Nimaethap

Nimaethap
Inscription in the mastaba of Metjen, mentioning Queen Nimaethap
Occupation	Queen of Egypt
Religion	Ancient Egyptian religion
Spouse	Khasekhemwy
Children	Djoser, possibly Hetephernebti and Sanakht

Nimaethap (also written Nymaathap) was a Queen of Ancient Egypt at the end of the Second Dynasty.

Biography

Nimaethap in hieroglyphs

Nimaethap was possibly the wife of Pharaoh Khasekhemwy and the mother of Djoser, the first Pharaoh of the Third dynasty of Egypt.^[1] Alternatively, some scholars are of the view that Nimaethap was the daughter of Khasekhemwy, the wife of Pharaoh Sanakht and mother of Djoser. However, most Egyptologists place Sanakht in the second half of the Third Dynasty thus supporting the theory that Nimaethap was the wife of Khasekhemwy. There is clear evidence that Djoser arranged the queen's funeral.^[2]

Nimaethap held the titles of Mother of the King's Children, Mother of the Dual King and Attendant of Horus. In inscriptions dating to the Fourth Dynasty she is referred to as a King's Wife.^[3] She may also have been the mother of Djoser's wife Hetephernebti.

Seal impressions with her name were found in Khasekhemwy's tomb complex in Abydos and in Tomb K1 of Beit Khallaf. Her funerary cult is mentioned in the Saqqara tomb (LS6) of Metjen, who lived at the beginning of the Fourth Dynasty.^[4]

References

1. ^ Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson, 2004, ISBN 0-500-05128-3, pp. 48-49
2. ^ Verner, The Pyramids: The Mystery, Culture and Science of Egypt's Great Monuments, 2001, p. 105
3. ^ Grajetzki, Ancient Egyptian Queens: a hieroglyphic dictionary, 2005, p. 5
4. ^ Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson, 2004, ISBN 0-500-05128-3, pp. 48-49

• Hermann Ranke: Die Ägyptische Personennamen, Glückstadt, J.J. Augustin, 1935, p. 172