The uraeus is linked to the sun god. Here I remember and you also know dear Zeus one of our beliefs that God took the eyes from Sun. This uraeus in front of her headdress makes me feel like she is the goddess though it symbolizes her kinship.
Yet I am feeling that her portrayal and imagery is different from the Canonical practice however, I am also feeling that it was essential for creating her female king identity. It also makes me feel that Hatshepsut created her image very carefully and slowly and was able to cultivate her identity because in her images she is portrayed as female king and not as a male king.
And tell me why I have not been depicted and portrayed like this because in the ancient Egypt, such type of portraits were utilized to create an image of authority and dignity of the kings and queens. We everlasting gods . . . Ah what chilling blows we suffer -- thanks to our own conflicting wills -- whenever we show these mortal men some kindness. As education was only allowed for upper elite class and that is why these portraits were used to propagate Kings' status among the general public. These visual representations have been very influential in Egyptian society and this is evident from the huge heritage of monuments in Cairo Egypt. The importance of these visual representations is evident from the way these have been made and reserved to witness all the ages. Hatshepsut's monuments particularly her Manned Sphinx can be located in different areas in Egypt.
The images are vital to construct her identity and promote her power among Egyptians. In the Ancient Egypt woman had significant role in the Kinship and that is why there was a custom of brother and sister marriages in royal families to limit the royal line within...
From this piece of art there seems that Hatshepsut was an iconographic male king having female captions and promoted herself as a female king as a substitute of queen or male king. Hatshepsut seems to be dealing with the challenge of creating female king identity. Through her authority and ruling she was successful in making women rulers acceptable for the Egyptians.
It was not difficult for her to achieve this identity because women in her times and even earlier had many rights such as to get education, to possess property and even to join military even as a leader. Yet it was not common to be a female king and I know there are rare examples of female kings. It was Hatshepsut who ruled for a long time and left her impact.
My actual concern is why her portrait was prepared using royal symbols and particularly titles that only I deserve as a Goddess. These symbols were used to legitimize her role as female king. That means that she has been promoted as goddess. Hatshepsut ruled as regent in the place of her step son who was very young and was not able to fulfill his duties as a ruler. Thus she got the chance to be a king because after her Husband's death she was closest relative who also belonged to royal family as her father was also ruled Egypt as a king before her husband.
There is point that is making me jealous of her and that is; she was the first queen in Egypt history who depicted herself in such a unique way and was successful in achieving the acceptance of the Egyptian people. By portraying herself as a Manned Sphinx she broke the traditions instead of her predecessor queens who used just the male accessories and ornaments. Her representation is not similar to traditional queens but rather similar to Kings.
