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Khenthap |
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Khenthap was a queen consort of ancient Egypt. She is said to have lived during the 1st dynasty. Her historical figure is very obscure, since there are no contemporare sources for her name. She appears only once in a much later inscription.
Egyptologists and historians discuss the historical figure of Khenthap. The archaeologically recorded seal impressions from first dynasty tombs at Abydos never mention her. She appears only in a inscription on the Palermo stone,[2] a stela made of black schist that lists the kings from Narmer (1st dynasty) up to king Neferirkare (6th dynasty). Additionally the stone lists the mother of each king.[3] The inscription spells out Khenthap's name, but doesn't record any of her titles.[4]
The inscription on the Cairo fragment describes Khenthap as the mother of king Djer.[5] Joyce Tyldesley thinks Khenthap was a wife of king Hor-Aha and that her grandson was king Djet, for Djet is thought to be the son of king Djer (Aha's son).[6] Silke Roth instead thinks that Khenthap was a wife of king Teti I, a king mentioned in the Saqqara Tablet and in the Royal Canon of Turin. In the latter, he is described as a ruler who held the Egyptian throne for only 1 year and 45 days.[2]
Khenthap's name means ‘musician of (god) Hapi’, which may point to a religious and cultic role for this lady during her lifetime, since her name is connected to a god and links to the king's title ‘bull of his mother’.[2]