The divine name, or prenomen, of Thothmes is thus Ra-Men-Kheper, frequently read Men-Khepera-Ra, and is made up of three hieroglyphs, which stand for Ra, Amen, and Ptah, the supreme gods respectively worshipped at Heliopolis, Thebes, and Memphis. From these three great deities Thothmes thus claims his descent.
The cartouche with the divine name of Thothmes occurs four times on the obelisk, once on each side at the top of the central column of hieroglyphs. The sacred beetle occurs in two other places in the central columns of Thothmes, but never appears in the eight lateral columns of Rameses.
| “He has made as it were monuments to his father Haremakhu.” |
Eye (ar) made. As a verb ar signifies to make.
Zigzag (en) has. After verbs the zigzag means has, and is therefore a sign of perfect.
Horned Snake (ef) he. The usual personal pronoun.
Owl (mu) as it were.
Chessboard (men) monument.
Vase (nu). The vase represents an ampulla or bottle. The three vases in this place are used as a determinative to men, monument; and being three in number, indicate plurality, making MEN into MENU, monuments.