ABSTRACT
Ramesses II, it would be fair to say, is, in the majority of people’s minds, the epitome of the all-powerful Egyptian pharaoh. There is small wonder in this, for his self-publicity knew no bounds, and his name and image, even today, are carried in seemingly endless profusion on temple walls, obelisks and colossi throughout Egypt while statues, columns and artefacts bearing his familiar cartouches adorn the world’s museums. He was, indeed, the greatest builder of monuments in Egypt’s history, and those that he did not build, he frequently usurped, stamping his name and persona upon them. To add to his fame, he has been equated, rightly or wrongly, with the pharaoh of the Exodus and, as a consequence, has ‘starred’ in many of Hollywood’s biblical epics, and has featured in all manner of literature from poetry to popular novels. Such high-profile exposure, which has ensured that his name is still being spoken millennia after his death, could only have pleased Ramesses in that it granted him the eternal life that was the ultimate desire of every ancient Egyptian.
