Heresankh
Egyptian noblewoman
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Heresankh (also transliterated as Harsynchis) was an ancient Egyptian noblewoman and high-ranking priestess during the Ptolemaic period, who lived from approximately 249 BC to 183 BC.[1] She held unique religious offices in the Memphite necropolis and is historically the only known female priestess to serve within the region's major sanctuaries, including the Serapeum of Saqqara, the Anoubieion, and the Osirion of Rutiset.[1] Additionally, she is the only known female priestess of the mortuary cult of the deified royal princess Philotera.[2]
| Heresankh | |
|---|---|
Statue of Heresankh, now in Louvre museum. | |
| Dynasty | Ptolemaic Period |
| Pharaoh | Ptolemy II Ptolemy III Ptolemy IV Ptolemy V |
| Born | c. 249 BC |
| Died | c. 183 BC (aged 66 years, 5 months, 5 days) Saqqara, Egypt |
| Burial | Saqqara (exact location unknown) |
| Father | Neferibre |
| Mother | Herankh (Mistress of the House) |
| Children | Nesisti (son) |
Family
She was born to Neferibre, a temple priest holding the title of "god's servant", and Herankh, titled "mistress of the house".[1] She had a full brother named Neferibre.[1]
Early scholars looked at her family monument (the Vienna 130 stela) and assumed it was carved in the early 4th century BC. Because of this early date, they calculated that Heresankh lived from 330 BC to 263 BC, placing her at the very top of the family tree as a direct ancestor (a great-aunt) to the early High Priests of Ptah. Modern researchers analyzed the handwriting, hieroglyphs, and artistic style of the monument and realized it actually dates to the 2nd century BC. This meant Heresankh and her immediate family actually lived much later—between 249 BC and 183 BC. This proved she belonged to a younger, parallel branch of the family tree that split off from a shared older ancestor named Anemhor.[1][3]
Attestations
Heresankh is archaeologically attested by two primary monuments discovered within the Memphite necropolis at Saqqara:
Funerary Stela London BM EA 389: A round-topped limestone stela measuring 53 cm in height and 34.5 cm in width.[1] The top register depicts a winged sun-disc with pendent uraei.[1] Below this, a scene shows Heresankh presenting libations before an offering table to the enthroned Osiris.[1] The lower section consists of multiple lines of hieroglyphic text documenting her life, family lineage, and funeral.[1]
Standing Statue Louvre N 2456 IM 6165: A standing statue recovered directly from the Sarapieion complex at North Saqqara.[1] The inscriptions on this monument preserve her detailed sacerdotal titles across various sanctuaries.[4]
Titles
Unlike noble women of this era who were typically restricted to the role of a basic musician or sistrum player (such as the consorts of the High Priests of Ptah), Heresankh attained full priestly standing as a female god's servant (ḥm.t-nṯr).[1] According to the text on her Louvre statue, her complete titles were:
- Perfect player of the sistrum of Min, lord of Senut
- Priestess of Isis and Nephthys
- Priestess of the House of Osiris-Apis (Sarapieion)
- Priestess of the House of Osiris at Rutiset
- Priestess of the House of Anubis who is on his hill (Anoubieion)
- Female god's servant of the king's daughter Philotera.[1]
Cult of Philotera and Succession
Philotera was the deceased and deified sister of Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II.[5] Heresankh is unique as the only recorded female priestess of her mortuary cult.[2] Across Egypt, only two other indigenous individuals are known to have officiated for Philotera, both of whom were male High Priests of Ptah: Nesisti-Pedubast and his great-grandson Nesisti (the son of Horemakhet).[1]
The revised chronology changes the historical understanding of her career, positioning Heresankh as the successor of High Priest Nesisti-Pedubast.[6] Nesisti-Pedubast was initially appointed by Ptolemy II around 266/265 BC following a royal decree (the Sais Stela) that mandated the introduction of the dynastic cults of Arsinoe II and Philotera into traditional Egyptian temples.[7]
Following Nesisti-Pedubast's death around 248 BC, the independent titles for Philotera's cult at Memphis were transferred to Heresankh's family.[8]
While the priests Anemhor II and Horemakhet only served the cult of Arsinoe II, she was the one who served Philotera's cult contemporarily.[1]
Upon Heresankh's death in 183 BC, the office returned to the main lineage via the younger High Priest Nesisti, who reunited the cults of Philotera and Arsinoe II under a single administrative title.[6] Thus he served both cults at the same time.[6]
Death
Heresankh's funerary stela records that she died at the precise age of 66 years, 5 months, and 5 days, and that her funeral rites were performed by her son, Nesisti, during the 22nd regnal year of an unnamed Ptolemaic king.[1] The inscription reads:
Year 22...day 3 was the day of the burial of the deceased, beautiful musician of Min... Heresankh, justified, born to the lady of the house Herankh, justified. After she had spent 70 days being embalmed, she was given a beautiful burial, through the work of Anubis, by her eldest beloved son, the sem priest, priest of Ptah, Nesisti, after she had lived on earth 66 years, 5 months and 5 days
An early consensus in modern historiography identified the unnamed king as Ptolemy II Philadelphus, which placed her lifespan between c. 330 BC and 263 BC.[9]
However, alternative research originally advanced by Peter Munro and corroborated by Mikhail Panov successfully reassessed the date to the 22nd regnal year of Ptolemy V Epiphanes (183 BC), establishing her revised lifespan from 249 BC to 183 BC.[10]