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The Pharaoh

The original form of government seems to have been a kind of Government, theocracy. At least prior to the age of Menes, the supreme power was lodged in a hierarchy, which claimed to be intimately connected with the elder divinities. After Menes, the government became a pure hereditary monarchy, though in cases of emergency a new sovereign was elected out of the priests or soldiers, and inaugurated amidst the acclamations of the people. The king was surrounded with a stately ceremonial, hallowed by primeval tradition. The most minute regulation as to dress, diet, hours of business, repose, and religious worship, were solemnly prescribed to him — orations from the books of Hermes on the duties of royalty, and the functions of legislator and judge were daily chanted to him.

The Pharaoh was the highest ranking mortal and served as the intermediary between the divine and human worlds. The temple functioned as the central physical expression of the unique relationship between the Pharaoh and the gods. Immediately recognizable by his garments, crown, and the oval cartouche in which his name was usually inscribed, an Egyptian Pharaoh was the individual best able to please the gods. He performed his role as the one true priest via his images in the temples — he is portrayed on temple walls making offerings to the god or goddesses, as small statues adoring the main divine image in the sanctuary, and as towering colossi near the main gateways.

The Pharaohs undertook the building of great royal tombs, at first in the form of pyramids, later tunneled deep into the cliffs outside of Luxor. They were believed to join the gods in the afterlife; near his tomb, each Pharaoh had his own funerary temple where, by venerating his images, the Egyptians hoped to encourage him to continue caring for his people.

His power was unbounded in theory. A priest by formal initiation, and a military commander in virtue of his elevation to the throne, this combination of the mitre, crown, and sword, in one who was regarded as a "mortal god," enabled him to compel submission to regal edicts, where it might have been justly withheld. The populace seem to have had no franchise, though their lives and property were well guarded. The immense armies which were levied, and the stupendous national works which were executed, prove that the masses were drilled, and laboured without much regard to personal comfort or social relations.

It is plain, that under such an administration, the happiness of the nation depended not a little on the sovereign's personal character. His power of oppression, within verge of law, must have been great, unless restrained by generosity and patriotism. The kings of Egypt, however, do not appear to have used their influence in wanton tyranny. A sovereignty so long lived as that of Memphis and Thebes is unparalleled: internal revolutions were rare indeed, and many of the kings were adored in after ages as divine benefactors. The royal cognomen was Pharaoh for many ages. The Egyptian word is Phra, denoting the sun. As the sun in the sky, so was the monarch among his subjects. Usually each king represented on the monument has two oval rings or cartouches, one of which contains his distinguishing title and the other his proper name—such as Pharaoh, son of the sun — sun offered to the world; Pharaoh, avenging lord of Upper and Lower Egypt; Pharaoh, vigilant in justice, son of Sethos.

The title which takes precedence of all others in the royal protocol is that generally known as the Horus-title. It consists of a Hawk perched on a building, above the facade of which the special name of the king is engraved. The building is generally believed to represent the facade of a tomb, while the Hawk above is supposed to symbolize the king's soul — hence the name engraved over the facade is usually called the Horus-name. This title is probably connected with Osiris worship and indicates that the king was the living successor and son of Osiris on earth, his father being in the Underworld. The Hawk seems to have been added to convey the idea that this was the name of the king to eternity and not adopted as a territorial title.

After the union of Memphis and Thebes, the king wore a double crown, and was installed with vast magnificence, anointed with great solemnity, and put in possession of the emblems of majesty from the gods. Two vases, symbols of life and purity, were placed in his hands. Sometimes the gods themselves are represented as setting the double crown on the sovereign's head; then they blessed him, and as he assumed the government, they handed him the insignia of life. Princes of the blood formed his train, and fanned the flies from his sacred person.

The country was divided into about forty nomes, and each had its Division of governor, or 'nomarchs'. His will was extensive — the lands were under his charge,the solL and the taxes were levied by his direction. The local governors were responsible to the central treasury and to the king. This system of devolution, while simplifying the administration of the country, led in the end to the destruction of the Old Kingdom; for these small States became each a kind of imperium in imperio, the local governors became more and more important, and at last, by the combination of their growing influence, the central authority was overthrown.