Issue 1, 2025


R. A. Orekhov

Zagadka tsarya Ora, i pochemu on sozertsal bogov [Who was King Or and why did he contemplate the gods?]



In the article, the author attempts to find out which one of real kings is hiding under the name of Or/@or in the list of Manetho (Manetho, Fr. 50–53). For this purpose, he analyzes the legend of King Amenophis and his son Setos-Ramesses (Jos. Cont. Ap. I, 26 (232–251)). The main essence of this legend is that Or performed a certain ritual of "contemplation of the gods", which king Amenophis-Memnon (Amenhotep III) wanted to be repeated during his reign. The author comes to a conclusion that the text of the legend cited by Manetho refers to a celebration of the first heb-sed of Amenhotep III, which was based on the jubilee celebrations of Snofru, a king of the 4th dynasty. It was Snofru who was revered as a special hypostasis of the god Horus during the New Kingdom.

Keywords:
Manetho, Or, Amenophis, Amenhotep III, Snofru.

Original language — Russian.

DOI: 10.24412/2686-9276-2025-00003.

Referring: Orekhov R. A. Who was King Or and why did he contemplate the gods? [in Russian] // Egypt and Neighbouring Countries 1 (2025): 34–47 DOI: 10.24412/2686-9276-2025-00003.

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