Mary Harrsch © 2026
This Third Intermediate Period stela (Dynasty 22, ca. 946–735 BCE), found in the Ramesseum at Thebes that I photographed at the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures at the University of Chicago, depicts an elite deceased woman interacting directly with the hawk-headed solar god Re-Horakhty. At first glance, the most striking feature is her dress—particularly the long, sweeping looped sleeves, rendered as nearly transparent.
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| Funerary stela of an elite woman, Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 22 (ca. 946–735 BCE), from the Ramesseum, Thebes. The deceased is shown offering to the solar god Re-Horakhty (“Re, Horus of the Two Horizons”), a deity associated with cosmic transition and daily renewal. Her long, sweeping looped sleeves reflect Egyptianized international fashion of the early Iron Age: a Near Eastern garment silhouette translated into ultra-fine linen appropriate for Theban temple and funerary contexts, rather than the heavy wool sleeves worn by elites in the Levant and Mesopotamia. The hieroglyphic text addresses Re-Horakhty directly on behalf of the woman’s ka and affirms her status as “justified”. Photograph by Mary Harrsch, Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, University of Chicago. |
These sleeves are not merely decorative. Their form reflects eastern Mediterranean fashion currents circulating in the early Iron Age. In the Levant, northern Syria, and Mesopotamia (ca. 1100–700 BCE), elite men and women are frequently shown wearing long, pendant sleeves constructed of wool—heavy, opaque, and structural garments visible in Neo-Hittite, Aramaean, and Neo-Assyrian reliefs. There, sleeve length and bulk functioned as markers of rank, wealth, and authority.
Egyptian artists of the Third Intermediate Period selectively adopted this silhouette while rejecting the material logic. In a Theban temple and funerary context, wool was inappropriate, particularly for individuals associated with ritual purity. Instead, the sleeves here are rendered as ultra-fine linen, indicated visually through translucency and the visibility of the arm beneath the cloth. The result is a deliberate cultural translation: an internationally fashionable form recast in Egypt’s most prestigious and ritually acceptable textile.
The deity before whom the woman stands is equally significant. The museum identifies him correctly as Re-Horakhty (“Re, Horus of the Two Horizons”), a composite solar god who embodies the sun’s daily movement between horizon, sky, and underworld. Unlike Horus as a god of kingship and political legitimacy, Re-Horakhty is a deity of transition, renewal, and cosmic passage, making him especially appropriate for non-royal funerary monuments in this period.
Re-Horakhty first emerges prominently in the Old Kingdom as a distinctly royal and solar deity. Depicted as a falcon-headed man crowned with a solar disk, he embodies the rising sun and serves as a symbol of the king’s divine authority. In this period, his worship was largely centered on the pharaoh and the elite, appearing in royal mortuary temples and the tombs of high officials, where he reinforced cosmic order (maat) and legitimized the king’s intermediary role between gods and humanity. Non-royal Egyptians were largely excluded from direct devotion to Re-Horakhty, encountering him primarily through elite funerary iconography and solar symbolism integrated into broader cult practices.
By the Third Intermediate Period, however, Re-Horakhty’s cult had evolved in both scope and accessibility. Political fragmentation and the growing prominence of local priesthoods, especially in Upper Egypt, allowed commoners and regional elites alike to participate in solar worship, often through temple festivals, votive offerings, funerary inscriptions, and personal amulets invoking his regenerative power. Some individuals began adopting solar epithets in personal names (e.g., “Ra-em-herakhty”), showing reverence for the deity in private life.
His identity increasingly merged with that of Amun-Ra, linking the solar cycle to broader cosmic and moral order while maintaining his protective and regenerative associations. Over time, Re-Horakhty transitioned from a symbol of exclusive royal authority to a divinity whose solar power and promises of rebirth were approachable by both elite and common Egyptians, reflecting the democratization of certain aspects of religion during periods of political decentralization.
I was surprised to learn ChatGPT could actually decipher the hieroglyphic text beneath the winged solar disk. It is short but theologically focused. Although portions are worn, the structure is clear and typical of Dynasty 22 Theban stelae:
“Words spoken to Re-Horakhty, Lord of the Sky, Ruler of the Horizon, for the ka of the God’s Servant [name lost], justified.”
This is not a judgment scene and not a conventional offering formula. Instead, it is a statement of alignment. By addressing Re-Horakhty directly and affirming her status as “true of voice”, the deceased woman situates herself within the solar cycle of daily rebirth, rather than relying solely on Osirian resurrection imagery.
Taken together, the costume, the deity, and the text articulate a coherent identity: an elite, temple-connected Theban woman presenting herself as ritually pure, cosmopolitan in taste, and theologically aligned with solar regeneration. The stela thus records not only belief, but how fashion and theology were used together to construct elite female identity in the Third Intermediate Period.
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