Ancient Egyptian Legends - Margaret A. Murray.
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Miriam Lichtheim Ancient Egyptian Literature Vol I
Ancient Egyptian Literature Vol I
ANCIENT
'mVTim LEGENDS
BOSTON
PUBLIC
LIBR^CRY
Ubc Mt6^o!n
ot tbe
Bast Seiles
Edited by
L.
CRANMER-BYNQ
Dr. S. A.
/
KAPADIA
a£^
ANCIENT
EGYPTIAN LEGENDS
First Edition
Reprinted
....
January 1913
March
All Rights Reserved
1920
WISDOM OF THE EAST
ANCIENT
EGYPTIAN LEGENDS
BY
MURRAY
M, A.
m^
LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W.
1920
TO
MY STUDENTS, PAST AND PRESENT,
I
DEDICATE THIS BOOK
PREFACE
In this book I have retold the legends of the
Gods of ancient Egypt, legends, which were
current in the " morning of the world," preserved
to the present day engraved on stone and written
on papyri. I have told them in my own way,
adhering strictly to the story, but arranging
the words and phrases according to the English
method retaining, however, as far as possible
the expressions and metaphors of the Egyptian.
In some cases I have inserted whole sentences in
order to make the sense clear these are in places
where the story divides naturally into several
parts, as in " The Battles of Horus," and " The
Kegions of Night and Thick Darkness "
where
;
;
;
each incident, so like the one preceding and the
one following, is kept distinct in the mind of
the reader by this means. This repetition is
quite in accordance with the style of Egyptian
literature.
The book
who
pubUc,
religion
and
intended entirely for the general
are increasingly interested in the
civilisation of ancient Egypt, but
is
?
PREFACE
8
whose only means
of obtaining knowledge of that
apparently through magazine stories
in which a mummy is the principal character.
It
may be worth noting that in these legends of
ancient Egypt mummies are not mentioned, except in the Duat, the home of the dead, where
one naturally expects to find them.
Though the book is intended for the un-
country
is
have made some provision for
scientific reader, I
the more serious student, in the Notes at the end.
In these I have given the origin of the legend,
the book or books in which that original is
published, and the book where the translation
into a modern language by one of the great
scholars of the day can be found.
Other translations there are in plenty, which can be seen in
many of these, however, are
specialist libraries
of use only to a student of Egyptian literature
;
and language.
I have arranged the sequence of the stories
first, the legends of
according to my own ideas
various, one might almost say miscellaneous,
then the legends of Osiris and the deities
gods
lastly, the legends of Ra.
connected with him
At the very end are Notes on the legends, and a
short index of all the gods mentioned.
M. A. M.
:
;
;
November 1912
CONTENTS
L
EDITORIAL NOTE
The
object of the Editors of this series is a very
They desire above all things that,
in their humble way, these books shall be the
ambassadors of good-will and understanding between East and West the old world of Thought
and the new of Action. In this endeavour, and
in their own sphere, they are but followers of
the highest example in the land. They are
confident that a deeper knowledge of the great
ideals and lofty philosophy of Oriental thought
may help to a revival of that true spirit of Charity
which neither despises nor fears the nation of
definite one.
—
another creed and colour.
NORTHBROOK SOOIETY,
21 Cromwell Road,
Kensington, S.W.
10
L.
CRANMER-BYNG.
S.
A.
KAPADIA.
ANCIENT
EGYPTIAN LEGENDS
THE PRINCESS AND THE DEMON
It was in the reign of King Rameses, son of the
Sun, beloved of Amon, king of the gods.
A
mighty warrior was Rameses
in the day of
battle like to Mentu, god of war
very valorous
was he, like the son of the Sky-goddess.
Now his Majesty was in Naharaina, where the
great river Euphrates rolls dow» to the sea.
And he received the tribute of the vassal-princes,
for he was the conqueror of the nine Archertribes, and none could stand before his face
when he came forth equipped with all his weapons
The princes prostrated themselves before
of war.
him, bowing their foreheads to the ground,
breathing the earth which his feet had trodden.
Great and splendid was their tribute
gold, and
precious stones of all colours, blue lapis lazuli
and the green turquoise sacred to Hathor, goddess
of love and joy.
And slaves came bearing on
;
;
:
11
12
THE PEINCESS AND THE DEMON
their backs sweet-scented woods, perfumed and
aromatic, like the trees in the land of the Gods.
The prince of Bekhten came also, and with
him his eldest daughter and he placed her in
front of the slaves, for she was the choicest part
Very beautiful was she, fair in
of his tribute.
her limbs, tall and slender as a palm-tree, and
the heart of the King turned to her with delight,
and he loved her more than anything on earth.
He made her the Great Royal Wife, and he gave
her a name by which she should be known in
Neferu-Ra, " Beauty of Ra,"
the land of Egypt
was she called, for her beauty was like the shining
of the sun. And the name was written in the
royal oval, as is the custom of the kings of Egypt
and their queens.
Then King Rameses returned to Egypt, and
with him went the Great Royal Wife, Queen
Neferu-Ra. And when they came to the Black
;
;
of Egypt, she performed all the
ceremonies of a queen in the temples of Egypt.
Now it happened that King Rameses was in
Thebes the Mighty on the twenty-second of the
month Payni. And he went into the temple of
Amon, for this was the day of the beautiful
festival of the god, when the boats go up and
down upon the water with torches and lights,
and the Sacred Barque, adorned with gold and
painted with glorious colours, is borne aloft,
that men may see the figure of Amon-Ra himself
Land, the land
:
THE PEINCESS AND THE DEMON
13
And Queen Neferu-Ra was with his
within.
Majesty, for the Great Koyal Wife in Egypt has
ever been the worshipper of Amon-Ra, king of
*
the gods.
There came into the temple courtiers of the
King to announce the arrival of a messenger from
the prince of Bekhten. Loaded was he with gifts
for Neferu-Ra, Queen of Egypt, daughter of the
prince of Bekhten, and he carried also a message
to the King. When he entered the royal presence,
he bowed to the earth saying, " Glory to thee,
May we live before
Sun of the nine Archer-tribes
thee " Then he bowed to the earth again and
spoke the message that he had brought from the
prince of Bekhten to Rameses, King of Egypt
" I come to thee,
living King, my Lord,
on account of Bent-reshy, the little sister of the
for there is a
Great Royal Wife, Neferu-Ra
malady in all her limbs. Send therefore a learned
man that he may see and heal her."
The King turned to his courtiers and said,
*'
Bring hither a scribe of the House of Life, and
bring also those who speak the hidden things of
the Inner Chamber." And the courtiers hastened
and brought them into the presence forthwith,
and theKiQg said to them, " I have brouglit you
hither to hear this matter. Tell me then of a
man, learned and skilful, to send to the prince
!
!
;
of
Bekhten."
Then they took
counsel
among themselves
as
14
THE PRINCESS AND THE DEMON
to a learned and skilful man, and they brought
the scribe Tehuti-em-heb before the King, and the
King bade him go with the messenger of the
prince of Bekhten to heal Bent-reshy, the Jittle
sister of the Great Royal Wife.
When the scribe Tehuti-em-heb came to
Bekhten, he was brought into the presence of
Bent-reshy. He was a learned and a skilful man,
and he found the princess under the dominion
of a spirit, a spirit that was hostile to him,
against whom his learning and skill were of no
avail, who set his magic arts at naught.
Then the prince of Bekhten was sad, and sorrow
was in his heart, but Tehuti-em-heb the scribe
counselled him to send again to Egypt and to
implore the help of Khonsu, the Expeller of
Demons, to cast out the evil spirit from Bentreshy, the little sister of the Great Royal Wife.
Now so great was the distance from Bekhten
to Egypt that from the time that Tehuti-em-heb
the scribe departed out of Thebes till the second
message came to King Rameses was three years,
and throughout that time the evil spirit dwelt
in Bent-reshy and would not be cast out.
And when the second messenger arrived. King
Rameses was agam in Thebes, and it was the first
of the month Pakhons, the month that is sacred
to Khonsu. He entered into the temple, and with
him came his courtiers, and the messenger of the
prince of Bekhten. In the temple were two statues
THE PRINCESS AND THE DEMON
16
Khonsu very marvellous figures were these,
very sacred, very holy the one was called Khonsu
in Thebes Neferhotep, and the other Khonsu, the
Expeller of Demons. Now Khonsu is the God
of the Moon, the son of Amon-Ra and of Mut,
Lady of Ashru, and men represent him with the
curled lock of youth, for he is ever young and
of
;
;
beautiful.
Then the King stood before the great statue
Khonsu in Thebes Neferhotep and said, "
my good Lord, I come again into thy presence
of
on account of the daughter of the prince of
Bekhten."
Then the
priests lifted the statue of
Khonsu
Thebes Neferhotep and placed it in front of
Khonsu, the Expeller of Demons. And the King
spoke again before Khonsu in Thebes Neferhotep
and said, "My good Lord, turn thy face to Khonsu,
the Expeller of Demons. Grant that he may go
to Bekhten."
Khonsu in Thebes Neferhotep inclined his
head twice in token of assent. Very marvellous
was the figure of Khonsu in Thebes Neferhotep.
And yet again King Rameses spoke, " Let
thy protection be with him. Grant that I may
send the Majesty of Khonsu to Bekhten to save
Bent-reshy, the little sister of the Great Royal
in
Wife."
Khonsu
twice
in
Thebes Neferhotep inclined his head
Very marvellous
token of assent.
in
16
THE PRINCESS AND THE DEMON
was the
figure of
And he gave
Khonsu
in
Thebes Neferhotep.
his magical protection four times
to Khonsu, the Expeller of
Demons.
Then King Rameses gave command,
and
Khonsu, the Expeller of Demons, was placed in
the Great Boat and around the Great Boat were
five small boats, with chariots and horses, numerous and splendid, on the right hand and on the
The retinue of Khonsu, the Expeller of
left.
Demons, was the retinue of a king. For a year and
five months they journeyed until they reached
;
Bekhten.
The
prince of Bekhten came out with his bowhis courtiers to meet Khonsu, the Expeller of Demons, with a royal welcome, and they
entered into his presence as into the presence of
a king. The prince of Bekhten fell on his knees
and laid his forehead on the ground at the feet
of Khonsu, the Expeller of Demons, and said,
" Thou hast come to us. 0, be kind to us according to the words of Rameses, King of Egypt."
They brought Khonsu, the Expeller of Demons,
to the chamber of Bent-reshy, the little sister of
men and
and he made a magical
the Great Royal Wife
protection over her. Lo, there happened a wonder
and a marvel, for she was well and whole in a
;
moment.
Then the
spirit,
who had been
in her,
spoke in
the presence of Khonsu, the Expeller of Demons,
" Thou hast come in peace,
great God, Expeller
THE PEINCESS AND THE DEMON
of Demons.
thy slaves.
17
Bekhten
is thy city, its people are
before thee, for I also am thy
I will go to that place from which I came
slave.
that thy heart may have peace. But ere I go,
let the Majesty of Khonsu give command that
a holy day be made for me by the prince of
I
bow
Bekhten."
When he had heard these words, Khonsu, the
Expeller of Demons, inclined his head to the priest
and said, " Let the prince of Bekhten make a
great sacrifice for this spirit."
The prince of Bekhten, and his soldiers and his
courtiers heard the voices of the spirit and of the
god, and they trembled and were exceedingly
They obeyed the command of the god
afraid.
and prepared a great sacrifice for Khonsu, the
Expeller of Demons, and for the spirit that came
out of Bent-reshy, the little sister of the Great
Royal Wife, the daughter of the prince of Bekhten.
And they made a holy day with offerings, sacrifices,
and libations.
So the spirit, in the form of a Shining One,
went his way in peace out of the land of Bekhten,
and he went whithersoever it pleased him, as
Khonsu, the Expeller of Demons, had commanded.
The prince of Bekhten was glad and his heart
rejoiced, and all the people rejoiced also that the
spnit had been driven out of Bent-reshy and out
of the land of Bekhten.
But in the midst of
18
THE PRINCESS AND THE DEMON
and gladness, fear came upon the heart
Bekhten lest the spirit should
return and take up his abode again in the land,
when Khonsu, the Expeller of Demons, had departed. He took counsel with himself and said,
" I will keep Khonsu, the Expeller of Demons, in
Bekhten. I will not let him return to Egypt."
So Khonsu, the Expeller of Demons, remained
three years, four months, and five days in Bekhten,
for the prince of Bekhten would not let him go.
And at the end of that time the prince of
Bekhten lay upon his bed at night and slept, and
his joy
of the prince of
while he slept a vision passed before his eyes.
He dreamed that he stood before the shrine of
Khonsu, the Expeller of Demons the great doors
of the shrine were folded back and the god came
forth, stepping out between the doors.
He
changed into the form of a hawk with feathers
of gold, burnished and beautiful, and soared high
into the air with wings outspread, and like an
arrow he darted towards Egypt.
When the prince of Bekhten awoke, he was
exceedingly afraid, for he feared the wrath of the
Gods. And he sent for the priest of Khonsu,
the Expeller of Demons, and said to him, " The
god is estranged from us, he has returned to
Egypt. Let his chariot also return to Egypt."
The prince of Bekhten gave command that the
god should be taken back to Egypt, and he loaded
the god with gifts. Great and numerous were
;
THE PRINCESS AND THE DEMON
19
the gifts of all manner of beautiful things that
the prince of Bekhten gave to Khonsu, the
Expeller of Demons.
For many months they journeyed, and with
them went an
escort of soldiers
and horses from
the land of Bekhten. They arrived in safety at
Thebes, and entered into the temple of Khonsu
in Thebes Neferhotep.
Then Khonsu, the Expeller of Demons, gave
to Khonsu in Thebes Neferhotep all the gifts,
the rich and costly gifts, which he had received
nothing did he
from the prince of Bekhten
keep for himself. Thus ended the journey of
Khonsu, the Expeller of Demons, the great God.
;
;
II
THE KING'S DREAM
Long, long ago lived Thothmes, King of Egypt
Lord of the Two Lands was he, Wearer of the
double Diadem, he whom the Gods loved. He
was not that Thothmes, the mighty Bull, who
conquered Syria, Nubia, and the nine ArcherBut he bore the same name, and was a
tribes.
Syria bowed before
great and valorous king
him, Nubia was his servant, and he trod the nine
Archer-tribes beneath his feet. When he was
a child, he was Hke unto Harpocrates, the son of
Isis, he who was born in the marshes of the North
Country. Beautiful was he with the beauty of
the Gods, in form like Horus, the Avenger of his
;
father.
And in all manly sports did he excel he
hunted the wild game on the deserts both north
and south of Memphis, he coursed the lions and
the deer, he shot arrows at a target, he drove in
his chariot, and his horses were fleeter than the
wind. Alone did he hunt, or with two companions only, and none knew the path that he
;
20
;
THE KING'S DREAM
would
follow, for in the desert
none
21
live
save
wild beasts.
When his followers required rest in the heat of
the day, he took them to the great statue of
Harmachis close to Kher-aha, where the Road of
the God leads eastward to On. Of stone was
this mighty figure, hewn out of the living rock,
his face the face of a man, stern and majestic,
turned to the rising sun, his body the body of a
lion
upon his brow is the death-dealing snake
with head erect, ready to strike. Men call this
figure Harmachis, and the Sphinx, and the
Father of Terrors. Great and exalted is this
figure of the God, resting in his chosen place
mighty is his power, for the Shadow of the Sun
The temples of Memphis and the
is upon him.
temples of every town on both sides adore him,
they stretch out their hands to him in adoration,
sacrifices and Hbations are made before him.
One day, ere Thothmes was yet king, before
he had ascended the throne of Horus the Living
One, it came to pass that he hunted alone in the
desert, and it was noontide.
Very fierce was the
heat, very bhnding the sunbeams, and he rested
in the shadow of the great God.
And as he rested,
heated and weary, in the coolness of the shadow,
sleep heavy and deep came upon him at the
moment when the sun reached the zenith.
;
Thus he slept at broad midday, and in his sleep
dreams and visions came to him. In his dream
THE
22
KING'S
DREAM
he stood before the giant figure of the God, but no
longer was it of stone, for behold it was the God
The breath of life was in him, and his
himself.
lips moved, and he spoke with gentle speech as a
father speaks with his child, for his words were
words
'*
of blessing.
" See now,
my son Thothmes," he said,
look at me, behold me. I am thy father, I who
am
Harmachis, and Ra, and Khepera, and Atmu
For I am the Sun-god to whom all lands
also.
Through me alone shall the kingdom
Egypt come to thee thou shalt wear the White
Crown of the South Land and the Red Crown of
the North Land, thou shalt sit upon the throne
To thee shall belong the
of Geb the inheritor.
whole land in its length and breadth, that land
which the universal Lord makes glorious. Want
and trouble shall never come nigh thee, for gifts
are subject.
of
;
be brought to thee from every country,
the duration of thy life shall be
near and afar
my face shall be towards thee
for many years
and my heart shall incline to thee if thou wilt do
for me that which I desire of thee."
And Thothmes looked, and he saw that the
figure lay half-buried in the sand, and it seemed
as though the God struggled to free himself, for
naught but the head appeared above the plain,
and the sands came up about him like the waves
of the sea when they swallow up a ship that is
on the rocks.
shall
;
;
THE KING'S DREAM
23
Then the Majesty of the God spoke again, and
The sand of the desert on which I rest is
said, "
about me, it overwhelms me, it covers me.
Hasten to do that which my heart desires, for I
know that thou art a son who honours the behests
of his father."
Sleep fell from the eyeHds of Thothmes, and he
awoke.
[Here the inscription is broken away and the
end of the story is not known.]
Ill
THE COMING OF THE GREAT QUEEN
Now
Amon-Ra, king of the gods, sat upon his
and around him stood the greatest of the
gods and goddesses. On his right was Osiris
crowned with the great White Crown of the South
Land on his left was Mentu, god of war, and
on the head of- Mentu were two great feathers and
the flashing disk of the sun. With Osiris were
the twin goddesses Isis and Nephthys, beside
them stood Hathor, goddess of love, whom the
throne,
;
Horus, the son of Isis,
Greeks call Aphrodite
and
with the far-seeing eyes of the hawk
Anubis, son of Nephthys, the faithful guardian
With Mentu were Atmu, the god of the
of Isis.
Shu and his twin-sister Tefnut Geb the
sunset
earth-god, and Nut the sky-goddess. These two
are the oldest of the gods, from whom all others
;
;
;
;
proceed.
Amon-Ra, king of the gods, sat upon his throne
and looked upon the land of Egypt, and he spoke,
saying, " I will create a queen to rule over Tamery, I will imite the Two Lands in peace for her,
24
:
THE COMING OF THE GREAT QUEEN
26
and in her hands I will place the whole world.
Egypt and Sjnria, Nubia and Punt, the land
of
the Gods, shall be under her sway." And
there was silence among the
when he had spoken
gods.
While he yet spoke, Thoth entered into his
presence, Thoth, the twice-great, the maker of
magic, the lord of Khemennu. He listened to
the words of Amon-Ra, king of the gods, and in
the silence that followed he spoke
"
Amon-Ra, Lord of the tlnrones of the Two
Lands, King of the gods, Maker of men. Behold
in the Black Land in the palace of the king is a
maiden, fair and beautiful is she in all her limbs.
Aahmes is her name, and she is wife to the king of
Egypt. She alone can be the mother of the
great Queen, whom thou wilt create to rule over
the Two Lands. She is in the palace of the king.
Come, let us go to her."
Now the form of Thoth is the form of an ibis,
that he may fly swiftly through the air and none
may know him, and as an ibis he went to the
palace of the king. But Amon-Ra took upon
himself the shape of the king of Egypt. Great
was the majesty of Amon-Ra, splendid his adornments. On his neck was the glittering collar of
gold and precious stones, on his arms were bracelets of pure gold and electrum, and on his head
were two plumes by the plumes alone could men
know the King of the gods. In one hand he carried
;
26
THE COMING OF THE GEEAT QUEEN
the sceptre of power, in the other the emblem of
Glorious was he as the sun at midday, and
the perfumes of the land of Punt were around
him.
In the palace of the king of Egypt was queen
Aahmes, and it was night. She lay upon her
couch, and sleep was upon her eyelids. Like a
jewel was she in her beauty, and the chamber
in which she slept was like the setting of the
jewel
black bronze and electrum, acacia wood
and ebony, were the adornments of the palace,
and her couch was in the form of a fierce lion.
Through the two Great Doors of the palace went
the gods none saw them, none beheld them. And
with them came Neith, goddess of Sais, and Selk
the scorpion goddess. On the head of Neith
were the shield and crossed arrows on the head
of Selk a scorpion bearing in each claw the
life.
;
;
;
emblem of life.
The fragrance of the perfumes of Punt filled the
chamber, and queen Aahmes awoke and beheld
Amon-Ra, King of the gods. Maker of men. In
majesty and beauty he appeared before her, and
her heart was filled with joy. He held towards
her the sign of life, and in her hand he laid the
sign of life and the sceptre of power. And Neith
and Selk lifted the couch on which the queen
reposed and held it high in the air, that she might
be raised above the ground, on which mortal men
live, while she spoke with the immortal Gods.
THE COMING OF THE GREAT QUEEN
27
Then Amon-Ra returned and was enthroned
among the Gods. And he summoned to his
presence Khnum the creator, he who fashions the
bodies of men, who dwells beside the rushing
waters of the cataract. To Khnum he gave command saying, " Khnum, fashioner of the bodies
of men, fashion for me my daughter, she who
be the great Queen of Egypt. For I will
give to her all life and satisfaction, all stability
and all joy of heart for ever."
Khnum the creator, the fashioner of the bodies
of men, the dweller by the cataract, made answer
to Amon-Ra, " I will form for thee thy daughter,
and her form shall be more glorious than the Gods,
for the greatness of her dignity as King of the
shall
South and North."
Then he brought his potter's wheel, and took
clay, and with his hands he fashioned the body
of the daughter of queen Aahmes and the body of
her ha. And the body of the child and the body
of the ka were alike in their limbs and their
faces, and none but the Gods could know them
apart. Beautiful were they with the beauty of
Amon-Ra, more glorious were they than the Gods.
Beside the potter's wheel knelt Hekt, lady of
Herur, goddess of birth. In each hand she held
the sign of life, and as the wheel turned and the
bodies were fashioned, she held it towards them
that life might enter into the lifeless clay.
Then Khnum, the
fashioner of the bodies of
28
THE COMING OF THE GREAT QUEEN
men, and Hekt the goddess
of birth, came to
and with them
the palace of the king of Egypt
came Isis, the great Mother, and her sister
Nephthys; Meskhent also and Ta-urt, and Bes
the protector of children. The spuits of Pe and
the spirits of Dep came with them to greet the
;
daughter of
And when
Amon-Ra and
of
queen Aahmes.
the child appeared, the goddesses rejoiced, and the spirits of Pe and the spirits of Dep
chanted praises to her honour, for the daughter
of Amon-Ra was to sit upon the throne of Horus
of the Living, and rule the Land of Egypt to the
glory of the Gods. Hatshepsut was she called,
Chief of Noble Women, divine of Diadems,
favourite of the Goddesses, beloved of Amon-Ra.
And to her the Gods granted that she should be
mistress of all lands within the circuit of the sun,
and that she should appear as king upon the throne
of Horus before the glories of the Great House.
And upon her was the favour of Amon-Ra for
ever.
IV
THE BOOK OF THOTH
Now
Ahura was the wife of Nefer-ka-ptah, and
was Merab
this was the name by
which he was registered by the scribes in the
House of Life. And Nefer-ka-ptah, though he
was the son of the King, cared for naught on earth
their child
;
but to read the ancient records, written on papyrus
in the House of Life or engraved on stone in the
all day and every day he studied the
temples
;
writings of the ancestors.
One day he went into the temple to pray to the
Gods, but when he saw the inscriptions on the
walls he began to read them ; and he forgot to
pray, he forgot the Gods, he forgot the priests, he
forgot all that was around him until he heard
laughter behind him. He looked round and a
priest
stood there,
and from
him
came
the
laughter.
"
laughest thou at me ? " said Nefer-kaptah.
" Because thou readest these worthless writings," answered the priest. " If thou wouldest read
Why
29
30
THE BOOK OF THOTH
writings that are worth the reading I can
where the Book
tell
thee
Thoth lies hidden."
Then Nefer-ka-ptah was eager in his questions,
and the priest replied, " Thoth wrote the Book
with his own hand, and in it is all the magic in the
of
If thou readest the first page, thou wilt
enchant the sky, the earth, the abyss, the mountains, and the sea
thou wilt understand the
language of the birds of the air, and thou wilt
world.
;
know what the creeping things
and thou
of earth are saying,
from the darkest
depths of the sea. And if thou readest the other
page, even though thou wert dead and in the world
of ghosts, thou couldest come back to earth in
the form thou once hadst. And besides this,
thou wilt see the sun shining in the sky with the
full moon and the stars, and thou wilt behold the
great shapes of the Gods."
Then said Nefer-ka-ptah, " By the life of
Pharaoh, that Book shall be mine. Tell me whatsoever it is that thou desirest, and I will do it
wilt see the fishes
for thee."
" Provide for my funeral," said the priest.
" See that I am buried as a rich man, with priests
and mourning women,
incense.
Then
shall
offerings,
libations,
and
my
soul rest in peace in the
hundred pieces of silver
One
must be spent upon my burying."
Then Nefer-ka-ptah sent a fleet messenger to
fetch the money, and he paid one hundred pieces
Fields of Aalu.
THE BOOK OF THOTH
of silver into the priest's hands.
31
When the priest
had taken the silver, he said to Nefer-ka-ptah
" The Book is at Koptos in the middle of the river.
In the middle of the river is an iron box,
In the iron box is a bronze box,
In the bronze box is a kete-wood box,
In the kete-wood box is an ivory-and-ebony box,
In the ivory-and-ebony box is a silver box,
In the silver box is a gold box,
And in the gold box is the Book of Thoth.
Round about the great iron box are snakes and
scorpions and all manner of crawling things, and
above all there is a snake which no man can kill.
These are set to guard the Book of Thoth."
When the priest had finished speaking, Neferka-ptah ran out of the temple, for his joy was
so great that he knew not where he was. He
ran quickly to find Ahura to tell her about
the Book and that he would go to Koptos and
:
find
it.
But Ahura was very
sorrowful,
and
said, "
Go
not on this journey, for trouble and grief await
thee in the Southern Land."
She laid her hand upon Nefer-ka-ptah as though
she would hold him back from the sorrow that
awaited him. But he would not be restrained,
and broke away from her and went to the King
his father.
He
said,
told the King all that he had learned, and
" Give me the royal barge,
my father,
32
THE BOOK OP THOTH
may go to the Southern Land with my
Ahura and my son Merab. For the Book of
Thoth I must and will have."
So the King gave orders and the royal barge
was prepared, and in it Nefer-ka-ptah, Ahura,
and Merab sailed up the river to the Southern
Land as far as Koptos. When they arrived at
Koptos, the high priest and all the priests of Isis
of Koptos came down to the river to welcome
Nefer-ka-ptah, Ahura, and Merab. And they went
that I
wife
in a great procession to the temple of the Goddess,
and Nefer-ka-ptah sacrificed an ox and a goose
and poured a libation of wine to Isis of Koptos
and her son Harpocrates. After this, the priests
of Isis and their wives made a great feast for four
days in honour of Nefer-ka-ptah and Ahura.
On the morning of the fifth day, Nefer-kaptah caUed to him a priest of Isis, a great magician
learned in all the mysteries of the Gods. And
together they made a little magic box, like the
cabin of a boat, and they made men and a great
store of tackle, and put the men and the tackle
Then they uttered a speU
in the magic cabm.
over the cabm, and the men breathed and were
And Neferalive, and began to use the tackle.
the river, saying,
ka-ptah sank the magic cabin
" Workmen, workmen
Work for me " And he
m
!
!
the royal barge with sand and sailed away
alone, while Ahura sat on the bank of the river at
Koptos, and watched and waited, for she knew
filled
THE BOOK OF THOTH
33
that sorrow must come of this journey to the
Southern Land.
The magic men in the magic cabin toiled all night
and all day for three nights and three days along
the bottom of the river; and when they stopped the
royal barge stopped also, and Nefer-ka-ptah knew
that he had arrived where the Book lay hidden.
He took the sand out of the royal barge and
threw it into the water, and it made a gap in
the river, a gap of a schoenus long and a schoenus
wide in the middle of the gap lay the iron box,
and beside the box was coiled the great snake
that no man can kill, and all around the box on
every side to the edge of the walls of water were
snakes and scorpions and all manner of crawHng
;
things.
Then Nefer-ka-ptah stood up in the royal barge,
and across the water he cried to the snakes and
scorpions and crawHng things
a loud and terrible
cry, and the words were words of magic.
As
soon as his voice was still, the snakes and scorpions
and crawling things were still also, for they were
enchanted by means of the magical words of
Nefer-ka-ptah, and they could not move. Nefer;
ka-ptah brought the royal barge to the edge of
the gap, and he walked through the snakes and
scorpions and crawling things, and they looked
at him, but could not move because of the spell
that was on them.
And now Nefer-ka-ptah was face to face with
3
34
THE BOOK OF THOTH
man could kill, and it reared
up ready for battle. Nefer-ka-ptah rushed
upon it and cut off its head, and at once the head
and body came together, each to each, and the
snake that no man could kill was alive again, and
Again Nefer-ka-ptah rushed
ready for the fray.
upon it, and so hard did he strike that the head
was flung far from the body, but at once the head
and body came together again, each to each, and
again the snake that no man could kill was alive
and ready to fight. Then Nefer-ka-ptah saw that
the snake was immortal and could not be slain,
but must be overcome by subtle means. Again
he rushed upon it and cut it in two, and very
the snake that no
itself
quickly he put sand on each part, so that when
the head and body came together there was
sand between them and they could not join, and
the snake that no man could kill lay helpless
before him.
Then Nefer-ka-ptah went to the great box where
it stood in the gap in the middle of the river,
and the snakes and scorpions and crawling things
watched, but they could not stop him.
He opened the iron box and found a bronze box,
He opened the bronze box and found a kete-wood
box,
He opened the kete-wood box and found an
ivory- and-ebony box.
He opened the ivory-and-ebony box and found
a silver box.
THE BOOK OF THOTH
He
opened the
silver
35
box and found a gold
box,
He opened
the gold box and found the Book of
Thoth.
He opened the Book and read a page, and at
once he had enchanted the sky, the earth, the
abyss, the mountains, and the sea, and he understood the language of birds, fish, and beasts. He
read the second page and he saw the sun shining
in the sky, with the full moon and the stars,
and he saw the great shapes of the Gods themselves
and so strong was the magic that the
fishes came up from the darkest depths of the
sea.
So he knew that what the priest had told
;
him was true.
Then he thought of Ahura waiting for him at
Koptos, and he cast a magic spell upon the men
that he had made, saying " Workmen, workmen
Work for me and take me back to the place
from which I came." They toiled day and night
till they came to Koptos, and there was Ahura
sitting by the river, having eaten nothing and
drunk nothing since Nefer-ka-ptah went away.
For she sat waiting and watching for the sorrow
that was to come upon them.
But when she saw Nefer-ka-ptah returning in
the royal barge, her heart was glad and she rejoiced exceedingly. Nefer-ka-ptah came to her
and put the Book of Thoth into her hands and
bade her read it. When she read the first page,
!
!
36
THE BOOK OF THOTH
she enchanted the sky, the earth, the abyss, the
mountains, and the sea, and she understood the
language of birds, fish, and beasts and when she
read the second page, she saw the sun shining in
the sky, with the full moon and the stars, and she
saw the great shapes of the Gods themselves and
so strong was the magic that the fishes came up
from the darkest depths of the sea.
Nefer-ka-ptah now called for a piece of new
papyrus and for a cup of beer and on the papyrus
he wrote all the spells that were in the Book of
Thoth. Then he took the cup of beer and washed
the papyrus in the beer, so that all the ink was
washed off and the papyrus became as though it
had never been written on. And Nefer-ka-ptah
drank the beer, and at once he knew all the spells
that had been written on the papjnrus, for this is
the method of the great magicians.
Then Nefer-ka-ptah and Ahura went to the
temple of Isis and gave offerings to Isis and Harpocrates, and made a great feast, and the next
day they went on board the royal barge and sailed
joyfully away down the river towards the
Northern Land.
But behold, Thoth had discovered the loss of his
Book, and Thoth raged like a panther of the South,
and he hastened before Ra and told him all,
saying, " Nefer-ka-ptah has found my magic
box and opened it, and has stolen my Book, even
he slew the guards that
the Book of Thoth
;
;
;
;
THE BOOK OF THOTH
37
and the snake that no man can
Avenge me,
Ea,
upon Nefer-ka-ptah, son of the King of Egypt."
The Majesty of Ra answered and said, " Take
him and his wife and his child, and do with them
as thou wilt." And now the sorrow for which
Ahura watched and waited was about to come
upon them, for Thoth took with him a Power from
Ra to give him his desire upon the stealer of his
surrounded
kill
it,
lay helpless before him.
Book.
As the royal barge sailed smoothly down the
the little boy Merab ran out from the shade
of the awning and leaned over the side watching
the water. And the Power of Ra drew him, so
that he fell into the river and was drowned.
river,
When
he fell, all the sailors on the royal barge
the people walking on the river-bank
raised a great cry, but they could not save him.
Nefer-ka-ptah came out of the cabin and read a
magical spell over the water, and the body of
Merab came to the surface and they brought it
on board the royal barge. Then Nefer-ka-ptah
read another spell, and so great was its power that
the dead child spoke and told Nefer-ka-ptah all
that had happened among the Gods, that Thoth
was seeking vengeance, and that Ra had granted
him his desire upon the stealer of his Book.
Nefer-ka-ptah gave command, and the royal
barge returned to Koptos, that Merab might be
buried there with the honour due to the son of a
and
all
38
THE BOOK OF THOTH
When the funeral ceremonies were over,
prince.
the royal barge sailed down the river towards
A joyful journey was it
the* Northern Land.
no longer, for Merab was dead, and Ahura's heart
was heavy on account of the sorrow that was
still to come, for the vengeance of Thoth was not
yet fulfilled.
They reached the place where Merab had fallen
into the water, and Ahura came out from under
the shade of the awning, and she leaned over the
side of the barge, and the Power of Ra drew her
so that she fell into the river and was drowned.
When she fell, all the sailors in the royal barge
and all the people walking on the river-bank
raised a great cry, but they could not save her.
Nefer-ka-ptah came out of the cabin and read a
magical spell over the water, and the body of
Ahura came to the surface, and they brought it on
board the royal barge. Then Nefer-ka-ptah read
another spell, and so great was its power that the
dead woman spoke and told Nefer-ka-ptah all
that had happened among the Gods, that Thoth
was still seeking vengeance, and that Ra had
granted him his desire upon the stealer of his Book.
Nefer-ka-ptah gave command and the royal
barge returned to Koptos, that Ahura might be
buried there with the honour due to the daughter
of a king. W^hen the funeral ceremonies were over,
tlie royal barge sailed down the river towards
the Northern Land. A sorrowful journey was it
THE BOOK OF THOTH
39
now, for Ahura and Merab were dead, and the
vengeance of Thoth was not yet fulfilled.
They reached the place where Ahura and Merab
had fallen into the water, and Nefer-ka-ptah felt
the Power of Ra drawing him. Though he
struggled against it he knew that it would conquer
him. He took a piece of royal linen, fine and
strong, and made it into a girdle, and with it he
bound the Book of Thoth firmly to his breast,
for he was resolved that Thoth should never
have his Book again.
Then the Power drew him yet more strongly,
and he came from under the shade of the awning
and threw himself into the river and was drowned.
When
he
fell, all the sailors of the royal barge
the people walking on the river-bank raised
a great cry, but they could not save him. And
when they looked for his body they could not find
it.
So the royal barge sailed down the river till
they reached the Northern Land and came to
Memphis, and the chiefs of the royal barge went
to the King and told him all that had happened.
The King put on mourning raiment he and
his courtiers, the high priest and all the priests
of Memphis, the King's army and the King's
household, were clothed in mourning apparel,
and they walked in procession to the haven of
Memphis to the royal barge. When they came
to the haven, they saw the body of Nefer-ka-ptah
floating in the water beside the barge, close to
and
all
;
THE BOOK OF THOTH
40
the great steering-oars. And this marvel came
to pass because of the magical powers of Neferka-ptah even in death he was a great magician
by reason of the spells he had washed off the
papjTus and drunk in the beer.
Then they drew him out of the water, and they
saw the Book of Thoth bound to his breast with
the girdle of royal linen. And the King gave
command that they should bury Nefer-ka-ptah
with the honour due to the son of a king, and that
the Book of Thoth should be buried with him.
Thus was the vengeance of Thoth fulfilled, but
the Book remained with Nefer-ka-ptah.
;
OSIRIS
In the beginning Ra cursed Nut, and his curse
was that none of her children should be born on
any day of any year. And Nut cried to Thoth
who loved her, Thoth, the twice great, god of
magic and learning and wisdom, he whom the
Greeks called Hermes Trismegistos. Though the
curse of the great God Ra once uttered could
never be recalled, Thoth by his wisdom opened
a way of escape. He went to the Moon-god, whose
brightness was almost equal to that of the Sun
itself, and challenged him to a game of dice.
Great were the stakes on either side, but the
Moon's were the greatest, for he wagered his own
light.
Game after game they played and always
the luck was with Thoth, till the Moon would
Then Thoth, the twice great,
play no more.
gathered up the light he had won, and by his
power and might he formed it into five days.
And since that time the Moon has not had light
enough to shine throughout the month
but
dwindles away into darkness, and then comes
;
41
OSIRIS
42
full glory
for the light of five whole
days was taken from him. And these five days
Thoth placed between the end of the old year
and the begiiming of the new year, keeping them
and on these five days the
distinct from both
Osiris on the
five children of Nut were born
first day, Horus on the second. Set on the third,
Isis on the fourth, and Nephthys on the fifth.
Thus the curse of Ra was both fulfilled and made
of no effect, for the days on which the children
of Nut were born belonged to no year.
When Osiris was born, wonders and marvels,
prodigies and signs, were heard and seen throughout the world, for a voice cried over the whole
earth, " The Lord of all comes forth to the light."
And a woman drawing water from the holy
place of the temple was filled with the divine
afflatus and rushed forth crying, " Osiris the King
is born."
Now Egypt was a barbarous country where
men fought together and ate human flesh naught
did they laiow of the gods, lawless were they
slowly to his
;
;
;
;
and savage. But Osiris became the King of
Egypt, and he showed his people how to till the
land and to plant corn and the vine, and he
taught them the honour due to the Gods, and
made laws, and abolished their barbarous and
savage customs. Wherever he went, the people
bowed at his feet, for they loved the very ground
and whatever he commanded, that
he trod on
;
OSIRIS
43
they did. Thus did Osiris rule over the Egyptians
till, with music playing and banners flying, he
passed out of Egypt to bring all nations beneath
his gracious sway.
But Set hated his brother Osiris, and he
gathered to himself seventy-two conspirators,
and with them was Aso, queen of Ethiopia. And
they made a plan that when Osiris returned they
should kill him and place Set on the throne;
but they hid their plans, and with smiling faces
went out to meet Osiris when he re-entered Egypt
in triumph.
In secret they met again and again, in secret
also they prepared a coffer made of costly wood
painted and decorated with rich designs and glowing colours, an interweaving of tints and a wealth
of cunning workmanship, so that all who saw it
longed to have it for their own. Set, that Wicked
One, had in secret measured the body of Osiris,
and the coffer was made to fit the body of the
King, for this was part of the plan.
When all was ready, Set bade his brother and
the seventy-two conspirators to a feast in his
great banqueting-hall.
When the feast was
over, they sang the chant of Maneros, as was the
custom, and slaves carried round cups of wine
and threw garlands of flowers round the necks of
the guests, and poured perfume upon them, till
the hall was filled with sweet odours. And while
their hearts were glad, slaves entered bearing
;
OSIRIS
44
the coffer, and all the guests cried out at the
sight of its beauty.
Then Set stood up in his place and said, " He
who lies down in this coffer and whom it fits, to
that man I will give it." His words were sweet
as honey, but in his heart was the bitterness of
evil.
One after one, the conspirators lay down in
for one it
the coffer with jests and laughter
was too long, and for another it was too short,
and for a third it was too wide, and for a fourth
too narrow. Then came Osiris to take his turn,
and he, all unsuspecting, lay down in it. At once
the conspirators seized the lid and clapped it on
some nailed it firmly in its place, while others
poured molten lead into all the openings lest he
should breathe and live. Thus died the great
Osiris, he who is called Unnefer the Triumphant,
and by his death he entered into the Duat, and
became King of the Dead and Ruler of those who
are in the West.
The conspirators lifted the chest, which was
now a coffin, and carried it to the river-banl^.
They flung it far into the water, and Hapi the
Nile-god caught it and carried it upon his stream
the Great Green Waters received it
to the sea
and the waves bore it to Byblos and lifted it into
a tamarisk-tree that grew by the shore. Then
the tree shot forth great branches and put out
leaves and flowers to make a fit resting-place
;
;
OSIRIS
46
God, and the fame of its beauty went
throughout the land.
In Byblos ruled Kmg Malkander and his wife,
for the
Queen Athenais. They came to the sea-shore to
gaze upon the tree, for naught could be seen but
leaves and blossoms which hid the coffin from
all eyes.
and the
Then King Malkander gave command
was cut down and carried to the royal
make a pillar therein, for it was worthy
tree
palace to
to be used in a king's house. All men wondered
at its beauty, though none knew that it held the
body
of a
Now
God.
feared Set exceedingly. His smooth
words did not deceive her, and she loiew of his
enmity to Osiris, but the great King would not
Isis
believe in his brother's wickedness. When the
soul of Osiris passed from his body, at once Isis
was aware that he was dead, though no man told
her.
She took her little son, whom men call
Harpocrates or Horus the Child, and fled with
him to the marshes of the Delta, and hid him in
the city of Pe. Ancient and gray was this city
of Pe and it stood on an island
there dwelt the
goddess Uazet, whom men call also Buto and
;
Latona, for she is worshipped under many names.
Uazet took the child and sheltered him, and Isis
by her divine power loosed the island from its
moorings, and it floated on the surface of the
Great Green Waters, so that no man could tell
where to find it. For she feared the power of
OSIRIS
46
Set lest he should destroy the child as he had
destroyed the father.
As the souls of men cannot rest until the
funeral rites are performed and the funeral sacrifices offered, she journeyed, solitary and alone, to
seek the body of her husband, and bury it as
became his greatness. Many people did she
meet, both men and women, but none had seen
the chest, and in this matter her power was of
no avail. Then she thought to ask the children,
and at once they told her of a painted coffer floating on the Nile. And to this day children have
prophetic power and can declare the will of the
Gods and the things that are yet for to come.
Thus, asking always of the children, Isis came
to Byblos. She sat by the Great Green Waters,
and the maidens of Queen Athenais came to bathe
and disport themselves in the waves. Then Isis
spoke to them and braided their hair and adjusted
their jewels
the breath of the Goddess was
sweeter than the odours of the Land of Punt,
and it perfumed the hair and the jewels and the
garments of the maidens. When they returned
to the palace. Queen Athenais asked them whence
they had obtained the perfume, and they
answered, " A woman, strange and sad, sat by
the sea-shore when we went to bathe, and she
braided our hair and adjusted our jewels, and
from her came the perfume, though we know not
how." Queen Athenais went to the shore to see
;
OSIRIS
47
the strange woman and conversed with her, and
they spoke together as mothers speak, for each
had a little son the son of Isis was far away and
the son of Athenais was sick unto death.
Then rose up Isis, the Mighty in Magic, the skil"
ful Healer, and said, " Bring me to your son
Together the Goddess and the Queen returned
to the palace, and Isis took little Diktys in her
arms and said, " I can make him strong and well,
;
!
but in
my own way
will I
do
it,
and none must
interfere."
Every day Queen Athenais marvelled at her
From a little puling babe he became a strong
and healthy child, but Isis spoke no word and
none knew what she did. Athenais questioned
her maidens, and they answered, " We know not
what she does, but this we Imow, that she feeds
him not, and at night she bars the doors of the
hall of the pillar, and piles the fire high with logs,
and when we listen, naught can we hear but the
son.
twittering of a swallow."
Athenais was filled with curiosity and hid hernight in the great hall, and watched how
Isis barred the doors and piled the logs upon the
fire till the flames rose high and scorching. Then,
sitting before the fire, she made a space between
the blazing logs, a space that glowed red and
crimson, and in that space she laid the child, and
turning herself into the form of a swallow, she
self at
circled
round the
pillar,
mourning and lamenting,
;
48
OSIRIS
and the lamentation was like the twittering
Queen Athenais shrieked and
of a swallow.
snatched the child from the fire, and turned to
But before her stood Isis the Goddess, tall
flee.
and terrible.
" Why didst
"
foolish mother " said Isis.
thou seize the child ? But a few days longer and
all that is mortal in him w^ould have been burnt
away, and as the Gods would he have been,
immortal and for ever young."
A great awe fell upon the Queen, for she knew
that she looked upon one of the Gods. In humblest wise she and King Malkander prayed the
!
Goddess to accept a
were spread before
gift.
her,
All the riches of Byblos
but to her they were as
naught.
" Give me," she said, " what this pillar holds
and I shall be content." At once the workmen
were summoned, and they took down the pillar,
and split it open, and lifted out the coffin. And
Isis took sweet spices and scented blossoms
these she strewed upon the pillar, then wrapped
it in fine linen and gave it to the King and Queen.
And all the people of Byblos worship it to this day,
because once it held the body of a god.
But Isis took the coffin on a boat and sailed
away from Byblos, and when the waves of the
river Phaedrus, lashed by the wind, threatened
to sweep the coffin away, she dried up the water
by her magical spells. Then, in a soHtary place,
OSIRIS
49
she opened the coffin, and, gazing upon the face
of the dead God, she mourned and lamented.
Now some say that when Isis left Byblos she
took Diktys with her, and that he fell out of the
boat and was drowned. Others say that the
sound of her lamentation was so terrible in its
But I
grief that his heart broke and he died.
and because
think that he remained in Byblos
he had lain in the arms of the Divine Mother, and
had passed through the purifying fire, he grew
up to be a great and noble King, ruUng his people
;
wisely.
hid the coffin and set out for the city
it stood on the floating island and
where her little son Harpocrates was safe under
the care of Uazet, the Goddess of the North CounAnd while she was away. Set came hunting
try.
wild boars with his dogs. He hunted by moonlight,
for he loved the night, when all evil red things
and the air was filled with the whoop
are abroad
and halloa of the huntsman and the cries of the
dogs as they rushed after their quarry. And as
he dashed past. Set saw the painted chest, the
colours glinting and gleaming in the moonlight.
At that sight, hatred and anger came upon him
like a red cloud, and he raged like a panther of
the South. He dragged the coffin from the place
where it was hidden and forced it open
he
seized the body and tore it into fourteen pieces,
and by his mighty and divine strength he scattered
Then
of Pe,
Isis
where
;
;
OSIEIS
50
the pieces throughout the land of Egypt. And
he laughed and said, " It is not possible to destroy
the body of a God, but I have done what is impossible, I have destroyed Osiris."
And his
laughter echoed across the world, and those who
heard it fled trembling.
When Isis returned, she found naught but the
broken coffin, and knew that Set had done this
thing.
All her search was now to begin again.
She took a little shallop made of papyrus-reeds
lashed together, and sailed through the marshes
to look for the pieces of Osiris' body, and all the
birds and beasts went with her to help her
and
to this day the crocodiles will not touch a boat
of papyrus-reeds, for they think it is the weary
Goddess still pursuing her search.
A mighty and a cunning enemy was hers, and
by wisdom only could he be overcome therefore,
wheresoever she found a fragment of the divine
body, she built a beautiful shrine and performed
the funeral rites as though she had buried it
there.
But in truth she took the fragments with
her
and when, after long wanderings, she had
found all, by the mighty power of her magic she
united them again as one body. For when Horus
the Child should be grown to manhood, then he
should fight with Set and avenge his father and
after he had obtained the victory Osiris should
;
;
;
;
live again.
But
until that
day
Osiris lives in the
Duat,
OSIRIS
51
where he rules tne Dead wisely and nobly as he
ruled the living when on earth. For though
Horus fights with Set and the battles rage furiously, yet the decisive victory is not yet accomplished, and Osiris has never returned to earth
again.
,
VI
THE SCORPIONS OF
ISIS
AM Isis, the great Goddess, the Mistress of Magic,
the Speaker of Spells.
I came out of my house which my brother Set
had given to me, for Thoth called to me to come,
Thoth the twice great, mighty of truth in earth
and in heaven. He called, and I came forth
when Ra descended in glory to the western horizon
of heaven, and it was evening.
And with me came the seven scorpions, and
their names were Tefen and Befen, Mestet and
Behind me
Mestetef, Petet, Thetet, and Matet.
were Tefen and Befen on either side were Mestet
and Mestetef in front were Petet, Thetet, and
Matet, clearing the way that none should oppose
I called aloud to the scorpions,
or hinder me.
and my words rang through the air and entered
into their ears, " Beware of the Black One, call
not the Red One, look neither at children nor at
any small helpless creature."
Then I wandered through the Land of Egypt,
Tefen and Befen behind me, Mestet and Mestetef
I
;
;
52
THE SCORPIONS OF
ISIS
53
on either side of me, Petet, Thetet, and Matet
and we came to Per-sui, where the
before me
crocodile is God, and to the Town of the Two
Sandals, which is the city of the Twin Goddesses.
Here it is that the swampa and marshes of the
North Country begin, where there are fields of
papyrus-reeds, and where the marshmen dwell;
from here to the Great Green Waters is the North
;
Land.
Then we came near houses where the marshpeople dwelt, and the name of one of the women
"
was " Glory," though some called her " Strength
She stood at her door, and from afar she
also.
saw me coming, wayworn and weary, and I would
But
fain have sat me down in her house to rest.
when I would have spoken to her, she shut the
door in my face, for she feared the seven scorpions
that were with me.
I went farther, and one of the marshwomen
opened her door to me, and in her house I rested.
But Mestet and Mestetef Petet, Thetet, and Matet,
and Befen also, they came together and laid their
poison upon the sting of Tefen thus the sting of
Tefen had sevenfold power. Then returned Tefen
to the house of the woman Glory, she who had
the door was still
closed her door against me
shut, but between it and the threshold was a
narrow space. Through this narrow space crept
Tefen and entered the house, and stung with a
sting of sevenfold power the son of the woman
,
;
;
!
THE SCORPIONS OF
54
ISIS
So fierce and burning was the poison that
Glory.
the child died and fire broke out in the house.
Then the woman Glory cried and lamented, but
no man hearkened to her, and Heaven itself
sent water upon her house. A great marvel was
this water from Heaven, for the time of the
inundation was not yet.
Thus she mourned and lamented, and her
heart was full of sorrow when she remembered how
she had shut her door in my face when, weary and
wayworn, I would have rested in her house. And
the sound of her grief came to my ears, and my
heart swelled with sorrow for her sorrow, and I
turned back and went with her to where her dead
child lay.
And
I, Isis,
the Mistress of magic, whose voice
can awake the dead, I called aloud the Words of
Power, the Words that even the dead can hear.
And I laid my arms upon the child that I might
bring back Life to the lifeless. Cold and still he
lay, for the sevenfold poison of Tefen was in him.
Then did I speak magical spells to the poison of
poison of Tefen, come
the scorpions, saying, "
Poison of
out of him and fall upon the ground
Befen, advance not, penetrate no farther, come
For I am
out of him, and fall upon the ground
Isis, the great Enchantress, the Speaker of speUs.
Hasten not,
Fall down,
poison of Mestet
Rise not, poison of Petet
poison of Mestetef
Approach not, poison of Matet
and Thetet
!
!
!
!
!
THE SCORPIONS OF
For
am
ISIS
the great Enchantress,
child shall live, the
As Horus is strong and well
die
mother, so shall this child be strong
I
Isis,
of spells.
The
!
his
mother
"
65
the Speaker
poison shall
for me, his
well for
and
!
Then the child recovered,- and the fire was
quenched, and the rain from heaven ceased. And
the woman Glory brought all her wealth, her
bracelets and her neck- ornaments, her gold- work
and silver-work, to the house of the marshwoman,
and laid them at my feet in token of repentance
that she had shut the door upon me when, weary
and wayworn, I had come to her house.
And to this day men make dough of wheatflour kneaded with salt and lay it upon the wound
made by the sting of a scorpion, and over it they
recite the Words of Power which I recited over
the child of the woman Glory when the sevenfold
poison was in him. For I am Isis, the great Enchantress, the Mistress of magic, the Speaker of
spells.
VII
THE BLACK. PIG
The reason why the city of Pe was given to Horus,
I know and I will tell you.
Between Horus and Set there is enmity and
war and battle. Ever the fight goes on
and the combatants rage furiously, and victory is
not yet declared to either, though the Gods are
hatred,
with Horus.
Now Set is cunning and crafty, and seeks to
conquer by subtlety rather than by courage and
and such power is his that he
skill in the fray
can take what form he will and deceive both men
and Gods. This is the power of Set, but the
for to Horus
power of Horus is not the same
belong righteousness and truth deceit and falsehood are not in him. Whoso gazes into the blue
eyes of Horus can see the future reflected there,
and both Gods and men seek Horus to learn what
;
;
;
come to pass.
came to the knowledge of Set that Ra would
consult with Horus, and it seemed to him that
an opportunity was at hand to injure Horus, so
shall
It
66
THE BLACK PIG
67
he took upon himself the form of a Black Pig.
Fierce was his aspect, long and sharp his tushes,
and his colour was the blackness of the thundersavage and evil was his look, and struck
cloud
fear into the hearts of men.
Then came the Majesty of Ea to Horus and
spoke to him saying, " Let me look in thine eyes
and behold what is to come." And he gazed into
the eyes of Horus, and their colour was that of
the Great Green Waters when the summer sky
shines upon them. And while he gazed, the Black
Pig passed by.
Ra knew not that it was the Evil God, and he
cried out to Horus and said, " Look at that Black
Pig
Never have I seen one so huge and so fierce."
And Horus looked; neither did he know Set
in this strange form, and thought it was a wild
boar from the thickets of the North Country.
Thus he was off his guard and unprotected against
;
!
his
enemy.
Then Set aimed a blow
of fire at the eye of
Horus, and Horus shouted aloud with the pain
of the fire, and raged furiously, and cried, " It
is Set, and he has smitten me with fire on the
eyes."
But Set was no longer there, for he had conveyed himself away, and the Black Pig was seen no
more. And Ra cursed the pig because of Set, a^nd
said, " Let the pig be an abomination to Horus."
And to this day men sacrifice the pig when the
58
THE BLACK PIG
Moon
is at the full, because Set, the enemy of
Horus, and the murderer of Osiris, took its form
in order to injure the blue-eyed God.
And for
this reason also swineherds are unclean throughout the land of Egypt
never may they enter
the temples and sacrifice to the Gods, and their
sons and daughters may not marry with the
worshippers of the Gods.
And when the eyes of Horus were healed, Ra
gave to him the city of Pe, and he gave to him
two divine brethren in the city of Pe, and two
divine brethren in the city of Nekhen to be with
him as everlasting judges. Then was the heart
of Horus glad and he rejoiced, and at the joy of
Horus the earth blossomed, and thunderclouds
and rain were blotted out.
;
VIII
THE BATTLES OF HORUS
It was in the three hundred and sixty-third year
of the reign of the God Ra-Horakhti upon earth
that the great war happened between Horus and
Set.
The Majesty of the God Ra, whom men call
Ra-Horakhti also, was in Nubia with his army,
a great and innumerable multitude of soldiers,
footmen and horsemen, archers and chariots.
He came in his Boat upon the river the prow
of the Boat was of palm-wood, its stern was of
acacia-wood, and he landed at Thest-Hor, to the
;
east of the Inner Waters.
Horus
of Edfu,
Hero, seeking
murderer
And
he whose name
is
to him came
Harpooner and
Wicked One, Set, the
Long had he sought, but
for that
of Osiris.
Set had ever eluded him.
The Majesty of Ra had gathered his forces, for
Set had rebelled against him, and Horus was glad
at the thought of battle, for he loved an hour of
fighting more than a day of rejoicing.
He entered
into the presence of Thoth, the twice great, god
59
THE BATTLES OF HORUS
60
and Thoth gave him the power to change
himself into a great winged disk, a disk that
glowed like a ball of fire, with great wings on
either side Hke the colours of the sky at sunset
when the blue shades from dark to light, and is
shot with gold and flame. Men try to copy these
hues when they carve the winged disk above the
temple-doors, or make it into a breast-ornament of
gold inlaid with turquoise and carnelian and lazuli.
Thus Horus, as a great winged disk, sat on the
prow of the Boat of Ra, and his splendour flashed
across the waters and fell upon his foes as they
lay in ambush. Upon his glorious wings he rose
into the air, and against his crafty enemies he
made a curse, a curse terrible and fear-striking,
saying, " Your eyes shall be blinded, and ye shall
not see and your ears shall be deaf, and ye shall
not hear."
And at once, when each man looked at his neighand when he heard his
bour, he saw a stranger
of magic,
;
;
own famihar mother-tongue
it
sounded Hke a
foreign language, and they cried out that they
were betrayed, and that the enemy had come
among them. They turned their weapons each
against the other, and in the quickness of a moment many had ceased to hve, and the rest had
fled, while over them flew the gleaming Disk
watching for Set. But Set was in the marshes
of the North Country and these were but his
advance-guard.
THE BATTLES OF HORUS
61
Then Horus flew back to Ra, and Ra embraced
him and gave him a draught of wine mixed with
water. And to this day men pour a hbation of
wine and water to Horus at this place in remembrance. When Horus had drunk the wine, he
spoke to the Majesty of Ra and said, " Come and
how they he overthrown in
came, and with him came Astarte. Mistress of Horses, driving her furious
steeds
and they saw the corpse-strewn field
where the army of Set had slain one another.
Now this is the first encounter in the South,
but the last great battle was not yet.
Then the associates of Set came together and
took counsel, and took upon themselves the likeness of crocodiles and hippopotamuses, for these
great beasts can live under water and no human
weapon can pierce their hides. They came up
the river, the water swirhng behind them, and
rushed upon the Boat of Ra to overturn it.
But Horus had gathered together his band of
armourers and weapon-smiths, and they had
prepared arrows and spears of metal, smelted
and welded, hammered and shaped, with magical
words and spells chanted over them. When the
fierce beasts came up the river in waves of foam,
the Followers of Horus drew their bowstrings and
let fly their arrows, they cast their javelins, and
charged with their spears. And the metai
pierced the hides and reached the hearts, and of
see thine enemies,
their blood."
;
Ra
THE BATTLES OF HORUS
62
these wicked animals six hundred and fifty were
slain, and the rest fled.
Now this is the second encounter in the South,
but the last great battle was not yet.
The associates of Set fled, some up the river
and some down the river their hearts were weak
;
their feet failed for fear of Horus, the
pooner, the Hero. And those whose faces
and
Harwere
towards the South Land fled fastest, for Horus
was at their back in the Boat of Ra and with him
;
came his Followers, their weapons in their hands.
At the south-east of Denderah, the city of
Hathor, Horus saw the enemy, and he rushed
upon them with his Followers, while Ra and
Thoth watched the conflict as they waited in the
Boat.
Then said the Majesty of Ra to Thoth, " See,
See, how Horus
how he wounds his enemies
And
of Edfu carries destruction among them "
afterwards men built a shrine in this place in
!
!
remembrance
shrine were
Now
of the fight,
and the Gods
Ra and Min and Horus
in the
of Edfu.
the third encounter in the South,
was not yet.
Then quickly they turned the Boat, and swiftly
was it carried downstream, following the fugitives,
whose faces were towards the North Land. For
a night and a day they followed after, and at the
north-east of Denderah Horus saw them. And
but the
this
is
last great battle
he made haste, he and his Followers, and
fell
!
THE BATTLES OF HORUS
63
upon them, and slew them. Great and terrible
was the slaughter as he drove them before him.
Thus was destroyed Set's army in the South
in four great encounters, but the last great battle
was not yet.
the allies of Set turned their faces towards
Now
the lake and towards the marshes of the sea.
Horus came behind them in the Boat of Ra, and
and
his form was the form of a great winged disk
with him came his Followers, their weapons in
Then Horus commanded silence,
their hands.
;
and silence was upon their mouths.
Four days and four nights were they upon the
water seeking the enemy. But none did they
find, for their foes had turned their shapes into
the shapes of crocodiles and hippopotamuses, and
lay hidden in the water. On the morning of the
at once he gave battle,
fifth day Horus saw them
and the air was filled with the noise of the combat,
while Ra and Thoth watched the conflict as they
;
waited in the Boat.
Then the Majesty of Ra cried aloud when he
saw Horus like a devouring flame upon the battlefield, " See, how he casts his weapon against them,
he kills them, he destroys them with his sword,
he cuts them in pieces, he utterly defeats them
See and behold Horus of Edfu " At the end
of the fight Horus came back in triumph and he
brought one hundred and forty- two prisoners to
the Boat of Ra.
!
64
THE BATTLES OF HORUS
Now this is the first encounter in the North, but
the last great battle was not yet.
For the enemies, who were upon the Northern
Waters, turned their faces towards the canal
to reach the sea, and they came to the Western
Waters of Mert, where the Ally of Set had his
dwelling. Behind them followed Horus, equipped
with all his glittering weapons, and he went in the
Boat of Ra, and Ra was in the Boat with eight of
his train.
They were upon the Northern Canal,
and backwards and forwards they went, turning
and re-turning, but nothing did they see or hear.
Then they went northward for a night and a day
and they came to the House of Rerhu.
There Ra spoke to Horus and said, " Behold,
thy enemies are gathered together at the Western
Waters of Mert, where dwell the Allies of Set."
And Horus of Edfu prayed the Majesty of Ra to
come in his Boat against the Allies of Set.
Again they travelled to the northwards, where
the never-setting Stars wheel round a certain point
in the sky, and on the banks of the Western Waters
of Mert were the Allies of Set, ready for battle.
Then Horus of Edfu delayed not a moment, but
rushed upon the foe, and with him came his
Followers, their weapons in their hands. Death
and destruction they dealt to right and to left
When the contill the enemy fled before them.
three
flict was over, they counted the prisoners
hundred and eighty-one were taken, and these
;
THE BATTLES OF HORUS
Horus slew before the Boat of Ra, and
weapons he gave to his Followers.
Now
but the
this is the
65
their
second encounter in the North,
was not yet.
last great battle
And
now, at last. Set himself came forth from
hiding-place.
Fierce and savage he is,
cunning and cruel
in his nature Uke a beast of
prey, without ruth or pity
and men make his
his
;
;
image with the head of a wild beast, for human
feeling is to him unknown.
From his hidingplace he came forth and he roared terribly. The
earth and the heavens trembled at the sound of
his roaring and at the words which he uttered, for
he boasted that he would himself fight against
Horus and destroy him as he had destroyed Osiris.
The wind bore the words of his boasting to
Ra, and Ra said to Thoth the twice great. Lord
of Magic and Wisdom, " Cause that these high
words of the Terrible One be cast down."
Then Horus of Edfu sprang forward and rushed
at his enemy, and a great fight raged.
Horus
cast his weapon and killed many, and his Followers
fought also and prevailed. Out of the dust and
the noise of the combat came Horus, dragging
and the captive's arms were bound
a prisoner
behind him, and the staff of Horus was tied across
his mouth so that he could make no sound, and
the weapon of Horus was at his throat.
Horus dragged him before the Majesty of Ra.
And Ra spoke and said to Horus, " Do with him
;
5
66
THE BATTLES OF HORUS
as thou wilt." Then Horus fell upon his enemy,
and struck the weapon into his head and into his
back, and cut off his head, and dragged the bodyabout by the feet, and at last he cut the body into
Thus did he treat the body of his adverpieces.
sary as Set had treated the body of Osiris. This
took place on the seventh day of the first month
of the season when the earth appears after the
inundation. And the lake is called the Lake of
Fighting to this day.
Now this is the third encounter in the North,
but the last great battle was not yet.
For it was the Ally of Set whom Horus had
slain, and Set himself was still alive, and he raged
against Horus as a panther of the South. And
he stood up and roared in the face of heaven, and
his voice was the voice of thunder, and as he
roared he changed himself into a great snake, and
entered into the earth. None saw him go and
none saw him change, but he was fighting against
the Gods, and by their power and knowledge are
they aware of what comes to pass, though no man
And Ra said to Horus, " Set has
tells them.
transformed himself into a hissing snake and has
must cause that he never
entered the earth.
"
comes forth never, never no more
The associates of Set took courage, knowing
We
;
!
that their leader was alive, and they assembled
again, and their boats filled the canal. The Boat
of Ba went against them, and above the Boat
;
THE BATTLES OF HORUS
67
When
shone the glory of the great winged Disk.
Horus saw the enemy gathered together in one
place, he drove at them and routed them and slew
them without number.
Now
the fourth encounter in the North,
was not yet.
Then Horus of Edfu remained in the Boat of
Ra upon the canal for six days and six nights,
watching for the enemy, but he saw none, for they
lay as corpses in the water.
And to this day men make ceremonies in remembrance of the Battles of Horus on the first
day of the first month of the inundation, on the
seventh day of the first month of the appearing
of the earth after the inundation, and on the
twenty-first and twenty-fourth days of the second
month of the earth's appearing. These days
are kept holy at Ast-abt, which is at the south
side of Anrudef, where is one of the graves of
And Isis made magical spells round
Osiris.
Anrudef that no enemy might come near it and
the priestess of Anrudef is called " The Lady of
Spells " to this day in remembrance
and the
waters are called "The Waters of Seeking," for
there it was that Horus sought for his foe.
And Horus sent out his Followers, and they
hunted down the enemy, and brought in prisoners
one hundred and six from the East and one hundred and six from the West. These they slew
before Ra in the sanctuaries.
but the
this
is
last great battle
;
;
68
THE BATTLES OF HORUS
Then Ra gave
to Horus and his fighters two
which are called the Mesen-cities to this day,
for the Followers of Horus are Mesenti, the Metalworkers. In the shrines of the Mesen-cities Horus
is the God, and his secret ceremonies are held on
four days in the year. Great and holy are these
days in the Mesen-cities, for they are in remembrance of the Battles of Horus which he fought
against Set, the murderer of Osiris.
cities
m
Now these enemies, they gathered again the
East, and they travelled towards Tharu. Then
was launched the Boat of Ra to follow after them,
and Horus of Edfu transformed himself into the
his arms
likeness of a lion with the face of a man
were Uke flint, and on his head was the Atef-crown,
which is the white diadem of the South Land with
feathers and horns, and on either side a crowned
And he hastened after his enemies, and
serpent.
defeated them, and brought of prisoners one
hundred and forty-two.
Then said Ra to Horus of Edfu, " Let us journey
northwards to the Great Green Waters, and smite
the foe there as we have smitten him in Egypt.'*
Northwards they went, and the enemy fled
before them, and they reached the Great Green
Waters, where the waves broke on the shore
with the noise of thunder. Then Thoth arose and
he stood in the midst of the Boat, and he chanted
strange words over the boats and barges of Horus
and his Followers, and the sea fell calm as the
;
THE BATTLES OF HORUS
69
of the words floated across its waves.
And
there was silence on the Great Green Waters, for
the wind was lulled, and naught was in sight save
the boats of Ra and of Horus.
Then said the Majesty of Ra, " Let us sail round
the whole extent of the land, let us sail to the South
Land." And they knew that Ra was aware of
the enemy. They made haste and sailed to the
South Land by night, to the country of Ta-kens,
and they came to the town of Shais, but until
they reached Shais they saw naught of any
enemy. Now Shais is on the border of Nubia,
and in Nubia were the guards of the enemy.
Then Horus of Edfu changed himself into a great
winged Disk with gleaming pinions outspread,
and on either side of him came the goddesses
Nekhbet and Uazet, and their form was the form
of great hooded snakes with crowns upon their
heads
on the head of Nekhbet was the white
crown of the South Land, on the head of Uazet
was the red crown of the North Land.
And the Gods in the Boat of Ra cried aloud and
Thou who art twice great, he has
said, " See,
placed himself between the two goddesses. Behold how he overthrows his adversaries and
destroys them."
Now this is the encounter in Nubia, but the
last great battle was not yet.
sound
;
Then came Ra
in his
Thest-Hor, and he gave
Boat and he moored at
commandment
that in
;
70
THE BATTLES OF HORUS
every temple throughout the Two Lands men
should carve the Winged Disk, and on the right
and left of the Disk should be Nekhbet and Uazet
as great hooded snakes with crowns upon their
heads. And the temple at the point of ThestHor is called " The House of Horus in the South "
to this day in remembrance, and a great offering
And Ra gave
is made there to Ra and Horus.
to Horus the province of the House of Fighting,
and Ast-Abt, and the Mesen-cities of the East
and the West, and Edfu of the North, and Tharu,
and Gauti, and the Sea of SaiUng, and Upper
Shasu, and Edfu-of-the-House-of-Ra. And from
the lake south of Edfu-of-the-House-of-Ra they
bring water to the two Houses of the King on the
day of the Sed-f estival. And Isis carried Ar-stone
of sand to Thest-Hor Ar-stone of the Star was it
and in every place in the South Land to which
Horus went, there is Ar-stone found to this day.
Now some say that the last great battle is still
to come, and that in the end Horus will kill Set,
and that Osiris and all the Gods will reign on earth
—
when
their
enemy
is
destroyed. But
already ended and
utterly
others say that the battle
that Horus slew the great
is
and wicked Foe who
had wrought misery and calamity to all.
And this is what>^hey say After months and
years Horus the Child grew to manhood. Then
came Set with his allies, and he challenged Horus
And Horus came forth,
in the presence of Ra.
:
THE BATTLES OF HORUS
71
with him in their boats, with their
armour, and their glittering weapons with handles
of worked wood, and their cords, and their spears.
And Isis made golden ornaments for the prow
of the boat of Horns, and she laid them in their
places with magic words and spells, saying,
" Gold is at the prow of thy boat,
Lord of
Mesen, Horus, Chieftain of the boat, the great
boat of Horus, the boat of rejoicing. May the
valour of Ra, the strength of Shu, power and fear
son of
be around thee. Thou art victorious,
Osiris, son of Isis, for thou lightest for the throne
of thy father."
Then Set took upon himself the form of a red
hippopotamus, great and mighty, and he came
from the South Land with his Allies, travelling
to the North Land to meet Horus of Edfu. And
at Elephantine, Set stood up and spoke a great
his Followers
curse against Horus of Edfu and against Isis, and
said, " Let there come a great wind, even a furious
north- wind and a raging tempest " and the sound
of his voice was like thunder in the East of the
His words were cried from the southern
sky.
heaven and rolled back to the northern heaven,
a word and a cry from Set, the enemy of Osiris
and the Gods.
At once a storm broke over the boats of Horus
and his Followers, the wind roared, and the water
was lashed into great waves, and the boats were
tossed like straws. But Horus held on his way ;
;
72
THE BATTLES OF HORUS
and through the darkness of the storm and the
foam of the waves gleamed the golden prow like
the rays of the sun.
And Horus took upon himself the form of a
young man his height was eight cubits in his
hand he held a harpoon, the blade was four cubits,
the shaft twenty cubits, and a chain of sixty cubits
was welded to it. Over his head he brandished the
weapon as though it were a reed, and he launched
it at the great red hippopotamus which stood
in the deep waters, ready to destroy Horus and
his Followers when the storm should wreck their
;
;
boats.
And at the first cast the weapon struck deep into
the head of the great red hippopotamus and
entered the brain. Thus died Set, that great
and wicked One, the enemy of Osiris and the
Gods.
And to this day the priests of Horus of Edfu,
and the King's daughters, and the women of
Busiris and the women of Pe chant a hymn and
strike the drum for Horus in triumph.
women
And this is their song " Rejoice,
:
of Busiris
!
Rejoice,
women
has overthrown his enemies
" Exult, dwellers in Edfu
of
Pe
!
Horus
!
Horus, the great
God, Lord of heaven, has smitten the enemy of
his father
!
!
" Eat ye the flesh of the vanquished, drink ye
his blood, burn ye his bones in the flame of the
THE BATTLES OF HORUS
73
fire.
Let him be cut in pieces, and let his bones
be given to the cats, the fragments of him to the
reptiles.
"
Horus, the Striker, the great One of Valour,
the Slayer, the Chief of the Gods, the Harpooner,
the Hero, the only begotten, Captor of captives,
Horus of Edfu, Horus the Avenger
''He has destroyed the wicked One, he has
made a whirlpool with the blood of his enemy,
Behold ye, see ye
his shaft has made a prey.
Horus at the prow of his boat. Like Ra, he shines
on the horizon. He is decked in green linen, in
binding linen, in fine linen and byssus. The
double diadem is upon thy head, the two serpents
Horus the Avenger
upon thy brow,
"Thy harpoon is of metal, the shaft is of the
sycomore of the desert, the net is woven by
Hathor of the Roses. Thou hast aimed to the
right, thou hast cast to the left.
We give praise
to thee to the height of heaven, for thou hast
chained the wickedness of thine enemy. We
give praise to thee, we worship thy majesty,
Horus of Edfu, Horus the Avenger "
!
!
!
IX
THE BEER OF HELIOPOLIS
the Majesty of Ra reigned over the Two
Lands. He was the second king of Egypt, and
in his reign peace was on earth, and harvests
were so plentiful that to this day men speak of
the good things which " happened in the time
By his own power he created himself,
of Ra."
and he created heaven and earth, gods and men,
and he ruled over them all.
For hundreds and hundreds of years he ruled
until he waxed old, and men no longer feared him,
He is old,
but laughed and said, " Look at Ra
his bones are like silver, his flesh like gold, and
Now
!
his hair like true lapis lazuli."
Then Ra was wroth when he heard their jests
and their laughter, and he called to those who
his train, "Summon hither my daughter,
apple
of my eye, and summon also the gods
the
Shu and Tefnut, Geb and Nut, and the great
god Nun, whose dwelhng is in the waters of the
sky. Do my bidding secretly lest men should
were in
74
THE BEER OF HELIOPOLIS
75
hear you and see you, for then would they be
afraid and hide themselves."
In secret went the messengers, very softly they
came to summon the gods and goddesses. Secretly and softly came the gods and goddesses to
the Mansion of Ra in the Hidden Place. Naught
and they laughed again at
did men see or hear
;
Ra, not knowing the punishment that should
fall upon them.
On each side of the throne came the gods and
goddesses, and they bowed before the Majesty
of Ra with their foreheads to the ground, saying,
*'
Speak that we may hear."
Then said Ra to Nun, the great god whose
dwelling is in the waters of the sky, "
eldest of
Behold the
the gods and all ye ancestor-gods
men whom I have created, how they speak against
me. Tell me what ye would that I should do to
!
them, for verily I will not slay them till I have
heard your words."
And Nun, the great god whose dwelling is in
the waters of the sky, made answer, " My son
Ra, greatest of gods, mightiest of kings, thy
throne is set fast, and thy fear will be upon all
the world when thou sendest out thy daughter,
the apple of thine eye, against those who attack
thee."
The Majesty
of
Ra
will flee to the deserts
hide themselves,
if
spoke again, " Lo, they
and the mountains and
fear falls
upon
their hearts
76
THE BEER OF HELIOPOLIS
and in
on account of their jests and laughter
the deserts and mountains none can find them."
Then said the gods and goddesses, bowing before him with their foreheads on the ground,
" Send forth thy daughter, the apple of thine eye,
against them."
And at once there came the daughter of Ra.
Sekhmet is she called, and Hathor, fiercest of the
goddesses; like a lion she rushes on her prey,
slaughter is her dehght, and her pleasure is in
;
blood.
At her father's bidding she entered the Two
Lands to slay those who had rebelled against the
Majesty of Ra, and had turned their rebellion
to jest and laughter. In the land of Ta-mery
she killed them, and on the mountains which lie
to the east and west of the great river. To and
she hastened, slaying all who crossed her
path, and before her fled the rebels against Ra.
And Ra looked forth upon the earth and cried
to his daughter, the apple of his eye, " Come in
Hast thou done that which
Hathor
peace,
"
I gave thee to do ?
And Hathor laughed as she answered, and her
laugh was the terrible voice of the lioness as she
" By thy fife,
Ra," she cried,
tears her prey.
" I work my will upon men, and my heart refro
!
joices."
For many nights the river ran red, and the
goddess waded in the blood of men, and her feet
THE BEER OF HELIOPOLIS
77
were red as she strode through the land of Egypt
as far as Henen-seten.
Then Ra looked forth
upon the earth again,
with pity for men, though
they had rebelled against him. But none could
stop the ruthless goddess, not even the Majesty
of Ra himself
of herself must she cease to slay,
for neither gods nor men could compel her.
By
subtlety alone could this be accomplished.
Ra gave command, saying, " Call hither to me
messengers who are swift as the blast of the storm
wind." And when they were brought, he said,
" Run to Elephantine, hasten, go quickly, and
bring back to me the fruit that causes sleep.
Be swift, be swift, for all this must be accompHshed ere the day dawn."
The messengers hastened, and their speed was
the speed of a blast of the storm- wind.
They
came to Elephantine, where the great river rages
among the rocks that bar its passage they took
the fruit that causes sleep, and with the fleetness
of the wind they brought it to Ra.
Crimson
and scarlet was the fruit, and its juice was the
colour of man's blood
and the messengers
carried to it Heliopolis, the city of Ra.
Then the women of HeliopoHs crushed barley
and made beer, and with the beer they mixed the
juice of the fruit that causes sleep, and the beer
became the colour of blood. Seven thousand
measures of beer did they make, and in haste
and
his heart
was
filled
;
;
;
78
THE BEER OF HELIOPOLI^
they brewed
it, for the night was drawing to a
and the day was about to break. In haste
came the Majesty of Ra, and all the gods and
close
goddesses, who were with him, to HeHopolis
Ra saw that it was like
to inspect the beer.
human blood, and he said, " Very good is this
By this I can protect mankind."
beer.
At the daTMiing of the day, he gave command,
" Carry this beer to the place where men and
women have been slain, and pour it out upon the
fields before the beauty of the night has passed."
So they poured it out upon the fields. Four
palms deep it lay upon the ground, and its colour
was the colour of blood.
In the morning came the fierce Sekhmet, ready
to slay, and as she passed by she looked to this
But no
side and that, watching for her prey.
living thing did she see, only the fields that lay
four palms deep in the beer that was the colour
Then she laughed with the laugh Hke
of blood.
the roar of a lioness, for she thought it was the
blood she had shed. And she stooped and drank.
Again and again she drank, and she laughed the
more, for the juice of the fruit that causes sleep
mounted to her brain, and no longer could she
see to slay by reason of the juice of that fruit.
Then the Majesty of Ra said to her, " Come
in peace,,
sweet one." And to this day the
maidens of A
remembrance.
THE BEER OF HELIOPOLIS
79
And the Majesty of Ra spoke again to the
goddess, saying, " For thee shall be prepared
every
drinks from the fruits that cause sleep
year shall these be made at the great Festival of
the New Year, and the number of them shall be
according to the number of the priestesses who
serve me."
And to this day, on the festival of Hathor,
drinks are made of the fruits that cause sleep,
according to the number of the priestesses of Ra,
in remembrance of the protection of mankind
from the fury of the goddess.
;
THE NAME OF RA
Now the Majesty of Ra
was the creator of heaven
men, and cattle, of fire, and the
and he ruled over gods and men.
breath of life
And Isis saw his might, the might that reached
over heaven and earth, before which all gods
and she longed in her heart
and men bowed
for that power, that thereby she should be
greater than the gods and have dominion over
men.
There was but one way to obtain that power.
By the knowledge of his own name did Ra rule,
and none but himself knew that secret name.
and
earth, of gods,
;
;
Whosoever could learn the secret, to that one
god or man would belong the dominion over
all the world, and even Ra himself must be in
—
—
Jealously did Ra guard his secret,
ever in his breast, lest it should be
taken from him, and his power diminished.
Every morning Ra came forth in his glory at
the head of his train from the horizon of the
East, journeying across the sky, and in the
subjection.
and kept
it
80
;
THE NAME OF RA
81
evening they came to the horizon of the West,
and the Majesty of Ra sank in his glory to hghten
the thick darkness of the Duat. Many, many
times had Ra made the journey, so ma^ny times
that now he had waxed old. Very aged was
Ra, and the saliva ran down from his mouth
and fell upon the earth.
Then Isis took earth and mixed it with the
saliva, and she kneaded the clay and moulded it,
and formed it into the shape of a snake, the shape
of the great hooded snake that is the emblem of
all goddesses, the royal serpent which is upon the
brow of the Kings of Egypt. No charms or magiQ
spells did she use, for in the snake was the divine
substance of Ra himself. She took the snake and
laid it hidden in the path of Ra, the path on which
he travelled in journeying from the eastern to the
western horizon of heaven.
In the morning came Ra and his train in their
glory journeying to the western horizon of heaven,
where they enter the Duat and lighten the thick
darkness. And the serpent shot out its pointed
head which was shaped like a dart, and its fangs
sank into the flesh, of Ra, a^nd the fire of its poison
entered into the God, for the divine substance
was in the serpent.
Ra cried aloud, and his cry rang through the
heavens from the eastern to the western horizon
across the earth it rang, and gods and men alike
heard the cry of Ra. And the gods who follow
6
—
THE NAME OF RA
82
in his train said to him,
"
What
"
What
aileth thee ?
aHeth thee ?
But Ra answered never a word, he trembled in
all his
limbs,
and
his teeth chattered,
and naught
did he say, for the poison spread over his body
as Hapi spreads over the land, when the waters
rise above their banks at the time of the overflowing of the river.
When he had become calm, he called to those
who followed him and said, " Come to me, ye whom
I am hurt by a grievous thing.
1 feel
I created.
it, though I see it not, neither is it the creation of
my hands, and I know not who has made it.
Never, never have I felt pain Hke this, never,
never has there been an injury worse than this.
Who can hurt me ? For none know my secret
name, that name which was spoken by my father
and by my mother, and hidden in me that none
might work witchcraft upon me. I came forth
to look upon the world which I had made, I
passed across the Two Lands when something
Is it
Is it fire ?
I know not what struck me.
water ? I burn, I shiver, I tremble in all my
Call to me the children of the gods, they
limbs.
healing, they who have knowwho have skill
ledge of magic, they whose power reaches to
heaven."
Then came all the gods with weeping and mourning and lamentations their power was of no avail
against the serpent, for in it the divine substance
—
m
;
THE NAME OF EA
83
was incorporated. With them came Isis the
Healer, the Mistress of Magic, in whose mouth is
the Breath of Life, whose words destroy disease
and awake the dead.
She spoke to the Majesty of Ra and said.
" What is this,
divine Father ? what is this ?
Has a snake brought pain to thee ? Has the
creation of thy hand hfted up its head against
thee ? Lo, it shall be overthrown by the might
of my magic, I will drive it out by means of thy
glory."
Then the Majesty of Ra answered, " I passed
along the appointed path, I crossed over the Two
Lands, when a serpent that I saw not struck me
with its fangs. Was it fire ? Was it water ?
I am colder than water, I am hotter than fire,
I tremble in all my limbs, and the sweat runs
down my face as down the faces of men in the
fierce hea-t of
summer."
And Isis
spoke again, and her voice was low and
soothing, "Tell me thy Name, O divine Father,
thy true Name, thy secret Name, for he only
can live who is called by his name."
Then the Majesty of Ra answered, " I am the
Maker of heaven and earth, I am the Establisher
of the mountains, I am the Creator of the waters,
am the Maker of the secrets of the two Horizons,
am Light and I am Darkness, I am the Maker
of Hours, the Creator of Days, I am the Opener of
Festivals, I am the Maker of running streams,
I
I
THE NAME OF RA
84
I
I am the Creator of living flame.
in the morning, Ra at noontide, and
am Khepera
Atmu in the
evening."
But Isis held her peace never a word did she
speak, for she knew that Ra had told her the
his true Name, his
names that all men know
;
;
hidden in his breast. And
the power of the poison increased, and ran through
his veins like burning flame.
After a silence she spoke again. " Thy Name,
thy true Name, thy secret Name, was not among
those.
Tell me thy Name that the poison may
be driven out, for only he whose name I know
can be healed by the might of my magic." And
the power of the poison increased, and the pain
was as the pain of living fire.
Then the Majesty of Ra cried out and said,
" Let Isis come with me, and let my Name pass
from my breast to her breast."
And he hid himself from the gods that followed
secret
Name, was
still
Empty was the Boat of the Sun,
empty was the great throne of the God, for Ra
had hidden himself from his Followers and from
in his train.
the creations of his hands.
When the Name came forth from the heart of
Ra to pass to the heart of Isis, the goddess spoke
to Ra and said, " Bind thyself with an oath, O
Ra, that thou wilt give thy two eyes unto Horus."
Now the two Eyes of Ra are the sun and the moon,
and men call them the Eyes of Horus to this day.
THE NAME OF RA
85
Thus was the Name of Ra taken from him and
given to Isis, and she, the great Enchantress, cried
aloud the Word of Power, and the poison obeyed,
and Ra was healed by the might of his Name.
And Isis, the great One, Mistress of the Gods,
Mistress of magic, she is the skilful Healer, in
her mouth is the Breath of Life, by her words she
destroys pain, and by her power she awakes the
dead.
'^
XI
THE REGIONS OF NIGHT AND THICK
DARKNESS
When the
world came into being, there were two
the river of Egypt and the river of the
Great is the Nile, the river of Egypt, rising
sky.
in his two caverns in the South beyond the
cataract, flooding the land of Egypt and bringing
joy and good harvests to Ta-mery. Great and
mighty is the river of the sky, flowing across the
heavens and through the Duat, the world of
night and of thick darkness, and on that river
Boat of Millions of Years
floats the Boat of Ra.
is its name, but men call it the Manzet Boat in
the dawn, when Ra rises in splendour on the
the Mesektet Boat
eastern horizon of heaven
is it called in the evening, when Ra enters in glory
within the portals of the Duat, where the mountain of Manu lifts its peaks to the western sky.
On the western horizon is the mountain of Manu.
and on the eastern horizon the mountain of
Bakhu vast and huge are they, raising their
crests above the earth, and the sky rests upon
rivers,
;
;
86
THE REGIONS OF NIGHT
87
And on
the topmost peak of the
dwells a serpent; thirty
cubits in length is he, and his scales are of flint
and of glittering metal. He guards the mountain
and the Great Green Waters, and none can pass
by him save Ra in his Boat.
In the evening Ra descends in majesty to the
Western horizon of heaven, to the portals of
the Duat at the Gap of Abydos. Splendid is the
Mesektet Boat, glorious its trappings, and its
colours are of amethyst and emerald, jasper and
turquoise, lazuli and the lustre of gold. At the
Gap of Abydos waits a company of gods to prepare
the Boat for the journey through the Duat, the
land of night and of thick darkness. Stripped is
the Boat of its splendour, bare and without glory
is it when it passes through the portals of the Duat,
and in it is the body of Ra, lifeless and dead.
Then the gods take the great towing-ropes;
slowly the Boat moves along the river. The
portals of the Duat are flung wide, and the twelve
goddesses of the night take their place upon the
Boat to guide it through the gloom and perils
pilots of the river are they, and
of the Duat
without them not Ra himself could pass through
unscathed.
*'
Watercourse of Ra " is the name of the first
country of the Duat. Sombre is this land, yet not
wholly dark
for on either side the river are six
their summits.
mountain
of
Bakhu
;
;
serpents, coiled
and with heads
erect,
and the
THE REGIONS OF NIGHT
88
breath of their mouths is a flame of fire. In the
in
cabin of the Boat is Ra, dead and lifeless
the prow are Up-uaut, the Opener of the Ways,
and Sa, and the goddess of the hour. Round about
these are they
the cabin are a company of gods
;
;
who guard Ra from
all perils
and dangers, and
of the abominable Apep.
Slowly goes the Boat of Ra, passing through
the Duat, to regions of thick darkness, of horror
and dismay, where the dead have their habitations,
and Apep lies in wait for the coming of Ra.
Thus passes the first hour of the night, and the
second hour is at hand.
At the entrance of every country of the Duat
tall are the walls, and narrow is the
is a gate
upon the walls are spearheads, sharp
passage
and pointed, that no man may climb over. The
door of the gate is of wood, turning on a pivot,
and a monstrous snake guards the door. None
may pass by him save those only to whom his
name is known. At the turn of the passage are
two great hooded snakes, the one above, the
other below. The breath of their mouths is fire
and poison mingled through the narrow portal
on every side they send forth streams of flame
and venom. At either end of the passage stands
a warder, keeping watch.
Then the goddess of the first hour makes way
for the goddess of the second hour, and she calls
aloud the name of the Guardian of the gate.
from the attack
;
;
;
THE REGIONS OF NIGHT
89
Flung wide are the portals, the fire and poison
cease, and the Boat of Ra passes through.
" Ur-nes " do we name this second country of
the Duat, but the Hpvnebu and those who inhabit
the isles of the Great Green Waters call it Ouranos.
The river is wide and bears on its dark waters
no oars have they, neither masts
four shallops
nor rudders, but float upon the stream and are
carried by the current. Mysterious and strange
are they, and the shadowy shapes which fill them
have forms Uke the forms of men. In this country
Ra is Lord and King, and those who live here are
in peace, for none can pass the great hooded snakes
who guard the gates, whose breath is mingled
flame and venom. Happy are those who inhabit
;
this land, for here dwell the spirits of the corn,
Besa and Nepra and Tepu-yn. These are they
who make the wheat and barley to flourish and
cause the fruits of the earth to increase.
Slowly goes the Boat of Ra, passing through
the Duat, through regions of thick darkness, of
horror and dismay, where the dead have their
habitation, and Apep Hes in wait for the coming
Thus passes the second hour of the night,
of Ra.
and the third hour is at hand. Then the goddess
of the second hour makes way for the goddess of
the third hour, and she calls aloud the name of
the Guardian of the gate. Flung wide are the
portals, and the Boat of Ra passes through.
'*
Watercourse of the only God " is the name of
THE REGIONS OF NIGHT
90
the third country of the Duat, and here in the
beautiful Amentet is the Kingdom of Osiris.
On
either side the river are the great shapes of the
gods surrounding the form of Osiris himself.
Enthroned is he, appearing in splendour as king,
with the White Crown of the South Land and
the Red Crown of the North Land upon his head.
Great is Osiris, god of the dead, for all who die
come before him for judgment, and their hearts
are weighed in the balance against the feather of
Truth. His throne is set upon a running stream,
clear and deep, and from the waters rises a single
lotus-blossom, the colour of the sky at morning.
Upon the blossom stand the four Children of
Horus, they who assist Osiris at the Judgment,
who protect the bodies of the dead. To them
belong the South and the North, the West and
the East, and the four great goddesses are their
protectors. They stand upon the lotus-blossom
and their faces are towards Osiris the first has
the face of a man, the second the face of an ape,
the third the face of a jackal, and the fourth the
This is the hour which
face of a bird of prey.
by their own actions are they
evil-doers fear
judged, and naught can avail them. Heavy is
the heart of the evil-doer and drags down the
lower and lower it sinks till it reaches the
scale
jaws of Amemt, the Devourer of Hearts. Then
is the evil-doer driven forth into the thick darkness of the Duat, to dwell with the abominable
;
;
;
THE REGIONS OF NIGHT
Apep and
to
fall
at
last
into
the
91
Pits
of
Fire.
But some there are who have wrought rightwho have hurt no man
eousness upon earth
by fraud or violence who have succoured the
widow, the orphan, and the shipwrecked mariner
who have given food to the hungry and clothes
who have not stirred up strife,
to the naked
nor caused the shedding of tears. When these
come to the Judgment of Osiris, and their hearts
are put in the balance, then is the feather of Truth
the heavier. The scale with the feather sinks
down, and the scale with the heart rises up.
Then does Thoth, the twice-great, take the heart
and place it again in the breast of the man, and
Horus takes him by the hand and leads him to the
foot of the throne of Osiris that he may dwell in
the kingdom of Osiris for ever and for evermore.
And now only can he see the most pure and truly
holy Osiris, for " the souls of men are not able to
participate of the divine nature whilst they are
encompassed about with bodies and passions.
When they are freed from these impediments
and remove into those purer and unseen regions
'tis then that this God becomes
their
;
;
;
;
.
.
.
.
.
.
Leader and King upon him they wholly depend,
still beholding without satiety, and still ardently
longing after that beauty, which 'tis not possible
;
for
man
to express or think." *
Plutarch,
De I aide
et
Oairide (Squire's translation).
92
THE REGIONS OF NIGHT
Slowly goes the Boat of Ra, passing through
the Duat, to regions of thick darkness, of horror
and dismay, where the abominable Apep lies in
wait for the coming of Ra, and where the Pits of
Fire are prepared for the wicked. Thus passes
the third hour of the night, and the fourth hour
Then the goddess of the third hour
is at hand.
makes way for the goddess of the fourth hour,
and she calls aloud the name of the Guardian
Flung wide are the portals, and the
of the gate.
Boat of Ra passes through.
*'
Living one of forms " is the name of the fourth
country of the Duat, and Sokar has dominion
Dreary is the waste of sand, limitless
in this land.
the desert, gloomy and sombre the landscape. No
blade of grass is seen, no tree, no herbage naught
grows, naught lives, save monstrous many- headed
serpents, gliding along the ground or creeping upon
Terrible are they of aspect as they writhe
legs.
they raise their
and turn and hiss and roar
hideous crests on high and hold their dusky wings
outspread. But their anger is not towards Ra,
and he passes safely through their midst.
Engulfed is the great river and lost beneath
the shifting sands, and where it ran is now a deep
ravine. The walls of rock rise high and steep,
and ever the way winds and turns between the
Men call this place Re-stau, the Mouth
rocks.
Even in this gloomy desert Osiris
of the Tomb.
has dominion Lord of Re-stau is he called, there;
;
;
THE REGIONS OF NIGHT
93
none need fear when traversing the narrow
And now the Boat of Ra can no longer
float upon the water, but is changed into a great
and mighty serpent with gHttering scales. At
the prow is a serpent's head with eyes watchful
and fierce, at the stern is a serpent's head with
poison-fangs prepared. Over the sand it glides
as a boat glides over the water.
Slowly goes the Boat of Ra, passing through the
Duat, through regions of thick darkness, of horror
and dismay, to the place where Apep lies in wait
for the coming of Ra. Thus passes the fourth hour
of the night, and the fifth hour is at hand.
Then
the goddess of the fourth hour makes way for the
fore
path.
goddess of the fifth hour, and she calls aloud the
name of the Guardian of the gate. Flung wide are
the portals, and the Boat of Ra passes through.
" Hidden " is the name of the fifth country
of the Duat, and in this dark and gloomy region
dwells Sokar, its Lord and King, god of those
who are buried. Beside a turn of the winding
way is his dwelling deep below the ground above
it rises a high mountain of sand.
Guarding it
on either side are two sphinxes lions are they in
their bodies, with the faces of men
and their
claws are outstretched like the talons of a beast
In the midst lies a serpent with three
of prey.
heads, and between his wings stands Sokar in
the form of a man with the head of a hawk.
Savage and fierce as a hawk is Sokar, and terrible
;
;
;
THE REGIONS OF NIGHT
94
the punishment he metes out to those who rebel
against him. Hard by his dweUing is a lake
where the v/ater boils and bubbles with heat as
water boils in a pot. Into the boiling lake are
cast the rebels, and they cry to Ra for help, but
Ra lies cold and lifeless, waiting for the coming
of Khepera, and their cries are unheeded while
the Boat passes on its way.
On the farther wall of the ravine is a high and
vaulted building, the home of Night and Darkness.
Two birds cling on either side, and round
is
about it glides a two-headed serpent. He lifts
his savage heads, and his poison is ever ready to
who should dare to try
to pass. Faithful is his watch, for in the home
of Night and Darkness lives Khepera, the great
strike the rash intruder
Soul of the imi verse, he whose emblem is the
In the form of
beetle, the god of resurrection.
a scarab he watches the coming of Ra, and he
flies upon the Boat and awaits there the time
when he shall bring Life back to the god. And
now through the thick darkness along the narrow passage falls a gleam of light the Morning
Star stands by the gate to lead the Boat onw^ards
for in the darkest of the night is a
promise of the coming day.
Slowly goes the Boat of Ra, passing through
the Duat, through regions of thick darkness, of
terror and dismay, to the place where the abominable Apep lies in wait for the coming of Ra.
;
;
;
THE REGIONS OF NIGHT
95
hour of the night, and the
Then the goddess of the
fifth hour makes way for the goddess of the sixth
hour, and she calls aloud the name of the Guardian
Flung wide are the portals, and the
of the gate.
Thus passes the
sixth hour
is
fifth
at hand.
Boat of Ra passes through.
" Abyss of waters " is the name of the sixth
country of the Duat, and Osiris has dominion
over it, Osiris, the great god. Lord of the city of
Daddu, the living King, Creator of men, of cattle,
and of the green things which grow upon the earth,
Osiris, to whom all men bow in praise and
adoration.
The
Boat
in
river rises out of the
floats
it rejoice,
upon
its
waters,
sand again, and the
and those who are
for the hours of the night are passing
away. On the banks of the river are the great
shapes of the gods, mysterious and wonderful
nine sceptres of sovereignty stand there also, and
a monstrous Hon looms through the darkness,
faintly seen in the light which comes from the
Boat of Ra. Three shrines stand beside the river,
and a serpent whose breath is flame guards each
one.
Mystic and strange are the forms within
the shrines, and to man it is not given to know
the meaning of them
in one is a human head,
in another the wing of a bird, in the third the
hind part of a lion. Here also lives the great
coiled serpent with five heads, and within his
coils lies Khepera, god of resurrection.
On his
;
THE REGIONS OF NIGHT
96
head he places the scarab, beneath his feet is
thus does he send Life into the
the sign of flesh
dead, and thus will he re-vivify Ra. For this is
the farthest point of the Duat, and beyond the
gate lies the way to the sunrise.
Slowly goes the Boat of Ra, passing through
the Duat, through regions of thick darkness, of
horror and dismay, where the abominable Apep
lies in wait for the coming of Ra.
Thus passes
the sixth hour of the night, and the seventh hour
Then the goddess of the sixth hour
is at hand.
makes way for the goddess of the seventh hour,
and she calls aloud the name of the Guardian of
the gate. Flung wide are the portals, and the Boat
of Ra passes through.
" Secret cavern " is the name of the seventh
country of the Duat. Full of danger and peril is
it, for the abominable Apep dwells in this land.
As a great and monstrous serpent does he appear
and with wide-open mouth he swallows the waters
of the river, that the Boat may be wrecked
and that Ra may perish. Then would the earth
belong to the powers of darkness, and evil and
wickedness would overcome the gods.
But in the prow of the Boat stands Isis, the
great enchantress, whose magic none can withstand Isis, the greatest of the goddesses, she who
can raise the dead, and to whom all mankind pay
love and reverence. With arms outstretched,
she recites the Words of Power
calUng aloud
;
;
;
THE REGIONS OF NIGHT
97
across the dark river.
Over the body of Ra, the
serpent Mehen casts his protecting coils, for now
is the time of danger.
On a sandbank in the midst of the river lies
the abominable Apep.
Four hundred and
fifty
cubits long is the sandbank; the coils of Apep
cover it so that naught can be seen but the river
around him. Loud does he hiss and roar, and
the Duat is filled with the thunder of his voice,
yet Isis flinches not, nor does she cease her
incantations and the magical movements of her
hands. Her spells prevail and the abominable
Apep lies helpless on the sand. Then Selk and
Her-desuf leap from the Boat of Ra and bind
him with cords, and with sharp knives they pierce
his flesh, hoping to destroy him.
But Apep is
immortal, and every night will he await and attack the Boat of Ra. Yet Selk and Her-desuf
hold him fast while the Boat continues on its
way, past the great sandbanks, where he writhes
and twists and struggles to get free, but the cords
are strong and the knives are sharp and his efforts
are in vain.
Onward goes the Boat to the burial-places of
the gods. These stand beside the river
high
mounds of sand are they, over each mound is a
building, and at each end the head of a man
watches the passing of Ra.
Softly goes the Boat of Ra, passing through
the Duat, moving through the darkness to the
;
7
98
sunrise
THE REGIONS OF NIGHT
and the day.
Thus
passes the seventh
hour of the night, and the eighth hour is at hand.
Then the goddess of the seventh hour makes way
for the goddess of the eighth hour, and she calls
aloud the name of the Guardian of the gate.
Flung wide are the portals, and the Boat of Ra
passes through.
" Sarcophagus of the gods " is the name of the
eighth country of the Duat, for here dwell the dead
gods. Dead and buried are they, embalmed
and bandaged as men embalm and bandage the
dead upon earth. They cry aloud salutations
to Ra as he passes, calHng to him across the vast
expanse, but so far away are they that the sound
of their voices is as the roaring of savage bulls,
as the cry of birds of prey, as the wail of
mourners, as the murmur of bees. Before the
Boat go nine Followers of the Gods
strange
are their forms, mysterious and wonderful, Hke
naught that is upon the earth. In front of them
march the four souls of Tatanen in the Hkeness
of rams, great and fierce, with horns wide-spreading and sharp-pointed. The first is croTvued with
high upstanding plumes, the second with the
Red crown of the North Land, the third with the
White crown of the South Land, the fourth with
the glittering disk of the sun. Ancient is Tatanen, dweller in Memphis, where the abode of Ptah
is on the south of the wall.
Softly goes the Boat of Ra, passing through
;
;
THE REGIONS OF NIGHT
99
the Duat, moving through the darkness to the
Thus passes the eighth hour
sunrise and the day.
Then
of the night, and the ninth hour is at hand.
the goddess of the eighth hour makes way for the
goddess of the ninth hour, and she calls aloud the
name of the Guardian of the gate. Flung wide
are the portals, and the Boat of Ra passes through.
" Procession of images " is the name of the
ninth country of the Duat. Full and strong runs
the river, and the Boat is borne forward upon the
rushing stream. Twelve star-gods guard the
Boat, with paddles in their hands, ready to help
the Boat in case of need. Thick darkness broods
not upon this land, for twelve great hooded
snakes lie coiled upon the bank, and the breath
of their mouths is a flame of fire, gleaming upon
the dark water and upon those who dwell in the
Duat. Three shallops float upon the sombre river
strange is the shape of these shallops, not like
and the shadowy forms within
the boats of men
them are in the likeness of a cow, of a ram, and
From them the dwellers
of the soul of a man.
in this land receive the offerings which are made
to them upon the earth.
Then the star-gods
break into singing
and the twelve goddesses
and the weaving gods and the dwellers in this
land chant the glory and honour of Ra, praising
the Lord of the Boat, the Maker of earth and of
heaven. With joy and singing they follow the
appointed path.
;
;
100
THE REGIONS OP NIGHT
Onward goes the Boat of Ra, passing through the
Duat, travelling to the sunrise and the light of open
day. Thus passes the ninth hour of the night,
and the tenth hour is at hand. Then the goddess
of the ninth hour makes way for the goddess of
the tenth hour, and she calls aloud the name of
the Guardian of the gate. Flung wide are the
portals, and the Boat of Ra passes through.
" Abyss of waters, lofty of banks " is the name
of the tenth country of the Duat, and the ruler
The dwellers in this land come to meet
is Ra.
their king as he passes by upon the swelling river.
Deep and full and strong runs the stream, and
the Boat is borne forward upon the rushing curDivine warriors armed with glittering
rent.
weapons of war are a guard for their king light
By
is on their faces like the light of the sun.
upon
the side of the river are four goddesses
the darkness they cast beams of hght, making
bright the way of Ra upon the gloomy river.
Before the Boat of Ra moves the Star of Morning in the form of a double-headed serpent walking upon legs, and upon his heads are the crowns
of the South Land and the North Land between
his coils is the great hawk of the sky Leader of
Heaven is his name, for the stars of heaven follow
him, but men call him Hesper and Lucifer also.
In a shallop on the stream is a snake. Life of the
Earth is he called, and he watches in the Duat
against the enemies of Ra.
;
;
;
;
THE REGIONS OP NIGHT
101
The
greatest of all the countries of the Duat
for in this realm of wonder and mystery
Khepera joins himself to Ra, and Ra himself is
is this,
created anew.
in the
Boat
;
of Ra remains
united to the soul of
Yet the dead body
but his soul
is
Khepera.
Onward goes the Boat of Ra, passing through
the Duat, travelling to the sunrise and the light
Thus passes the tenth hour of the
of open day.
night and the eleventh hour is at hand. Then
the goddess of the tenth hour makes way for the
goddess of the eleventh hour, and she calls aloud
the name of the Guardian of the gate. Flung
wide are the portals, and the Boat of Ra passes
through.
" Mouth of the cavern " is the name of the
eleventh country of the Duat, and Ra is its ruler.
Low has the river fallen and sluggishly it runs,
and the Boat is drawn onwards by the gods
not with cords do they tow it, but with the body
of the great serpent Mehen, the protector of Ra.
On the prow of the Boat is a fiery star, but its
light is not redder than the strange and lurid glow
which fills this land terrible and red is it and
the sight gf it is full of horror. This is the
region feared by evil-doers, for their punishment
awaits them here. Far and near are pits of fire
goddesses, whose breath is flame, guard the pits,
holding in their hands gleaming swords of fire.
With their knives do they torment the wicked and
;
;
;
;
THE REGIONS OF NIGHT
102
them into the pits of flame till they perish
Horus stands by and beholds their
torments, for these are the enemies of Osiris and
of Ra, doers of evil upon the earth and blasphemers of the gods. No help can come to them,
no escape is possible doomed are they by their
own actions to the sword and fire. And the
smoke and flame of their torment rise up in the
cast
utterly.
;
Duat.
On
the far side of the river are the stars
Shedu is there in the fashion of a snake scarlet
and crimson is he, and the stars which form his
body are ten in number. There also a shape is
like a winged
seen, mysterious and wonderful
snake with legs does he appear, and between the
wings is the shadowy hkeness of a man. Men
ancient
call him Atmu, dweller in Heliopolis
and he
is Atmu, more ancient than Ra himself
sends the sweet breezes of the North Wind upon*
the land of Egypt. On either side of him the
Eyes of Horus show dimly in the faint and lurid
And now springs up the breeze of morning
light.
gentle is it and sUght, but with it comes the
;
;
;
;
;
promise of the day.
Onward goes the Boat of Ra, passing through
the Duat, travelling to the sunrise and the light
Thus passes the eleventh hour, and
of open day.
the twelfth hour and the dawn are at hand
Then the goddess of the eleventh hour makes
way for the goddess of the twelfth hour, and she
THE REGIONS OF NIGHT
calls
aloud the
name
Flung wide are the
of the
103
Guardian of the gate.
and the Boat of Ra
portals,
passes through.
" Darkness has fallen, and births shine forth ''
is the name of the twelfth country of the Duat.
On the prow of the Boat is the great scarab of
Khepera, ready to make the transformations of
Ra ere he reaches the end of the Duat. Not
like other lands is this twelfth region of the
Duat, for it is enclosed in the body of a vast and
monstrous serpent. *' Life of the Gods " is his
name, and through this great and huge frame
travels the Boat of Millions of Years.
Twelve
of the worshippers of
^
Ra
seize the towing-ropes
and drag the Boat onward, and here in the
body of the serpent is Ra transformed into
Khepera and is alive again, for now the journey
through the Duat is near the end. Standing by
the mouth of the serpent are twelve goddesses
;
to these the Worshippers of Ra yield the towingropes, and they draw the Boat to the eastern
horizon of heaven. And now the dead corpse
of Ra is cast out of the Boat, as the husk is cast
away when the grain is winnowed out, for the
soul and the life of Ra are in the scarab of
Khepera, and the transformations of Ra are comWith shouting and singing, with joy
pleted.
and with gladness, the Boat of Ra passes out of
the Duat.
Glorious is the Manzet Boat, speeding to the
THE REGIONS OF NIGHT
104
Wide, swing wide the portals, and usher
sunrise
Between the sycomores of turquoise
in the day.
!
comes the Boat
is
of
of Bakhu
The serpent, guardian of the
Ra, and the mountain
flushed with Ught.
Great Green Waters, beholds Ra in glory in the
eastern horizon of heaven, and the rays ghtter
on
his scales.
the Manzet Boat, borne upon the
the splendour and the light of
open day. In the foam at the prow of the Boat
sports the Abtu-fish, darting through the gleaming spray, and the Ant-fish is seen in the whirlpool
From the earth rises up the sound
of turquoise.
of rejoicing, for all created things praise Ra at his
Glorious
is
river, flashing in
rising.
the night and
Hail to thee, Ra, at thy rising
the darkness are past. At the dawn of the day
thou shinest, the heavens are filled with thy
King of the Gods art thou, all glory and
light.
triumph are thine. The Gods come as dogs to
thy feet, rejoicing to greet thee at dawn. Hail
at thy coming all men
to thee Ra, at thy rising
are glad. In joy dost thou come in the morning,
with glory thou rulest the world. The stars of
the heavens adore thee, the Gods of the earth
exalt thee. Lord of the Heavens art thou. Hail
None can express
to thee, Ra, at thy rising
thy glory, Lord of all Wisdom and Truth. The
souls of the East attend thee, the souls of the
West are thy servants, the North and the South
;
;
!
THE REGIONS OF NIGHT
105
adore thee. Worshipped art thou, our Ruler, by
those whom thou hast created, Thou risest in
heaven's horizon, thou causest mankind to reHail to thee, Ra, at thy rising at thy rising
joice.
Ra.
in beauty,
;
NOTES
I.
THE PRINCESS AND THE DEMON
Published
pi.
Prisse
:
d'Avennes, Monuments Egyptiens,
xxiv.
Translated
:
Wiedemann, Religion
of the
Ancient Egyp-
tians, p. 275.
This tale is sculptured on a sandstone tablet found by
Champollion in the temple of Khonsu at Thebes, and now in
the Bibliotheque Nationale at Paris.
There are twenty-eight horizontal lines of inscription, and
above them is a scene of two boats of Khonsu borne on the
shoulders of priests, with the king offering incense before
them.
When first translated, the tale was supposed to be a record
of fact, but now it is generally considered a folk-tale, redounding to the credit and glory of Khonsu, and therefore made use
of by the priests of that god.
The king mentioned in it
cannot be identified with any of the historical monarchs of
Egypt, although his personal name, Rameses, is sufficiently
common among the rulers of the xxth dynasty.
II.
THE KING'S DREAM
Published Lepsius, Denkmdler, iii, 68.
Translated Breasted, Ancient Records,
:
:
ii,
810-815.
The inscription is sculptured on a round-topped stela of red
granite, fourteen feet high, set up in the little temple which
lies between the paws of the Great Sphinx.
The temple was excavated by Captain Caviglia in 1817.
It forms the end of a processional way which leads downwards
107
NOTES
108
by paved causeways and
flights of steps from the edge of the
desert into the sanctuary (see Vyse, Pyramids of Qizeh, iii,
The tiny shrine is only ten feet long by five wide, and
107).
at its farthest end, with its back to the breast of the Sphinx,
stands this stela.
The inscription, which is in horizontal lines, is surmounted
by a scene, duplicated to right and left, of the king making
a libation of w^ater and burning incense before the figure of
a Sphinx couchant upon a pylon or altar. The lower half
of the stela is so mutilated that the inscription is either destroyed or illegible.
The inscription purports to be of the time of Thothmes IV,
a king of the xviiith dynasty, about 1400 b.o. ; erected by
But from the evidence
that monarch as a votive offering.
of the language in which the inscription is couched it is
Erman dates it to a period between
obviously much later
the xxiiird and xxvith dynasties.
It may, however, be a
restoration of an earlier record, though of the early inscription
nothing remains.
;
III.
THE COMING OF THE GREAT QUEEN
Naville, Deir el
translation).
Published
:
Translated
:
Bahar%
ii,
Breasted, Ancient Records ^
pis. xlvi-li
ii,
(with
187-220.
The inscription, with the scenes illustrating it, are sculptured
on the walls
of the temple of Deir el Bahari, on the north
side of the retaining wall of the upper platform.
The great building, known in modern times as the temple
of Deir el Bahari, was erected by Queen Hatshepsut of the
xviiith dynasty, about 1500 b.o., for the double purpose of
her own funerary cult, and of the worship of the goddess
Hathor. The chief events of the Queen's reign are sculptured
on the walls ; the record of her divine descent naturally holds
The inscriptions in the temple were
a prominent place.
wrecked and restored anciently, therefore much of the record
is lost.
Fortunately, however, Amenhotep III, a king of the
same dynasty rather more than a century later than Hatshepsut, adorned his temple of Luxor with similar scenes and
inscriptions, relating to his own di^dne descent, changing of
NOTES
109
course the names of the mother and child and making a few
immaterial alterations in the inscriptions. By means of this
later example the whole of the earlier record is made clear.
The white colonnades of Hatshepsut's temple, set against
a background of dark cliffs, form one of the most striking
scenes in the valley of the Nile. The temple was used at one
time as a Coptic village
hence its modern name of Deir el
Bahari, the Northern Convent.
It has recently been excavated and restored by Dr. Naville
for the Egypt Exploration Fund.
;
IV.
Published
THE BOOK OF THOTH
Spiegelberg, Demotiscke
:
Papyrus (Cairo Cata-
logue).
Translated
:
Petrie,
Egyptian Tales,
ii,
89.
This story is written in demotic on a papyrus found at
Thebes in the grave of a Coptic monk. It was among other
papyri, written in hieratic and in Coptic, in a wooden chest,
and is now in the Cairo Museum. Demotic is the script in
which the latest form of the Egyptian language was written
the earliest example remaining is of the reign of Shabaka of
the xxvth dynasty, about 715 B.C. ; it continued in use till
Rom.an times, when it was superseded by the Greek alphabet.
The papyrus is of the Ptolemaic period, but the exact date
is uncertain, as the colophon at the end is partly illegible.
The year 15 only is visible, which, however, is not siifficient
guide to the reign of the king under whom it was written.
The legend given in this book is part only of a much longer
it is in fact a story within a story, told by the ka of
tale
Ahura to the high priest of Memphis, when he ventured into
the tomb of Nefer-ka-ptah in search of the Book of Thoth.
The Book of Thoth is said to contain only two pages; it
must therefore have been a roll of papyrus written on both sides.
;
;
V.
Original
:
Plutarch,
Translated
The
:
osmis
De
Iside et Oairide.
Mead, Thrice-greatest Hermes,
i,
278.
treatise on Isis and Osiris was written by Plutarch,
himself an initiate into the Osiris-mysteries, to a fellow-
no
NOTES
It was written at Delphi
a woman named Kllea.
in the second century a.d.
It is the only connected account remaining of the death of
Though of so late a date,
Osiris and the wanderings of Isis.
it is found to be correct on the whole when checked by the
inscriptions and sculpture of Pharaonic times.
The so-called Ritual of Denderah is our principal authority
for the worsliip of Osiris in the chief temples of Egypt on the
The Ritual is sculptured
festivals of the month of Khoiakh.
on the walls of the temple of Denderah, and gives in great
detail the rites in use, and even the size and material of the
symbolical images. The inscription dates to the Ptolemaic
period, but the Ritual is considerably earlier.
" Mystery-plays " of the death of Osiris and of the repulse
of Set by Horus appear to have been enacted on certain great
occasions at the chief centres of worship. The principal
part was that of Horus, which was acted by the Pharaoh
himself in the capital, and by the chief local notabilities in
proviQcial centres.
initiate,
THE SCORPIONS OF
VI.
Published
ISIS
Golenischeff, Metternichatele (with
translation).
:
Translated
:
Budge, Legends
German
of the Gods, p. 157.
sculptm-ed on a round-topped stela of
serpentine (?), fixed in a square pedestal. It was found at
Alexandria at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and
was presented to Prince Mettemich by Mohamed Ali in 1828.
The front, back, and sides of both stela and pedestal are
sculptured with horizontal and vertical lines of inscription
and with mythological figures. The stela belongs to a class
of amuletic objects, usually called Cippi of Horus, which are
inscribed with magical spells against all animals " biting with
This stela is the
their mouths or stinging with their tails."
On the front is sculptured
largest Cippus of Horus known.
in high relief the figiu-e of Horus represented as a naked child,
standing on two crocodiles, and holding a lion, a gazelle,
He stands within a
scorpions, and snakes in his hands.
Isis and
shrine, which is surmounted by the head of Bes.
This inscription
is
NOTES
111
Thoth, the goddesses of the South and North, and other
mythological figures and emblems are within and without
Above this scene are horizontal registers filled
with figures, possibly representing scenes from legends which
the shrine.
are
now
lost.
The
text which preserves the story of the scorpions of
Isis is inscribed on the back of the tablet, 11. 48-70.
The
date of the stela is about 370 b.o., in the reign of Nectanebo I.
of the xxxth dynasty.
VII.
Published
THE BLACK PIG
Naville,
:
Das
Aegyptiacfie
Todtenhuch,
pi.
cxxiv.
Translated
The
which
:
Budge, Book
of the
Dead, oh.
cxii.
so-called Book of the Dead is a compilation of texts
are found, written on papyri or on oofifins, in the tombs.
No copy
containing
all
the chapters
is
known
;
the order has
therefore been arranged from a comparison of
many
ex-
amples.
The ancient name of these texts is " Chapters of Coming
forth to the Day " ; the modem name is " Book of the Dead,'*
It conas it is evidently a manual for the use of the dead.
sists of a series of prayers, hjonns, magical formulae, and
allusions to mythological stories, a knowledge of which was
considered necessary in order to escape the perils and dangers
It is obviously very ancient, for even
of the life hereafter.
in the earliest known examples, the Pyramid Texts of the
vith djmasty, the text is often very corrupt. The Pyramid
Texts show traces of very primitive usages and cults, many
of which are lost in the later forms of the Book of the Dead.
The story related under the name of the Black Pig refers
to an incident in the war between Horus and Set, and is not
known elsewhere. Probably many such legends were current
in ancient Egypt, but few have been preserved to us intact.
Horns was the great hero-god, and, like the heroes of other
countries, he absorbed all the legend i of local champions.
Some of his exploits and adventures seem to have been so
well known that a mere allusion was sufficient to recall them
to the mind of the reader.
Sometimes a short and, to us
;
NOTES
112
confused account is given, as in chapter cxiii of the Book of
the Dead, where the restoration to Horus of his hands and
arms, which have been lost in a swamp, is related in a manner
wliich conveys very little to the modern reader.
A great number of legends have been preserved in magical
papyri, but even among these the quantity of tantalising
allusions is larger than the number of complete legends.
Thus, in the Demotio Papyrus of London and Leyden, a charm
against fever begins " Horus was going up a hill at midday
in the verdure season, momited on a wliite horse." He finds
the gods eating, and they invite him to join them, but he
This is all that is said, but it is
refuses as he has fever.
evidently an allusion to a well-known story.
THE BATTLES OF HORUS
VIII.
Published
:
Naville,
Mythe d'Horus (with French
trans-
lation).
Translated: Wiedemann, Religion of the Ancient Egyptians,
p. 69.
The account
of the war between Horus and Set is sculptured
of the west side of the girdle-wall of the
on the inner part
temple of Edfu. The whole temple is dedicated to Horus
though undoubtedly an early foundation, the present structure dates only to the Ptolemaic period. It was begun by
Ptolemy III Euergetes I, and took 180 years to build and
decorate. The girdle-wall, on which these scenes and inscriptions were sculptured, was built and decorated about 100 B.C.,
either by Soter II or Alexander I.
The temple was excavated by Mariette, and is the most
perfect in condition of all the temples in Egypt, for with
the exception of the wanton multilation of the faces, probably by Cliristian fanatics, both building and sculpture are
untouched save by time.
legendary form a fairly
The inscription appears to give
accurate accoimt of tribal battles of a very early period.
Though the actual inscription is oi a .ate date, many primitive
the hymns oi the women to
ideas are preserved, especially
Horus. " Eat ye the ilesh Ol the vanquished, drink ye his
blood," is not a sentiment of the civilisation oi Ptolemaic
m
m
NOTES
113
Human sacrifice, however, appears to have been
times.
practised in Egypt at all periods. Harvest victims were
bm'nt at Eleithyapolis (El Kab). Amasis II of the xxvith
dynasty put an end to hmnan sacrifice at Heliopolis ; Diodorus
says that red-haired men were offered up at the sepulchre of
Osiris ; as the king was the incarnate Osiris, this would mean
that human sacrifices were made at the royal graves, probably diu-ing the funeral ceremonies. The Book of the Dead
also continually alludes to human sacrifice.
At Edfu an
altar was found sculptured with representations of offerings
Small figures,
in which hmnan beings are the victims.
carved in the round, are known, which are in the form of
bomid captives ; and show probably the method of binding
the victim ; the legs are bent at the knees, and the feet
bound to the thighs ; the arms are bent at the elbows and
securely lashed to the body. This is not the ordinary way
of binding a prisoner, but is a special method reserved
probably for a human victim. The figures represent sometimes men, sometimes women.
Judging by the representations and scenes on the girdlewall, a "mystery-play" was acted in the temple of Edfu,
the Pharaoh playing the principal part, that of Horus. In
early times it seems more than probable that Set, or the
Ally of Set, was played by a human being, who was actually
When the custom of human
killed during the performance.
sacrifice begins to die out, the human victun is often replaced
by an animal. This is the case at Edfu, where Set is called
a hippopotamus and represented as a pig.
THE BEER OF HELIOPOLIS
IX.
Published Lefebure, Tomheau de Sety P, pt, iii, pis. 15-18
{Annales du Musee Guiniet, ix).
Translated
Wiedemann, Religion of the Ancient
Egyptians, p. 62. (For a description of the tomb of
Sety I see the Notes on Legend xi).
:
:
This story is sculptured on the walls of a side-chamber
one of the inner halls of the tomb of Sety I (room xii of
the guide-books). On one of the walls is a representation of
a cow standing under the star-sprinkled vault of heaven
off
8
NOTES
114
Nut, the sky-goddess ; she is raised on tho uplifted
god Shu, and each leg is supported by two gods ;
Boats of the Sun travel across her body. The
connection between this representation and the legend is
Tliis is
hands
of the
planets, and
quite uncertain.
The tale occurs only in this one place, but every excavator
hopes that he may one day find a tomb with a complete copy
of the story sculptured on the walls.
X.
THE NAME OF RA
Pleyte and Rossi, Papyrus de Turin, pis.
31, 77, 131-138.
Translated: Wiedem&im, Religion of the Ancient Egyptians,
Published
:
p. 54.
This tale is found in a hieratic papyrus of the xxth dynasty
(about 1200-1100 B.C.). It is written on both sides; the
handwriting on one side differs from the handwriting on the
The writing
other, showing that it is the work of two scribes.
Hieratic is
is in black ink with occasional sentences in red.
the running hand, derived from the hieroglyphs the earliest
example occurs in the first dynasty it was superseded by
demotic in the latest period of Egyptian history.
Tliis papyrus is not quite complete, but the part containing
the legend is fortunately uninjured. The text consists of
magical formulae against the bites of serpents. In healing
by magic, the magician recited an event in the career of some
;
;
deity in which the god suffered from the same malady as the
patient then seeking relief. The words which cured
the divine patient would also cure the human invalid. The
same idea prevails in the legend of the Scorpions of Isis.
human
XI.
THE REGIONS OF NIGHT AND THICK DARK
NESS
Lef^bure, Tombeau de Seti I. {Annates du
Published
Musee Quimet, ix).
Jequier, Livre de ce quHl y a dans VHadds ;
Translated
Budge, Egyptian Heaven and Hell.
:
:
The
World
description of the Journey of Ra through the Other
is sculptured on the walls of the tomb of Seti I at
NOTES
116
the great tomb discovered by Belzoni in
The length is 330 feet, and it consists of long
corridors, pillared halls, and side-chambers, hewn out of the
solid rock.
The Book of Am Duat is sculptured on the walls
of corridor iii, halls v, vi, and x, and side-chambers xi and
Thebes. Thia
October 1817.
is
xiii.
Eleven hoiu-s only are given ; the twelfth hour, though
frequently foimd on papyri, is rare in sculpture.
There are two versions of the Smi's journey through the
Duat. One was called by the Egyptians themselves the
Book of that which is in the Other World (Am Duat) the
other has no Egyptian name, but is now called the Book of
Gates, for in it the gates are more important than the countries
which they divide. (For a comparison of the two books, see
;
Hell).
The Book of Gates is
of
Duat, and is found sculptured
on sarcophagi ; the finest example being the alabaster
sarcophagus of Seti I, now in the Soane Museum in London.
Duat is fomid both in papyri and on tombThe Book of
walls, the earliest example of the latter being the tomb of
Amenhotep II of the xviiith dynasty. It is a compilation
by the theologians of that period ; an attempt to combine
into one homogeneous v/hole several distinct ideas of the
next world and the life hereafter.
The fourth and fifth
countries of the Duat are obviously one complete kingdom,
ruled by the god Sokar, the Memphite god of the dead. As
Memphis was a very important religious centre, its god of the
dead and his kingdom had to be included in the Duat of Ra,
in spite of the fact that it was a waterless desert, and that it
ended with the Morning Star. It was a region totally different
from any other kingdom of the hereafter ; no river ran through
Budge, Egyptian Heaven and
rarer than the
Book
Am
Am
it
it was inhabited by neither gods nor spirits, but by enormous and horrible reptiles. The ingenuity of the compilers
of this Book in tm'ning the Boat of Ra into a serpent, which
;
could dispense with the river and glide over the sand, is
certainly remarkable.
Another Morning Star appears also n the tenth hour, and
the breeze of morning seems to be felt by the goddesses in
the eleventh hour, for they raise their hands to shelter their
faces from it.
Budge [Egyptian Heaven and Hell) suggests
also that the Egyptians looked upon the red clouds of the dawn
as being tinged with the reflection from the pits of flame.
116
NOTES
These indications of morning appearing in the wrong place
point clearly to the fact of the book bemg a compilation,
more or less clumsy.
The first hour seems to have been added in order to make
a good introduction to the compilation. The last hour is
evidently a compromise. The most ancient idea with regard
to the simrise was that the Sun was born anew every morning
of the Sky-goddess Nut.
This theory does not fit with the
dogma of the Sun's nightly journey through the Other
World in a Boat ; therefore the last hour is represented as
a dark and tortuous passage symbolising the womb of the
goddess. The birth of the Sim was the most important event
of the day to his worshippers, consequently the account of
the last hour is found frequently on papyri, buried in the
graves.
The Duat, or Other World, was generally supposed to be
the region lying to the north of Egypt ; the delta by the
Egyptians of the South ; the Mediterranean and its islands
by the delta-people.
The Egyptians had an abridgment or summary of this
long accoiuit of Ra's night- journey. It was always written
on papyrus in vertical columns, with all the scenes and long
speeches omitted. It gives the name of each gate and counsometimes, though not
try and of the goddess of every hour
always, the names of the gods who live in the different regions
and alwaya the magical words of Ra to the inhabitants of
each land. Felicitous results here and hereafter are promised
to all who know the words and scenes thoroughly.
The hymn to Ra is a paraphrase of hymns wliich are still
;
;
extant.
INDEX OF NAMES OF GODS
which accompanies the Boat
Ahtu-fish. — A mythological
of Ra at sunrise,
Amemt. — The mythical animal which devours the hearts of
the wicked at the Judgment of
Amon. — God of Thebes. In and after the xviiith dynasty
fish
Osiris.
he became the supreme deity of Egypt under the
of
— A mytliologicai
at sunrise.
Anubis. — A jackal-headed
Ant- fish.
of
name
Amon-Ka.
fish
which accompanies the Boat
Ra
deity
who
presided
over
the
embalming of the dead. He was said to be the illegitimate son of Osiris and Nephthys, and, in the form of a
dog, to have protected Isis in her wanderings,
Apep. The enemy of Ra in the Duat,
Aatarte.
A Syrian goddess, whose name is found occasionally
in Egyptian inscriptions.
Atmu. An early name of the solar deity worshipped at
—
—
—
Heliopolis.
In later times, the name of the setting sun,
Bea. — A bandy-legged dwarf with horns.
God of music and
pleasure, and protector of children.
god of birth.
Besa.
A spirit of the com,
Geb.
The earth-god, father of Osiris.
Possibly also a
—
—
— Horus on the Horizon, the sun at rising
Harpocrates. — Horus the Child, son of
and
Hathor. — Goddess of love and beauty
often identified with
the other goddesses, including Sekhmet.
Hekt. — The frog-headed goddess of birth.
Her-desuf. — A form of Horus,
Horakhti. — The Horizon-Horus. The same as Harmakhis.
Horus. — The hawk-headed god
properly speaking, the
Hartnakhis.
and
i.e.
its
setting.
Isis
;
all
is,
117
Osiris,
INDEX OF NAMES OF GODS
118
brother of Isis and Osiris
but is constantly confused
with Horus the Child, and is called Avenger or Protector
;
of his Father.
—The greatest of Egyptian goddesses, wife of
and mother of Harpocrates.
Khepera. — The rising sun, god of resurrection.
Khnum. — The ram-headed god of the cataract, who creates
man upon the potter's wheel.
Khonsu. — The moon-god at Thebes.
Mehen. — The serpent who protects Ra in the Duat.
war.
3Ientu. — God
Meskhent. — Goddess of
Min. — Father of gods and men. God of Koptos.
Identified by the Greeks with
Neith. — Goddess of
Athena.
Nekhhet. — The vulture-goddess of Upper Egypt.
and
Nephthys. — Sister of
of the corn.
Nepra. — A
Nun. — God of the primaeval waters.
Nut. — The sky-goddess, mother of
the chief gods of Egypt. Murdered and torn
Osiris. — One
re-vivified by
and Horus.
to pieces by his brother
Ra. — The Sun-god, one of the chief gods of Egypt. Heliopolis
Osiris,
Isis.
of
birth.
Sais.
Isis
Osiris.
spirit
Osiris.
of
Set,
Isis
(the On of the Bible) was the principal centre of his
worship.
Sekhmet. The lioness-headed goddess of Memphis.
The scorpion-goddess.
Selk.
Brother and murderer of Osiris. Looked upon, in
Set.
late times, as the Author of Evil.
Shu. Twin-brother of Tefnut. He holds up the sky above
the earth.
The hawk-headed god of the dead. When fused with
Sokar.
Ptah (Ptah-Sokar) he appears in the form of a misshapen dwarf, and is then looked upon as a god of
—
—
—
—
—
resurrection.
— An obscure god, generally fused with Ptah of
of birth.
—
Tefnut. — Lioness-headed. Twin-sister of Shu. The two form
the constellation Gemini.
of the com.
Tepu-yn. — A
Tatanen.
Memphis as Ptah-Tatanen.
The hippopotamus goddess
Ta-urt.
spirit
INDEX OF NAMES OF GODS
Thoth.— The ibis-headed god
Chief centre of worship
of
—
—
all
learning and magic.
or Hennopolis, now
Khemennu
called Eshmunen.
Uazet.
Goddess of Lower Egypt.
Up-uaut. The jackal-god of Siut.
119
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High-Throughput Testing of Kinetic Hydrate Inhibitors
Energy & Fuels, 2016