One Who Nourished the God.
Tut’ankhamun never refers to his birth mother. And until 1996, historians had little idea of the person who raised this young pharaoh. That changed with the discovery of Maia, the royal menat (wet-nurse and teacher). The opening of her tomb, at Saqqara, dramatically expanded our understanding of Tut’ankhamun’s early life. Today, we dive deep into Maia’s career and place in society…
- Date: c. 1353 – 1340 BCE.
- Music and “Maia” voice performances by Ancient Lyric.
- Music by Luke Chaos.
- Music by Jeffrey Goodman.
- Music by Keith Zizza.
- See other shows from the Agora Podcast Network.
- Read Zivie’s discussion of Maia and the princess Meritaten at Academia.edu.
- Logo and Banner images from Zivie, La Tombe de Maïa, 2009. Edited for clarity.
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Priests
Evan A
Kendra Jones
Jason
TJ Kahn
Terri Jones
Linda Yancey
Hereditary Nobles
Rabia Altaf
Shawn Knight
WILLIAM RUSSELL
Brandy Coullier
David Pepper
Mark Sexton
Lucas Wilson
Louise East
Mandy Boody
Alexander Smygegård
Connor Leech
Karin W.
James Waters
Stephen King
Jan Dodoo
Kate Potter
Peter Culicover
Katherine Lewis
Logan Hennlich
Pernille Engberg
Meicost Ettal
Conner Rice
Simone
Eline
RA EGYPTIAN
Sarah Musi
Elna Nilsson
Christopher Ward
Skip Howard
Rich
Shann
Eric J Holmes
Sandi & Stuart
Simon Oliphant
Chrissi Ross
Steven Rasp
Bibliography
- A. Dodson, Amarna Sunset: Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, and the Egyptian Counter-Reformation (2nd edn, Cairo, 2017).
- M. Eaton-Krauss, The Unknown Tutankhamun (London, 2016).
- E. El-Kilany and H. Mahran, ‘What Lies Under the Chair! A Study in Ancient Egyptian Private Tomb Scenes, Part I: Animals’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 51 (2015), 243–64.
- M. Gabolde, Toutankhamon (Paris, 2015).
- Z. Hawass, Discovering Tutankhamun: From Howard Carter to DNA (Cairo, 2013).
- N. Kawai, ‘Studies in the Reign of Tutankhamun’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, Johns Hopkins University (2005).
- A. Schnell, ‘Breastfeeding Without Giving Birth’, La Leche League International (2020).
- B. Wilson-Clay, ‘Induced Lactation’, Surrogacy.com (2010).
- S. Wittig and D. Spatz, ‘Induced Lactation’, MCN, The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing 33 (2008), 76–81.
- A. Zivie, ‘From Maia to Meritaten’, Saqqara Newsletter 17 (2019), 47–60.
- A. Zivie et al., La tombe de Maïa, mère nourricière du roi Toutânkhamon et grande du harem (Bub. I. 20) (Toulouse, 2009).
Just one thought on Maia beying herself childless or not:
I had this thought, that it was more probable the loving and caring parents of Tutankhaten would choose for a wet-nurse and babysitter for their child, a son – a woman who had first-hand experience in caring for babies rather than a childless women who had never nursed, changed etc. her own newborn.
Even more so if the couple were – as it is presumed – Akhnaten and Nefertiti themselves, seeing in their first son their heir to the throne.
Best,
Ivonna