Women ruled as pharaohs in Egypt, and there is new evidence that the first may have been Meret-Neith, who lived 5,000 years ago. Later, she was followed by other women leaders like Sobekneferu and Hatshepsut. If true, when her husband, King Djet, died, she rose to power in 3000 BC.
Recently, archaeologists at Meret-Neith’s tomb complex in Abydos found hundreds of wine jars lining the tomb walls. Some contained dried grape seeds. Surrounding her central resting place are the graves of 41 of her courtiers and servants.
These attendants may have been buried long after her when they died and not sacrificed. The sacrifice of servants is a “common trope” that may have happened in the first dynasty but hasn’t been verified, reported Business Insider.
These findings give further evidence that Meret-Neith held considerable power and may have ruled as regent for her young son and heir, King Den. Further evidence comes from an inscription in his tomb that included his mother’s name along with other rulers. She was given the title “king’s mother” in the inscription. Other inscriptions suggest she was in charge of the royal treasury and government offices.
“She was probably the most powerful woman of her time, and today’s researchers speculate that Meret-Neith may have been the first female pharaoh in ancient Egypt,” says the team in a statement from the University of Vienna.
A Woman King
While it’s not certain that Meret-Neith was indeed Pharaoh, there is no question that she held a powerful position. Interestingly, the term Pharaoh, meaning “Great House,” wasn’t used until much later in history. It’s possible the word could have been chosen by female Pharaoh Hatshepsut, who ruled from 1473–58 BCE. Hatshepsut’s power has long been considered “unprecedented” for a woman, but Merit-Neith’s tomb suggests there was a precedent after all.
“A clever suggestion from one of our colleagues is that Hatshepsut first used the term Great House to refer to the monarch because it was gender-neutral,” Ronald Leprohon, professor emeritus of Egyptology at the University of Toronto, told LiveScience. “Referring to ancient Egyptian rulers that preceded Hatshepsut as ‘pharaohs’ may therefore be anachronistic,” he said.
Video about the discovery of the wine jars by Ancient Egypt:
Goddess Neith, the Weaver of the Matrix
Meret-Neith’s name translates to “beloved of the goddess Neith.” The Goddess Neith is little-known in the West but of prime important in ancient Egyptian beliefs. Neith is the Goddess of Light, the weaver who brought the light, Ra, and the garment of creation into existence from the primordial universe, the Nun. In scientific terms, it’s a lot like the Big Bang.
Neith was also known as Net, the androgynous “father of all fathers and mother of all mothers,” one of the most ancient deities. Like other Egyptian deities, she has many names, like Amentet or Amunet, hidden consort of Amen or Amun.
Remarkably, one of her names is Net, considering the concept of Net is akin to the weaving of the Matrix of existence. In modern terms, we use the word net daily to describe surfing on the net, an artificial digital network humans created but somewhat similar in concept. Virtual reality may be a closer analogy to this fabric of existence, a simulation. The idea that we live in a simulation is gaining ground with physicists and others today, but you see, it’s actually an ancient concept and nothing very new.
In spiritual terms, the weaving of the Matrix is similar to the gnostic Christian concept of the Monad and the Demiurge.
Neith and Athena
Like other goddesses, Net is depicted as a cow, and the Greek Athena, with her owl, is associated with Neith. Most importantly, it was Her wisdom which determined the ultimate fate and spiritual path of mankind.
“Neith is said to have been present at the creation of the world and, in some stories, even the creator herself who gave birth to Atum (Ra), who then completed the act of creation. She is always represented as extremely wise and just as in the story of The Contendings of Horus and Set, where she settles the question of who will rule Egypt and, by extension, the world,” states World History.
Other Revered Egyptian Women and ‘Book of the Dead’
In related news, archaeologists have unearthed another Egyptian cemetery south of Cairo dating to 3,400 years ago, the New Kingdom. The cemetery is in the Tuna El-Gebel necropolis in Minya. During the Roman period, the city was a center for worshipping the god Thoth and housed catacombs of ibis and baboon mummies, symbols of Thoth.
“We have been looking for this New Kingdom cemetery for seven years, and we finally found it in this excavation season,’ said Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
Inside, they found the elaborate, colorful sarcophagi of two important women. One was the daughter of a high priest of Thoth, also known as Djehuti or Hermes in Greece or Mercury in Rome. Another was a woman named Nany, who had the title of “Djehuti’s singer.” These women were highly revered, another example that women were relative equals to men.
You can see that the Goddess image of a sacred cow is seen at the foot of one of the coffins.
Video by Ancient Egypt about the discoveries in Minya:
Book of Coming Forth By Day
A rare and complete 59-foot papyrus text of the “Book of the Dead” or “Book of Coming Forth by Day” or “Going Forth by Day” was also found. It’s important to note that “Book of the Dead” was not the title used by ancient Egyptians but a modern and dramatically misleading title used today. It, unfortunately, sounds creepy and foreboding, but that wasn’t the original intention.
Other items include elaborate amulets, sculptures, canopic jars, and thousands of shabti or ushabti figures. Figures of Osiris belonging to Djehuty Mes, “the overseer of the Temple of Amun’s Bulls,” were also inside.
The incredible artifacts will eventually be displayed at the Grand Egyptian Museum.
Video by History Leaks:
Featured image of the Egyptian Goddess Neith or Net created with prompts using AI in Photoshop