Hatshepsut Quotes

Queens   “What is a queen without a king?” I don’t know, butlet’s ask Cleopatra, Nefertiti, Hatshepsut, Sammuramat, Victoria, Elizabeth, mina, Tzu-hsi, and the countless other kingless queens who turned mere kingdoms into the greatest of empires.

And once upon a time I wondered: Is writing epic fantasy not somehow a betrayal? Did I not somehow do a disservice to my own reality by paying so much attention to the power fantasies of disenchanted white men? But. Epic fantasy is not merely what Tolkien made it. This genre is rooted in the epic — and the truth is that there are plenty of epics out there which feature people like me. Sundiata’s badass mother. Dihya, warrior queen of the Amazighs. The Rain Queens. The Mino Warriors. Hatshepsut’s reign. Everything Harriet Tubman ever did. And more, so much more, just within the African components of my heritage. I haven’t even begun to explore the non-African stuff. So given all these myths, all these examinations of the possible… how can I not imagine more? How can I not envision an epic set somewhere other than medieval England, about someone other than an awkward white boy? How can I not use every building-block of my history and heritage and imagination when I make shit up? And how dare I disrespect that history, profane all my ancestors’ suffering and struggles, by giving up the freedom to imagine that they’ve won for me.

Male leaders are celebrated for their successes, while their excesses are typically excused as the necessary and expected price of masculine ambition.

Hatshepsut was, as far as we can tell, not a seducer of great generals in charge of legions, for the practical reason that there existed no men greater than she.

There are other sorcerer women in history you might admire,” Agrippa said. “Hypatia of Alexandria, the teacher. Much like you.” He smiled. “Hatshepsut, deemed by many as the greatest pharaoh in Egypt’s long history.” It struck me as odd that most sorcerer women belonged solely to antiquity, as if the glory of female magic were some crumbling myth to be debated by scholars.

In a world where seasons of planting harvests and inundation ruled life and death, it was imperative to bring the gods into daily life to help things along. The more a king invested in festivals of cyclical renewal, the more prosperity the gods bestowed. But if the gods were ignored, bad floods would result, and that meant meager planting and poor harvest, which led in turn to drought, pestilence, disease and death.

Where will I find you now that my heart is yours? Where should I search? I don’t know where to look. You fill my heart with desire and love, The perfume of the lotus, the grace of a dove. But then the dove flies far, far away, All that is left is a song for my harp strings to play. A voice in my memories like an angel of grace, Where can I find you? Do you know how I pray? Where will I find you now that my love belongs to you? Wherever your heart beats, I’m dreaming of you. Now and forever my love belongs to you… Now and forever my love belongs to you…

damn lonely on the moral high ground.

Egyptians enacted their politics through the rituals of religion,

Even when portrayed as a man, Hatshepsut often used grammatically feminine epithets, describing herself as the daughter (rather than son) of Ra, or the lady (rather than lord) of the Two Lands. The tension between male office and female officeholder was never satisfactorily resolved. Little wonder that Hatshepsut’s advisers came up with a new circumlocution for the monarch. From now on, the term for the palace, per-aa (literally “great house”), was applied also to its chief inhabitant. Peraa—pharaoh—now became the unique designation of the Egyptian ruler. While

The ideology of kingship required—demanded—a male ruler. Yet Hatshepsut, as her very name announced, was female. Her response to this conundrum was deeply schizophrenic. On some monuments, especially those dating from the time before her accession, she had the images recarved to show her as a man. On others, she had female epithets applied to male monarchs of the past, in an apparent attempt to “feminize” her ancestors. Even when portrayed as a man, Hatshepsut often used grammatically feminine epithets, describing herself as the daughter (rather than son) of Ra, or the lady (rather than lord) of the Two Lands. The tension between male office and female officeholder was never satisfactorily resolved. Little wonder that Hatshepsut’s advisers came up with a new circumlocution for the monarch. From now on, the term for the palace, per-aa (literally “great house”), was applied also to its chief inhabitant. Peraa—pharaoh—now became the unique designation of the Egyptian ruler.

She and everyone else in the palace were afflicted by these maladies. This constant, inescapable physical suffering is the greatest difference between us and the ancients, even making allowance for the vast disparities of society, language, culture and circumstance, and it is certainly a chief obstacle when it comes to our understanding of their motivations. Perhaps if our outlook on life were shortened to twenty-five years, and if we lived in constant discomfort and anxiety over our very survival, we could know them better.

-Si me quito la corona y el cartucho, la cruz egipcia del brazo y el sello de la cintura, y los coloco sobre el césped, ¿me besarás Senmut? Giró la cabeza para mirarla y al ver sus ojos, brillantes por las lágrimas, que no se apartaban de los suyos, y el imperceptible temblor de sus labios, tomó ese rostro tan amado entre sus manos y comenzó a acariciarle las tersas mejillas con increíble gozo. -No -le susurró-. No, Poderosa señora. Os besaré tal cual estáis, mi Divina reina, alegría de mi corazón, hermana mía. No habrá engaños.

Hablas de amor, pero ni siquiera sabes de qué se trata. A los diecisiete años, el amor es un fuego que consume el cuerpo, pero en el cual no interviene todavía el corazón. Por eso te perdono que te hayas lanzado sobre mí con semejante violencia. Por eso no te hago arrojar en prisión. ¿Amor? ¿Acaso significan algo para ti mis pensamientos, mis planes o mis sueños? ¡Vete de aquí enseguida!

Ancient Egypt was ruled by many powerful individuals who changed the course of history. Two of those rulers were women who came to rule Egypt in their own right by using tricky political situations to their advantage. Hatshepsut and Cleopatra weren’t the first women to rule Egypt, but they were able to hold onto the throne for many years and left a lasting influence. Although their reigns were unusual for the time period, they were both successful rulers who managed to endear themselves to their subjects. The success of their reigns can be attributed to their skill, ingenuity, and creative problem-solving. Hatshepsut was the legitimate heir to the throne and proved her capabilities by ruling on behalf of her ineffectual husband. She was eventually able to rule in her own right and came up with a creative way to maintain the Egyptian principle of harmony and balance, which required both a male and female ruler on the throne. Cleopatra, on the other hand, had to outsmart her family and navigate her way through a deadly political situation to secure the throne. Unfortunately, both women had their reputations tarnished, and their legacy had been obscured by time, rumors, and vindictive successors and scholars. Hatshepsut’s Rise to Power Hatshepsut was born around 1504 BCE to Thutmose I and his wife, Ahmose. It seems that Hatshepsut was extremely proud of her father and even reburied him in her own grand tomb. She also claimed that he named her as his successor

Sabe Igiaba, quando te vi assim, eu me senti impotente. Eu era tua mãe, uma adulta, mas me sentia sem recursos.' Porém, mamãe tinha e ainda tem muitos recursos. Começou a me contar histórias da Somália. Porque, para os nômades somalis, sempre há uma solução escondida numa história. Suas histórias tinham um objetivo: ela queria que eu entendesse que não surgíamos do nada; que por trás da gente havia um país, tradições, toda uma história. Não existiam só os antigos romanos e gauleses, não havia só os latinorum e a ágora grega. Havia também o antigo Egito e os coletores de incenso do Reino de Punt, ou seja, da nossa Somália. Havia os reinos de Ashanti e Bambara. Ela queria que eu me sentisse orgulhosa da minha pele negra e da terra que tínhamos deixado para trás por motivos de força maior. Ela me contava dos nossos reinos distantes, das fortes ligações com o Egito, com a Índia, com Portugal, com a Turquia. Ouvindo a mamãe, eu sentia o eflúvio paradisíaco de incenso e unsi, cheiros que motivaram a rainha Hatshepsut da décima-oitava dinastia egípcia a ordenar uma expedição à Somália. Com as suas histórias, minha mãe me livrou do medo que eu tinha de ser uma caricatura viva criada pela cabeça de alguém. Com as suas histórias, Ela fez de mim uma pessoa. De alguma forma, ela me pariu novamente. [...] foi somente quando eu voltei para Somália que comecei a usar novamente minha língua materna. Em poucos meses, comecei a falar muito bem o somali. Agora, posso dizer que tenho duas línguas-mãe que me amam na mesma medida. Graças à palavra, sou hoje o que sou. [...] Eu sou fruto desse caos entrelaçado. E o meu mapa é o espelho daqueles anos de mudanças. Não é um mapa coerente. É centro, mas também é periferia. É Roma, mas também é Mogadíscio. É Igiaba, mas também é você.

i'm sorry

We are in the dark nothing can stop us now, we are alone in the silent room, no one can hear us say the truth about who we really are.

Hatshepsut remains an important example of humanity’s ambivalent perception of female authority.

She oversaw an Egypt at the height of its power and prestige. She managed to garner favor from the powerful religious elites that would help support and sustain her rule. She was far from a meek and unassuming ruler. In fact, her rule was more successful than many other male pharaohs we know about.

territorial expansion that occurred under the rule of her father. She made major expeditions to rich, distant lands as a means of procuring additional wealth and resources for the nation. She maintained power and command over all the nomes and outlying regions of territory. There is no indication that hers was a time of economic, political, or civil unrest of any kind.

Even before she became pharaoh, she was a woman of unsurpassed power. She was highly influential to her half-brother and husband, Thutmose II.

Hatshepsut's rule gives Egypt the ability to be claiming to be one of the few nations that have allowed a female to prove her worth as a ruler and leader. She was pharaoh of one of the most powerful countries in the ancient world at the height of Egypt's wealth and power.

She was the opposite of an ineffectual leader. She helped solidify Egypt's position of power and wealth within the region, she oversaw dramatically beautiful construction projects, she sent expeditions to faraway lands and returned with riches, and she even oversaw military battles.

Her exploits to places like the mysterious land of Punt brought wealth and exotic cultural influence to the country. She was able to maintain positive internal and international relations. Her rule was one of social order and stability.

She showed the powers that be, through actions, not words, that she “had what it takes” to rule as any man could.

Her legacy is much more far-reaching than just her time as Queen, God's Wife of Amun, co-regent, and pharaoh. She influenced generations of rulers to come and has left a feminist legacy for history that has not been surpassed by any other ancient female ruler in Egypt's long history.

One can easily argue that her rule was a powerful move for feminism. What she showed is that, not only can a female handle the stresses of running a powerful nation, she can excel at it too.

Hatshepsut proved that a female could also be a fierce warrior.

Given her level of power and influence, it is not a wonder that she is seen as a powerful historical feminist.

her elevation to power struck a chord with the traditional power structure that scared the patriarchy and changed the status of future royal women for many generations to come.

Llorad de gozo, pues ella se ha hecho dueña del Horizonte! Había una nota triunfal en su cántico, y también un pesar más profundo que el que podían experimentar los demás. Cuando los otros respondieron: «¡Vive; ella vive para siempre!», Hatshepsut rompió a llorar. Sintió entonces que el inmenso puño de su

All this may seem trivial. But in 1997 such corruption at the bottom end of the tourism industry helped to allow a band of heavily armed jihadists to breeze their way through numerous police and army checkpoints leading to the Hatshepsut Temple, near Luxor. There they proceeded to massacre dozens of tourists and Egyptians before escaping into the desert unhindered. Before the attack, the priority of many local soldiers and cops had been to extract bribes from locals working with tour groups, smoke cigarettes, and sleep away the long hot summer afternoons in the backs of their vans.

It was no coincidence that the most spectacular and tragic terrorist attack carried out in the country's recent history occurred in the West Bank of Luxor at Hatshepsut Temple. In 1997, dozens of Egyptians and tourists were massacred at the site.

Merneith, Neferusobek, Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, Tawosret, and Cleopatra

Hatshepsut began to wear the traditional Pharaonic false beard and other accoutrements of office, and men’s clothing with body armor to conceal her breasts and other female attributes, as can be seen in statues created at Deir el-Bahari, her mortuary temple. She also changed her name, giving it a masculine rather than a feminine ending, and became “His Majesty, Hatshepsu.” In other words, she ruled as a man, a male pharaoh, not simply as regent.

Look inside, your instincts and heart know the answer, your mind just needs to recognise it.