378 SmendesSmendes (2)(fl. 11th century B.C.E.) Priestly official of
the Twenty-first Dynasty
He served as high priest of Amun during the reign of
PSUSENNES I (1040–992 B.C.E.). The son of MENKHE-
PERRESENB(2) and ISTEMKHEBE(2), he was elderly when
he succeeded his father in the role of high priest.
Smendes served two years and was succeeded by his son,
PINUDJEM(2).
Smenkharé (Ankhepruré)(d. 1333 B.C.E.)Eleventh
ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty
He reigned at ’AMARNAand THEBESfrom 1335 B.C.E. until
his death at a young age. Married to Queen Meryt-amun,
who had replaced her mother, NEFERTITI, as the consort of
AKHENATEN, Smenkharé was depicted as Akhenaten’s
companion before that ruler died, serving for a time as
coregent. He also took the religious title of Nefertiti,
Nefer-Nefru-Aten, leading to speculation that Smenkharé
was actually Nefertiti.
When Smenkharé assumed the throne upon the
death of Akhenaten, he bowed to pressure from the vari-
ous priesthoods and the military and returned to Thebes.
He ruled from that capital for two years. He was report-
edly buried in BIBAN EL-MOLUK, near Thebes, and his
funerary regalia was used in the tomb of TUT’ANKHAMUN.
A tomb was also prepared for Smenkharé at ’Amarna. His
tomb in the VALLEY OF THE KINGShad an undecorated cof-
fin and a shrine for Queen TIYE. His sarcophagus was
originally made for a woman and then altered. No
mummy has been identified as his remains.
Sment This was the GOOSEmaintained in the temple of
AMUNin Thebes. This goose was considered sacred to
Amun and was used in ceremonies, symbolizing the god
on monuments. Such fowls were also associated with the
cosmogonic traditions of Egypt.
See also GEB.
Smith Papyrus, Edwin It is an Eighteenth Dynasty
(1550–1307 B.C.E.) text, which may have been a copy of a
papyrus that originated in the Third Dynasty (2649–2575
B.C.E.). Concerned with the medical practices of the
priest-physicians of Egypt, the document contains 48
separate sections that discuss symptoms of diseases,
diagnostic traditions, and treatments—all aspects of
ancient Egyptian medicine. The medical procedures seem
remarkably modern in objective analysis of a medical
problem and the method by which symptoms could be
alleviated. The Edwin Smith Papyrus is one of the texts
that have enabled modern scholars to assess medical
knowledge in pharaonic Egypt.
Snefru(d. 2551 B.C.E.)Founder of the Fourth Dynasty
He ruled from 2575 B.C.E. until his death. Snefru was
probably the son of HUNIand MERYSANKH(1). His name
meant “He of Beauty,” and he was one of Egypt’s early
great pharaohs. The PALERMO STONEgives accounts of his
campaigns in LIBYA, NUBIA(modern Sudan), and the SINAI.
The WESTCAR PAPYRUScalls him an amiable ruler who
liked amusements. He was made a god in the SINAI, where
an inscription at WADI MAGHARAdepicts his concern for
the area’s turquoise mines. He also built a fleet of 40 ships
to trade with Phoenicia (modern Lebanon) for their
prized wood. Snefru established trade enterprises with
other Mediterranean city-states as well.
During his reign the cultural and artistic standards of
Egypt were stabilized. Snefru devised the use of the CAR-
TOUCHEfor displaying royal names, as earlier rulers had
used a circular shell. In Egyptian records, he was called
“the Beneficent Ruler.”
In his Nubian campaigns, Snefru boasted that he
brought back “7,000 captives and 200,000 oxen and
sheep.” He used Nubian MEDJAYas well as the BLEMMYES
to aid his control of the copper, turquoise, and malachite
mines of the Sinai.
Snefru married HETEPHERES(1) and had sons and
daughters. His son Neferma’at died young. Another son,
Rahotep, called Kanefer as well, served as his vizier. His
heir was KHUFU. Prince Snefrukhaf is also listed as a son
of Snefru, as is Prince Snefru-seneb.
Three pyramids, possibly four, are believed to be the
work of Snefru, who pioneered this type of tomb. The
MEIDUMpyramid, the two at DASHUR, and possibly one at
SEILA, west of Meidum, on the crest of Gebel el-Rus, are
all credited to Snefru’s reign. The rubble fragments at
Seila contain Snefru’s titles as well as statues, tables, and
stelae. At Meidum there was a Hall of NOMES. The rulers
of the Twelfth Dynasty (1991–1783 B.C.E.) deified Snefru
and made his achievements their standards, also electing
to be buried near him at Dashur. He had cultic shrines at
ABYDOS, the ELEPHANTINE, EDFU, EL-KULA, Seila, KOM
OMBO, and elsewhere.Sobek A deity originally called Msuh and associated
with CROCODILES, Sobek, depicted either as a man with a
crocodile’s head or as a crocodile, was the patron deity of
the Thirteenth Dynasty (1783–1640 B.C.E.). Many kings
of that line bore his name in their royal titles. Sobek was
mentioned in the PYRAMID TEXTSas a son of the goddess
NEITH(1). He was considered to be one of the beings that
emerged from the watery chaos at the moment that the
world began. The FAIYUMand the city of CROCODILOPOLIS
were his sacred abodes, and a temple was built for him
on the banks of the Nile in Upper Egypt, in KOM
OMBO. Sobek was also associated with AHA, the first king
of Egypt. The god was equated in some nomes with
SET, and there crocodiles were ritually slaughtered. In
other regions, crocodiles were venerated. Crocodilopolis
(Medinet el-Faiyum) was his main center, but he also had
temples at GEBEL EL-SILSILEHand GEBELEIN. In the New