The history course described the king’s government in Divine Kingship and the Titulary. Here we look at the religious side: what Egyptians believed the king was. It builds on Maat and Isfet, because keeping maat was the king’s first duty.
Key idea
The king was Horus on earth and the son of Ra. He stood between the gods and the people, offering to the gods on behalf of everyone. The office was divine; the man who held it was mortal.
The king’s names
From the Middle Kingdom on, a king had five names, his titulary. Each told something about his nature:
| Name | Introduced by | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| Horus name | a falcon on a palace facade | the king is the living Horus |
| Two Ladies name | the vulture and the cobra goddesses | protected by the goddesses of Upper and Lower Egypt |
| Golden Horus name | a falcon on the sign for gold | divine and lasting |
| Throne name, in a cartouche | nsw-bjt, "King of Upper and Lower Egypt" | the name taken at the coronation |
| Birth name, in a cartouche | zꜣ-rꜥ, "son of Ra" | the name given at birth |
Why it works
Why make the king divine? Egypt needed one person who could speak to every god, keep maat and hold the Two Lands together. The myth of Osiris gave the model: the living king is Horus, son of Osiris, and when he dies he becomes Osiris. But the man was human. Kings aged and died, fought wars they could lose, and could be plotted against: papyri record the trial of people who conspired against Ramesses III. The divinity belonged to the office, which passed from king to king, more than to the person.
Worked example: Reading the titles
A cartouche follows the title zꜣ-rꜥ. Which of the king’s names is it?
- zꜣ-rꜥ means "son of Ra".
- It introduces the birth name.
- nsw-bjt would introduce the throne name.
Answer: The birth name.
Worked example: God or man?
Was a king like Ramesses II a god to his people?
- As holder of the office, he was Horus and son of Ra.
- As a man, he grew old and died after about 66 years of rule.
- Egyptians kept both ideas at once.
Answer: The office was divine; the man was mortal.
Common mistake
Saying that Egyptians saw the king simply as a god. The office was divine, but the man holding it could fall ill, be criticized in literature or be the target of a plot. Quick check: separate what the titles claim from what the records show.