The Office of the Divine Wife of Amen in the 25th and 26th Dynasties: A study of women and power in ancient Egypt.

摘要

The governing interest of this study is to discuss critically the Office of the Divine Wife of Amen as an expression of the power of women in ancient Egypt with focus on the 25th and 26th Dynasties, periods in which the office reaches its height. In an effort to offer a more complex dignity-affirming and agent-oriented interpretation of the office, it is pursued with several aims in mind including: to outline the socio-historical context in which the office evolves and increases in importance and power; to discuss its religious and political functions; to place it firmly within the central interests and activities of the Egyptian state; to critique and offer alternative interpretations to existing works in the area; and through these efforts, to offer a contribution to a new and more expansive approach to studying and understanding this important office and center of power in ancient Egypt.