T H E  C O - R E G E N T

 

In the 18th Dynasty of ancient Egypt, King Akhenaton's beloved wife and pharaoh queen was Nefertiti (‘beauty is here’), made world-famous by the discovery of her exquisitely molded and painted bust, now displayed in the Altes Museum of Berlin, and among the most recognized works of art surviving from the ancient world. What was most unique about her 17-year co-regency was that she reigned over the planet’s most powerful empire with equal status and authority to that of her king, Pharaoh Akhenaton. His iconoclastic new religion and worship of the Aton afforded a special place to royal women, especially Nefertiti, who was linked with Akhenaten and the Aton in a divine triad representing a cosmic balance of the sacred masculine with the sacred feminine.