Realignments of Memory: Legitimacy of the Egyptian Past in the Prophecies of Neferty

The Prophecies of Neferty, whose sole complete copy is preserved on Papyrus Hermitage 1116B recto, has a narrative frame situated during Sneferu’s reign. A great part of it describes the time of chaos (isft) during the First Intermediate Period, with order (mAat) finally being redeployed by Amenemhet I. Considering the above, in this paper we aim to comprehend the ways maet is used to construct an idealized image of the past in Neferty. In order to pursue these tasks, we define our theoretical approaches to “ancient Egyptian literature”, as well as a brief introduction to cultural memory, according to Jan Assmann, settling its connection with Neferty. Subsequently, we give a description of the source, discussing the dating of the text, along with its content. Finally, we proceed with content analysis of the text, focusing on maet and its relation to the pharaoh and an ideal vision of the past.