Nothing is for forever....nothing lasts.

A reading map for Michelle Moran's "Nefertiti."

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Welcome!

This is a companion Reading Map for Michelle Moran’s Nefertiti. Feel free to navigate through the above tabs. I hope you enjoy your stay!

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Art, Geography, Television, Music, and more!

Here you will find popular art inspired by the lost queen and her family. There will also be authentic art from during the time of Nefertiti’s reign.

If you want more, documentaries about the lost royal family and other great Ancient Egyptian mysteries are listed below.

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Relevant Deities of Nefertiti:

Ammit: The god of karmic retribution, who was often depicted with the body of a lion and the head of a crocodile. During one's passage through the Afterlife, if a person's heart weighed more than Ma'at's feather of truth, Ammit would eat their soulds and condemn to oblivion. Amun: The most important god in Egypt and the creating of all things. His wife was Mut. In Nefertiti, Akhentan's removal of Amun as the primary deity is what caused animosity against him and his family. Anubis: The guardian of the dead, who weighed the deceased's heart on the scales of justice to determine whether the should continue their journey into the Blessed Lands. He was often depicted as having the head of a jackal, since jackals were seen to lurk near the Valley of the Kings, where the dead resided. Aten: A sun disk worshipped during the reign of Akhenaten. Bastet (or Bast): The goddess of the sun and moon. She was also a war goddess, depicted as a lion or a cat. Bes: The dwarf-god of fertility and childbirth. Hathor: The goddess of joy, motherhood, and love. She was often depicted as a cow. Horus: The falcon-headed god of the sun and sky. Isis: The goddess of beauty and magic. She was also revered as a wife and mother.

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Relevant Deities of Nefertiti Continued:

Ma'at: The goddess of justice and truth. Ma'at was often depicted as a woman with wings, or a woman wearing a crown with one feather. During the Afterlife, a person's heart would be weighed against one of her feathers to determine whether they were worthy of passing into the Blessed Land. The Ma'at came to stand for the principles of justice, order, and propierty, which every Egyptian was responsible for upholding. Montu: The hawk-headed god of war. Mut: The goddess of motherhood and the female partner of Amun. She was often depicted with the head of a cat. Osiris: The husband of the goddess Isis and the judge of the dead. He was murdered by his brother, Set, who scattered pieces of his body across Egypt. When Isis gathered his body parts together, she resurrected him, and he became the symbol of eternal life. Osiris was often depicted as a bearded man dressed in mummy wrappings. Ptah: The god of builders and artists. Ra: The god of the sun, who was often depicted as a hawk. Sekhmet: The lion-headed goddess of war and destruction. Set: The god storms, chaos, and evil, who killed his brother Osiris, when he was not depicted with the head of an unknown animal, he was hown as having red hair. Tawaret: The goddess of childbirth, who was often depicted as a hippopotamus. Thoth: The god of scribes and the author of the famous Book of the Dead. He was credited with inventing both writing and speech, and he was often depicted as an ibis-headed god.

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You’re not done reading?

If you enjoyed Michelle Moran’s Nefertiti, you will enjoy the following books set in similar time periods and cultures!

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You’re not done reading?

Helen of Sparta Amalia Carosella Lake Union Publishing April 1, 2015

Long before her fateful escape with Paris of Troy, dreams of war and fire prompts Helen to flee from her home, betraying her betrothed and family in the process. Falling into the arms of  Theseus, son of Poseidon, Helen learns of what she must do to prevent the war lying the depths of her dreams. Carosella expertly combs history and mythology in a well research tale of a young woman’s battle against fate and gods.

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About the book

Born into a powerful family that has provided queens to kings for generations, Nefertiti and her younger sister, Mutnodjmet, have had their destinies arranged since they day of their birth. Nefertiti is destined to marry the young, temperamental pharaoh Amunhotep, soon to be Akhenaten, and is directed to stir away from his blasphemous attempts to forsake to old gods for new. Mutnodjmet, however, prefers a quiet life away from family duty and politics.

When Nefertiti is wed, her beauty and charisma captures the heart of the people, but this steadily turns against her and the family as her husband fails to keep his promises to his people. Blind to the political unrest surrounding the royal family, Nefertiti’s last hope is Mutnodjmet. Her family and political fractions leave it in Mutnodjmet’s hands to persuade her sister to calm her husband realize the peril her family is falling in, but what good will it do as Nefertiti and Akhenaten’s blind praise onto themselves keep them from seeing the danger closing in on them?

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Reference Page

Main Moran, Michelle. 2008. Nefertiti. New York: Three Rivers Press.

The Armana Project http://www.amarnaproject.com/

Nefertiti Bust http://www.egyptian-museum-berlin.com/c53.php

Akhenaten http://www.ancient.eu/Akhenaten/ http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/kv55.htm

Family Life http://www.egyptian-museum-berlin.com/c52.php

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Documentaries

Nefertiti and the Lost Dynasty National Geographic Historians and archaeologists try to unearth the mystery of Nefertiti, Egypt’s lost queen, but Nefertiti has hidden herself extremely well over the centuries. 

Nefertiti Resurrected Discovery Channel

Another team led by Dr. Joanna Fletcher, she and her research team travel to Egypt to see if they can uncover any clues about what became of Nefertiti. 

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Documentaries

Secrets of Egypt’s Lost Queen Discovery Channel A team of researchers are ready to travel to the Valley of the Kings where one king lies hidden. With more power than Nefertiti and Cleopatra, will the archaeologists succeed in their journey of finding the lost Pharaoh Hatshepsut?

King Tut’s Final Secrets National Geographic Can there be a string of truth in the myth? Is the curse of the pharaoh one that researchers must be wary of? This documentary goes through King Tut’s royal tomb and the misfortune that had befallen those who trespassed on it.

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Television and Music

Nefertiti made a guest appearance in the ever famous BBC series Doctor Who portrayed by Rianne Steele.

Remember the time when Michael Jackson’s famous 1992 music video stared Iman and Eddie Murphy as the famous Nefertiti and her husband, Akhenaten .

Here’s a link for your viewing pleasure!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeiFF0gvqcc

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Television and Music

King Tut  Fun fact: King Tut was the son of King Akhenaten, but not Nefertiti. 

Rome Set in the time of Rome attempting to take control of Egypt.

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Art of Nefertiti and Akhenaten

Found in Akhenaten’s tomb (Akhenaten’s desecrated coffin?)

Two of Nefertiti and Akhenaten’s daughters

The famous Nefertiti Bust

Small statue of Akhenaten, husband of Nefertiti

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Where is Nefertiti?

While Nefertiti’s tomb remains a mystery, her husband’s tomb has been discovered, and desecrated. 

Entrance of the tomb

Inside the entrance

Scene of the royal family mourning the loss of their Princess Meketaten

Reconstructed Graphic

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Capital City of the Heretic King and Queen

Amarna was the short-lived capital city of Akhenaten and his queen, Nefertiti. Today, the remains of the city is a major archaeological site.

Modern view

Aerial view

Model of Central City

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You’re not done reading?

The Memoirs of Cleopatra: A Novel Margaret George St. Martin’s Griffin May 15, 1998

Cleopatra of Egypt confides to her deepest, darkest secrets starting from her brutal childhood to her equally brutal death. A classic of Margaret George, she uses imagination and historical fact to dust away the sands of time to reconstruct Egypt’s last queen.

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You’re not done reading?

Daughter of Sand and Stone Libbie Hawker Lake Union Publishing December 1, 2015

She took hold of the crown, and refused to relinquish it. Zenobia, the daughter of  Syrian sheikh, takes control of her fate after her father’s death by branching away from her family in pursuit of power. She orchestrates her marriage to the most influential man in the city of Palmyra. From there, she plans for war and the fall of the Roman Empire. This sweeping tale of war, love, deception, and political overthrow will leave you wanting more, and knowing the sacrifices one will make for absolute rule.