Horus name

Horus name (Serekh name) in hieroglyphs


srḫ
serekh
facade (of the palace)

Serekh of king Djet with the Horus falcon above

Serekh of king Peribsen with the Seth animal and a sun disc above

The Horus name is the oldest known and used crest of Egyptian rulers. It belongs to the "Great five names" of an Egyptian pharaoh. However, modern Egyptologists and linguists start to prefer the more neutral term "serekh name", because not every pharaoh had placed the Horus falcon atop his serekh.[1]

Heraldic appearance

The picture of the Horus name is made of two basic elements: A sitting or walking figure of a certain deity holds an rectangular, ornamentic vignette, imitating the floor plan of a palace facade and the royal courtyard. The rectangular vignette is called serekh, after the Egyptian word for "facade". There are countless variations of the facade decor in the serekh. The complexity and detail of the facade decor changed remarkably on any object on which it was present. It seems, that no strict artistic rules for the design of the serekh itself existed. The name of the pharaoh was written inside the free space that represents the royal courtyard.[2][3][4]

Symbology

The symbolic meaning of the Horus name is still disputed. At least it seems obvious, that the name of a king was addressed straight to the deity on top of the serekh. In most cases it was the falcon of the god Horus. This is based on the Egyptian tradition and belief that a living king was commonly the herald and earthly representative of Horus.[3] An good example is the name of 2nd dynasty king Raneb. His name was written with the sign of the sun (Râ) and the sign of a basket (néb). Altogether, the name reads "Lord of the sun of Horus", thus integrating Horus as the royal patron into the king's name.[5] Scholars point to the symbolic and expressive strength of the Horus falcon: hovering high in the sky, stretching out his wings widely and seemingly looking over all of Egypt, this heraldic animal represented omnipresence and an outstretching power. Additionally, the names of early dynastic kings show, when translated, an astonishing aggressiveness, which clearly expresses the wish of Egyptian kings to be untouchable and undefeatable, thanks to Horus. During the 2nd dynasty, the serekh names of the kings reveal an rather peace-seeking nature, expressing the whish of the pharaohs to rule over an unwavering world order and harmony: the epitheton of the Horus name of king Sekhemib, Per-en-ma'at (meaning "he who achieves Ma'at"), is the clearest early expression. As already mentioned, most Egyptian kings favored Horus as their dynastic name patron.[4]

In a few cases, especially during the midst of 2nd dynasty, at least two serekh names seem to contradict the Horus tradition. The most prominent example is king Seth-Peribsen. He first replaced the falcon figure of his serekh by the walking animal of the god Seth. Then, his name was written in a plural form, thus being addressed to Seth as well as to Horus. The serekh names of his followers Sekhemib and Khasekhemwy were similar built. Khasekhemwy went even further and placed both divine figures of Horus and Seth above his serekh, in attempt to accentuate the dualism of a serekh name. The remarkable behaviour of the 2nd dynasty kings can be possibly explained by the Egyptian believe that a king represented Horus and Seth in same ways. Maybe said kings simply wished to express this dualism by willingly changing the appearance of the serekh and replacing divine figures on its top.[3][4]

Introduction and history

As already mentioned, the Horus name is the oldest known and used royal title. Its introduction reaches back to the time of the Naqada II period at 3400 BC, and its development can be observed on objects from Naqada II to 1st dynasty. However, at the time of introduction the serekhs of kings were yet anonymous, later the name of the king was written beside the serekh or still omitted completely. In many cases the serekh lacks the Horus falcon, in other cases the serekh seems to be held by Horus upside-down, as the serekh of king Ka proves.[1] During the midst and late Naqada III period (3.200 - 3.030 BC.) kings started to write their name inside their serekhs, best known early examples are the names of Scorpion II and Ka. Under these kings the serekh were introduced in its final form.[3] During the 1st dynasty, an odd fashion can be observed: On several clay seals from the abydene tombs of king Hor-Aha, Qa'a and queen Meritneith, the horus names of all archaeologically detected kings from Narmer to Qa'a are listed in one single and smooth row. All of these Horus names miss a serekh. The exact reason for this is unknown, but it demonstrates a complexity within the tradition of royal titulary, which is not fully understood up to this day.[1]

Special serekhs

During the introduction and development of the serekh names three examples of these are of very special interest to Egyptologists and Historians.

First example is the serekh of a protodynastic king known as "Double Falcon". The serekh of this particular king has a top that is sharply bent inwards at the very midst. The inside of the serekh is filled with countless little dots. This makes the upper part of the serekh look like the hieroglyphic sign of a two-topped mountain, known as the sign for "desert" or "foreign land". A further curiosity of Double Falcon's serekh are the two falcon figures, each one resting on one corner atop the bent serekh and facing each other. Egyptologists and Historians are convinced, that this unusual king's name has a deeper meaning. Most possibly it points to Lower Egypt and Sinai, since Double Falcon's name has been found only at these two sites.[6]

A second unusual serekh is that of king Hor-Aha. It shows the Horus falcon reaching into the serekh with his claws and holding a mace and a shield, forming the word Aha, meaning "fighter of Horus". The arrangement is outstanding, because normally the Horus falcon and the hieroglyphs inside the serekh were out of reach and independent for themselves. The motive and deeper meaning of Aha's serekh are unknown.

The third example of unusual serekhs is that of queen Meritneith. A long time it was believed by scholars, that the royal title of a serekh was reserved to male rulers only. For this reason, it was long time thought that Meritneith was a man, until mud seal impressions revealed the female title mwt nesw ("mother of (the) king"). The tomb stela of Meritneith also proved the true gender of this queen. Thus, queen Meritneith was the first Egyptian female ruler who was allowed to use the serekh. However, her serekh is surmounted by the standard of the goddess Neith, not by a falcon figure. A similar case is that of the infamous queen Hatshepsut of 18th dynasty. She also used a serekh and likewise to queen Meritneit, it was long time thought by scholars that she had been a man.[7][8] Another queen, Sobekneferu of 12th dynasty, also used a serekh. She was indeed the first female pharaoh using the full royal titulary.[9] Another possible female pharaoh might have been queen Khentkaus I of 4th dynasty. Nonetheless, the cases of all these queens point out, that exceptions in the gender allocation of the serekh as a royal title were always possible. In fact, the Ancient Egyptians seemed to have no bigger problems with being ruled by a woman.[7][8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Laurel Bestock: The Development of Royal Funerary Cult at Abydos: Two Funerary Enclosures from the Reign of Aha (= Menes: Studien zur Kultur und Sprache der ägyptischen Frühzeit und des Alten Reiches, vol.6). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2009, ISBN 3447058382, p. 6-10.
  2. ↑ Jürgen von Beckerath: Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen. Münchner Ägyptologische Studien. Bd. 49. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1999, ISBN 3-8053-2591-6, p. 7-9.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Rolf Gundlach: Horus in the Palace: The centre of State and Culture in pharaonic Egypt. In: Rolf Gundlach, John H. Taylor: Egyptian royal Residences: 4. Symposium zur Ägyptischen Königsideologie (4th edition, London 2004). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2009, ISBN 978-3-447-05888-9, p. 45–68.
  4. 1 2 3 Toby A. H. Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt: Strategy, Society and Security. Routledge, London 1999, ISBN 0-415-18633-1, p. 56-57, 201-202.
  5. ↑ Jochem Kahl: Ra is my Lord. Searching for the Rise of the Sun God at the Dawn of Egyptian History. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2007, ISBN 3-447-05540-5. page 4–14.
  6. ↑ Eva-Maria Engel: Ein weiterer Beleg für den Doppelfalken auf einem Serech. In: Bulletin of the Egyptian Museum, vol. 2, Cairo 2005, p. 65-69.
  7. 1 2 Silke Roth: Die Königsmütter des Alten Ägypten. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2001, ISBN 3-447-04368-7, p. 18-23.
  8. 1 2 Toby A. H. Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge, London/New York 1999, ISBN 0-415-18633-1, p. 74-75.
  9. ↑ Michel Valloggia: Remarques sur les noms de la reine Sébek-Ka-Rê Néferou Sébek (= Revue d'Égyptologie, vol. 16, Paris 1964). p. 45–53.
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