Nymaathep

Also known by theses names:

Nymaethep, Nymaathapi, Nymaathap, Hepnymae, & Hepenmaet.

This queen holds a complicated position in this dynastic period. She is sometimes thought to be the daughter of the last 2nd dynasty king, Khasekhemwy. This would account for the change in dynasty, when her assumed husband, Nebka, inherited the throne and began the 3rd dynasty. She is, unlike the first king, definitely associated with the second king, Djoser, and quite probably his mother. She is thought to have been regent, on the inheritance of Djoser to the Horus throne.

The problem is, she is also thought by another group of egyptologists, to have been a Princess of Sais. (Which meant she had displaced the rightful royal heiress!) While it's certainly possible that Khasekhemwy married a northern princess to cement the (?)restoration of the two kingdoms, she would not have held such grand titles. Another theory is that she became Great Wife, only after the death of another great wife and that her sons inherited the throne. Current evidence points to the fact that the wars Khasekhemwy held were with Lybia & Nubia. IF he did marry a northern princess and she became the Great Royal Wife and mother of heirs, this would also have accounted for a change in the dynasty.

What IS known about Nymaethep is that she was; The Great Royal Wife, and as her title boasts: " Mother of the Kings Children ". She also carried the titles of an heiress, i.e., Wrt' Hts.

It is difficult to stand by any opinion at present. She could have been a daughter of Khasekhemwy's who married a prince that was not in the direct line. Or she could have been a Princess of Sais, again emulating the marriage that united the first dyansty. I think, as her father ruled for almost 30 years, they would have been quite mature when inheriting the throne. I believe she was the wife of Nebka, first ruler of dyansty 3. After 14 years of rule, (as new evidence now points to) Nebka journeyed to the sun, and his son Djoser became the second and most famous King of Dynasty 3!

Nymaethep's name has been found in the vicinity of Djoser's pyramid. A family statue group of Djoser, Hetephernebty, Intkaes, and an unidentified female was found in his pyramid vacinity. If these two princesses are her daughters, the broken statue in the group may be of her. Then again, it could be Djoser's unidentified wife, a possible daughter of Huni and his Great Wife. There is also a distinct possibility that Hetephernebty, the eldest heiress, was Djoser's queen. But she has often been thought to be his eldest daughter also. Although both princesses carried the 'Wrt-Hts' title of heiress, it is Hetephernebty who holds the important title of "Beholder of the Horus & Seth", a sure sign that she was either queen or the direct heiress. If she was his queen, then Intkaes, as the next important title holder, was her daughter and the probable wife of her brother Sekhemkhet (Djoser Teti).

Hetepheres II