List of pharaohs deified during lifetime

In ancient Egypt, it was standard for pharaohs to be worshipped posthumously as transfigured beings amongst the royal ancestors. This was generally performed in the form of a mortuary cult.^[1][2] During the pharaoh's lifetime, they were generally recognized as having divine properties, in accordance with imperial cult government. However, it was exceedingly rare for a pharaoh to have a cultic devotion of worshippers during the pharaoh's lifetime. Such followers regarded the pharaoh’s divine status as equivalent to that of a true deity, though only a few pharaohs were honored with formal cult worship. This was usually as a result of successful self-deification attempts typically substantiated by military accomplishment or political leadership.

Temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel, Egypt depicting, from right to left, the god Ra-Horakhty, the deified form of Ramesses II, and the gods Amun Ra and Ptah

Pharaohs deified during their lifetime

A few pharaohs have been confirmed to have been honored with cultic worship as deities during their lifetime. Ptolemaic pharaohs were also deified during their lifetime, although the theological context is different from that of the pharaonic era deifications. In Pharaonic Egypt, for a pharaoh to have a cultic devotion during their lifetime was a form of honorific exaltation. Egyptologist Karen Byrson writes:^[3]

"Any king could expect to be venerated among the royal ancestors and as a transfigured being after death. Some, however, became the object of more intense and specialized worship in life"

This deification is analogous to how for ancient Egyptian nonroyals, to be posthumously deified was a form of honorific exaltation, as nonroyals were generally not posthumously deified.

Pharaohs deified during their lifetime

Pharaoh	Dynasty	Reigned	Deification	Spouse deified
Pharaonic Egypt[4][5][6]
Senusret III[7]	12th Dynasty	1878 BC – 1839 BC	Senusret III was deified during his lifetime as a god in his own right, primarily due to his military achievements, while traditionally likened to the warrior goddess Sekhmet.[8][9]	No
Amenhotep III[10]	18th Dynasty	1388 BC – 1351 BC	Amenhotep III initiated his own self-deification[11] towards the end of his lifetime as the dazzling Aten.[12] He was not a warrior pharaoh, known to only have participated one military campaign. Instead of establishing his divinity by military prowess, he grounded his self-deification in political leadership, as ancient Egypt reached reached its peak splendor during his reign.[13] Egyptologists David O'Connor and Eric H. Cline have examined the relationship between Amenhotep III's cult and Akhenaten's Atenism, concluding that the influence of the former on the latter is unquestionable. Further, they argue that the former laid the religiopolitical foundations for the latter, proposing: Akhenaten's famous sun cult might have actually been an extraordinary part of his father's deification program, and that the deified Amenhotep III and Akhenaten's new sun god, the Living Aten, were one and the same god.[14] Amenhotep III concurrently deified his wife, Queen Tiye,[15] who was associated with the goddess Hathor.[16]	Yes
Tutankhamun[17]	18th Dynasty	1332 BC – 1323 BC	A cult devoted to the deified form of Tutankhamun as the incarnation of the god Amun developed after the religiopolitical countermand away from Atenism.[18] Military achievement, especially in the event that Tutankhamun was battle participatory, substantiated the deification. Egyptologists Colleen Manassa and John Darnell write of Tutankhamun's military robustness in Nubia: A very few, but far-ranging, and even unique monuments of his reign suggest that the adorations of the deified Tutankhamun was well deserved, since he showed particular vigor in the deserts east and west of the Nubian Nile Valley.[19] Also, the Stela of Huy equates Tutankhamun with the god Amun.	No
Ramesses II[20]	19th Dynasty	1279 BC – 1213 BC	Ramesses II deified himself during his lifetime[21] as the god Amun, his favorite god,[22] while retaining his own personal identity,[23] primarily for his military campaigns and diplomatic successes.[24] For example, Stele Aksha 505 describes how Ramesses II's status in the army was divine.[25] He concurrently deified his wife Queen Nefertari.[26]	Yes
Ptolemaic Kingdom[27]
Ptolemaic rulers	Ptolemaic Dynasty	309 BC – 30 BC	The Ptolemaic Dynasty had its own distinct imperial cult theologically founded upon Alexander the Great, who was posthumously deified. As the Ptolemaic Dynasty progressed, its dynastic cult eventually led to the rulers' self-deification and worship as deities during the rulers' lifetime. In this dynastic cult, it was generally standardized for couples to be co-deified during their lifetime. Historian Tara L. Sewell-Lasater stated : "Ptolemy I founded the dynasty and established the basis of the dynastic cult, which was based on his association with the divinity of Alexander the Great. Ptolemy II would continue developing the legitimization scheme of the dynasty by implementing a practice of incest as a method of associating the Ptolemies with the gods and reinforcing the dynastic cult. Ptolemy III established the precedent of deification while the monarchs were a living couple, and he implemented the worship of preceding sovereigns."[28] The tradition continued through to the famous ruler Cleopatra, who herself was a descendant of Ptolemy I. It lasted until the end of the reign of the Ptolemaic dynasty's last sovereign ruler Ptolemy XV Caesar.	Yes (standard)

In overview, aside from Senusret III, all confirmed cultic devotion to deified forms of indigenous ancient Egyptian pharaohs occurred within relative chronological proximity to each other. Similarities of those cults has been noted by scholars. Egyptologist Lanny Bell wrote that:^[18]

"It is known that both Tutankhamun and Ramesses II patterned their own cults after Amenhotep III in Nubia"

However, a key difference between the cult of Amenhotep III and the Tutankhamun and Ramesses II cults is that Amenhotep III strictly substantiated his cult on political leadership as opposed to military performance. Also, the deification of Ramesses II did not equate himself with Amun, unlike in Tutankhamun's deification, but rather identified Ramesses II as a distinct person in Amun's likeness. Another point to note is that only Senusret III's and Tutankhamun's cults did not co-deify their respective spouses, while virtually all others did.

Also, notably, there is not evidence that Thutmose III, Egypt's most militarily successful pharaoh, was deified during his lifetime.

Pharaohs possibly deified during their lifetimes

There is some evidence or speculation that other pharaohs were deified during their lifetimes.

Pharaohs possibly deified during their lifetime

Pharaoh	Dynasty	Reigned	Deification
Pharaonic Egypt
Mentuhotep II	11th Dynasty	2060 BC – 2009 BC	It has been stipulated that Mentuhotep II was deified during his lifetime, but this is disputed.[29]
Akhenaten[20]	18th Dynasty	1351 BC – 1334 BC	Akhenaten attempted to deify himself during his Atenism religiopolitical upheaval, although the success of this attempt has not been conferred.[30]
Horemheb[31]	18th Dynasty	1319 BC – 1292 BC	There is some evidence that Horemheb had a cult devotion during his lifetime,[32] although this is disputed.[33]

Because deification during a pharaoh's lifetime increases a leader's power within their religious circle, it was a sought-after. Various pharaohs attempted self-deification during their lifetime, but not every attempt was successful.

See also

• List of people who have been considered deities
• Apotheosis
• Cult of personality
• Culture hero
• Euhemerism
• Folk saint
• God complex
• Hero cult
• Idolatry
• List of deities
• List of demigods
• Sacred king
• Veneration of the dead
• Theocracy
• Amenhotep, son of Hapu
• Ahmose-Nefertari
• Heqaib
• Djedefhor
• Ptahhotep
• Kagemni I
• Mount Rushmore