109. Nefertiti

Dear Dominic, I am nobody, just one more Egypt freak. But gianta like J.P. Allen would most likely tell you that structures such as “Nefer Neferu Aten” should generally be understood as a nfr Hr and that Neferu is by no means a plural but an abstract noun, maybe one of those called a collective. That is, rather “perfect as the perfection of the Aten”. Lovely podcast as always

Thanks Dominic. I am pursuing my own line of (amateur) inquiry and wonder if Sitamun and Nefertiti are one and the same. Your descriptions of Nefertiti, in relation, to images of Tiye, have done nothing to dissuade me from this wild hunch. I have also been informed – from a trustworthy source I hope! – that Egyptians even nowadays several different names. I may quote inaccurately, but it is something like: family name, personal name and public name. Could this not be the same in ancient times? And ‘Sit-‘AMUN’ might not be a name to please the new king, her husband. And Nefertiti-iti, if a pun, might also be a compliment from son (and daughter?) to their mother? You did mention something about a possible nuance of ‘Nefertiti Neferneferuaten’ being ‘youthfulness’ or similar. Which made me immediately think ‘Tasherit’ for some reason. I make no apologies for where my imagination wanders though, I have learned over the years that I have little control over it and assume it has everything to do with DNA. Anyway, Nefertiti as a ‘youthful’ version of a beloved mother has at least an emotional resonance for me, even if not an evidentiary one. NB It has seemed odd to me that Akhenaten’s sisters seem to disappear only to be replaced by Nefertiti (Heriditary Princess) and Beketetan. Cheers.

Thank you. Had an encounter with Marianne Luban. She said in the circumstances outlined above you can identify between mother and daughter. Unless a demurring pops up, I’ll sit with that. Cheers. And thanks again.