Tutankhamun is one of the most famous ancient Egyptian pharaohs. Research into his tomb and remains has been going on for many years. Recently, scientists presented us with another sensation: the analysis of the pharaoh's DNA showed that he had both male and female sexual characteristics. That is, to put it simply, the ruler of Egypt "suffered" from hermaphroditism during his lifetime.
Son of Hermes and Aphrodite
The term “hermaphroditism” comes from Ancient Greece. The myth says that Hermes and Aphrodite had a son - a beautiful young man named Hermaphrodite, who became the beloved of Dionysus, the god of wine. He was raised in the ideological caves by the naiads. At the age of 15, when he was traveling around his native Caria, the nymph Salmakida, who lived in the spring, fell in love with him.
When Hermaphrodite was bathing in her spring, Salmakis clung to him and he, too, fell in love with her … Then the nymph turned to the gods with a request to unite them forever. And the gods turned them into a single being, who was both a man and a woman … Since then, everyone who drank from this source also became a hermaphrodite. In ancient times, hermaphroditism was considered either a sign of divinity, or, on the contrary, a "devilish" mark.
In medicine, hermaphrodites are people who, due to a genetic malfunction, receive a "double" set of genitals from birth, including male and female. To date, only about 150 cases of true hermaphroditism have been recorded all over the world.
Tomb riddles
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Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered in 1922 by British explorer Howard Carter. This find became the biggest Egyptological sensation of the 20th century.
Tutankhamun belonged to the 18th dynasty of the New Kingdom era. It is impossible to trace its exact origin from written sources. However, the results of a combined DNA analysis and a radiological study of mummies indicate that the parents of this pharaoh could have been Amenhotep IV Akhenaten and one of his sisters, whose name has not been preserved by history (in ancient Egypt, marriage between brothers and sisters was the norm, at least among the ruling circles).
It is known that Akhenaten had two official wives - the beautiful Nefertiti and Kiya, who could also be the mother of Tutankhamun. But there could have been more wives.
During his lifetime, Tutankhamun had a very feminine appearance. In particular, he had large lips and narrow hips. At the end of the last century, Egyptologists managed to decipher the inscriptions, which said that this pharaoh had "both male and female principles." In addition, analysis of the golden mask of Tutankhamun shows that it was originally made to resemble a woman's face …
However, this did not surprise scientists too much: the fact is that the ancient Egyptians often sought to combine the feminine and masculine principles in their cults. For example, one and the same deity could appear in the form of a young girl and a wise old man …
But only recently was a shocking discovery made: another DNA examination showed that Tutankhamun had chromosomal abnormalities, as a result of which he was born simultaneously with male and female genital organs …
Revenge of a rejected lover?
Researchers believe that the future pharaoh was born more like a boy, but at the age of 13 his breasts began to grow. Most likely, he also had a reproductive function.
In the tomb, together with Tutankhamun, the bodies of two stillborn babies rest. Earlier it was believed that these are the children of the pharaoh and his wife Ankhesenamun. But the authors of the study claim that their mother was … the Pharaoh himself! The father could be one of the priests of the god Amun, whose cult flourished then in Egypt. Most likely, Tutankhamun had secret favorites with whom he could enter into intimate relationships.
By the way, this discovery is capable of shedding light on the mystery of Tutankhamun's death. He died in 1323, at the age of 19. According to the official version - from complications caused by some kind of disease (possibly malaria). Although there is also a version of the murder. Half a century ago, experts hypothesized that the pharaoh died so prematurely from injuries caused by falling from a chariot whose axles were sawn off …
Now historians have a version: what if it was the rejected lover who sawed off the axes ?! Although it is clear that this is all only at the level of conjecture, and not facts …