THE CURIOUS CASE OF HERESANKH, A PERFECT PLAYER OF THE SISTRUM OF MIN AND A PRIESTESS OF THE KING’S SISTER PHILOTERA

Abstract

The present paper aims to resolve problems around the identification of Heresankh, a perfect player of the sistrum of Min and a priestess of the king’s sister Philotera, and to propose her position within the powerful family of high priests of Memphis during the Ptolemaic rule. The study reveals that she most likely belonged to the secondary branch of the same family, both lines having the joint ancestor in the priest Anemhor, who was in fact the father of Nesisti-Pedubast, the earliest known high priest of Ptah under the Hellenistic Dynasty. She most likely lived between 249 BC and 183 BC. The marriage union of her related parents, Neferibre and Herankh, must have influenced her social standing at Memphis since Heresankh is the only known priestess of the most important sanctuaries within the Memphite necropolis, namely the Sarapieion, the Osirion of Rutiset and the Anoubieion, all located at Saqqara and Abusir.