King Neferkare and General Sasenet

The ancient Egyptian story of King Neferkare and General Sasenet

The Story of King Neferkare and General Sasenet is one filled with intrigue and controversy. King Neferkare was the last king of the 6th dynasty of ancient Egypt. The story could be found on one fragment divided into three different parts. Scholars believed the fragment to be written in the 12th Dynasty. However, Quirke also stated, “probably the start of the tale, is preserved in a single copy of a late 18th or 19th dynasty plastered writing board.” Yet, another part is also preserved on a 26th dynasty papyrus according to Quirke. No one knows the exact date of when the story could have been written. The story however is about a possible homosexual relationship between King Neferkare and General Sasenet. King Neferkare also known as King Pepy II was one of the longest reigning kings of Egypt; he reigned for about 94 years. Neferkare was also the last king of the Old Kingdom and the 6th dynasty; he also inherited the throne at the age of six. Shaw stated, “Pepy II’s reign of some ninety-four years, he inherited the throne at the age of six was the longest in ancient Egypt.” Neferkare’s first half of his reign was successful, however the second half was of the reign was not effective. The reason for Neferkare being less successful was due to a declining economy that was going through Egypt at the time. Neferkare was unable to do any of the Egyptian doctrine from the middle of his reign to when his reign ended. Shaw stated, “due to the economy and power greatly weakened, Neferkare could no longer perform the role…of the doctrine of Egyptian kingship.” At the beginning of the Neferkare reign it seems that he was able to force the Libyan into submission. Scenes of images can be found at Neferkare’s temple depicting the submission of Lybians to the king. While they are mixed signals on Neferkare’s reign one thing was for sure, it went hand in hand with controversy.

Egyptians viewed kings as the closest individual to the gods, and believe their king should live in the world of the gods. Hornung stated, “he was the closest to the gods and belonged rather in their world, being indistinguishable from them.” The king was the living representation of humanity among the gods. Because the kings represented the people before the gods it was the pharaoh that was in charge of appeasing the gods for the people, by making offerings and praying to the deities. Another duty the king had was to build cities and temples for the people. Hornung stated, “No private person, only the king alone, could erect, renovate, or enlarge cultic edifices.” Pharaoh was the focal point for much of the art and religions that came from ancient Egypt. Kings would match their name up with the name of a god for example, they could add Horus to the beginning or the last part of their name. But the two most important functions for a king were as warlord and builder of monuments. Hornung stated, “The two most important aspects of Pharaoh’s historical actions are those of warlord and builder of monuments.” For the majority of time kings were not questioned or criticized and people’s dislikes were not voiced. However, this was not the case with king Neferkare, he was criticized by the people and considered to have lost his ability to reign in the second half of his rule. The Story of King Neferkare and General Sasenet is a story of Neferkare that ruled Egypt at the end of the 6th dynasty. However, the story was written in the 12th dynasty but found on 18th and 26th dynasty plaster and papyrus. According to Parkinson, the story consisted of three short episodes preserved in fragments of papyrus…and the story is set in Memphis.” The story is about a love affair between Neferkare and Sasenet, and a “pleader of Memphis” trying to expose it. One reason Nerferkare and Sasenet are believed to have a love affair is that the story mentions that Sasenet had no wife. Parkinson believed this to be important because this suggests that the lack of a wife may have been a symptom of his susceptibility to the king.” Parkinson also believed that the position of Sasenet and unmarried might suggest that the general might have been attracted to the same sex. Another key word in the text is the word “desire,” the story stated that Neferkare would go out at night with Sasenet alone, and that nobody else would go with them. Neferkare proceeded to go into the General’s house and spent four hours with Sasenet alone. The story stated that after Neferkare had done what he desired he returned to his place. Parkinson thought this desire is clearly sexual and the King is not an action against the military commander. It is suggested in the story that a sexual act happened between the two without going explicitly into details. Also, the act that the king goes secretly to visit the general, at night suggest that the affair between the two men is of a sexual nature. Both Parkinson and Dijk reference The Tale of Horus and Seth in comparison to Neferkare and Sasenet. Horus and Seth are both Egyptian gods and in the writing Contendings of Horus and Seth, Dijk believed that the General appeared in the role of Seth but eventually the King left him for the love of women. Dijk stated “this would cast the obviously homosexual general Sasenet in the role of Seth.” The tale of Horus and Seth is a 12th dynasty fragment according to Parkinson, exposed a sexual encounter between two male gods. In the story Seth invited Horus to a banquet at his house, and at the party Seth told Horus that he has a lovely backside. Later in the night Seth invited Horus to sleep with him in the room. Parkinson believed that Seth’s attraction to Horus is more lustful than of power. Other scholars argued it was to show the power Seth had over Horus. Parkinson noted that the act seemed to be desired by the active partner, and is inspired by physical attraction.” Both stories of the King and Horus seem to portray that having same sex encounters might have been accepted and not frowned upon in ancient Egypt. While Parkinson and Dijk observed that homosexuality might have been normal in ancient Egypt Sherine El-Menshawy didn’t quiet see it that way. Homosexuality in ancient Egypt was known, but was it acceptable is a question many scholars ask. Parkinson and Dijk believed it was acceptable, however El-Menshawy had a different perspective. El-Menshawy argued, “King Neferkare is accused of having a homosexual relationship with General Sasenet.” He believed that there was a sexual affair between the King and the General but maybe it was considered as “scandalous behavior.” King Neferkare would sneak out at night in the dark to go visit the general’s house, once there the King would not go to the door but instead would throw a rock at the window to let the General know he was outside. The King would then proceed to enter the house with a ladder avoiding going in through the front where he could be seen entering the house. El-Menshawy also argued, “The king is portrayed as sneaking off, this behavior if far different from that of an ordinary man.” The reason that explained why the people criticized the King was because of this “immoral” behavior. However, Parkinson and Dijk believed that the King was being criticized for simply being a bad ruler and not for his homosexual behavior. The Tale of King Neferkare and General Sasenet is intriguing and controversial and sheds light on homosexuality and its acceptance in ancient Egypt.