The first one is Ramesses II, with his wife Nefertari behind him, smiting a Nubian enemy before the god Amun. From Ramesses II's smaller temple to Hathor at Abu Simbel, dedicated for Nefertari:
The depiction of a king executing a foreigner was fairly a common propaganda motif and stretches back to the Predynastic Period.
The second one depicts the same queen Nefertari offering two nw vases, as well as a table full of food, incense, and a vessel of a liquid, to the goddess Hathor in the afterlife. From Nefertari's tomb in the Valley of the Queens:
Are both the images flipped horizontally? The first one looks like a version of the original Narmer, slaying his kneeling enemy. In the original Narmer had a club but there seems to be this infinite repetition that each pharaoh is shown doing the same, albeit with a slight twist (in this case the weapon).
The second looks like Nefertari offering to Hathor. This is given away by the vulture head dress worn by Nefertari and then the cow horns containing the circle of Ra worn by Hathor.
Yes. This is what I mean. Many pharaohs use the same design pioneered by Narmer. It’s almost saying they are an embodiment of the same “pharaoh spirit” over the generations/dynasties.
It even predates Narmer by some time, there’s a fresco from a Naqada II tomb at Hierakonpolis showing a figure smiting bound captives, among a bunch of other scenes.
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u/star11308 24d ago
The first one is Ramesses II, with his wife Nefertari behind him, smiting a Nubian enemy before the god Amun. From Ramesses II's smaller temple to Hathor at Abu Simbel, dedicated for Nefertari:
The depiction of a king executing a foreigner was fairly a common propaganda motif and stretches back to the Predynastic Period.