Upon a closer look at what Nefertiti actually looked like, the legendary image of this strong woman appears in a completely different light. And he is not at all what it is customary to draw him. It is noteworthy that the restoration of her facial features is possible thanks to modern achievements of science. A bust of her was also found.
Image
As is often the case, the beauty of Queen Nefertiti was not in the features of her face. In addition, she went through many trials, ascended to power, survived both disgrace and takeoff. And neither we alth, nor power, nor beauty can guarantee happiness to a person. Mankind remembered her as a woman with a calm, beautiful face with an enigmatic smile.
Bust
Describing what Nefertiti looked like in life, according to her bust, people note an alien appearance. At the same time, little is known about her early years. Forever remained a mystery when she was born, how old she was when she died. It is not known under what circumstances this happened. After all, 3000 years have passed. During this time they disappearedmonumental empires of antiquity, lived for thousands of generations. What is surprising is that the question of how Nefertiti really looked, the reconstruction of her appearance is still of interest to people.
Who was she
She was the greatest queen of her time. It is known that she had 6 daughters. Their names are also known. Her statues have remained decorations of many temples. Often she was portrayed as the winner of the rivals of Egypt. The pinnacle of her power came in the 12th year of the reign of Akhenaten, the father of her children. Then Nefertiti became co-ruler. A little later, her daughter died, and then new references to the legendary queen disappeared.
Therefore, it is assumed that either she died of the plague, or was in disgrace. The culprit of her disgrace also lost all mention of himself afterwards. It was probably revenge for Nefertiti. But there is other information as well. A record was found, created in the 16th year of the reign of Akhenaten, that his great wife is the mistress of both lands, Nefertiti. In other words, she remained in her status. She probably ruled two years after Akhenaten's death.
Mummy
As for the mummy, which allows you to roughly understand what Nefertiti looked like without a headdress, there are many myths. For a long time it was believed that it was discovered. But later, in the 2010s, genetic testing confirmed that the mummy believed to be Nefertiti belonged to Akhenaten's sister.
The fact that the inscriptions on the tomb, where Nefertiti could lie, were erased, maytestify that these are the consequences of the revenge committed by the queen. Indeed, during her reign, religious reforms took place - the god Aton was recognized as the main one. And those who avenged returned the old cult. At the same time, harming the royal mummy was a real sacrilege.
When humanity in the 21st century was waiting for the results of an examination of the found mummy of a certain queen, presumably Nefertiti, at first they were not disclosed to the public for a long time. And even when it turned out that this was Akhenaten's sister, there were supporters that the mummy belonged to Nefertiti. She could be both wife and sister of Akhenaten. At the same time, she was never mentioned as the daughter of Amenhotep III. Egyptologists claimed that the mummy is one of the wives of this pharaoh.
It was revealed in the same year that this mysterious female mummy was damaged. Although it was assumed that the tomb robbers were to blame. In fact, it turned out that this happened to her during her lifetime. The wound was fatal. This queen was killed.
Finding out what Queen Nefertiti looks like, you should also pay attention to the discovered ancient bust of her. It is covered with a layer of plaster, and examinations have shown that it has undergone correction. So, wrinkles were removed from him, cheekbones were emphasized, the shape of the nose was changed. The original version had a hump and the tip of the nose was slightly snub. There were rumors that these features are characteristic of the very refuted mummy of Nefertiti.
Statues
Recreate what Nefertiti looked like, and many sculptors tried. And at the beginning of the 21st century, 3000 years later,attempts to recreate her appearance were accompanied by scandals. For example, in 2003, Hungarian artists sculpted a nude statue, claiming to have restored the legendary appearance from the relief models of this queen. But Egyptologists criticized the statue, noting that their treatment of the ancient bust is barbaric. Below is an Egyptian figurine. Presumably, this is the body of Nefertiti.
And in fact, the sculptors, recreating the way Nefertiti looked, flattered her. After all, what would a woman look like who did not know physical exercises, diet, who moved on a palanquin, gave birth to 6 children? Full hips, a round belly are provided with this way of life. And with her long neck in mind, it's probably worth adding a stoop to the image.
Nefertiti translates as "Beautiful has come." She left the world with references to her regal beauty, which lay in the strength of her spirit.
Modern versions
Do not leave attempts to understand what Nefertiti looked like, and scientists of recent years. So, the British scanned a mummy that supposedly belonged to her. They noted that the resulting appearance is very similar to the surviving bust of her.
They spent 500 hours on this. The look was created by paleo-artist Elizabeth Daynes. Modern technology has made it possible to digitally scan the face of a mummy that is over 3,000 years old. At the same time, the reconstruction of the ancient busts of the queen was used. As a result of comparisons, scientists came to the conclusion that the discovered mummy really belonged to Nefertiti.
She becamethe mother of Tutankhamen, who also went down in history. The resulting reconstruction of what Nefertiti looked like caused a mixed reaction from society. Many felt that she was much darker. At the same time, the researchers put forward a theory according to which the Egyptians were in contact with the European population, which means they could have a variety of skin tones.
Scientists noted that Nefertiti has long been considered the most beautiful woman in the world. But her achievements were much more serious and were not in appearance. She was the ruler of Egypt at the time of its highest prosperity. But as has always happened in human history, her merits were hidden in the shadows for a long time.
In life
There is evidence that Nefertiti used cosmetics. She whitened her face, emphasized her features. So, she maintained her skin tone by taking a bath with incense several times a day - in the morning and before going to bed. The recipes for creams and masks that she used could not be deciphered.
One of the most famous sculptures of the legendary queen was discovered in 1912. She immediately made a vivid impression on the finders. It is kept in the Egyptian Museum in Berlin. In addition, the Germans discovered her bust. But the Egyptian customs would not let them through with him, and they covered the bust with plaster. After 20 years, the Egyptian authorities demanded that the historical find be returned to the country, but were refused. Then they banned excavations in Egypt.
Secrets of Nefertiti
Beautiful girlNefertiti became the wife of Amenhaton, the son of Amenhotep. Probably, she was his close relative, such marriages occurred in Egypt of those times. This was done to preserve the purity of noble blood.
Soon Amenhaton left the richest city of antiquity - Thebes - and created a new one - Akhetaten ("Horizon of the Aten"). Then he took a new name - Akhenaten. It was an opposition to the traditional system. When Amenhotep died, his son Akhenaten completely broke with the religion of his ancestors, erasing the name of the god Amon.
After that, a well-known riddle of antiquity arose. The thing is that it is not known for certain who exactly raised the revolution against the priests. Was it Akhenaten or Nefertiti? Most likely, everything was more complicated. Following Amon, Akhenaten banned all other gods known to the Egyptians of those times. So Egypt turned into the only state that created a single god a thousand years before Christianity.
The revolution radically changed the entire society of Ancient Egypt. For example, Egyptian art has completely changed. Previously, the strictest rules were always observed in the images. And this was instantly broken by the revolution. It seemed that the artists were just waiting for the moment when they would have the full will to create as they please.
Only by chance, some of those works have survived to this day, and they are magnificent. Thanks to the innovations, it became known what Akhenaten himself actually looked like. The world also recognized the beauty of Nefertiti.
The mystery of the disappearance
But such a rise led to a rapid fall. Not allwelcomed the innovation. There were several tens of thousands of priests. And Akhenaten and Nefertiti, apparently, did not execute anyone. They just left the old nobility. Their enemies remained alive. The empire began to weaken. And soon Nefertiti left the palace. Although Akhenaten's letters show how much he adored her. And the mystery of this queen is connected with this - her name was erased everywhere. Why did she disappear? Unknown.
