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Section III (Personalities): Hatshepsut, Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty
Quick questions on Hatshepsut's building program: HSC Ancient History
15short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is deir el-Bahri (Djeser-Djeseru)?Show answer
Hatshepsut's mortuary temple, called Djeser-Djeseru ("Holy of Holies"), is the centrepiece of her building program. It sits on the west bank of the Nile in the Theban necropolis, in the bay below the cliff, next to the much-ruined 11th-Dynasty temple of Mentuhotep II.
What is karnak?Show answer
Hatshepsut commissioned two pairs of granite obelisks for the Karnak temple of Amun-Re, quarried at Aswan and transported by river barge.
What are the Speos Artemidos?Show answer
A rock-cut temple at Beni Hasan in Middle Egypt, dedicated to the lioness goddess Pakhet (called "Artemis" by later Greeks; hence "Speos Artemidos," the Cave of Artemis).
What is architecture?Show answer
Three terraces rise toward the cliff. Each terrace has a colonnaded portico fronting it. Ramps connect the terraces.
What is designer?Show answer
Senenmut, Hatshepsut's chief steward, is credited with the architectural design. The graffito in tomb TT 71 (Senenmut's tomb), inscriptions at Deir el-Bahri, and the small statues of Senenmut found at the temple all support the attribution.
What are reliefs?Show answer
The middle colonnade contains two of the most-studied relief programs in Egyptian art.
What is statuary?Show answer
Large numbers of statues of Hatshepsut lined the terraces and the offering courtyard. Many were systematically destroyed under Thutmose III in the proscription after Hatshepsut's death; fragments have been excavated by the Metropolitan Museum of Art expedition and partially reassembled.
What is mortuary temple of Thutmose I?Show answer
Khenemet-Ankh, a mortuary temple for her father Thutmose I, was built adjacent to her own at Deir el-Bahri.
What is tomb?Show answer
Hatshepsut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings, with a complex descending shaft. She arranged for her father Thutmose I to be reburied here. After her death, Thutmose I was moved again (probably to KV 38).
What is pakhet shrine at Beni Hasan?Show answer
The Speos Artemidos.
What are restorations?Show answer
Various restorations of monuments damaged in the Hyksos period or in earlier intermediate periods.
What is religious legitimation?Show answer
The divine birth reliefs at Deir el-Bahri established her divine descent from Amun-Re. The Karnak obelisks honoured Amun directly. The Speos Artemidos inscription positioned her as a restorer of ma'at.
What is political display?Show answer
The scale and quality matched or exceeded predecessors. The 29-metre obelisk was the tallest in Egypt. The Djeser-Djeseru complex was the most architecturally innovative mortuary temple of the dynasty.
What is economic and administrative function?Show answer
Major royal construction projects organised quarrying, transport, craft, and labour at large scale, channelling state resources and providing employment for officials and skilled artisans. The Punt expedition itself was a state economic project as well as a religious offering.
What is court display?Show answer
The building program advertised Hatshepsut's officials. Senenmut's role at Deir el-Bahri made his career; he was buried near the temple.