Literature
Only a small number of pharaohs were immortalized in ancient fiction, Pepi II may be among them. In the tale of King Neferkare and General Sasenet, three fragments of a papyrus dating from the late New Kingdom (although the story may have been composed earlier), report clandestine nocturnal meetings with a military commander - a General Sasenet or Sisene. Some have suggested this reflects a homosexual relationship; although it is disputed that the text relates to Pepi II at all.
The story is dated to the late New Kingdom though it was composed earlier and purports to describe the nightly exploits of Pepi II Neferkare; some like R. S. Bianchi think that it is a work of archaizing literature and dates to the 25th dynasty referring to Shabaka Neferkare, a Kushite pharaoh.
Read more about this topic: Pepi II Neferkare
Famous quotes containing the word literature:
“Poetry, it is often said and loudly so, is life’s true mirror. But a monkey looking into a work of literature looks in vain for Socrates.”
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