Articles

New Light on the Legendary King Nechepsos of Egypt

Necho IINew Light on the Legendary King Nechepsos of Egypt

Kin Ryholt

Journal of Egyptian Archaeology: 97, 159-173 (2011)

Abstract

This paper identifies several indigenous Egyptian attestations of King Nechepsos, previously well known from Classical sources. The name may be understood as ‘Necho the Wise’, and refers to Necho II of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty. His association with astrology may be related to an eclipse near the beginning of that king’s historical reign. This paper further identifies the sage Petosiris known from Greek texts as the well-attested sage Petesis. The divine instructors of Nechepsos and Petosiris are identified as Imhotep and Amenhotep son of Hapu.



The Tebtunis temple library is a treasure trove of Ancient Egyptian literature andstill has many surprises in store. One of the more recent is the discovery of the royalname Nechepsos in two unpublished demotic texts. The legendary king Nechepsoswas renowned for his astrological and medical interests, the two leading sciences of thetime. Although he is mentioned in many Greek and Latin texts, his name has until nownot been identified in any Egyptian text. It is now possible to settle the question of hisidentity with certainty. The two texts also shed light on the reason for his associationwith astrology

Click here to read this article from Journal of Egyptian Archaeology

Sponsored Content