Abstract
The ‘divine worshippers’ occupy a unique position within the Egyptian clergy. Their status, and indeed their role, bear little resemblance to what we know of female sanctuary staff. What sets these priestesses apart is a central question to which the ways in which they are depicted provide answers. Their effigies, like the scenes in temples or tombs in which they appear, prove particularly significant in this regard. Through these sources, a rather original picture emerges of these exceptional figures in Pharaonic society, a picture that is not unrelated to the country’s historical development.
