Queen Hatshepsut was pharaoh of ancient Egypt. She reigned from 1473 BCE to 1458 BCE. As a pharaoh, she was, in the eyes of her people, a living god. However, when she died in 1458 BCE, many of the statues to her were demolished. Was this because she was unpopular when alive, or that the new pharaoh wanted to wipe away any reminders of who went before him? Perhaps, it was simply because she was a woman and misogeny reigns throughout history?
Until recently, egyptologists believed that this was nothing new. It had been known that many other statues of previous pharaohs had also, it seems, been wiped from history. Maybe, it was part of their ways to destroy the memories of previous rulers? This is partially true but the real reason is far more interesting.
Recent excavations have revealed that the action of destroying the statues of Queen Harshepsut was an act of “deactivation”. So, what was being deactivated. People believed that pharaohs had magical powers. After all, they were gods and were treated as such, in life and especially in their tombs, where they would head to the afterlife. By destroying the statues when a pharaoh died, they were deactivating their magical powers. It has also been found that many statues were not completely destroyed, but suffered the breaking off of hands, feet and noses.
So, if you ever get trouble from the magical powers of a pharaoh, you’ll know what to do. That is a joke!
John Pullen 