The Reporter (or often translated as Herald) () was an

Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

ian title. The literal meaning of ''wḥmw'' translates to 'one who repeats'. This is generally rendered as 'reporter', 'herald', 'intermediary' or similar. The title first appeared in the

Old Kingdom In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning –2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth Dynast ...

as an honorific of a high official, and later became an administrative function during the Middle Kingdom. In the

New Kingdom New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

the role developed an

oracular An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination. Descript ...

aspect.

Usage

The title ''wḥmw'' or 'the Reporter' is attested in royal, bureaucratic and religious settings.

Administrative title

The title first appeared in the Old Kingdom as an honorific of an appointed official in the

royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...

Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer. He is best known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a stand-in for Lafayette County where he s ...

and

Gardiner Gardiner may refer to: Places Settlements ;Canada * Gardiner, Ontario ;United States * Gardiner, Maine * Gardiner, Montana * Gardiner (town), New York ** Gardiner (CDP), New York * Gardiner, Oregon * Gardiner, Washington * West Gardiner, ...

translates ''wḥmw'' as 'herald, reporter', suggesting that officials bearing this title by the Middle Kingdom were involved in the dissemination of information within the governmental administration. The title has been attributed to household officials, officials assigned to specific missions and expeditions, as well as ordinary high-ranking local officials of the Middle Kingdom. Occasionally the title "scribe of the reporter" (''sš n wḥmw'') is attested, suggesting that some had their own staff. The administrative function diminished in importance by the

Ramesside period The New Kingdom, also called the Egyptian Empire, refers to ancient Egypt between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC. This period of ancient Egyptian history covers the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth dynasties. Through radioc ...

Religious title

Luxor Museum Statue Amenophis Sohn des Hapu 04

The usage of the title within the religious framework relates to the belief of an intermediary between deities and man. Egyptologists Ausec, Otto, Teeter and Harrington translate ''wḥmw'' in the religious context as the 'Intermediary'. Galan notes that the operational structure of the title ''wḥmw'' and its function within the administrative framework operates in a bidirectional manner, either descending from the king to the people through the herald, or ascending from the people to the king or

vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

via the herald. Conversely, within the religious context, the operational structure of the title ''wḥmw'' functions unidirectional, solely ascending from the people to the gods through a divine, royal or individual intermediary. During the New Kingdom, statues were erected in the forecourts of temples in order to intercede for the public who were prohibited from entering the temple proper. These 'intermediary statues' were meant to report requests and petitions to the local gods. A known statue of

Amenhotep, son of Hapu Amenhotep, son of Hapu (transcribed ''jmn-ḥtp zꜣ ḥꜣp.w''; early-mid 14th century BC) was an ancient Egyptian architect, a priest, a Reporter (Ancient Egypt), herald, a scribe, and a public official, who held a number of offices under Am ...

(who was posthumously deified), dates back to the reign of

Amenhotep III Amenhotep III ( , ; "Amun is satisfied"), also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent or Amenhotep the Great and Hellenization, Hellenized as Amenophis III, was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty. According to d ...

, and reads:On another statue, Amenhotep calls himself the 'herald of the god

Amun Amun was a major ancient Egyptian deity who appears as a member of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. Amun was attested from the Old Kingdom together with his wife Amunet. His oracle in Siwa Oasis, located in Western Egypt near the Libyan Desert, r ...

Mythology

According to the

Ancient Egyptian religion Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of Polytheism, polytheistic beliefs and rituals that formed an integral part of ancient Egyptian culture. It centered on the Egyptians' interactions with Ancient Egyptian deities, many deities belie ...

, some lesser deities acted as intermediaries between humans and the main deity. One such was the

Apis bull In ancient Egyptian religion, Apis or Hapis, alternatively spelled Hapi-ankh, was a sacred bull or multiple sacred bulls worshiped in the Memphis region, identified as the son of Hathor, a primary deity in the pantheon of ancient Egypt. Initi ...

, a

sacred bull Cattle are prominent in some religions and mythologies. As such, numerous peoples throughout the world have at one point in time honored bulls as sacred. In the Sumerian religion, Marduk is the "bull of Utu". In Hinduism, Shiva's steed is Na ...

worshiped as the herald (''wḥmw'') of the gods

Ptah Ptah ( ; , ; ; ; ) is an ancient Egyptian deity, a creator god, and a patron deity of craftsmen and architects. In the triad of Memphis, he is the husband of Sekhmet and the father of Nefertem. He was also regarded as the father of the ...

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

and

Atum Atum (, Egyptian: ''jtm(w)'' or ''tm(w)'', ''reconstructed'' ; Coptic ''Atoum''), sometimes rendered as Atem, Temu, or Tem, is the primordial God in Egyptian mythology from whom all else arose. He created himself and is the father of Shu and ...

References

{{Ancient Egyptian royal titulary Ancient Egyptian titles