One of the prowess of the Ancient Egyptian Civilization is to have developed pictorial formulas for all the major tasks of its sovereign. The Egyptians could see on the temple walls what Phararon was and what he should do. Its main mission being to unite the two parts of the country. If it was very real during the civil wars which raged during the “intermediate periods”, it was at other times a mythical duty: the Egyptians felt threatened by chaos and pharaoh had to save them. This event was represented by the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt, symbolized by two plants, a stem of Papyrus and a lotus linked together, or by two gods who bless the pharaoh. The title of “king of rise and lower Egypt, always given to the pharaohs, shows the importance of this idea of unification. Responsible for the unification of the country and its protection, the master of the two lands is also responsible for ” ensure universal order. Justice, truth, harmony are personified by the goddess Maat whose head is surmounted by an ostrich feather, and which is sometimes represented only by this feather.
The pharaoh brings to the gods a “little Maat” on the palm of his hands, showing that he does not want to abuse his power and that in case of disputes among his subjects he will seek the truth. “Act in accordance with Maat as long as you are on earth,” advises a king to his son, “consoles the one who cries, does not oppress the widow, does not chase anyone from his father’s property and does not harm the officials in their jobs. Take care not to chastise unjustly and do not kill, because that cannot be useful. “Like many other people, the Egyptians gave a divine origin to their sovereigns and at the beginning of the old empire, the kings Egyptians were still considered gods. Pharaoh also made the highest priest and the only possible interlocutor for the divinities.
The 5 names of the king
The name of Horus
This name is used to proclaim that pharaoh is the successor of the god Horus who was the first pharaoh according to a legend.
Nebty’s name
This name is used to define the nature of the royal power of pharaoh.
The name of Golden Horus
This name indicates the main principles and the program of the coming reign.
The Nysout-BityNysout (the rush) represents the south. Bity (the bee), the north. This name, written in a cartouche serves to define pharaoh as king of the two countries. This title means “he who belongs to the rush and to the bee”. We can compare this name to a first name and Sa-Râ as a proper name.
Sa-Râ -“It is the son of Ra”. This is the name given to pharaoh on the day of his coronation. This name is written in a cartouche and it is under this name that we know best the kings of Egypt (Thutmosis, Ramses, Tutankhamun …).
