Perhaps the most lasting legacy of the God’s Wives is their contribution to Egyptian temple architecture. In the funerary chapel of Amenirdis at Medinet Habu, for instance, is the earliest known occurrence of an inner sanctuary surrounded by a corridor; a feature that becomes a standard element of later temple architecture.9
That the Nubian God’s Wives remained very prominent figures in Nubian history is evident from King Aspelta’s account of his ancestry, in which he mentions no fewer than six Divine Worshippers. Living some two hundred years after the Nubians left Egypt, Aspelta may have been metaphorically referring to the God’s Wives as his mothers. He may have had an adoptive relationship in mind, when he Had his inscription penned. Alternatively, it is possible that he traced his ancestry through a female line descendent from Amenirdis II. Such a female line could have resulted from a marital union that Amenirdis II embarked on after being ousted from her Theban position. It is conceivable though that this female line resulted from a sequence of adoptions that originated in “a second postulated adoption of Amenirdis II, of purely Napatan character.” 10
But perhaps the God’s Wives’ most lasting influence may be seen in the titles and epithets born by the Ptolemaic queens of Egypt. Indeed, it seems that the Ptolemaic queens borrowed most extensively from the titularies of the Nubian God’s Wives.11 Four Ptolemaic queens, for instance, employed the title “female Horus” (Egyptian: beret), frequently used by Shepenwepet II. Queen Arsinoe II, in particular, seems to have adopted several of the God’s Wives’ titles and epithets. She was a “Mistress of Appearances” (Egyptian: nebet kbaou), a title borne by the Twenty-second dynasty God’s Wife, Karomama. Like Ankhnesneferibre before her, Arsinoe II bore the title of “female governor” (Egyptian: baty-aa), and set the precedent for her successors by using another of Ankhnesneferibre’s titles: beqat, or “female ruler.”12 Indeed, Arsinoe II, often considered “exceptional,” a “pioneer for later queens,” and a “role model for the dynasty,” took the drastic measure of proclaiming herself a goddess.13 Perhaps signifying her new status, Arsinoe II took the epithet, “Lady of all that the sun disk encircles,” (Egyptian: benout sben neb en iten);14 an epithet frequently born by both Amenirdis I and Ankhnesneferibre, and one that indicates the universality of her reach. As a pioneer of the Ptolemaic dynasty, Arsinoe II was the first queen to adopt characteristically Egyptian elements in her iconography. The double uraeus, for instance, appears on her statues.15 The titles adopted by Arsinoe II also strongly evoke earlier Egyptian titles.16 Arsinoe II’s prenomen, kbenmet-ib-en-Maat, or “She who is united with the Heart of Maat,” for instance, is very similar to Shepenwepet I’s prenomen, which in turn was a variant of Hatshepsut’s throne name.17 The three names are part of a handful of names that employ the rather rare element: kbnem, or “united.”
Although no evidence survives to indicate that the Ptolemaic princesses were indoctrinated in the history of Egypt, it is conceivable that the Ptolemaic queens’ heavy borrowing from earlier Egyptian tradition was an attempt to legitimate their rule in Egypt by actively seeking a link with prominent female figures from the Egyptian past.
World History
