PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER : MOTHER
OF THE SCOTTISH PEOPLE
The story of how
Scotland got it’s name is an interesting one. Meritaten, nicknamed Scotia, was
an ancient Egyptian queen of the eighteenth dynasty (14th century BC), and the
first of six daughters born to Pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife,
Nefertiti. Her name means “She who is beloved of Aten”; Aten being the sun-god
her father worshipped. Scotia settled in what is now Scotland, after the Hyksos
were expelled from Egypt.
Meritaten of the
eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt, circa 1400 bc; daughter of pharaoh
Akhenaten and queen Nefertit
A Greek prince named
Gaythelos, was not given any position of power by his father. Being angry about
this, caused much destruction and trouble in his father’s kingdom, even going
so far as gathering his own army. His father forced Gaythelos into exile.
Gaythelos sailed to
Egypt where the Pharaoh was in a struggle to drive the Ethiopians out of his
lands. Gaythelos joined Pharaoh's army
during the fight, and together they pushed the Ethiopians out of Egypt. In
recognition of Gaythelos’ loyalty, bravery, and strength, Pharaoh gave
Gaythelos his daughter Scota in marriage.
The Scotichronicon goes
on to tell us that when pharaoh died the people of Egypt were looking for
reform and saw his death as their opportunity to make changes. Gaythelos was
viewed as a continuation of the status quo, and after a period of civil unrest,
Gaythelos was again driven into exile.
The army and people
that went into exile with Gaythelos proclaimed him their king and called
themselves “Scots” after their queen; however, there was no kingdom to rule.
They wandered the desert for years before sailing to the Iberian Peninsula and
settled in the northwest corner of the peninsula at a place called Brigancia.
It is now the city of A Coruña, in Galicia, Spain.
Scota gave birth to a
son named Hyber; it is said the old name for Ireland, “Hibernia,” comes from
this son. The descendants of the Scots tribe lived on the Iberian Peninsula for
several generations in a state of perpetual war with the local tribes.
Eventually, some
members sailed across the Cantabrian Sea — the Bay of Biscay — in search of a
new place to live, and settled in Ireland. Some of these settlers established a
home in Scotland in the area that comprises contemporary Argyll. After the time
of the Romans, the people in this area were called the “Scotti” and ultimately
the name of the country to the north of Britain became “Scotland.”
Another name for the
stone is “Jacob’s Pillow”; supposedly,
it was used as a pillow by Jacob when he had a dream of angels. This stone
somehow came into the possession of Gaythelos, and when he was exiled from
Egypt, he took the stone on his long journey to Iberia. Ultimately the
descendants of Gaythelos and Scota took the stone to Ireland, where it was
established as a seat or throne in Tara. The stone was brought to Scotland from
Ireland by King Fergus c. 498 CE, and he was crowned on the stone. From that point on, all the Scottish kings
were crowned on the stone at Scone until 1286 CE.
“Stone of Destiny,” “Lia Fail”, “Stone of Scone”, “Jacob’s Pillow”
The grave of Scota
reputedly lies in a valley, south of Tralee town, in Co. Kerry Ireland. The
area is known as Glenn Scoithin, "Vale of the little flower", more
normally known as Foley's Glen. Indicated by a County Council road signpost, a
trail from the road leads along a stream to a clearing where a circle of large
stones marks the grave site.
In 1955, archaeologist
Dr. Sean O'Riordan made an interesting discovery during an excavation of the
Mound of Hostages at Tara, site of ancient kingship of Ireland.
Bronze Age skeletal
remains were found of what has been argued to be a young prince, still wearing
a rare necklace of faience beads, made from a paste of minerals and plant
extracts that had been fired.
The skeleton was carbon
dated to around 1350 BC. In 1956, J. F. Stone and L. C. Thomas reported that
the faience beads were Egyptian: "In fact, when they were compared with
Egyptian faience beads, they were found to be not only of identical manufacture
but also of matching design."
Apep bull deity -Museum
of Scotland
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