The Ungoddess Nefertiti

The Beautiful One Has Come... and never left Nefertiti, the un-goddess lives on

Ancient Egypt was rife with gods, including the very Pharaoh himself. But Pharaoh Akhenaten (originally known as Amenhotep IV) and his queen Nefertiti changed all that by worshipping just one god -- Aten, the sun disc. The enduring appeal of Nefertiti, whose name translates to ‘the beautiful one has come’ can be credited in great part to the incredibly well-preserved limestone bust of her, created around 1345 BC by the sculptor Thutmose. Today the piece ranks with Mona Lisa as one of the most recognizable and copied works of art in history.

Little is known about this Egyptian celeb, other than that she married well and bore her husband six daughters. Her stepson, Tutankhamun, yes, King Tut, also remains prominent in modern culture thanks to his own well-preserved likeness and tomb artifacts.

During the fourteenth year of her husband’s reign, Nerfetiti vanished from public record. Explanatory speculations differ wildly -- some claiming she took a new name at the time, that she went on to become a pharaoh herself for a bit following Akhenaten’s death. Some believe her disappearance was caused by a plague that swept the land.

The Nefertiti mystery continues even now as Dr. Joann Fletcher and a forensic team dedicated twelve years to researching and finding Nefertiti’s tomb, as they claim to have done in their 2003 documentary funded by the Discovery Channel. Based on their findings, the team worked to recreate what they believe to be the face of Nefertiti, complete with the queen’s trademark ‘elegant profile and swan-like neck.’

Regardless of the facts of her life and lineage, one thing is indisputable -- her allure that crosses borders and millennia, and her ongoing reign of our imaginations.