Myth or More? The Story of an Ancient Egyptian Queen’s Ultimate Revenge.

The revenge story of Nitocris is one which has been told by Manetho (Egyptian priest who wrote Egyptian history in Greek) and the “Father of History” Herodotus (a Greek historian and geographer). However, her story is one of mystery as no Egyptian record survives recounting her life beyond the aforementioned Greek writings. Though epic tales such as the Iliad and Odyssey have, in recent years, been found to contain real historical events regarding the Trojan War, all stories must be approached critically especially those which involve ancient people, events, and of course revenge plots. With this in mind, let’s talk about Nitocris, her storied plot for revenge, and the evidence surrounding this woman of legend.

Nitocris’s story began as many Greek tragedies do, with the murder of her brother/ husband, ancient Egyptian pharaoh Merenre Nemtyemsaf II, nearly 4,200 years ago. Upon her brother/ husband's death, Nitocris ascended to the throne and undertook ambitious architectural projects such as the building of the third pyramid at Giza (note: this feat is credited to Nitocris by Manetho but most historians agree that Menkaure built the third pyramid during his reign sometime in the 26th century BCE). During this time, Nitocris embarked on her most ambitious project yet, the building of an underground banquet hall which would later reveal some deadly secrets of its own. Upon the hall’s completion a few years later, Nitocris invited various Egyptians to inaugurate the space she had worked so hard to create. As the festivities dragged on through the night with guests indulging in food, drink, and music, Nitocris slipped out of the party unnoticed. Away from the revelry, Nitocris put her revenge plot into motion as those she had left behind in the banquet hall were none-other than those who were responsible for her brother/ husband’s early demise.

Stepping into a secret duct adjoining the hall, Nitocris released and redirected the Nile river waters into the chamber which held the unsuspecting and murderous guests subsequently resulting in their drowning.

Of course no Greek tragedy is complete without a sacrifice and thus, after her revenge was complete, Nitocris walked into a chamber of fire and ash where she willingly welcomed her own story’s end.

The Issue of Evidence

As previously mentioned, there are no verified ancient Egyptian accounts regarding Nitocris. However, this was not always thought to be the case.

In 1820, traveler Bernardino Drovetti discovered what is known today as the Turin King List (a.k.a. the Turin Royal Canon); an ancient Egyptian hieratic papyrus dating from the reign of pharaoh Ramesses II (1279 – 1213 BCE) which is currently the world’s most extensive list of kings compiled by the ancient Egyptians.

During the early stages of its translation, researchers believed Nitocris was listed among the 6th Dynasty kings under the name Nitiqreti (ancient Egyptian: nt-iqrti). However, this was later disputed in the year 2000 after microscopic analysis revealed that the section which contained the name of Nitocris was actually misplaced during the transcripts reassembly in the latter half of the 1800s. Because of this reevaluation of the Turin King List, researchers now believe that it is not the name of Nitocris which is present but instead Netjerkare Siptah (a.k.a. Neitiqerty Siptah); the seventh and last ruler of the 6th Dynasty who reigned for three years from 2184-2181 BCE.

However, even with this new evidence seemingly discrediting the existence of Nitocris, the Turin King List is unfortunately missing approximately 50% of its contents. Furthermore, some of the argument against Nitocris’s existence comes from the evaluation of the name Netjerkare Siptah which is found in both the Turin King List – as mentioned above – and the Abydos King List, both which list Netjerkare Siptah as following immediately after King Merenre Nemtyemsaf II (the legendary brother/ husband of Nitocris). Since “Spitah” in ancient Egyptian is masculine, it is believed that Netjerkare Siptah was a man and thus even if Nitocris was the Greek equivalent of the name Neitiqerti/ Netjerkare (making them the same person), Nitocris would not have been a woman. However, it is not unheard of for a woman to take on masculine characteristics when ruling on the Egyptian throne so it could be argued that though scholars relatively agree that Nitocris and Netjerkare Spitah are the same individual, they may have actually been a woman presenting masculine traits within the role of pharaoh.

With a lack of primary evidence surrounding not only the story of Nitocris’s revenge but also the identity of Nitocris herself, it is difficult to confirm or disclaim this historical figure of legend. To say with certainty that a woman, bound by grief and driven by revenge, did not:

ascend the ancient Egyptian throne
assume a masculine title
construct a marvelous banquet hall
assassinate those who murdered her husband/ brother and then
threw herself into the flames of her own storied ending,

Saying that would do history an injustice for all legends are based in some truth and it is up to scholars and researchers to pursue knowledge in order to continuously reveal our past with more clarity. No myth nor legend is too far fetched for belief and perhaps one day, as new discoveries are made and further research is done, we may uncover more legendary stories behind this even more legendary Queen; Nitocris.

Images:

All drawn images are by Jason Porath from the website https://www.rejectedprincesses.com (there is also a book which was Illustrated on 25 October 2016).

Picture 2: Turin Canon from wikimedia commons.

Myth or More? The Story of an Ancient Egyptian Queen’s Ultimate Revenge.

The Issue of Evidence

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