Article Free Pass  The ancient Middle East  In the Nile valley
the occupant of the throne (the pharaoh) was regarded as a god
incarnate, the sacred king. Because he was believed to be the
epitome of all that was divine, he alone was the intermediary
between humankind and the gods whom he summed up in his complex
personality. Before Menes, founder of the 1st dynasty (c.
3100–2890 bce), centralized the rule of Upper and Lower Egypt,
the high priest and king “Scorpion” was traditionally considered
to be the incarnation of Horus (the sky god). Under the powerful
influence of the priesthood of Heliopolis, the sacred kingship
was given a solar significance; the pharaohs were represented as
the sons of the sun god Re, who was identified with the god
Atum. When Memphis became the imperial city, Re-Atum was brought
into relation with its god, Ptah (the creator), and subsequently
with Osiris, a fertility god who also was regarded as a god of
the dead. Osiris was equated with the life-giving waters of the
Nile and belie