Hotep
Hotep (ḥtp; also rendered hetep[1]) is an Egyptian word that roughly translates as "to be at peace". The word also refers to an "offering" ritually presented to a deity or a dead person, hence "be pleased, be gracious, be at peace". It is rendered in hieroglyphs as an altar/offering table (Gardiner sign R4). The noun ḥtp.w means "peace, contentment".[2] Davies (2018) interprets the concept of ḥtp as "the result of action in accord with maat [the proper order of the universe]".[3]
Look up ḥtp in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
ḥtp in hieroglyphs |
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The so-called offering formula begins with ḥtp-dj-nsw "an offering given by the king".[4]
Egyptian ḥtp became Coptic ϩⲁⲧⲡ/ϩⲟⲧⲡ hatp/hotp "be content" and ϩⲱⲧⲡ hōtp "be reconciled".[5][6]
Hotep as part of ancient Egyptian names, such as Hotepsekhemwy (ḥr ḥtp-sḫm.wj "the two powers are at peace"), the first ruler of Egypt's Second Dynasty.[7]
In personal names
- Pharaohs
- Hotepsekhemwy (2nd dynasty)
- Mentuhotep I, Mentuhotep II, Mentuhotep III, Mentuhotep IV, Mentuhotep V and Mentuhotep VI (11th to 16th dynasties)
- Amenemhat I (throne name Sehetepibre) (12th dynasty)
- Sehetepibre (13th dynasty)
- Hotepibre (13th dynasty)
- Sobekhotep I, Sobekhotep II, Sobekhotep III, Sobekhotep IV, Merhotepre Sobekhotep V, Khahotepre Sobekhotep VI, Sobekhotep VII and Sobekhotep VIII (13th to 16th dynasties)
- Neferhotep I, Neferhotep II and Neferhotep III (13th to 16th dynasties)
- Merhotepre Ini (13th dynasty)
- Rahotep (17th dynasty)
- Amenhotep I, Amenhotep II, Amenhotep III and Amenhotep IV, later known as Akhenaten (18th dynasty)
- Other
- Imhotep (3rd dynasty official)
- Ptahhotep (5th dynasty official)
- Khnumhotep I (12th dynasty nomarch)
- Hedjhotep (minor deity)
In popular culture
- Nyarlathotep is a deity or a demon in stories by H.P. Lovecraft, and the title of a 1920 short story.
- In Afrocentrism and black nationalism of the late 20th century, influenced by the "Black Egyptian hypothesis", "Hotep" was adopted as a formula or greeting.[8] Since the 1990s,[9] "a Hotep" has come to be used to refer to a proponent of radical or fanatical black nationalism.[10][11] In Dear White People (2018; series 2, episode 5) one of the protagonists discovers that a student she is dating is "a Hotep", which causes her to end the relationship.
- Hotep is one of the advisors to Pharaoh in the animated epic film The Prince of Egypt (1998).
- The title of the American comedy film Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) refers to the nickname for a reanimated mummy that wears a cowboy hat.
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hotep (hieroglyphs). |
- See Egyptological pronunciation. Davies (2018) uses hetep throughout.
- Faulkner, William (1991). Middle Egyptian. Griffith. ISBN 0-900416-32-7.:
p 179 htp = "altar, offering, boon which the king grants, be pleased, be happy, be gracious, pardon, be at peace, be peaceful, become calm"; p 180 "rest, satisfy, make content, htpw peace, contentment, good pleasure, make peace, htpt peace, contentment. To put to rest disputes, and settle the complaints of petitioners be peaceful, calm, make peace". - Davies, Vanessa (2018). Peace in Ancient Egypt. Harvard Egyptological Series. Brill. p. 2. ISBN 978-90-04-38021-9. (p. 86, and passim).
- Gardiner, Alan. (1957). Egyptian Grammar, Third Edition, p. 170. Griffith Institute, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. ISBN 0-900416-35-1.
- "Coptic Dictionary Online". coptic-dictionary.org. Retrieved 2017-03-16.
- Allen, James P. (2013-07-11). The Ancient Egyptian Language: An Historical Study. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107032460.
- "Egyptian kings - Hotepsekhemwy, Hetepsekhemwy, Bedjau, Boethos". nemo.nu.
- Damon Young (2016-03-05). "Hotep Explained". theroot.com. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
Over the past several decades, the word has also been utilized quite frequently by black Americans who happen to be more Afrocentric. Let me put it this way: If you happen to attend a Juneteenth festival this year and collect business cards from vendors there, at least 17 percent of them will have "Hotep" written somewhere on them.
- Mike Bowen, Black Intellectuals (was: Re: THE CASE AGAINST RAP MUSIC) (on newsgroup soc.culture.african.american), 1993: "Dr. Ben gave me a good laugh. As a matter of fact I saw him at City College several years back with his crowd of hoteps."
- Damon Young (2016-03-05). "Hotep Explained". theroot.com. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
Over the past decade or so, the working definition of "Hotep" has morphed into an all-encompassing term describing a person who's either a clueless parody of Afrocentricity [...] or someone who's loudly, conspicuously and obnoxiously pro-black but anti-progress.
- Angelica Jade Bastién (October 16, 2016). "'Insecure' Season 1, Episode 2: Failure to Change". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-11-01. "the hyper-specific phenomenon within the black community called "hoteps." These are men that call black women "queens" while shaming their sexual prowess, and whose obsession with Africa doesn't extend beyond Egypt."