High_Priest_of_Ra

High Priest of Ra

High Priest of Ra

Priestly title in ancient Egypt

The High Priest of Ra or of Re was known in Egyptian as the wr-mꜢw, which translates as Greatest of Seers.[1]

The main cult of Ra was in ancient Heliopolis, northeast of present-day Cairo. The high priests of Ra are not as well documented as the high priests of other deities such as Amun and Ptah.

List of high priests

Old Kingdom (c. 2686 BCE – 2181 BCE)
Middle Kingdom (c. 2055 BCE–1550 BCE)
  • Nubkaura-ankh, from offering table and rock inscription
  • Khakaureemhat, papyrus from Lahun
  • Maakherure-emhutaat, seal
  • Ra, seal
  • Khentyhetep Iyemiatib, seal
  • Iuefsenef, seal[2]
New Kingdom (c. 1550 BCE–1069 BCE)
Eighteenth Dynasty
Nineteenth Dynasty
Twentieth Dynasty
The Masalla Obelisk, at the Temple of Re—Atum site in Al-Matariyyah.

The Al-Masalla area of the Al-Matariyyah district, the site of Heliopolis, contains the underground tombs of High Priests of Re of the Sixth Dynasty (2345 BCE—2181 BCE), which were found in the southeast corner of the great Temple of Re—Atum archaeological site. [3] The ancient Masalla Obelisk, or El-Misalla (Arabic: المسلة, trans. obelisk), in Al-Matariyyah is the only surviving element standing of the Re—Atum Temple, constructed by Pharaoh Senusret I (1971 BCE—1926 BCE) of the Twelfth Dynasty. [4][5]

References

  1. [1]
    Elizabeth Frood, John Baines, Biographical texts from Ramessid Egypt.
  2. [2]
    All Middle Kingdom priests according to: W. Grajetzki: Court Officials of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom, London 2009 ISBN 978-0-7156-3745-6, p. 177
  3. [3]
    "El-Matariya Tombs, Heliopolis, Cairo". Archived from the original on 2010-12-23. Retrieved 2011-01-30. Planetware: Priests of Re tombs, Heliopolis—Al-Matariyyah. accessed 01.28.2011
  4. [4]
    Griffith, Francis Llewellyn (1911). "Obelisk" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 945.
  5. [5]
    http://www.planetware.com/cairo/heliopolis-obelisk-egy-cai-obe.htm Planetware: Masalla Obelisk, Temple of Re—Atum, Heliopolis—Al-Matariyyah . accessed 01.28.2011
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