All Hail Hatshepsut, the Cross-Dressing Queen Turned Powerful Pharaoh
The ancient Egyptian ruler depicted herself in kingly attire as the child of Amun-Ra himself—which almost got her erased from history.
Illustration by Erin Aniker
Imagine the ancient Egyptians of the 18th Dynasty had their own tabloid. It's full of political 'facts' and soap opera-worthy intrigue. The big headlines of the times: Cross-Dressing Queen Steals Boy Pharaoh's Throne; Lady King's Courtier Caught With Pants Down; Young Pharaoh Takes Revenge on Wicked Stepmother. The controversial matriarch in question? Hatshepsut, who ruled from circa 1478 to 1458 BCE.
As one of the few women in Egypt's history to take the title of king, Hatshepsut is already pretty interesting. Her 20-year reign was marked by an explosion of artistic creativity—from jewelry to literature to her Deir el-Bahri temple, one of the great architectural wonders of the ancient world. But there's something rather enigmatic about Hatshepsut.
https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/j5nj98/hatshepsut-egyptian-crossdressing-queen-pharaoh
