'...The
Heiress,
Great in Favor, Lady of Grace, Sweet of Love, Mistress of the
South and North, Fair of Face, Gay with two Plumes, Beloved of
the Living Aton (the king), the Chief Wife of the King whom he
Loves, Lady of the two Lands, Great of Love, Nefertiti, Living
Forever and Ever...'
The
wife of
PharaohAkhenaten
and perhaps a ruler in her own right after his death, Nefertiti
was little more than a historical whisper when, in 1912, an exquisite
limestone sculpture of her now-famous face was unearthed at the
royal retreat of Amarna.
It was more than 3,200 years old, dating from 1345 BC
A
LOVE POEM FROM ANCIENT EGYPT
She is one woman; there is no one like her.
She is more beautiful than any other is.
Look, she is like a star goddess arising
at the beginning of a happy new year;
brilliantly white, bright skinned;
with beautiful eyes for looking,
with sweet lips for speaking;
she has not one phrase too many.
With a long neck and white breast,
her hair of genuine lapis lazuli;
her
arm more brilliant than gold;
her fingers like lotus flowers,
with heavy buttocks and girt waist.
Her thighs offer her beauty,
with a brisk step she treads on ground.
She has captured my heart in her embrace.
She makes all men turn their necks
to look at her.
One looks at her passing by,
this one, the unique one.