Mum-to-be Mutemwia sports a baby bump. But her husband isn't the father.
On the walls of Luxor Temple, Amenhotep created a legend concerning his own conception. A series of reliefs reinforce the king's divine ancestry and the gods' blessing over his reign.
If there is one big lesson from the reliefs in the birth room, it is this: be careful when you are sitting next to a god: it is really, really easy to get pregnant.
In the reliefs, the state-god Amun assumes the form of Mutemwia's husband, Thutmose IV, and awakens Mutemwia from her sleep. Amenhotep's conception is shown very modestly: Amun and the Queen are seated together, with Amun holding the breath of life to the Queen's nose and instructing that the forthcoming child be called Amenhotep. He then commands the creator god Khnum to model Amenhotep on his potter's wheel.
One wonders how Thutmose IV felt about his wife's rendezvous with Amun.
In the next scene, shown here, the pregnant queen is taken to the birthing suite by Khnum and Hathor for the divine birth of Amenhotep.
This drawing was made in around 1830 by Italian painter Giuseppe Angelelli.
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