Djedefhor

Djedefhor or Hordjedef was a noble Egyptian of the 4th Dynasty. He was the son of Pharaoh Khufu and his name means "Enduring Like Horus".

Djedefhor
Born
Djedefhor
Titleoverseer of all works of the king
Spouse(s)unknown woman
ChildrenPrince Auibra
Parent(s)Khufu, pharaoh of Egypt
Queen Meritites I
RelativesSneferu and Hetepheres I (grandparents)
several brothers and sisters

Biography

Djedefhor
in hieroglyphs

Djedefhor was a son of Pharaoh Khufu and half-brother of pharaohs Djedefre and Khafre.[1] Queen Meritites I is named in the tomb G 7220 of Djedefhor and it is possible she is his mother.[2]

He is mentioned on an inscription in Wadi Hammamat, his name appears in a cartouche, written after the names of Khufu, Djedefre and Khafre, preceding the name of another of his brothers, Baufra.[3] There is no evidence that either Djedefhor or Baufra ruled as a pharaoh, even though only pharaohs' names were written in cartouches during the 4th dynasty.

The Teachings of Djedefhor, a document of which only fragments remain, is attributed to him. Djedefhor seems to have been deified after his death.[1] The wisdom text by Djedefhor was written as advice to his son, Prince Auibra.

Titles

Djedefhor's titles were:[4]

Title Translation Jones Index
imy-rȝ kȝt nbt (nt) nzwt overseer of all works of the king 950
imy iz he who is in the iz-bureau, councillor 247
ˁḏ-mr wḥˁw (ȝpdw) overseer of fishers/fowlers 1323
mniw nḫn protector/guardian of Hierakonpolis 1597
ḥȝty-ˁ count 1858
zȝ nswt n ẖt.f King's son of his body 2912
smr wˁty sole companion 3268

Translation and indexes from Dilwyn Jones.[5]

Burial

He was still alive during the reign of Menkaure, Khufu's grandson. Hence he must have been buried towards the end of the Fourth Dynasty. Djedefhor was buried in mastaba G 7210–7220 in the east field which is part of the Giza pyramid complex. His sarcophagus is now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.[6]

Appearance in ancient Egyptian fiction

He is one of the main characters in a story included in the Papyrus Westcar. In the text of that papyrus, Djedefhor is mentioned as one who brought the soothsayer and magician called Djedi to the court of Khufu. This Djedi was inspired by real Prince Djedi, who was a son of Prince Rahotep and nephew to Khufu.[7]

Sources
  1. Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, (London: Thames & Hudson, 2004) ISBN 0-500-05128-3, p.58
  2. gizapyramids.org G 7220
  3. Dodson & Hilton, pp.54-55
  4. Strudwick, Nigel, The Administration of Egypt in the Old Kingdom Routledge, 1985, ISBN 0-7103-0107-3 - PDF from Digital Giza, 20 MB
  5. Jones, Dilwyn, An Index Of Ancient Egyptian Titles Epithets And Phrases Of The Old Kingdom 1 & 2 BAR, 2000, ISBN 1-84171-069-5.
  6. Porter, Bertha and Moss, Rosalind, Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Statues, Reliefs and Paintings Volume III: Memphis, Part I Abu Rawash to Abusir. 2nd edition (revised and augmented by Dr Jaromir Malek, 1974. Retrieved from gizapyramids.org
  7. Tales of magic in Ancient Egypt
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