull - and died from an infection. It is also reported that dogs were viewed as unclean animals from this point on because they had eaten the divine bull. Dogs were always regarded highly in Egypt, the story goes, but were now looked down upon as vile. There does not seem to be any evidence to support this claim, however, since dogs continue to be kept for hunting, as guardians, and companions throughout the rest of Egypt's history without any noticeable decline in status.
The Apis cult continued until the rise of Christianity in the 4th century CE. The eternal bull who symbolized Egyptian values was incompatible with the new Christian vision, and the rituals surrounding the bull declined. The Serapeum of Ptolemy I was destroyed by zealous Christians c. 385 CE in their efforts to eradicate pre-Christian beliefs in Alexandria. This same zeal may have also resulted in the destruction of the great library, located near the Serapeum, at the same time or a little later. In the 5th century CE, the Apis cult was banned along with other pagan sects and rituals as the Christian understanding of the universe and divinity became dominant.
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