V. А. Bolshakov

«Supruga boga» — «ruka boga» — «pochitatel'nitsa boga»: k voprosu o sootnoshenii titulov i sakral'nykh funktsii ikh obladatel'nits [“The God’s wife” — “the God’s hand” — “the divine adoratrice”: on the correlation between titles and the sacred functions of their holders]

Among the main sacral titles and epithets of the female representatives of the royal house and the high priestesses of Amun of the New Kingdom and the Late Period, three elements stand out: “the God’s wife”, “the God’s hand”," and “the divine adoratrice” (Hmt nTr/nt Imn, Drt nTr, dwAt nTr/nt Imn). The history of these titles, the theological role, and ritual functions of their holders have often been the subject of specialized studies, with the greatest emphasis placed on the most ancient and commonly used title — “the God’s wife of Amun”. Although all titles belong to the same semantic range, their theological significance and corresponding ritual functions remain unambiguously defined. Furthermore, the systematic and parallel usage of these three titles in the protocol of royal women and high priestesses of Amun suggests that they are not interchangeable elements. In the author’s conclusion, these three titles reflected different aspects of the sacred role of high priestesses of Amun in the temple cult.

Keywords:
god’s wife, god’s hand, divine adoratrice of Amun, titles, Egyptian priestesses.

Original language — Russian.

DOI: 10.24412/2686-9276-2025-00012.

Referring: Bolshakov V. А. “The God’s wife” — “the God’s hand” — “the divine adoratrice”: on the correlation between titles and the sacred functions of their holders [in Russian] // Egypt and Neighbouring Countries 4 (2025): 3–14. DOI: 10.24412/2686-9276-2025-00012.

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