Khonsu called To who was First Prophet of Menkheperre (

Thutmose III Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Officially, Thutmose III ruled Egypt for almost 54 years and his reign is usually dated from 2 ...

), during the reign of

Ramesses II Ramesses II ( egy, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is often regarded as ...

in the 19th Dynasty

Family

Khonsu was the son of the High Priest of

Amenhotep II Amenhotep II (sometimes called ''Amenophis II'' and meaning '' Amun is Satisfied'') was the seventh pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Amenhotep inherited a vast kingdom from his father Thutmose III, and held it by means of a few milit ...

Neferhotep and Tawosret. Khonsu had several brothers and sisters including the High Priests of Thutmosis I Nay and Iuy.Kitchen, Kenneth A. ''Ramesside Inscriptions, Translated and Annotated Translations: Ramesses II, His Contemporaries (Ramesside Inscriptions Translations) (Volume III)'' Wiley-Blackwell. 2001, pp 289-297, Khonsu is attested with two wives in his tomb TT31. His first wife Ruia was the mother of the High Priest of

Sobek Sobek (also called Sebek or Sobki, cop, Ⲥⲟⲩⲕ, Souk) was an ancient Egyptian deity with a complex and elastic history and nature. He is associated with the Nile crocodile or the West African crocodile and is represented either in its f ...

Usermontu and other children. His second wife May was mother to the Stablemaster Usermontu and the Second Prophet of Menkheperre Khaemwaset and others.

Career

Khonsu served as High Priest of Menkheperre (

) and is depicted in his tomb overseeing the transport of a statue of the King. Depictions show a pylon at the Temple of Mencheperre at

Armant Armant ( ar, أرْمَنْت; egy, jwn.w-n-mnṯ.w or ''jwn.w-šmꜥ.w''; Bohairic: ; Sahidic: ), also known as Hermonthis ( grc, Ἕρμωνθις), is a town located about south of Thebes. It was an important Middle Kingdom town, which was ...

. Khonsu is shown accompanying a statue of Thutmosis III as it travels up a canal from the Nile to the landing spot at the temple. The pylon depicted is thought to be the VIIth pylon at the Temple of Amun at

Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (, which was originally derived from ar, خورنق ''Khurnaq'' "fortified village"), comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Constr ...

.William C. Hayes, Review of ''Seven Private Tombs at Ḳurnah'' by N. de Garis Davies and Alan H. Gardmer, American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 54, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1950), pp. 82-83
JSTOR article
/ref> Khonsu was also the High Priest of

Montu Montu was a falcon-god of war in ancient Egyptian religion, an embodiment of the conquering vitality of the pharaoh.Hart, George, ''A Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses'', Routledge, 1986, . p. 126. He was particularly worshipped in Upp ...

at Tod, a location just south of Thebes.

References

{{Reflist People of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt Ancient Egyptian priests