By: Spultz

 

Amon-Re, the king of the gods sat on his throne, deep in contemplation, as he surveyed the land of Egypt. He remembered the many pharaohs that had ruled and they had all pleased him well. They had raised temples in his name, and built the mighty pyramids of Giza. They had conquered many lands, and forced the population of these lands to worship him, and bow at his feet. However he was bored and now a new thought came to his mind. All of the Pharaohs of Egypt had been males. He wondered how a female Pharaoh would rule the land.
He arose from his throne and bellowed across the sky and land for all of the gods to attend a council immediately. Every God and Goddess, from the powerful to the lesser gods, assembled as quickly as possible to hear his thoughts.
With great trepidation he addressed the assemblage. " The great pharaohs have caused the land of Egypt to expand. They have conquered many lands and forced their people to worship us. They have created a land of great riches and commerce. Now in the golden age of Egypt it has come to my mind to create a queen Pharaoh."
Troth, the thrice wise, from whom no secrets were hidden , was the first to speak. " In the royal palace of Thebes dwells a maiden, Ahmes is her name, and she is the fairest of all women in the land. She is the new bride of the good God Pharaoh Tutmose. This fair maiden now rests alone in the palace of the Pharaoh, Come let us go to her."
Troth took upon himself his favorite form, that of an ibis. In this form he could fly swiftly through the air, unrecognized by any one or any thing. He flew into the palace and cast a spell, that caused every living thing to fall into a deep slumber. He then allowed the body of Tutmose to be invaded by the spirit of Amon-Re.
The body of Tutmose now shone with the light of Amon-Re, and as he passed through the halls and chambers of the palace the walls gleamed and faded, as if the sun was rising and setting. He came to the sleeping chambers of Queen Ahmes. The fair maiden appeared as delicate as a fine jewel, slumbering on a golden couch.
Queen Ahmes awoke and felt that she was bathed in light. She could see nothing around her but a golden mist. " Do not be frightened my Queen, I am your husband Pharaoh Tutmose." The golden mist that surrounded her did appear to be the body of Tutmose.
Amon-Re then blew the divine symbol of life into her nostrils." Rejoice, most fortunate of woman. You shall bear a female child, which shall be the daughter of Amon-Re."
After Amon-Re visited the queen he summoned the god potter Khnemu, the fashioner, who formed the bodies of mankind. " Mold upon your potters wheel my daughter, who shall be born to Queen Ahmes and the god Pharaoh Tutmose. She must be the fairest of all women, her body must be perfect in every way, and she shall be named Hatshepsut."
Hatshepsut was born and all of Egypt rejoiced. Tutmose had been to many wars and had only one son Tutmose II, which had been born to an older queen, whom had died. He was 20 years older than Hatshepsut and was the preordained successor to Pharaoh Tutmose.
The night Hatshepsut was born, the palace was again forced into a deep slumber. Then Amon-Re entered the chambers, where the child rested and took her into his arms. He gave her the kiss of power that she would need to become a great queen as his daughter should.
God Pharaoh Tutmose idolized his beautiful daughter and taught and tutored her as any male child would have been. As she grew, she was endowed with beauty and grace, because Hathor the Goddess of love and her seven daughters wove her life, as Amon -Re had instructed. She also possessed great knowledge because she had learned her lessons well. She knew every thing about the land and territories of Egypt, and their people. From the palace walls to the furthest corner of the lands, she had learned the strengths and weaknesses of each territory.
Tutmose was old, when Hatshepsut reached the age of 13 years, her beloved father died. She was inconsolable. It was then that Queen Ahmes told her daughter of her dream vision, before her birth. She convinced Hatshepsut that she was really the daughter of the most powerful of gods Amon-Re and was destined to be a great Egyptian queen.
Tutmose II now became the Pharaoh of Egypt. Until this time he had spent very little time at home, or around the palace. He had many concubines but had never married. He had no queen to give him an heir and successor.
Several years after he became pharaoh, his counselors came to him to conduct a conference. His chief counsel spoke for them all. " You must find a queen. The line of pharaoh must not be broken. You have only one male child, recently born to a concubine in your harem. If you don't marry and father more children, he will be chosen as you successor."
Hather and her daughters were still weaving the life of Hatshepsut. When TutmoseII started to search for a queen in earnest, Hather hardened his heart to all other women, and caused him to desire the love and companionship of Hatshepsut. Finally he was allowed to marry his half sister.
The pharaoh and Hatshepsut ruled together as equals. Their life was one of unbelievable ease and privilege. Their every whim was indulged.
Their greatest joy was traveling to the farthest corners of the empire, collecting the riches that each area had to offer. These were shipped back to the palace, many of then to be saved for their tombs.
Hatshepsut should have been content. But a seed of envy lay in her heart, which started to turn into a lump of hate. The child of the concubine was the focus of this disruption in her life. He remained healthy and was gradually growing into a sturdy and bright toddler. He was the most prized possession of Egypt.
Hatshepsut was not able to conceive a child to carry out the lineage of the pharaoh. She sought the help of the best known healers of the time. She paid extreme devotion to the Gods and Goddesses of fertility, building obelisks and statues in their name. All to no avail.
Tutmose died five years after the marriage. The small child of the concubine was named Tutmose 111 and crowned as the new pharaoh of Egypt.
The queen had the child exiled, and declared herself pharaoh. The court didn't fight this move, since they all knew that the child would eventually attain enough age and power to claim his rightful throne. The court also realized that Hatshepsut was capable of ruling. She proved to be a remarkable administrator. She didn't accomplish any recorded great acts during her reign, but she did advance building and commerce. Egypt continued to flourish.
She began construction of a great temple to honor Amon-Re and Mather, whom she considered her real parents. She took Senmut, the architect of the temple, and a member of the court as her lover, still hoping to conceive. However her greatest desire was never granted by the Gods.
Amon-Re sat on his throne and contemplated the struggle of his mortal daughter. He summoned Khnemer to him. " I instructed you to mold my daughter as the fairest and most perfect maiden in the land. Why does she not conceive?"
Khremer looked perplexed. I don't understand this problem great God. I molded her perfect in every way. Do you suppose the Gods and Goddesses of fertility have cast a barren spell upon her?"
His answer angered Amon-RE and Khnemu could see the thunder and lightning clouds forming behind his throne. Khnemu had to think fast. " I suggest you send for Maat. Perhaps she will be able to solve this strange problem." Khnemu then disappeared quickly, before the thunder and lightning forming behind Amon-Re exploded.
Maat, the goddess of truth, justice and cosmic law, stood defiantly in front of the throne. She completely ignored the storm clouds surrounding Amon-Re. "I know why you have sent for me and I will try to explain the dilemma of your Pharaoh daughter. Khnemu fashioned her to be perfect in every way except one. She does not have a light and pure heart. This is evident by the treatment she has given to the child Tutmose 111. He is the rightfully crowned Pharaoh of Egypt, and justice demands that this shall be accomplished. Your daughters heart has been corrupted by the lust for power. I will leave you now to contemplate my words."
Hatshepsut continued to build her temple, unaware of the consternation of the Gods and Goddesses. At the same time she had a different architect design and build her tomb. Her father had taught her that temples were too obvious a place to store priceless artifact. The most priceless of these were to buried with her in her tomb, for her use when she reached the stars.
Tutmose 111 eventually gained enough support to claim his throne. Hatshepsut died shortly after he accomplished this feat. Weather it was by sickness, her own hand or the hand of another has never been known.
After the death of Hatshepsut, Tutmose 111 began to wreak his vengeance. He had every image of her removed from the great temple she built, and replaced them with his own image. He tried every way possible to remove her existence from Egyptian history. He even forced the scribes to destroy any records that mentioned her name.
Amon-Re sat on his throne and sadly watched as Tutmose 111 destroyed the image and records of his daughter. He refused to have her totally obliterated from Egyptian history. So he used his magic powers to hide some of her images and records from the administrators of the court.
Amon-Re then thought about the out come of his experiment. He knew that he would never again interfere with the conception of mortals. He called a meeting of his council. " I should never have given my daughter the kiss of power when she was an infant. God like power lightens the burdens of mortals. How ever their hearts become hardened and heavy. All Egyptians must have a light and truthful heart to reach the stars."