426 Votaresses of Karnakpalace office, the type of reports deemed necessary to
maintain communications with other government
bureaus, and 30 separate activities that were part of his
position. Again and again stress is placed on service to
the oppressed or the weak, a theme that dates back to the
sages of the Old Kingdom Period and the ELOQUENT PEAS-
ANTof the Tenth Dynasty. Normally the viziers of Egypt
were remarkable men, astute, well-trained, and dedicated
to the service of rich and poor alike, in an ideal expres-
sion of the spirit of MA’AT,the ethical and moral principal
guiding the nation. The role of vizier was maintained to
some degree in the later historical periods of Egypt.
Votaresses of Karnak They were a religious group
composed of high-ranking Egyptian women in the reign
of ’AHMOSE (1550–1525 B.C.E.). ’Ahmose’s queen,
’AHMOSE-NEFERTARI, held the rank of “GOD’S WIFE OF
AMUN” and gathered women to perform temple services.
“The HAREM” of Amun and “the Divine Adoratrices of
Amun” were started as a result. The Votaresses of Karnak
appear to have served separately for a time, then were
absorbed into other religious offices.vulture The Egyptian variety of this bird was associated
with NEKHEBET, the patroness of Upper Egypt. Named
nerauby the Egyptians, the vulture was called “Pharaoh’s
chicken” (Neophron percnopterus). The bird usually grows
to more than two feet long and is white with black flight
feathers. It has a slender beak, a bare face, and a cascading
mane of feather. The Egyptian vulture ranges in northern
and eastern Africa, as well as southern Europe, and in the
Middle East, even to Afghanistan and India. Other vulture
species were present in Egypt, but only this species was
associated with Nekhebet.