68 PRTESTESSES

for amounts over ten deben. Numbers, then, were usuallyrounded to the nearest five. J. J. Janssen (1988) illustratedthat principle by the following example. The OstraconDeir el-Medina72 verso described the purchase of a coffinin the following way:

Given to him in exchange for the coffin: eight and one-halfdeben of copper; again five deben of copper; one pig made fivedeben; orre goat made two deben; two logs of sycamore woodmade two deben. Total: twenty-five and one-half deben.

There, the value of the coffin was first agreed to be ap-proximately twenty-five deben. Then values were estab-lished for the individual items brought to the exchange.The coffinmaker would decide how much use he couldmake of the two lots of coppeq the animals, and the woodbefore determining the value he would assign to them. Itis unlikely that those goods were accepted for resale ata profit, since that concept seems to be unknown to theEgyptians. The actual desire to own these items becomesmuch more important than the abstract value assigned tothemindeben.

There is eviderice for inflation and price fluctuationduring the course of the Ramessid period. During thereign of Ramesses II, one deben of silver was valued as

one-hundred deben of copper. By the reign of Ramesses

IX, one deben of silver was valued at sixty deben of copper.Janssen (1988) believed this change occurred by the reignof Ramesses III, when a rypical mss-garment was valuedat five deben or one sertyu. Thus the silver-to-copper ratiowould be 1:60. It seems unlikely, though not impossible,that the government would have intervened in settingprices of this sort. Clearly, the Egyptian state regulatedthe standard measures of length and volume so that thebasic ratio of one sack of grain to one deben of copperseems not to have varied.

The best source for our knowledge of loans is also Deirel-Medina. There are two kinds of loans attested from thevillage: one type is made with a fixed date for repaymentand a penalty if that date is missed; a second type appearsnot to have a repayment date and is more likely to reflectan obligation for reciprocity between the lender anddebtor. There is lirnited evidence that loans with fixed re-palrnent dates were made from people of higher socialstatus to those of lower social status, while reciprocalloans were made between people of more equal status.

In sum, the Egyptians were able to conduct businessin a way that met their needs without ever fu\ ab-stracting the concept of money from their units of ex-

change va\ue. An otten robust economy ran smooth\y, us-ing various means of valuing labor and commoditieswithout either money or true markets.

lSee also Coinage; Trade and Markets; and Weightsand Measures.]

BIBLIOGRAPHYBleiberg, Edward. "Debt, Credit, and Social Solidarity at Deir el-

Medina." In Deir el-Medina in the Third Millennium AD. Leiden(forthcoming). Attempts to explain the two different methods oflending found in the village.

Janssen, J.J. Commodity Prices from the Ramessid Period: An Eco-

nomic Study of the Village of Necropolis Workmen at Thebes. Leiden,1975. Groundbreaking study of the Deir el-Medina ostraca, whichestablished the values for most commodities in ancient Egypt.

Janssen, J. J. "On Prices and Wages in AncierrtBgpt." AltorientalischeForschungen 15 (1988), 10-23. An important essay on the Egyptianconcept of value.

Janssen, J. J. "Debts and Credit in the New Kingdom." Journal ofEgptian Archaeology 80 (1994), 129-136. A consideration of recip-rocal loans.

Kemp, Barry. "The Birth of Economic Man." In Ancient Egltpt:.Anat-omy of a Ci,tilization, pp. 232J60. London, 1 989. An account of theeconomy that gives less weight to redistribution and reciprocity.

Menu, Bernadette. "Le prCt en droit 6g5,ptien ancien." ln Recherches

sur I'histoire juridique, economique, et sociale de I'ancienne Egypte,pp. 230-27 2. Versailles, 1 982.

EDWARD BLEIBERG

PRIESTESSES. See Priesthood.

PRIESTHOOD. For much of ancient Eg5ptian history,there was no class of full-time professional priests. Theking served as Egypt's archetlpal high priest of all divinecults, and is the only individual shown carrying out culticactivities in the temples. Until the New Kingdom, mostpriests served on a part-time basis while continuing tohold other administrative positions in the state or localgovernment. Priestly service was prestigious, since thepractitioner of cultic duties was filling an essentially royalrole, acting as a liaison between humanity and the gods.It was also potentially lucrative, as priests on duty re-ceived a portion of the offerings presented to the gods anddeceased kings in whose cults they served.

Yet there is relatively little firm evidence regarding thequalifications for priesthood. The Egyptians attributed allpriestly appointments to the king himself. Private "autobi-ographies," such as that of the Middle Kingdom chiefpriest at Abydos, Wepwawet-aa, describe the official's pro-motion to the priesthood as taking place within the royalpalace-in the case of Wepwawet-aa, this was perhaps aceremonial palace used by the king on visits to the sanctu-ary of Osiris. In actual practice, highly ranked priests andofficials (other than the king) must also have played anactive ro\e in selecting pnests, lust as they did in the per-formance of cult rituals in the gods' temples. In the Oldand Middle Kingdoms, local officials served as priests, of-

ten apparently inheriting the role, as did the local gover-

nor (L1jty:), who acted as the chief priest. In the Neu

PRIESTHOOD 69

Kingdom, when Tutankhamun restored the temples fol_lowing the Amarna period, he stated that he selected thesons of prominent dignitaries as priests. By the Late pe_riod, according to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus,many priestly titles were inherited.

Categories of priests. Numerous categories of priestsexisted in Egypt, varying with different cuits, regions, andhistorical periods. Among the earliest documented andlongest-lived categories of priest were the fumw_n1r (hem;"god's servants" or "prophets,,), who are first attested inthe first dynasty. Associated primarily with temples ratherthan funerary cults, these priests performed rituals, pre_pared offerings, and participated in the economic activi_ties of the temples, including the maintenance of templeestates. They were among the limited number of peoplewho had access to the innermost parts of the temple andto the hidden cult image, the tangible manifestation of thedeity. In temples of local deities, particularly during theOld and Middle Kingdoms, the overseer of hem-piests(imy-r fomw-n1r) was almost invariably the local governorof the district.

A lower-ranked class of priests, the w,bw (wab; ,,purepriests") assisted the hem-pnests in the maintenance ofthe temple and the performance of cultic activities. priestsin this category had apparently been initiated into thepriesthood, but had not yet advanced to the rank ofhem_priest; biographies refer to wab_pnests being promoted tothe office of hem-piest later in their careeris . y,lhlle wab_priests were not permitted to enter the temple,s innermostsanctuary or come face to face with the god,s image, theydid handle sacred objects and cult instruments. They weretherefore required to observe strict rules of purity, andthey can be identified in some representations by theirshaved heads. In New Kingdom temples, wab_piists areshown carrSring the gods image in processions.

In temples, the l,ontiw-i, often viewed as secular offi_cials associated with the temple, appear to have per_formed many of the same functions as-the hem_ and, wab_priests, at least during the Old Kingdom, although theydid not enter the sanctuary or see the god's cult statue. Inceremonies and rituals, including funerals, another priest,designated as the inry-bnr (..the one who is in froni), ap_pears to have led the activities.

The priest who actually recited the spells and rites,both in temple ceremonies and at funerals, was a ,,lector_

priest" (hry-hbt). priests of this category are recognizableby their characteristic attire of a kilt and wide sash, worndiagonally over the shoulde4 and they are often depictedholding or reading from a pap),Tlls scroll. Lector_priestsare first attested in the Old Kingdom cult of Re at He_liopolis. Although the earliest holders of the title weremembers of the royal family, by the Middle Kingdom, anyliterate official seems to have been able to serve in this

capacity. Egyptian literature often portrays lector_priestsas wise men and sages who can foresee coming events. Inthe Thle of King Khufu and the Magicians for example,lector-priests perform miraculous feats, and are privy tosecret knowledge, unknown even to the king. The MiddleKingdom prophet Neferti, who warns of disaster; followedby salvation, is also said to be a lector_priest. Owing totheir knowledge of the appropriate speis, lector-prilstswere among the principal practitioners of magic andmedicine. They also took part in funerals, reading the nec_essary spells and assisting in the Opening of the Mouthceremony. The significance of chief lector_priests in re_searching and preserving ancient religious texts is demon_strated by evidence such as the twenty_fifth dynasty tombof the chief lector-priest petamenophis, who revived thelong-dead Pyramid Texts, along with the Cof,frn Texts,the Book of Going Forth by Day (Book of the Dead),and theAmduat (royal Underworld Books).

From the Old Kingdom, sem_piests (smw) were as_sociated with the Opening of the Mouth ceremony. Inmortuary religion, they played the role of Horus in the fu_neral ceremonies, while the deceased was cast in the roleof Osiris. Originally members of a high_ranking class ofpriests associated with the Memphite funerary deity,Ptah-Sokaf, sez-priests came to be relatively

"o*_orr.From the end of the Old Kingdom onward, they are de_picted in tomb scenes showing mortuary rituals. Ih theNew Kingdom, they regularly take part in funeral ceremo_nies shown intheBookof Going Forthb Day and on tombwalls, especially in the Ramessid period, where they canbe identified by their panther-skin robes. Sez_priests werethe first priests to wear robes of this type, although by theNew Kingdom, they were worn by high_ranking priestsof Amun and others as well. Another atiribute sometimesassociated with sem-priests is the sidelock, a sign of youththat identifies them with Horus.

Women in the priesthood. During the Old Kingdom,women frequently held priestly titles, a practice that de_clined appreciably in the Middle Kingdom, and then reap_peared late4 in the Third Intermediate period. Among thetitles commonly held by elite Old Kingdom women wasl.tmt-nlr ("god's selant" or ,.priestess,,) of ffathof, or lessoften of Neith. Queens and princesses also served in thiscapacity in the mortuary cults of their fathers and hus_bands.

Although no female wab-priests have been identifiedO1n.r* the Old Kingdom, the Abusir papyn (see below)refer to women carrying out some of the duties of thewab-pnest and receiving the same pay as their male coun_terparts. Two Middle Kingdom stelae identifi. womenholding the title of w,bt. By the New Kingdom, when thepriesthood developed into a full-time profession, womenrarely played a role other than as musicians. Rare excep_

70 PRIESTHOOD

PRIESTHOOD . Apriest throwing grain to thefire, and a priestesswith a flute. This wall painting is from the tomb of Amennakhtat Deir el-Medina. (Boromeo / Art Resource, NY)

tions do exist, however, including a female second prophetof Amun and a female second prophet of Mut. At noperiod did women serve as overseers of pnests (imy-rhmwt-ntr).

Upper-class women served as singers and musicians inthe temple cults of a variety of deities from the Old King-dom onward, and many of the priestesses of Hathor mayhave been involved in musical performances during reli-gious festival and other rites. From the Middle Kingdomuntil the end of the New Kingdom, the role of singer wasalmost the sole priestly activity of women. The funr ("mu-sical troupe") included women who danced and playedmusic under the leadership of a woman identified as thewrt-l,tnr (the "chief of the musical troupe"). Prior to theNew Kingdom, the usual term for a woman serving as asinger in the temple was fusyt. The term im'yt was firstused in reference to individual singers during the NewKingdom, at which time it became one of the most fre-quently attested feminine titles. In addition to singing,temple chantresses apparently played a variety of musicalinstruments. In many instances, they are shown holding

a sistrum or a menat (a type of necklace sacred to the god-

dess Hathor), which was shaken to create music.Three Middle Kingdom women are known to have

borne the title of "god's wife" (hmt-nlr) of a deity, servingin the cults on Min, Amun, and Ptah. Although the dutiesassociated with this title during the Middle Kingdom areunclea4 by the early New Kingdom the title of "God's Wifeof Amun" had taken on considerable importance, the ear-liest examples being associated specifically with the queen.

The first queen to hold the title was Ahmose-Nefertari, thewife of Ahmose and first queen of the eighteenth dynasty.Ahmose-Nefertari had served as the second prophet ofAmun, an exceptional rank for a woman, but arranged bycontract to exchange the title for the positiqn of god's

wife. Following her death, she was succeeded by Hatshep-sut and her daughter Neferure, and, from the reign ofThutmose III on, by a series of lesser-known women, whoseem to have been related to the royal family only by mar-riage. New Kingdom "Godt Wives" are shown taking partin temple rituals at Luxor and elsewhere, and sometimesbear the additional titles of "Divine Adoratrix" (dwSt-ntrr)

and "Hand of the God" (drt-nlr).In the Late period, "God's

Wives" rose in significance to become the principal priestsof the cult of Amun at Thebes (see below).

Temple Priests. Temple reliefs typically portray theking as the sole practitioner of all divine cults, the quint-essential high priest of every god's temple. Although theking presumably performed cultic activities on special oc-casions at major temples, a hierarchy of local priests wasresponsible for performing the daily cultic rituals intemples throughout Egypt. These rituals, recordbd inscenes from a number of temples (notably the temple ofSety I at Abydos), were performed three times per day inmajor temples. These ceremonies involved: the ceremonialbreaking of the sanctuaries' seals; the recitation of prayersand offering of incense; the awakening of the cult statueand its removal from the shrine by thehem-priest; the un-dressing, cleansing, anointing, and reclothing of the cultimage; the performance of the Opening of the Mouth torevivify the deity; the offering of food and other gifts; and,ultimately, the return of the cult statue, wrapped in cleanlinen, to its shrine. The Opening of the Mouth was perhapsthe most vital element of the ritual, since it enabled thedeity to act through his or her statue. Priests utilized a

number of implements in this ceremony, one of the mostcharacteristic being the psikf, a blade with which the of-ficiating priest touched the mouth of a statue or of themummy, thereby animating it. Finally, the priest backedout of the sanctuary, sweeping away his footprints behindhim, and the shrine was resealed.

During festivals, the priests at major temples were re-sponsible for carr5.ing the cult statue from the temple ina bark or palanquin and bringing it into public view. Be-

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cause the priests themselves are rarely labeled in scenesof these activities, it is not clear whether those who con-ducted the divine image were particularly importantmembers of the priesthood or the priests who happenedto be on duty at the time. From the New Kingdom on-ward, chief priests were also instrumental in interpretingoracles-when asked a question, the god would answerby directing his portable bark, carried by priests, in thedirection of the written response it chose.

At least three institutions associated with the templewere devoted to storing and disseminating informationand skills required for specialized categories of priests. Inthe "House of Gold" (hwt nbw), master craftsmen put thefinishing touches on cult statues, which were then trans-formed into suitable residences for the deity by ceremo-nies, including the Opening of the Mouth. The "House ofBooks" (pr mdSt) housed the manuscripts of sacred texts,such as transfiguration spells, litanies of gods'names, reli-gious treatises, and instructions for rituals. The "House ofIlte" (pr'nb) not only housed the texts of rituals, includ-ing those for crowning the king and mummifying thedead, but also served as a point of reference for bothpriests and royalty, thus preserring ancient ceremoniesand cult practicbs for future generations of priests.

Funerar5r and Mortuary Cult Priests. Although stelaeand tomb scenes usually show burial offerings beingbrought by family members, professional mortuary priestsae documented serving in private memorial cults as earlyas the first dynasty. A class of specifically funerary priestsirrluded the servants of t}:'e ka (hmw-k), who providedhr the immortal life force of the deceased person. Scenesin tombs from the Old Kingdom onward show priests par-tfoipating in the funeral-wab-piests pour libation offer-ings, while lector-priests read aloud the funerary textsqitical to transforming the deceased person into an im-mrtal being. Lector-priests also perform the int-rd cete-ilxlnv, sweeping away the footprints of the celebrantsadter the ceremony has been completed.

ldortuary literature, from the Pyramid Texts on, pro-uirks evidence that the funeral ceremony included notm\'the reading of religious texts, but also the perfor-mrgrrce of acts such as playing the role of deities associ-s.d with the myth of Osiris. The Coffin Texts, for ex-mple, include directions for those taking part in theqemony, along with texts that must have been spokenrtqd, presumably by a lector-priest. Women, who hadnElled as funerary priests (hmwt-k) during the Old King-drrn, thereafter acted as 4/ry-mourners, impersonating thepining Isis and Nephthys.

Sern-priests are identifiable by the end of the Old King-drrn, after which they are shown offering incense and

Wcrbrming the Opening of the Mouth ceremony on themrmnrny of the deceased. Beginning in the New Kingdom,

PRIESTHOOD 7I

scenes of the funeral accompany several chapters of theBook of Going Forth by Day, and form an increasingly sig-nificant part of tomb decoration. A priest wearing a maskof the god Anubis is shown preparing the mummy forburial, and supporting the upright coffin in front of thetomb entrance, while the Opening of the Mouth takesplace. The heir of the deceased is typically shown per-forming this ritual, touching the mouth with a ceremonialimplement, such as an adze tipped with iron or flint.

Wealthy and influential officials established mortuaryendowments in the same way as kings, to perpetuate theirmemorial cults and to provide for mortuary priests. Sev-

eral Abydene stelae refer to contractual arrangementswith mortuary priests, and the twelfth dynasty tomb ofthe vizier Djefai-hapi I at Asyiut preserves the completetext of his mortuary contracts. According to the contracts,the priests are responsible for delivering offerings ofbread and other items to the vizier's statues in the localtemple, in exchange for being paid a portion of the offer-ings dedicated in the temple.

Domestic Cult and Magic Priests. Many domesticcults, aimed in large part on protecting the home and itsinhabitants from harm, required literate or learned indi-viduals to perform the appropriate rites. Hence, priestswere often called upon to serve in this capacity. Lector-priests, with their specialized knowledge of religioustexts, were the principal practitioners of apotropaic magic.They also appear to have been consulted in times of medi-cal emergencies, as the Old Kingdom biography of Wash-ptah attests. A group of men identified as hk"v ("magi-cians") appears in association with the House of Life.Both lector-priests and physicians (swnw) also held spe-

cialized titles associated with specific types of magic, suchas "Scorpion Charmer." Along with written and spokenprayers, these priests were familiar with, and able to pro-duce, the correct amulets for protection and talismansfor blessing.

Organization. Among the best preserved evidence forthe organization of the priesthood during the Old King-dom are the archives of the royal cult temples of thefifth-dynasty king, Neferirkare Kakai, at Abusir. Ac-cording to the carefully recorded temple accounts, thepriests and other temple staff worked on a rotating basis,serving full-time in the temple for one month in every five-month period. Some staff members were employed on thetemple estates in other capacities during the remainder ofthe year. The priests on duty were organized into work-groups, or "phyles." Each phyle was in turn subdividedinto two subgroups, each headed by a shd, ("inspector").The temple's inventory income, and expenditures weremeticulously registered at the end of each watch.

During the Old Kingdom, while local rulers headed thetemples of their own provinces, the chief priests of the

72 PRIESTHOOD

state-sponsored temples of major deities were often mem-bers of the royal family, sons, or sons-in-law of the king.This pattern suggests a strong degree of royal control overthe temples during this period. Certain deities and cultcenters had specific titles for their chief priests: at He-liopolis, the chief priest of Ra was known as the "Greatestof Seers," while the chief priest of Ptah at Memphis wasthe "Greatest of Directors of Craftsmen," in recognition ofPtah's role as the god of craftsmen. The chief priest ofThoth at Hermopolis was the "Great One of the Five," re-ferring to the creator god and the four pairs of deities thatmade up the Hermopolitan Ogdoad.

In the Middle Kingdom, the local governor continuedto serve as the chief priest of the local temple, although inmany cases these men were now appointed by the king.The excavations at Illahun, the town built for the priestsmaintaining the mortuary cult of King Senwosret II, pro-duced a series of papyll, including the archives of thetemple scribe, Horemsaf, who recorded both the temple'saccounts and the correspondence of the chief priest. As inthe Old Kingdom, priests served in rotating watches, butthe number of watches was now reduced to four. Therecords document the distribution of offerings to severalcategories of priests, indicating their relative rank. Thechief priest (irny-r hmw-nlr) was the highest-paid, fol-lowed by the chief lector-priest (bry-hbt 17bt fury+p), thelector-priests, the phyle regulator (mty m sj), the wab-priests and other priests associated with offerings andcult maintenance, and finally the temple scribe. Thehomes of the priests, and the layout of the town itself,corroborate the written evidence of the organization ofthe priestly community and relative status of the priests.At Abydos, the state constructed a town of similar struc-tures to house the priests associated with the cult of Sen-wosret III, whose temple and cenotaph lie nearby.

No temple archives of the New Kingdom has survivedto provide evidence similar to that of the Abusir or Illahunmaterial. Nevertheless, the priesthood is reasonably welldocumented, owing to the better overall preservation oftemples and private tombs. Although secular administra-tors continued to serve as priests of many cults (at leastearly in the period), the priesthood emerged during theNew Kingdom as a full-time profession. During the firsthalf of the eighteenth dynasty, the old title for the chiefhem-priest was replaced by a new one, the "first prophet"(hm-nlr tpi). At first, this new, full-time position was heldexclusively by members of the royal family, but soonthereafter by other officials appointed directly by the king.The first prophet enjoyed considerable authority in themajor divine cults, particularly that of Amun at Thebes,and his wife typically served as the leader of temple musi-cians and dancers. In the largest cult centers, such asThebes, a series of full-time second, third, and occasion-

ally fourth prophets assisted with the running of thetemple.

The first prophet of Amun at Karnak, responsible forthe cult and revenues of Egypt's largest temple complex,was one of New Kingdom Egypt's most important offi-cials. A pair of inscriptions dedicated by the priest Bak-enkhons record the progress of his caree4 stating thatfourteen years of schooling and public service precededhis appointment to the rank of wab-priest. Thereafteq,he served as "god's fathe4" third prophet, and secondprophet-a process that took nearly four decades-beforehe received the title of first prophet. In the early part ofthe eighteenth dynasty, the first prophet at Karnak alsoheld the title of chief prophet of Upper and Lower Eglpt,and with it the duty of supervising, on the king's behalf,the affairs of all the temples in Egypt. During the reign ofThutmose IV this office was transferred to another offi-cial, often the chief priest of Ptah, serving in Memphis.The first prophet of Amun became extraordinarily influ-ential by the end of the New Kingdom, by which time theoffice had come to be hereditary.

Also serving a crucial role in New Kingdom temple rit-uals was the chief lector-priest (bry-hbt hrytp), who, as inprevious periods, oversaw the preservation and recitationof the texts, prayers, and rituals. In the larger temples,he was now assisted by a second, third, and sometimesfourth lector-priest. Lector-priests are also documentedannouncing the verdicts of the oracles that took place atfestivals. Wab-piests continued to function on a rotatingbasis as earlie4 with four phyles of priests serving a one-month term. The "God's Father" (it-ntr), occasionally at-tested in the Old Kingdom, became a regular priestly titlein the New Kingdom. Among other responsibilities,"God's Fathers" led the processions held at festivals. Thewives of priests, organized into phyles as were their hus-bands, served as temple musicians.

Although the classes of priests continued essentiallyunchanged into the Third Intermediate Period and theLate period, the status of the priesthood of Amun skyrock-eted. At the end of the twentieth dynasty, generals usedthe title of first prophet to take actual political controlover southern Eg5pt, contributing to the disintegration ofEgypt's central government. Some additional changes inthe temple administration also took place during thistime. The full-time priests were now assisted by part-timehem-piests, arranged in phyles and serving on a rotatingbasis, resuming a priestly title that had gone out of useearly in the New Kingdom. Most priestly offices by thisperiod had become hereditary.

When Egypt was reunited under the Saite and Kushitedynasties, the volatile office of first prophet of Amun waseliminated, and the "God's Wife of Amun" became thehighest priestly title in Thebes. Although earlier "God's

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Wives" had clearly married and had children, those of theLate period were celibate, unmarried daughters of therrler or a powerful priest, who adopted their successors.Their chosen successors eventually came to be known asthe first prophets of Amun. In the twenty-fifth dynasty, theKushite ruler Kashta enlisted the "Godt Wife of Amun,"Shepenwepet I, to adopt his daughter Amenirdis as hersuccessoq thus solidifying his own claim to power inThebes. Amenirdis was in turn followed by Shepen-rvepet II and Amenirdis II, during whose term of officePsamtik I expelled the Kushites to found the twenty-sixthdynasty. In order to establish his own rule, Psamtik, withthe aid of the "Overseer of Upper EgWt," Montuemhat,arranged for his own daughtel Nitocris, to be adopted asheiress. The stela recording her installment as god's wifedescribes the elaborate ceremony involved, and lists theenorrnous endowment allotted to the offrce during this pe-riod. The invasion of Cambyses and the Persians broughtthe significance of the "God's Wives" to an end; althoughthe title continued to exist in later times, it never regainedits political importance.

During the Greco-Roman period, the full-time clergy ofmajor cults continued to be assisted by part-time priests,dhided into four phyles; until 238 ecE, when Ptolemy IIIr@rgarrized the system, adding a fifth phyle. Virtually alloffices were hereditary. The highest-ranking member ofthe priesthood in this period was the high priest of Ptahar Memphis, although the priests of Amun at Thebes re-mined significant status. Several categories of priest be-lhr- the rank of prophet included (among others): the sa-cred scribes known ashierogrammates (of which Manethonas one); the hierostoli.s/es, who tended the cult statue;M harologoi, astronomers who maintained the calendarof festivals; and the pastophoroi, who carried the gods'shines in processions. "God's Wives" continue to func-tfun, albeit in a reduced role, and female wab-priests andffiern-priests are also documented.

ffiin; Cults; Economy, atticle on Temple Economy; Funer-ror' Ritual; Offerings; and Ternples.l

BIBLIOGRAPHYmmtd- A Rosalie. Religious Ritual at Abydos. Warminster, 1973. Dis-

,esses in detail the daily temple ritual.ffibcbs, Henry G. "Priesterin." ln Lexikon der Agyptologie. 4: 1100-

[ 105. Wiesbaden, 1982. Provides a summary in English, of the evi-dence regarding priestesses and their roles.

,ffitmm. Michel, and Jean LeClant. "Gottesgemahlin." In l-exikon derthgryologie, 2: 7 92-8 12. Wiesbaden, 1 974. Gives the fu llest available.wmary in German, of the title "Gods Wife," with reference toiiodnridual holders of the title.

mn! &, Wolfgang. "Priester." ln lc.xikon der Agyptologie, 4: 1084-1O97.*lesbaden, 1982. A comprehensive summary in German, of thematror categories of priests and their organization.

lfrioaft- Geraldine. Magic in Ancient Egypt. Austin, 1994. An informa-

PSAMTIK I 73

tive and easily readable account of Eglptian magical practicesand practitioners.

Quirke, Stephen. Ancient Egrptian ReLigion. London, 1992. An excel-lent survey of Egyptian religious practices accessible to the generalreadeq as well as the student or schola4 including a full discussionof the organization of the priesthood, the role of priests, and thedevelopment of their offices.

Robins, Gay. Women in Ancient Egtpt. Cambidge, Mass., 1993. Anexcellent survey of the role of women in Egyptian society, with achapter dedicated to their position in the temple and their role incultic activities.

Roth, Ann Macy. Egyptian Plryles in the Old Kingdom. Chicago, 1991.A full scholarly study of the organization of temple phyles in theOld Kingdom, with a discussion of evidence for phyle organizationin Middle Kingdom.

Sauneron, Serge. The Priests of Ancient Egtpf. New York and London,1960. One of the most compiete available works in English regard-ing the function and activities of Egyptian priests, with referenceto original sources and to events of individual priests documentedin Egyptian texts.

Shafeq, Byron, ed. The Tbmple in Ancient Egypt. lthaca,1998. A thor-ough summary of the major categories of priests and their organi-zation, aTong with an excellent study of historical developments inthe priesthood.

DENISE M. DOXF-Y

PROPERTY. See Landholding.

PSAMMETICHUS. See Psamtik I.

PSAMTIK I (664-610 BcE), first ruler of the twenty-sixth or Saite dynasty, Late period. Psamtik I's origins inthe eastern Nile Delta indicate that he belonged to a groupof powerful local potentates who had previously opposedthe attempts of the Kushite (twenty-fifth dynasty) kings todominate the whole of Egypt. With probable tacit supporrfrom the Assyrians, led by Assurbanipal, Psamtik I consol-idated his control over the North of Egypt, with a capitalin Sais, before moving south to Thebes in 656 BcE. Theinherent weakness of the Kushite dynasts meant thatPsamtik's annexation of Upper Eglpt was accomplishedmore by diplomacy than by force of arms. During his longreign, Egypt was once more unified. With a perspicacioustalent for solidifiiing his kingdom, Psamtik set up a seriesof garrison posts at the various borders of Eg5pt (north-ern, western, and southern), and also hired foreign merce-naries, especially Carians and other Greeks. Owing to thatpolicy, Psamtik I became well known to the Greeks, whocalled him Psammetichus.

At the beginning of his second decade of reign, Psamtikattacked his Libyan neighbors in the northwest, in an ef-fort to diminish their traditional influence in the Delta re-gion. During the same time, a major Jewish quarter was