Nefertiti is like Athena born from the brow of Zeus, a head-heavy armored goddess. She is beautiful but desexed. Camille Paglia - ( American professor, academic and social critic)

Some people are surprised to learn that I have a tattoo.

It's the profile of Nefertiti, whose bust is one of the most iconic symbols of Egypt. I discovered my love for Egyptian art in my Art History classes and it's said that she embodied beauty, grace, and power. 
There is alot of mystery surrounding Nefertiti, as well as sometimes being confused with Nefertari, the principal wife of Ramsses the Great, also a well known Egyptian queen. 
Nefertiti (which means 'a beautiful woman has come'), ruled with her husband, Pharaoh Akhenaten during the mid-1300s B.C. and is believe married him at age 15. They are often depicted together in artwork from their day shown riding in chariots, as well as kissing, crafted in a naturalistic style, the first of it's kind brought on by their proclamation of a new religious and political structure around worship of the sun god Aten. Theirs was a romantic relationship, not often seen in representations of ancient pharaohs. Nefertiti was possibly one of the most powerful women ever to have ruled. Her husband, Akhenaten, went to great lengths to present her as an equal. 
 Ankhesenamun, one of their six daughters, was the wife of Tutankhamun, who became the most famous ruler of Egypt. 
Nefertiti disappears from all depictions after 12 years, the reason is still unknown. Some believe she died, others think that when she became pharaoh after her husband's death, she began to dress herself as a man. In many archaeological sites she is shown in equal stature to a King. Other theories suggest that she was exiled when the transformation of their religion fell out of favor. 
Recently, a three dimensional image was unveiled as the true appearance of Nefertiti, an undisputable Egyptian but now with Eurocentric features. This has caused much controversy, and debate, althought not the first time she has been portrayed this way. The model was constructed from a mummy whose identity has yet to be confirmed and known only as the 'Younger Lady'. It's about 3,400 years old and was worked on for 500 hours. Travel Channel host Joshua Gates has said he is confident the mummy was Nefertiti. It's beautifully done, and no one can unequivocally say what she actually looked like since none of us were there. With much respect to these "experts" considering Egypt is hot, and dry with intense sun, wouldn't the odds of a fairer skinned person's survival into adulthood be low?

Comments

  1. Josh Gates? OMG, has anyone followed his shows? We strongly believe he has 'hook-ups' in getting his Travel Channel 'gigs'. He's ALWAYS on some 'quest' and finds and confirms nothing concrete; "Total Speculation" should be the name of his shows.

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