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AD THIJS
The successor of Ramses XI fortunately this perceptive move did not entirely
solve the problem of Herihor's kingship, since in
On the walls of the Temple of Khonsu Heri- the Report of Wenamun, now of necessity as-
hor is portrayed both as High Priest of Amun cribed to the Pharaoh following Ramses XI6
and as king2. The assumption that Herihor's (believed to be Smendes), Herihor was still only
entire career fell within the reign of Ramses XI described as High Priest, not as king. This em-
Menmare, ultimately based on a mistake which barrassing fact led Jansen-Winkeln to postulate
dates back to Lepsius3, forced Egyptologists to High Priests of Amun exercising eponymy dur-
postulate from these scenes a pontifical would- ing the rules of their Tanite kings7. In other
be kingship, lived out within the relative con- words: although Ramses XI had been substi-
finement of the Temple of Khonsu: while the tuted by Smendes, for Herihor the situation had
true king ruled from his northern residence, in not changed fundamentally. Jansen-Winkeln's
faraway Thebes the High Priest of Amun4 ap- revolutionary theory was without doubt a major
parendy started to appropriate royal tides and step forward, but was it the final step? The ear-
attributes, culminating in a new era, the whm lier the original mistake (Lepsius!) and the longer
mswt. The reversal of the order of Piankh and it had to influence our thinking, the greater the
Herihor by Jansen-Winkeln opened up the door chance of some of its ultimate effects escaping
towards an entirely new reconstruction for this attention even after its detection, simply because
period of history5. It became possible to discon- their dependency is no longer recognised as
nect the royal phase of Herihor's career from such. Could it be that the new picture still was
the rule of Ramses XI and the whm mswt. Un- not entirely complete? In a previous article8 I
have tried to show that Herihor was only the
indirect successor of Ramses XI Menmare: Ram-
1 This article is the sequel to two earlier articles,
ses XI Menmare was succeeded by a king we
published in ZÄS 132 (2005), 7 5 - 9 3 and GM 211
(2006), 8 1 - 8 8 respectively. I would like to thank Dr. know as Khakheperre Pinuzem9. It was under
R. Demaree; Prof. J. J. Janssen, D. Bickerstaffe and his reign that the Report of Wenamun was writ-
A. Beunen (art historian). Special thanks to Dr. A. Eg- ten. Herihor continued to serve as High Priest,
berts, whose criticism forced me to rethink major parts but as the result of an unusual political com-
of this article. Dated sources will here be referred to by
the numbers given to them in K. K i t c h e n , The Third promise he did so in the knowledge that he was
Intermediate Period in Egypt, 2nd revised edition,
Warminster 1986, 417 ff. E.g. Wenamun = TIPE, no. 1.
2 The Epigraphic Survey, The Temple of Khon- 6 The "year 5" of Wenamun and the sources men-
su, vol. I, Chicago 1978 [OIP vol. 100] (henceforth tioning Herihor in a "year 6" must now post-date the
T O K 10, passim; vol. 2, Chicago 1981 [OIP vol. 103] attested dates for Piankh (year 7 - 1 0 ) which all fall in
(henceforth T O K 2T), passim. The plates in the Tafel- the whm mswt: TIPE, no. 1 - 5 .
section that accompanies the present article are all taken 7 „In der ersten Hälfte der 21. Dynastie wird nach
KING: HIGH PRIEST: hypothesis that there were not three but four
— Ramses XI Menmare - Amenhotep persons involved. Instead of one Pinuzem we
- Piankh have to reckon with two: a king and a (later)
- Herihor high priest (see Fig. 1 and 3).
— Khakheperre Pinuzem - Herihor
- Herihor - Pinuzem, son of
Piankh A The scenes on the southside
— Masaharta, son of
king (Khakhe-
of the court
perre) Pinuzem
The Temple of Khonsu harbours quite a
Fig. 1. The last three kings of the 20th Dynasty and number of enigmatic features, but the scenes
their High Priests adjoining the inner face of the southern entrance
to the court (plates 115—125) are amongst the
in turn to succeed Pinuzem (see Fig. 1). This most difficult to explain (see Fig. 2)14. On both
political decision10, dating from the last years of sides of the doorway we have two vertical rows
Menmare, had been proclaimed as an oracle of of religious scenes (A and B), each separated by
Khonsu and Amun and incorporated into the a long vertical inscription (here represented as x
Temple of Khonsu". andj).
The Temple of Khonsu is of course crucial to
our understanding of the era under discussion.
148B 148 A 148C
Unfortunately, trying to understand it is a far
121B χ121A 115 116A y 116B
from easy task: "Additions to the temple and 122B χ 122A 117A y117B
alterations continued for over a millennium, and 123B χ 123 A 118A y 1 1 8 B
the resulting cutting and recutting of reliefs pose 124B χ 124A 119A y 1 1 9 B
epigraphic problems of sometimes bewildering 125Bχ125A 120Ay120B
complexity"12. The temple has hitherto always
Fig. 2. The southside of the court
been studied on the premise that there were only
three individuals involved in its last building
The person depicted is "ΗΡΑ Pinuzem, son
phases: King Ramses XI Menmare, ΗΡΑ Heri-
of Piankh" in all scenes but one: in plate 116A
hor and ΗΡΑ Pinuzem, son of Piankh. Roughly
the space is usurped by Ptolemy II, who also
speaking the first Hypostyle Hall presented the
claimed the space directly above the gate (plates
phase in which Herihor served as mere ΗΡΑ
115 and 148). Plate 116A breaks up a perfect
under Menmare, whereas the court saw him
symmetry, not so much because it is there, but
represented as a would-be king, with here and
rather because its counterpart on the east jamb
on the Pylon also scenes of ΗΡΑ/king Pinuzem,
is not: evidence shows that plate 121A was also
son of Piankh. The grave problems this recon-
carved by Ptolemy II, although not in his own
struction poses for the career of Pinuzem have
name, but in the name of ΗΡΑ Pinuzem15. With
already been treated elsewhere13. In this article
a modesty that surprises us, the effect of sym-
we will try to come to a better understanding of
metry was wilfully given up in favour of the
these scenes and alterations, working from the
long deceased ΗΡΑ Pinuzem16. It seems that
Ptolemy II was genuinely concerned with resto-
10 In coming articles I hope to expand on the rea-
sons for such an unusual compromise. Both the subject
matter and its implications are too complex to present 14 TOK 2, xviii.
here in a summary fashion. 15 TOK 2, xix, note 21. Also see Tafel II.
" The famous "oracle of Herihor": TOK 2, 14-17, 16 Symmetry is retained, however, in respect to the
pi 132; KRI VI, 709-710; A. J. P e d e n , Egyptian His- number of persons: while Ptolemy II is depicted on
torical Inscriptions of the Twentieth Dynasty, Jonsered plate 116A together with Arsinoe II and Khonsu-Re, its
1994 [DMA 3], 181-186. counterpart, plate 121 A, also shows two additional
12 TOK 2, xvii. figures (Khonsu and Rayet-Tawy) instead of one as in
13 T h i j s , GM 211 (2006), 81-88. the other plates.
ration, content to modestly put his signature via had occurred (e.g., plates 117B, 118B and 120B), it
plates 115 and 148, and perhaps even only was allowed to remain. This suggests that the
changes reflect a diminution of Painutem's claims to
usurping plate 116A because the original scene royal authority (or at least to the royal trappings that
had deteriorated beyond recognition. From the imply such authority), rather than a refutation of it. A
present state of e.g. plate 116B, 117 and 125 it is crucial element for interpreting these alterations
evident that the area surrounding the doorway unfortunately is missing: we do not know the interval
was particularly vulnerable to deterioration. The of time between them. But they did occur before
Painutem finally adopted the royal nomen and
extensive use of plaster in the scenes depicting praenomen for himself and ceded to his son,
ΗΡΑ Pinuzem made them weather rapidly17 and Masahert (...), the tide of High Priest"21.
Ptolemaic repairs to the cornice also suggest that
the whole doorway had already suffered greatly Elsewhere we have seen that this makeshift
in the days before Ptolemy II18. It is, however, modification only led to more inconsistencies in
not the straightforward usurpation of plate 116A an already quite problematic scenario22. In fact
by Ptolemy II which makes this area so difficult the entire concept of "diminution" lacks inner
to understand. There can be little doubt that this logic. Why consider a royal vulture or the tail of
plate at one time depicted the same man as did the king's costume offensive, but turn a blind
plates 117-125. Things become less clear-cut as eye to a far more explicit nswt-bity? Why is there
soon as we take a closer look at these scenes and no mention of the king who apparently put Pi-
ask ourselves to whom they originally belonged. nuzem back in his place? And what are we to
In their present state they clearly portray ΗΡΑ make of the two long vertical inscriptions with
Pinuzem, son of ΗΡΑ Piankh, whose name and their royal overtones23? It is clear that they can
parentage we find enclosed in a box, but there hardly stem from before the "diminution": they
can be no doubt that all this is ultimately the would (should) never have survived, but if they
result of some sort of "usurpation". post-date the alterations, it is hard to understand
Work by the Oriental Institute has clearly why Pinuzem, apparently now no longer re-
brought to light that all these scenes originally strained, did not have the humiliating scenes
depicted a king. There is ample evidence of royal flanking the vertical inscriptions restored to their
elements (e.g. royal vultures and the nemes head- former glory as well24. Now that an alternative
dress) being plastered over". This new, and ra- chronology has been brought forward, it is time
ther unexpected development had somehow to to appreciate that the whole concept of "dimi-
be fitted in within the "single Pinuzem frame- nution" need no longer be an integral part of the
work", which already had accepted Pinuzem as a story of these scenes.
High Priest of Amun who had taken on a semi- It is obvious that the boxes with their pontifi-
royal status later in life: cal content are later additions, replacing origi-
nally royal scenes and texts (or bits of blank
"Painutem apparently was first represented (...) in
wall)25. The ΗΡΑ Pinuzem clearly had these
full royal regalia, although still with only priestly tides
and not such royal ones as those Herihor had scenes recut, but there is no longer any compel-
claimed. Subsequently the figures were recarved to
show him as High Priest, although where nswt-bity
21 TOK 2, xix.
22 Thijs, GM 211 (2006), 81-88.
' TOK 2, xix. 23 TOK 2, plates 116-120; 121-125 (see our Fig. 2, χ
18 TOK 2, 36, plate 148 A, notes a and b. andj).
TOK 2, xviiif. Traces of a vulture can be clearly Comp. T h i j s , GM 211 (2006), 81-88.
seen in plates 116B, 118B, 120B, 121B (s. Tafel II), 123B 25 Plate 116B (only traces), 117A, 118B, 119A, 120,
and 125B. 121 (s. Tafel II), 122, 123B, 124, 125. Sometimes the
20 The basis for this claim is far from clear. On the surface is too damaged: 117B, 118A, 119B, 123A (traces
one hand the original scenes give the tide "nswt-bity", of the name Piankh). It is worth noting that in some
which can hardly be called a mere priesdy tide, on the cases the bottom of the box is not closed: 123 A and B,
other hand there is no way of knowing which royal 124A, which strongly supports the view that the boxes
tides may have been replaced by e.g. the pontifical were only secondary additions, made to fit existing
"boxes". space.
ling reason to assume that he (or someone who — It is not entirely unthinkable that Herihor
overruled him) reworked royal representations was not that devoted to the memory of king
of himself. Since the son of Piankh never ruled Pinuzem if this king indeed made him wait for
as pharaoh (or pseudo-pharaoh) he must have the throne for some ten years because of some
altered scenes originally cut by some real king. political compromise 28 .
In the chronology presented in this series (see - To the Egyptian mind the usurpation of
Fig. 3) there are theoretically three candidates: the name of one Pinuzem by another, the for-
mer a king, the latter probably soon to become
I King Ramses X I Menmare.
one (the gods willing!), may well have had some
II King Khakheperre Pinuzem.
legitimising logic to it. Perhaps it was even origi-
III King Herihor.
nally planned to leave the name intact wherever
Since Menmare is not presented outside the possible. But if homonimity was what triggered
first hypostyle hall he can be excluded with so- the whole process, this basic idea seems to have
me degree of certainty. Solution III would have been forgotten along the way. As far as I know
the ΗΡΑ Pinuzem 'taking over' scenes from there are generally no surviving traces of the
Herihor during this very king's reign. There is name of the royal personage originally de-
some reason to assume that the scenes next to picted2'. In those cases where the name Pinuzem
passageways were favoured because of their appears, it is accompanied by the tide ΗΡΑ. In
prominent position26. It seems therefore unlikely the scenes in which royal iconography was plas-
that Herihor, who claims - within the court - tered out, the 'box' was introduced, as if to em-
both royal and pontifical prominence, would phasise the parentage as the distinguishing fea-
give up exacdy these pivotal scenes in favour of ture of the later Pinuzem. Homonimity may
a subordinate. There is no trace of ΗΡΑ seem economical at first sight, it can all too
Pinuzem on the east- or west-walls: here all the easily turn against the usurper. As soon as the
available space is taken up by Herihor27. How- usurper actually becomes "merged" with repre-
ever, if the scenes adjacent to the doorway had sentations of his namesake, the desire to distin-
already been occupied by Herihor's royal prede- guish himself will naturally become stronger and
cessor, king Khakheperre Pinuzem, quite a dif- stronger. It is indeed remarkable how ΗΡΑ Pi-
ferent story emerges: nuzem stresses his parentage wherever possible.
- The person 'suffering' from the usurpation In this respect he couldn't be more different
is already dead. from Herihor or Piankh, both of whom are no-
torious for not mentioning their fathers at all. Is
this because, unlike his pontifical predecessors,
ΗΡΑ Pinuzem felt he had to distinguish himself
All later kings who were active in the temple im-
26 from his royal namesake?
mortalised their name as close to the central axis as
possible: Osorkon (plate 134); Nectanebo II (plates
127-131, 154, 193), the Ptolemies (115, 116, 126-127,
129,150,154,190-191,194). See also below. 28T h i j s , ZÄS 132 (2005), 90-92.
27 For a possible explanation of this peculiar phe- 29With one noticeable and very revealing exception,
nomenon, see below. which will be treated at the end of this article.
scription of the claim itself.": M a c y R o t h , JNES 42 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 154, 190, 191, 193, 194;
(1983), 44. the sole exceptions being the (non-royal!) addition of
32 The last year(s) of Ramses XI: T h i j s , GM 173 plate 133 by ΗΡΑ Menkheperre, which is to the east of
(1999), 178 f. the central axis, and a mention of Menkheperre near
33 L a r o c h e - T r a u n e c k e r , in: Cahiers de Karnak one of the doors in the western side of the court: Rö-
VII, 1978-1981, Paris 1982, 332; R ö m e r , o.e., 5. mer, o.e., 578, no. 50.
34 T h i j s , ZÄS 132 (2005), 89-90. 39 Nectanebo II: plates 127B, 128A, 128B, 129B,
35 It is well possible that the First Hypostyle Hall 130A, 130B, 131A, 131B; Ptolemy IV: 126A, 126B,
was only finished after the death of Ramses XI, i.e. 127A, 129A. For our purposes the question whether the
during the reign of Khakheperre Pinuzem (and the scenes now occupied by Ptolemy at one time also de-
complete the decoration of the entire court. nebo II and/or Ptolemy IV. For our present
When Herihor ascended the throne the eastern purpose it suffices to note that there is at least a
and western walls probably were still more or coherent explanation for the presently known
less empty, with the possibility that original, distribution of sources naming king Pinuzem.
unfinished decorations intended for Pinuzem That at present his name is only securely attested
may have been usurped and reworked by the on the south side of the court is no counter ar-
new king. What started out as an objection, in gument against our theory, since this may well
the end seems to have led to the discovery of have been the mere result of the destructive
the probable strategy chosen by king Kha- actions of later kings.
kheperre Pinuzem when he 'inherited' the ongo-
ing building activity in the Temple of Khonsu.
Instead of a problematic distribution of sources D The pilasters on the south wall
we would now have the king choosing for him- of the court
self the central scenes on both sides (i.e. north
and south) of the court. A superficial study of the plates showing the
decorations on the pilasters of the south wall of
But Herihor and king Pinuzem were certainly the court suffices to suggest that from the outset
not the only ones to make their presence felt a fair amount of symmetry was envisaged42. The
near the entrance to the first hypostyle hall. top of all sidepanels is headed by either Edjo
Alongside each row of scenes on the northern ( - E) or Nekhbet (= N) in the following distri-
side of the court there is a vertical inscription in bution: (see Fig. 5 and Tafel III and IV).
the name of the ΗΡΑ Pinuzem. (Fig. 4, indi- From this fact alone it is clear that plate 135A
cated by "x" and "y"). From the fact that, like its breaks up a perfect symmetry. However, if we
counterpart on the west, the vertical inscription take a closer look at the drawing we see several
on the east side (Fig. 4, indicated by "y") also additional details suggesting there is something
presents a complete text, it is obvious that when odd with this particular sidepanel:
this text was composed the oracle [a] was already
— Unlike the other Edjo's, this one shows no
there, and [b] was respected by ΗΡΑ Pinuzem.
detailed feathers on its wings.
These relatively late additions prove that ΗΡΑ
— Its tail is the only one not actually emanat-
Pinuzem, son of Piankh set out to make his
ing from the accompanying ring.
presence felt here as well. It is, however, very
— The papyrus is drawn with 5 standing
unlikely that he would be allowed to alter scenes
stalks instead of 3 and has a different base. We
representing Herihor, so we may assume that
encounter the same number of stalks in plate
here he merely used blank wall space41.
137A (s. Tafel IV), but unfortunately here the
It is tempting to assume that during the reign base has been lost.
of Herihor the A- and B-scenes of plates 127— — The bottom text is flanked by an additional
130 (Fig. 4) were usurped by ΗΡΑ Pinuzem, in a inscription which is absent in all other texts,
way similar to his usurpations on the south side again with the exception of plate 137A. Com-
of the court, but if so, there is little chance of pare also the additional signs next to the nb-sign
this ever coming to light. Unfortunately, the in both plates.
theory that ΗΡΑ Pinuzem had scenes, which
had originally been cut by king Pinuzem, recut in The bottom half of plate 135A (s. Tafel III) is
his own name, will probably remain unprovable: inscribed: "The king of Upper and Lower Egypt,
such reworking would have been done in plas- who makes Thebes festive, setting it in joy, the
ter, which would in turn be removed by Necta- ΗΡΑ [...]". From the fact that the tide of ΗΡΑ
Khakheperre Pinuzem, which seems less likely given 42 Comp, the text of 135C with 136C; 137C with
the position of the oracle. 138C, etc. (s. Tafel III and IV).
Fig. 5. The distribution of Edjo and Nekhbet on the south wall of the court
is not enclosed in a cartouche (as is the case with and 137A, several factors suggest that the deco-
Herihor) we may deduce that we are dealing rations in their present form may not necessarily
with ΗΡΑ Pinuzem, son of Piankh. This is con- have been (entirely) the work of the son of Pi-
firmed by the parallel text of plate 137A. Al- ankh:
though the lower parts of some pilasters have
- If it were his sole aim to insert his name he
been lost, it would take special pleading to deny
would not have had to tamper with the upper
Herihor all remaining decorations apart from
part of the pilasters. Although the substitution
135A and 137A. Plate 135A and 137A are posi-
of Nekhbet by Edjo in 135A may have been
tioned nearest to the portal. It seems most
meant to provide the person named in 135A and
unlikely that such prominent positions could
137A with the protection of both deities, there
ever have been left blank by either Herihor (who
would be litde reason for ΗΡΑ Pinuzem to alter
apparently decorated all the remaining pilasters)
the floral motive of plates 135A and 137A (e.g.
or by king Pinuzem (who seems to show a
the number of stalks). Why alter an entire side-
predilection for scenes near the central axis).
panel if minor changes would have done the
Although the volumes of the Oriental Institute
job"?
contain no references to alterations of either
pilaster, with ΗΡΑ Pinuzem being later than - These 'unproductive' alterations rather
Herihor there can be little doubt that the tradi- suggest that the original was already in need of
tional view would also require some form of restoration due to the effects of weathering or
tampering: unless Herihor did not bother to incidental damage. This more or less presup-
decorate plates 135A and 137A, which is ex- poses a somewhat longer interval.
tremely unlikely, we have here a good case for - The digression in style would also be a lit-
apparendy hitherto undetected alterations in any de unexpected if the alterations were made dur-
chronology43. This should make us very cautious ing the first 15 years of the rule of Herihor, i.e.
concerning any other decoration not direcdy cut almost contemporary with the other pilasters.
into stone. The two plates under discussion Again this would support the theory of a longer
nicely fit the results of our investigations so far: interval between the original and the alterations.
again we see that decorations near the central - Most importandy: the indisputable royal
axis were apparendy the most vulnerable to tone of the new texts does not fit in too well
alterations. For our purposes the question with the hypothetical downplaying of kingly
whether both plates originally referred to Heri- attributes in the nearby scenes45. Given the pre-
hor or to Khakheperre Pinuzem is not that im- vailing reconstruction, both sets of alterations
portant. Far more interesting is the question can hardly have been done "in one go".
who altered the existing text. Although the natu-
ral assumption would be that it was ΗΡΑ Pinu-
zem himself who tampered with plates 135A
44 Egyptian artists were capable of applying very
Although ΗΡΑ Pinuzem may perhaps have part on [a] the materials used, [b] the craftsman-
appropriated these sidepanels already during his ship and attitude of the later artist, and [c] the
own lifetime, there are some reasons to call into available source material suited for comparison.
question whether he is fully responsible for the Whenever pious restoration is not detected we
form in which they have survived until today are in serious danger of being led astray.
(our 'Vorlage'). In my understanding there are We have seen that in the temple of Khonsu
two notions which should be taken into consid- scenes originally cut by king Pinuzem were
eration if we are to ever comprehend the com- usurped by his later -non royal- namesake.
plex history of the Temple of Khonsu. The first Where this was done we have the 'fingerprint' of
of these is the notion of "pious restoration", or the usurper to aid us in our research, but what if
rather "misguided pious restoration". some later individual (the temple provides the
names of Menkheperre, Osorkon I, Nectanebo
II, and several Ptolemies) set out not to usurp
FACTOR I: misguided pious restoration but rather to restore inscriptions made by his
predecessors? We have already seen evidence of
Among the many factors complicating the this in plate 121A. In some cases differences in
work of Egyptologists one of the most notori- style still provide us with a clue. This is the case
ous is the modern falsification. Luckily many are with the cornice of the doorway in the south
so clumsily done that their impact does not wall of the court. Certain details betray that the
reach too far beyond the field of the unsuspect- central blocks of the cornice were tampered
ing tourist or naive collector, but the more clev- with, not with the aim to alter history, but rather
erly contrived fakes may remain unrecognised to preserve it. Part of the cornice, on stone of
even by experts. An equally complicated prob- better condition, shows a more bulbous upper-
lem is formed by the ancient falsification. Whe- most pod of the ndm-part of the name of the
reas its modern counterparts are often instigated ΗΡΑ Pinuzem"4. Here both material and certain
by the prospect of financial gain, ancient falsifi- stylistic decisions made by the later artist47 lead
cations were meant to mislead future genera- to the conclusion that we are dealing with a
tions (ultimately also including us) for totally 'pious restoration', but the matter is not always
different reasons. The best known category is as straightforward. As noted above, the exten-
that of simple usurpation. Here the falsifier usu- sive use of plaster makes it very complicated to
ally left his mark for all to see since that was the distinguish between the original scenes and pos-
very aim of the whole operation. Another cate- sible alterations or restorations. The better a
gory, often far more difficult to spot, and — at later artist is able to emulate the style of the ori-
least in aim and outlook — the very opposite of ginal (or the more he chooses to do so) and the
falsification, is that of ancient pious restoration. smaller the interval between the original and his
Today's art restorers are very conscious of their restoration, the harder it becomes to detect his
own influence. They will refrain from any form intervention. We must reckon with the possibil-
of "creatively filling in of lost details", purposely ity that some scenes in the Temple of Khonsu in
trying to make their interventions detectable for theix present state contain undetected later res-
later generations. These are, however, very mo- torations, most likely from the time of either
dern approaches. If a work of art was at one Osorkon I, Nectanebo II or the Ptolemies. The
time "invisibly" restored by a skilful restorer, the
result might be as satisfying to the art lover as it
is misleading to the historian. Restoration is a note a.TOK 2, plate 148A, 36, with note b. Comp also
46
continuous process of decision making, each 47 Since it is very unlikely that it was a lack of crafts-
decision, whether conscious or not (and — more manship that led to this digression in style, this example
to the point - whether correct or not) leaving its makes it perfecdy clear that for an Egyptian artist a
influence on the work at hand. Whether later slavish imitation of the original at hand was not his
primary concern. Comp, our observations on plate
alterations can be singled out depends for a large 135A.
danger here lies in the possibility that the ancient ing the prominence of the name Pinuzem on the
restorer misunderstood aspects of the original fa9ade of the pylon and along the central axis49,
work and unknowingly introduced errors, much the artist's choice for "Pinuzem" over "Herihor"
like the copyist of an ancient manuscript guess- (if it really came down to educated guesswork) is
ing a word where his original was damaged, or at least understandable.
substituting a word he didn't understand, per- — The homonimity of the royal and the pon-
haps even thinking he was correcting a mistake tifical Pinuzem, a complicating factor in
by an earlier copyist. With multiple copies of the itself, is here heightened by the latter's pragmatic
same manuscript it is often possible to filter out usurpation of scenes originally portraying his
these alterations; with the decorations in the predecessor. The artist, confronted with the
temple of Khonsu this is almost impossible. resulting highly complicated game of names and
That the Ptolemies introduced mistakes in their tides50, may well have thought to be dealing with
reconstruction work seems defendable from the a single person, a "priest-king", much like the
fact that within the first Hypostyle Hall Herihor figure of Herihor portrayed on the nearby walls.
is always only depicted as ΗΡΑ, except in the The fact that king Herihor himself chose the
Ptolemaic restorations on the jambs of the north tide ΗΡΑ as his prenomen made it all the more
doorway. The Ptolemaic artist seems to have difficult to distinguish between kings and pon-
carried his observations from the scenes in the tiffs. The titulary of plate 135A and 137A may
Royal Court well into the Hypostyle Hall, perhaps be interpreted as the work of an artist,
thereby ignoring the mass of solely pontifical wanting to combine two apparendy conflicting
depictions that was staring him in the face while sets of tides, one royal, one pontifical.
he was doing his restoration work48. — The royal titulary applied to Amun and
If we look at the lower parts of the pilasters Khonsu immediately followed by the name of
we see that they have suffered extensively: not ΗΡΑ Pinuzem, as in the vertical inscriptions of
one is still intact. We may postulate that also in plate 127-130, might easily mislead the superfi-
the considerable interval between the 20th Dy- cial onlooker, especially if he already expected to
nasty and the time of e.g. Nectanebo II or the find royal titulary preceding the name of
Ptolemaic period these parts were the first to Pinuzem51.
crumble, which could mean that in case of a — Scenes now portraying ΗΡΑ Pinuzem were
restoration the exact content of the original text originally carved for King Pinuzem and in the
would have to be guessed by the artist. There is case of plate 135A and 137A perhaps for Heri-
some reason to believe that the titles and names hor. Depending on the techniques and material
on plates 135A and 137A may have been the re- used in both stages elements of the original may
sult of misguided pious restoration at a time when ultimately have resurfaced52.
the exact relationships between king Herihor, king
Khakheperre Pinuzem and his namesake ΗΡΑ
Pinuzem, son of Piankh were no longer under- 49 Note that also the passageway is dominated by
— We cannot reconstruct how much of the publications of the Epigraphic Survey it is easy to forget
that our artist had to make sense of them from quite a
original inscriptions of plates 135A and 137A
different perspective and in far less ideal circumstances.
were still decipherable at the time, but consider- 52 That the combination of resurfacing original texts
Έ The vertical inscriptions tampered with plate 121 in the name of ΗΡΑ
near the southern entrance Pinuzem. It is therefore very well possible that
both vertical inscriptions are also more or less
When we discussed plates 116—120 and their the result of misguided pious restoration. On the
counterparts 121-125, we did so, more or less other hand it is hard to believe that all royal ref-
glossing over an important (and problematic) erences to the son of Piankh were solely due to
element, worthy of further consideration: both later alterations. There is, however, another
sets of scenes are accompanied by a long vertical notion besides the concept of pious restoration
inscription combining royal titulary with the which seems to have left its mark on the walls of
explicit parentage of our later non-royal ΗΡΑ the Temple of Khonsu, prior to any interference
(see Fig. 2, our χ and y). by later kings. This factor is probably much
more important than the concept of "misguided
[x]: "Live the Re-Harakhti, Mighty Bull, Beloved of
Amon; the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, who pious restoration", but whereas factor I may
satisfies the gods and accomplishes benefactions for serve to explain enigmatic features in all chrono-
their kas, the High Priest of Amon-Re, King of the logical scenarios (e.g. the ill fitting royal repre-
Gods, Painutem, justified, the son of Paiankh, sentation of Herihor in the Hypostyle Hall),
justified; he has made, as his monument for his
factor II can only be appreciated within the new
father, Khonsu, the making anew of the pylon for
him, [with the name '... like] the Lord of Rays,' chronological framework presented here. To
beloved of Amon" . understand this, we will have to return to the
Oracle of Herihor.
[y]: "[Live] the Re-Harakhti, [Mighty Bull, Beloved of
Amon] ... [Khon]su(?) ... [the High Priest of Amon-
Re], King of the Gods, Painutem, justified, the son
of| Paiankh, justified; [he] has made, as his FACTOR II: lively anticipation56
monument for his father, Khonsu, the making anew
of the pylon for him, [with] the name ..." . In an earlier article in this journal I have tried
Had the first, original, versions of these texts to show that the Oracle of Herihor indicates
and the accompanying scenes been carved into that during the last phase of the reign of Ramses
stone, it would perhaps have been possible to XI Menmare a new form of succession came
separate stone from plaster and work out the into being: apparendy it was decided that ΗΡΑ
history of this part of the temple simply on the Herihor would ultimately come to the throne,
basis of the material used. However, plates 116, but only following the rule of Menmare's direct
117 and 118 clearly show that older, reused successor, Khakheperre Pinuzem. Whether or
blocks underlie not only these scenes but the not Herihor was also in the race for direct suc-
vertical text as well55. On the eastern side of the cession we do not know, so for him the ar-
entrance the indications are less discernible, but rangement may either have been a bonus or a
the stray pairs of legs in plate 121Β (s. Tafel II) setback. What matters to us is that from that
also suggest that even the original, royal phase moment on the prospect of once becoming king
was done mainly in plaster. The numerous trace- himself must have severely influenced Herihor's
able alterations in the adjoining scenes should (and anyone's) concept of both kingship and
make us very cautious. As already noted above, high priesthood. The very fact that, during the
Ptolemy II usurped plate 116 for himself and entire 10-year reign of Khakheperre Pinuzem,
the High Priest of Amun knew he was destined
for the throne, will have left its mark, not only
on the self-perception of Herihor, but ultimately
that of Ramses II: Von Beckerath, Handbuch der
ägyptischen Königsnamen, [MAS 20], 235, 237; comp,
on that of his eventual successor in office. It is
e.g. www.ufocom.org/pages/v_fr/m_archeo/Abydos/
abydos.htm.
53 TOK 2,11, plates 121-125.
54 TOK 2, 8, plates 116-120. 56 For readers who can appreciate a litde irony:
55 TOK 2, 6, note d; 7, note d. comp. Thijs, ZÄS 132 (2005), 87, no. 114.
easy to see how the Oracle of Herihor, with its desirable candidates (e.g. an unsuited or too
implied notion of the high priesthood becoming young crown prince) could be stepped over for a
the steppingstone towards kingship, may have candidate who had already proven himself to be
set a precedent, even if originally it were nothing capable. It seems, however, this solution had an
more than an ad hoc solution to an acute problem unforeseen side-effect, one which could only
concerning the succession of Ramses XI Men- come to the surface after Herihor had actually
mare. Once it is set in motion this model for come to the throne. Now that the former High
succession has the interesting side-effect that the Priest had become king, a new High Priest had
death of a Pharaoh of necessity generates not to be appointed, but what could become of his
only a new king, but also a vacancy for the post role? Judging from the scenes in the court the
of High Priest of Amun57. There is a good chan- king continued to stress his priestly role: wearing
ce that one of the first decisions king Herihor both the priesdy skullcap and the leopard skin,
had to make, was whether his appointee as ΗΡΑ and choosing "High Priest of Amun" as his
was automatically also destined to succeed him prenomen60. The absence of scenes showing
as Pharaoh. If I understand correctly, it was king Herihor and ΗΡΑ Pinuzem together sug-
indeed decided that ΗΡΑ Pinuzem should suc- gests that both men had great difficulty in dis-
ceed Herihor as king. Such a scenario would tributing their spheres of influence. It must have
explain a lot of problematic features in the taken quite some time for both parties to work
Temple of Khonsu without having to revert to out a modus vivendi. On the one hand, pontifical
the notion of "misguided pious restoration". tides and roles were still very much claimed by
That the son of Piankh must have been seen as the king. Especially if his newly gained status as
the future king is strongly supported by the fact Pharaoh was in reality a severely limited one,
that, while High Priest of Amun, he was appar- Herihor may have been reluctant to hand them
ently allowed to call himself "crown prince"58. over61. On the other hand, the new ΗΡΑ, who
This same tide had also been claimed by Herihor was in the hardly enviable position of having to
when still only ΗΡΑ59. One could imagine that a serve under a king who was by far his senior in
ΗΡΑ, already officially destined to become king, all things pontifical62, must have treasured the
was silently allowed by the ruling Pharaoh to prospect of once becoming king himself. It may
build towards a royal titulary of his own. Such a be rewarding to restudy in this new light the
scenario might well explain the very problematic extremely complicated play with iconography,
(in any reconstruction!) royal overtones in the titles, etc. which dominates the walls of the
long vertical inscriptions of plates 116—120 and Temple of Khonsu, and which at times doesn't
121—126: if ΗΡΑ Pinuzem had not predeceased seem to make any sense at all. Although many
king Herihor, these vertical inscriptions would details may remain unclear (the situation that
have become a natural part of the early history brought them about being itself far from clear),
of a ruling king, but as it happened, Pinuzem's it seems that there are many scenes which be-
early death deprived them of their original inten- come much more understandable if we apply the
tion. principle of "lively anticipation".
In principle, the scenario of the High Priest-
hood becoming the steppingstone towards king-
ship may well have a stabilising effect: other, less 60 Comp. TOK 2, XV.
61 His sphere of influence may well have been re-
stricted to the greater Thebaid, an area over which he
already had much influence when still "only" ΗΡΑ. If
57 This is aptly illustrated by the piece of linen on so, becoming king was probably not that great a step
the foot of the mummy of Nodjmet, which combines a forward. As I will show in forthcoming articles he was
year 1 (of king Herihor) with the first attestation of certainly not the sole king of Egypt.
(ΗΡΑ) Pinuzem. Comp. Thijs, ZÄS 132 (2005), 84. 62 Most of his staff had served under Herihor when
58 Daressy, RT 14 (1891), 32, LII. he was still ΗΡΑ, to name but one thing. This will
59 E.g. TOK 2, 6 6 - 6 8 , plates 199A, linelO; 199B, probably have deprived him of an entourage whose
lines 8 and 14; 200A, 10, line 10; 200B, line 9. loyalty lay with him rather than with the king.