Standing in the palace’s Window of Appearance, Ramses II, as the Sun God, held out his hand for Nefertari, his queen, priestess of the goddess Hathor—wife of the Sun God. Together they greeted the morning sun, worshipping Amun-Re, king of all gods, thanking him for the renewal of life.
Ramses knew he held the favor of the gods. He was victorious in battle, the building of his temples progressed steadily, the Nile flooded to new levels, his many wives were—if not at peace—at least congenially producing children, and beside him stood his beautiful wife and lover, Nefertari. Silently, Ramses thanked his father, Seti, for choosing this woman to be his first wife.
“The slaves are being corralled to depart for Abu Simbel. The work on the temples will begin as soon as they arrive.” Ramses handed the crown to a waiting slave and smoothed the stubble of his red hair. “Would you like to see the finished plans for the second temple, beloved?”
Nefertari’s eyes sparkled.
Ramses crooked his finger, and a waiting scribe spread the papyri on a gold-covered table, its legs carved to resemble those of a lion’s. Nefertari glided gracefully to his side, and Ramses encircled her with his arms as he explained the drawing.
“Here, on either side of the entrance, will be a statue of you, and I will be on the outer sides protecting you for all eternity. See, our children are shown gathering around your feet, and there at the temple entrance will be cobras, protecting our family, protecting you.”
“Ramses, it is magnificent. Why, it’s carved out of the mountain like yours.”
“It is a mountain of pink granite. It is indestructible.”
“Ramses, this statue of me, it looks as large as yours.” She pointed and laughed. “Surely that cannot be accurate. The scribe has made a mistake.”
“Nefertari, this temple is dedicated to you and the goddess Hathor. You will no longer simply represent Hathor—you will become a goddess, known forevermore as the goddess Nefertari. Priests are planning the ceremony for your deification. We will be together forever in the eternity of the next life, as we are now. Did I tell you what I ordered carved over the entrance?”
Flustered, she shook her head.
Ramses turned her in his arms and cupped his hand under her chin. “Throughout eternity, no one will ever doubt my feelings for you. I am the Sun God, Nefertari, and you—it shall be chiseled in stone as it is etched in my heart—are ‘she for whom the sun does shine.’ All that I do, my dear, I do for you.”
For five days, torches burned around the festival precinct, purifying all within for the upcoming festival. Although Nefertari, cloistered in her rooms, was not allowed to see any of the preparations for her deification ceremony, Ramses had advised her it would be similar to his coronation.
Ramses and the priests agreed the event should be held just after the New Year’s festival at the retreat of the inundation, the time of rejoicing over the world’s fresh beginning. This was the most blessed time of the year. Crops would soon begin to grow, assuring Egypt’s wealth and supremacy over all other countries.
Word came to Ramses that Nefertari’s maids had completed readying her for the ceremony. Perfume had been massaged onto her skin, her makeup painstakingly applied, each nail painted with an intricate design, a fine linen dress donned, and an elaborately curled wig placed on her head.
He laughed, remembering how many questions she’d asked him. She still didn’t understand how she could change from symbolizing the goddess Hathor to being a goddess herself. She’d insisted she did not need to be a goddess before acquiescing to his wishes—as always.
Mentally, he traced the path she would take. Upon leaving her apartments, Nefertari would be guided along the corridor to the priests waiting to formally escort her to a throne on the royal barge. Even now the oarsmen would be steering the boat slowly along the river’s edge so all who saw her knew of her importance. The oarsmen would dock by the temple’s steps and wait until after the ceremony to escort the royal couple—god and goddess—back to the palace.
Ramses scratched his chin and then readjusted his beard of kingship. Shouts and cheers alerted him to her arrival. He imagined Nefertari wrapping herself in royal poise and descending from her throne to the temple landing, its granite steps crowned with columns reducing the foreign officials to gawking peasants. The five-day festival was about to begin.
Surrounded by smoking cones of incense, Ramses watched her follow the chanting priests with their shaven heads. He had instructed the priests carefully. They had not known what to do since Nefertari was the first queen to be deified during her life in this world.
Priests and nobles elbowed each other to be closer to the raised dais where Pharaoh stood waiting. Ramses saw Nefertari’s shoulders relax when she looked into his face. If she started to make a wrong move, he would warn her. Having been married for so many years, she caught and read every flicker of his eyes.
His beloved knelt before him at the foot of the dais, symbolically acknowledging his authority over her as husband, king, and god. A priest braced her arm, helping her to stand. Ramses looked past her, knowing she would understand. She was to wait until he instructed her to move.
A priest carrying the folded linen qeni entered from one side, presented it first to Ramses for approval, and then approached Nefertari. Ramses nodded infinitesimally, and the garment was unfolded, draped around her back, and knotted at the shoulder. Only one part of the formal ceremony remained, the act of accession, the becoming a goddess.
Ramses reached out his hand. She lifted the heavy qeni and, one dignified step at a time, ascended into eternal godhood. With each upward step, supernatural powers would come upon her, transforming her person into that of a goddess.
Ramses motioned to a slave, who brought a small alabaster box and presented it to Nefertari. A discreet nod and the gleam in his eyes told her to open it now, not later. Inside the box rested a gold and silver pendant of two lions, side by side, with the sun resting between them. He watched her face. She would know what it meant.
Nefertari looked up at Ramses, her eyes full of love. It was a symbol of this day, a symbol of the two of them, a symbol meaning “yesterday and tomorrow,” “past and future.”
Facing the crowd, they accepted their due praise. All was well in Egypt. The Nile promised new life, a strong god-king ruled the land, and an heir was training as the next pharaoh. Egypt was, as always, indestructible.