Do what thou Wilt,



It always bums me out that King Tut is so popular and gets so much attention. Not only was he simply a child pharaoh which drew everyone’s interest (not accomplishments or legecy), but his perceived importance overshadows my absolute favorite Egyptian king: Horemheb.

HOREMHEB

Horemheb was the last pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. The 18th dynasty is one of the strangest times in Egyptian history as it saw the rise of the world’s first monotheist – Akhenaten. Akhenaten believed in a solar deity known as the Aten, and believed that it was the one and only true god. He also believed himself to be the one true prophet of the Aten, with all religious belief and practice needing to have Akhenaten as the center of worship. During this time, the old, pluralistic, polytheistic traditions of Egypt were cast down. Akhenaten closed all the temples, which were not just centers of worship but city centers with massive responsibilities like storage of food and drink. The priesthood was once again corrupted and religious practices that contradicted Atenism were banned. Akhenaten built a new city for himself and locked himself away, ignoring all problems outside of his own walls.



As may be expected, the citizens of Egypt were not fond of this. Once Akhenaten died, the long and arduous process of rebuilding Egypt and the polytheistic traditions began. While King Tut was the actual successor to Akhenaten, he was just a child for the entirety of his rule and was closely advised by Horemheb. He was so fond of Horemheb that the advisor was made the successor to Tut in case he died before bearing children, which he did. However, Horemheb was away at the time of Tut’s death, and a sympathsizer of Atenism – Ay – seized the throne for a brief amount of time. Yet with the army and hatred for Atenism behind him Horemheb was able to take his throne.

HOREMHEB

Horemheb had been born a commoner, there was no royalty in his blood. During the reign of Akhenaten he had risen to power, but never was Horemheb dedicated to the monotheistic Atenism. It appears Horemheb was the spokesman of foreign affairs, royal scribe, and leader of the army and administration – a well read and accomplished man. As soon as Akhenaten was dead, Horemheb set about restoring the old traditions of Egypt. He tore down monuments of Akhenaten and scratched his name from inscriptions. He set out to put the priesthood in its place once again and curb the abuse of authority. In a great edict, Horemheb set out to create an Egypt based on justice, which protected lower classes from the abuse of the upper classes. Seeking to leave Atenism behind, he moved the capital away from Akhenaten’s city.



When it became clear to him that he would not have children, Horemheb had to choose a successor in the same way he himself had been chosen. He found this successor in close confident Ramesses I, High Priest of Set from Abydos following the fall of Atenism.



We can learn a great deal from Horemheb and the preceding Armana period of Akhenaten. To begin, this period gives insight into the first form of monotheism. To date, nobody has found any real reason for Akhenaten to suddenly worship the Aten alone, it was not some planned out ploy or political manipulation, and indeed one of Akhenaten’s main problems was he became obsessed with his spirituality and ignored all political things.



There are two possibilities at play: one that Akhenaten did this for some unknown reason yet to be discovered. The other is that he did it because he had an intense religious experience. If we accept that forces beyond human beings are at play in the universe, as many do, perhaps this is the first real occurrence of a deity trying to claim itself as the only god? Maybe it is the same as the monotheistic god of today! In fact, many of the modern ideas from the monotheistic religions can be seen with Akhenaten. Besides there being only one god, all communication with that god had to be done through himself and his family. This is almost identical to the role played by the Pope and priests in Catholicism. You cannot simply pray to god directly, you must go through ordained individuals who work as a middleman for god. He also pushed his personal politics on his people at great cost – including destroying their temples and traditions. Naming all other gods “false” and seeking their destruction perfectly mimics both Christianity and Islam, with their crusades and inquisitions, destruction of monuments and demonization of polytheistic gods. Rather than the general pluralism of Egypt, Akhenaten sought strict exclusivism, and led to a corrupted and unethical priesthood. Adorning himself and his home in riches he left his citizens to fend for themselves.



AKHENATEN WORSHIPING THE ATEN



Whether a literal god or simply a political move was involved here, it would be hard not to see the malevolence of this mindset and behavior. Horemheb was perhaps the greatest force to work against that malevolency. Even as discussed above, the false king Ay could have followed Akhenaten, tutored and raised King Tut, and possibly even continued the Armana period and religion of Atenism. What happened instead was Horemheb leading the path for restoration of Egyptian polytheism and pluralism, and ending the corruption of priests and government officials once again.



It also would have been easy for Horemheb to simply murder Tut and take the throne at any time. This may have even avoided the short rise of Ay to the throne! King Tut received a father-figure instead, to guide him in re-uniting the land and becoming a strong king. There does not appear to have been any intent on the part of Horemheb to harm the young king, building himself a modest tomb and being far from home when the king was murdered or passed away. It was this very absence that led to Ay’s suspicious ascension in the first place.



Working his way to king of all Egypt from birth as a commoner, Horemheb is the ideal representation of a real life hero myth, a literal nobody rising to the very rank of god upon death. He is a fantastic symbol of personal growth, of playing the long game even when it means doing something you may not like, of overcoming any problem bestowed on him by status and birth as a strong and distinct individual.



Adding to this is his obvious dedication to Set himself, and his close friendship with and trust in the High Priest of Set and future pharaoh Ramesses I. This relationship was so close that the Rameses line considered Horemheb the founder of their dynasty. It makes perfect sense as Set was a god of strength and power, not to mention one of the gods dating back to pre-history. He played an important role in the reestablishment of Egyptian tradition and the force necessary to put it back in place.



HOREMHEB HONORING SET ON THE “STELE OF HOREMHEB”



Horemheb may possibly embody Set better than any other king. He did not simply continue with his king’s tradition, nor did he roll over and let his kingdom be taken by a false leader. One of the ultimate iconoclasts, he sought above all to literally and metaphorically destroy the symbols of the monotheistic religion. He capitalized on the Egyptian traditions of polytheism and used it to create a strong and united kingdom, while honoring every individual’s right to choose their family gods, to live their life without violation from a corrupt higher-class, and the rebuilding of their temples and statues in ernest.



Even in a mythological framework we see how he embodies Set. He was nobody special and didn’t inherit power as Horus did, he had to take it. Who knows how long he plotted the downfall of Atenism, as Set waiting to trap Osiris in a coffin. He also fills the pre-Osirian role of Set vs Apep, defending the traditional solar religion of Ra from chaos and destruction, leading the solar bark out of the night. Dating even further back to the earliest versions of Set, Horemheb is similar in that he went from defending solely a king to being a man of the people. Originally Set had been a psychopamp for the king and royalty, their guide to immortality in the northern stars. Yet before his downfall post-19th dynasty Set became a god of the people, a household name, one who protected both children and the dead, just as Horemheb was a man of the people and use his power to protect them.



Certainly no harm can come from the adept, kemetic, or egyptologist looking further into this glorious historical figure. I would highly recommend it.

HOREMHEB AND HORUS/RA



Love is the Law, Love under Will.

