The Names of Hatshepsut as King *

Abstract

Although for most of her reign Hatshepsut was depicted with the traditional image of a male king, the names that she used as king were formed with grammatically feminine participles, thus openly acknowledging her female status. In addition, these names were deliberately constructed to incorporate references to goddesses, references that were probably intended to allude to Hatshepsut's divine aspect as king and to reinforce the legitimacy of her rule. The inclusion of these divine references was only possible because of the feminine participles used, and this type of wordplay is not, therefore, found in the names of male kings.