| Abstract: | Greek myths contain iconographic material relating to the legitimacy, power and succession problems of early kingship. They may even represent the relics of kingly liturgies recited at coronations and New Year festivals. This essay analyses Hesiod's Pandora, her presentation and regalia, as an icon of queenly power reflecting the important power of women in the Egyptian royal cult and the great exponent of that role, Queen Hatshepsut. Pandora's veil, crown, name and ‘box’ or ‘jar’ recall both the moment of apotheosis of Egyptian queens and the emblems of the Egyptian royal priestesses who tended the divinity of kings. They also recall the astral and solar imagery of the great goddesses of Mesopotamia, Anath, Ishtar and Astarte—as well as Hesiod's Europa—queenly figures of great power. |
