The word "Pharaoh" means "he who lives in the palace". The Egyptians treated their Pharaohs as gods embodied in various shapes and forms - representatives of Gods on Earth.
They were considered "higher beings" - a kind of "superhumans" and they were given names that would translate as "son of the god Ra" or "giver of life as the god Ra", believing that no ordinary name can express the majesty of the particular ruler.
Egyptians also believed that thanks to their service, the ruler was able to raise the sun to the sky every morning and force the Nile to flood wide areas with fertile silt at the end of each summer.
They also believed that the food and water offerings they made daily to Pharaoh ensure that the gods feed the souls of the deceased Egyptians in the afterlife. Pharaoh was omnipotent and his power absolutely indisputable.
Pharaoh's primary duty was to build and maintain the temples of the gods.
Touching Pharaoh's crown or sceptre, even by accident, would incur the death penalty for the perpetrator.
