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ANCIENT EGYPTIAN LIMERICKS?
Richard Severo wrote in the New York Times in the 1980s, “About 4,450 years ago in Egypt, a powerful vizier named Ptahhotep in the Fifth Dynasty court of Pharaoh Izezi thought he was getting a bit too old for the job and decided he had better prepare his king for the vizier's reduced activity if not his retirement. [Source: Richard Severo, New York Times, August 25, 1981]
''O sovereign, my lord! Old age has come into being; decrepitude has befallen, feebleness has come and weakness is renewed ... the mind has perished and does not remember yesterday.'' It was more than the lament of an aging government official; it became part of the ''wisdom genre'' of ancient Egypt, which scribes copied in order to learn how to duplicate the contents of a papyrus faithfully. The genre, preserved in fragments from Ptahhotep and other viziers, is a highly cultivated and artistic form of communication, and tells a great deal about Egyptian values of the time when the scribes wrote.
If Ptahhotep was living today and knew English, might he be tempted to approach Pharaoh in a slightly different way? For example, he might do it this way: A vizier before Dynasty Six Said ''Sovereign, my lord! I am sick with the onset of age. Though I'm still very sage, Senility's coming on quick.'' An Egyptian limerick? Not so unlikely, according to Dr. Carol R. Fontaine, an assistant professor of Old Testament at the Andover Newton Theological School in Massachusetts. She is convinced that Egyptian hieroglyphics make charming limericks in English and she has proved it by creating some. A selection has now been published in the journal Biblical Archeologist.
The sing-song quality of the limericks most people know is reminiscent of ancient Egyptian, says Dr. Fontaine, and she thought it would make the task of learning the old symbols easier. ''I believe in teaching by laughter more than by terror,'' she says.
Ancient Egyptian Proverbs as Limericks
Severo wrote in the New York Times The wisdom literature attributed to Ptahhotep is akin not only to limericks but to the proverbs that were a familiar form of communication in the Near East, of which many appear in the Old Testament. Such literature concerns itself with getting along in life,and its form may be found throughout the ancient languages of the Middle East and was not confined to religious works.
The hieroglyphics in which the aging Ptahhotep tries to persuade Pharaoh to groom a successor for him were originally translated: ''May it be permitted to this thy humble servant to appoint a staff of old age, so that I may speak to him the words of judges, the counsels of those who have gone before, who in the past listened to the gods. Then it shall be done likewise for you: troubles shall be expelled from the people and the Two Banks shall serve you.'' This is Dr. Fontaine's limerick on the same passage: For my old age, appoint me a prop So my work needn't falter or stop: Let me teach him his stuff Until he's had enough, And my maxims he surely will top.
In the original translation, Ptahhotep's instruction on the value of education is this: ''Do not be great as to your heart on account of your knowledge and do not fill your heart, because you are a knowing one. Take advice for yourself with the ignorant as well as the learned, for the limit of skill cannot be attained, and there is no craftsman who has acquired his mastery (in full). Good speech is more hidden than a green gem, yet it is found with slave girls at the millstones.'' And here is Dr. Fontaine's limerick: Be not high with respect to your heart, Or think yourself so very smart: For of skill there's no limit In Kush or in Kemet, And good speech is a difficult art. Moreso than the best malachite Good speech is quite hidden from sight; And yet, it is found With the slavegirl profound At the grindstone displaying insight.(''Kush'' is the ancient name for the land that was roughly where Ethiopa now is, and ''Kemet'' was the ancient name for Egypt.)
On how to win an argument with a disputant ''in his moment,'' Ptahhotep told his scribes: ''You should make little of the speaking of evil by not opposing him in his argument. He will be dubbed as a he-is-one-who-knowsnothing when your self-control has equaled his abundance.'' The limerick reads: If a disputant in his moment you find, Then just pay him no never mind: Men will think well of you But of him 'Hm-ht-pw,' For your heart will seem more refined. (Hm-ht-pw is translated as ''he is a know-nothing.'')
Ptahhotep also offers advice to the family man: ''If you are well off, then you should establish your house, and love your wife in (your) home (according to good custom). Fill her belly; clothe her back. Oil is the prescription of her body. Make her heart glad during the time of your living, for she is a profitable field for her lord.'' Dr. Fontaine said she was not sure whether Ptahhotep was simply recommending ample feeding of wives or whether ancient Egypt was the place were the adage about keeping women ''barefoot and pregnant'' began. ''He probably had both nutrition and pregnancy in mind,'' she said, ''since a woman might suffer the decline or loss of her fertility if she were not well-fed.'' She offered this limerick: If you can, then establish your house; Settle down with a nice little spouse: A rich field for her lord Is a wife who's not bored (But her body with oil you must douse). Ptahhotep was not the only creator of Egyptian wisdom literature but his instructions are the earliest surviving example of that genre, according to Dr. Fontaine. Moreover, neither he nor his scribes were limited to wisdom-writing. Scribes were quite free to create novellas, fairy tales and love songs and examples of all have been found. But wisdom literature was where they learned a craft of which they were very proud.
Ancient Egyptian Love Poems
The hieroglyphic for "love" consists of a hoe, a moth and a man with a hand in his mouth. It literally meant "to want, choose, or desire." Lovers in poems often address each other as brother or sister.
_and_queen.jpg "20120215-King_Menkaura_(Mycerinus)_and_queen.jpg")
King Menkaura and queen Archaeologists have found 55 anonymous love poems, dated around 1300 B.C., on papyri and vases. One of them goes:
” More lovely than all other womanhood.
luminous perfect.
A star coming over the sky-line at new year.
a good year.
Splendid in colors.
with an allure in the eye's turn.
Her lips are enchantment.
her neck the right length.
and her breasts a marvel;
Her hair lapis lazuli in its glitter.
her arms more splendid that gold.
Her fingers make me see petals.
the lotus' are like that.
Her flanks are modeled as should be.
her legs beyond all other beauty.
Nobel her walking
My heart would be a slave should she enfold me. “
Another poem called Pleasant Songs of the Sweetheart Who Meets You in the Fields” described a women hunting birds:
” My darling — my beloved — whose love empowers me.
Listen to what I tell you:
I went to the field where birds gather.
I held in one hand a rap, and in the other a net and a spear.
I saw many bird flying from the land of Punt
laden with sweet fragrances to alight on Egypt's soil.
The first snatched they bait from my hand.
He had a beautiful odor and his claws held incense.
But, for your sake, dear evolved, I will set him free.
Because I would like you, when far away.
To listen to the song of the bird
Scented with myrrh.
How wonderful to go to the fields when one's heart
is consummated by love!
The goose cries out, he goose has snatched the bait
and was trapped.
Your love distracted me and I could not keep it.
I will fold the nets, but what can I tell mother
When I return each day without birds
I will say I failed to set my nets.
Because the nets of your love have trapped me” .
Egyptian Love Poem (c. 2000-1100 B.C.)
family group of one man and two women
Egyptian love poem (c. 2000-1100 B.C.) reads:
I. Your love has penetrated all within me
Like honey plunged into water,
Like an odor which penetrates spices,
As when one mixes juice in... ......
Nevertheless you run to seek your sister,
Like the steed upon the battlefield,
As the warrior rolls along on the spokes of his wheels.
For heaven makes your love
Like the advance of flames in straw,
And its longing like the downward swoop of a hawk.
“ II. Disturbed is the condition of my pool.
The mouth of my sister is a rosebud.
Her breast is a perfume.
Her arm is a............bough
Which offers a delusive seat.
Her forehead is a snare of meryu-wood.
I am a wild goose, a hunted one,
My gaze is at your hair,
At a bait under the trap
That is to catch me.
“ III. Is my heart not softened by your love-longing for me?
My dogfoot-(fruit) which excites your passions
Not will I allow it
To depart from me.
Although cudgeled even to the "Guard of the overflow,"
To Syria, with shebod-rods and clubs,
To Kush, with palm-rods,
To the highlands, with switches
To the lowlands, with twigs,
Never will I listen to their counsel
To abandon longing.
“ IV. The voice of the wild goose cries,
Where she has seized their bait,
But your love holds me back,
I am unable to liberate her.
I must, then, take home my net!
What shall I say to my mother,
To whom formerly I came each day
Loaded down with fowls?
I shall not set the snares today
For your love has caught me.
“ V. The wild goose flies up and soars,
She sinks down upon the net.
The birds cry in flocks,
But I hasten homeward,
Since I care for your love alone.
My heart yearns for your breast,
I cannot sunder myself from your attractions.
“ VI. Thou beautiful one! My heart's desire is
To procure for you your food as your husband,
My arm resting upon your arm.
You have changed me by your love.
Thus say I in my heart,
In my soul, at my prayers:
"I lack my commander tonight,
I am as one dwelling in a tomb."
Be you but in health and strength,
Then the nearness of your countenance
Sheds delight, by reason of your well-being,
Over a heart, which seeks you with longing.
“ VII. The voice of the dove calls,
It says: "The earth is bright."
What have I to do outside?
Stop, thou birdling! You chide me!
I have found my brother in his bed,
My heart is glad beyond all measure.
We each say:
"I will not tear myself away."
My hand is in his hand.
I wander together with him
To every beautiful place.
He makes me the first of maidens,
Nor does he grieve my heart.
“ VIII. Sa'am plants are in it,
In the presence of which one feels oneself uplifted!
I am your darling sister,
I am to you like a bit of land,
With each shrub of grateful fragrance.
Lovely is the water-conduit in it,
Which your hand has dug,
While the north wind cooled us.
A beautiful place to wander,
“ Your hand in my hand,
My soul inspired
My heart in bliss,
Because we go together.
New wine it is, to hear your voice;
I live for hearing it.
To see you with each look,
Is better than eating and drinking.
“ IX. Ta-'a-ti-plants are in it!
I take your garlands away,
When you come home drunk,
And when you are lying in your bed
When I touch your feet,
And children are in your..........
I rise up rejoicing in the morning
Your nearness means to me health and strength.
[Source: George A. Barton, “Archaeology and The Bible,” 3rd Ed., (Philadelphia: American Sunday School, 1920), pp. 413-416]
Song of Songs and Love Poems From Ancient Egypt
The “Song of Songs”, also known as the “Song of Solomon” or “Canticle of Canticles”, stands out in the Bible because of its extensive and candid sexual imagery and content. It is a work of sensual lyric poetry that portrays scenes of actual and imagined sexual relations between the poem’s female protagonist and her lover. Graphic descriptions of both male and female bodies pervade the work and sensual metaphors such as “grazing among the lilies” and “drinking … from the juice of my pomegranates” suggest sexual practices beyong the missionary position. [Source: Jonathan Kaplan, Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Judaism, The University of Texas at Austin, The Conversation, February 10, 2023]
The closest surviving parallel to the Song of Songs from the ancient world is Egyptian love poetry. These poems come from the world of entertainment. They may have been sung, accompanied, enacted, or danced to. They are the earliest examples of simple love poetry that have survived from the ancient Near East. Some scholars, including Michael V. Fox, have argued from this that love poetry originated in Egypt. If love is a fundamental human emotion, however, it seems more likely that such poetry is older by far, and not limited to the Nile valley. It may be true, though, that the Egyptians were the first to collect it in written form.
Here is an example (from a Cairo vase, poem A, #5):
My sister is coming to me
my heart dances
and I open my arms to her.
My heart is at home
like a fish in its holding tank
O night, be mine forever,
now that my queen has come!
Those familiar with the Song of Songs will recognize immediately that the boy refers to his love interest as his 'sister' (as in SoS 4. 9ff). This is not a reference to Egyptian incest (which was only practiced, at one point, by Pharaohs-not Egyptians generally). It is a term of endearment, just as in the Song of Songs. He also refers to her as his 'queen' which may be parallel to the girl in the Song referring to her lover as 'king' [1. 4 & 12; 7. 5]. Since tradition has Solomon as the lover, this metaphor is rarely noticed (two of the uses of 'king' do refer to Solomon [3. 9 & 11], but not as her lover).
So, did this genre of entertainment make its way into the Bible? There are other cases of Egyptian literature influencing their Hebrew counterparts (particularly in 'wisdom' literature). The Hebrews did not live in a vacuum. They not only drew ideas from the world around them, but in all likelihood, contributed some of their own to other cultures. It should not be surprising, or offensive, that the Hebrew author of this poem draws imagery from what would probably have been well known and popular in his (or her) day.
It was not as a simple love song that the Song made its way into the canon of scripture, but the feelings we have for our loved ones (also our children, parents, and others) show up as metaphors (and similes) elsewhere in the Bible for the feelings we have (or wish we had) for God. Many ancient Egyptian love poems were written in the 13th-9th centuries, B.C. the Song of Songs is estimated to have been written around the 9th c., B.C.
See Separate Article: SONG OF SONGS — THE EROTIC BOOK OF THE BIBLE africame.factsanddetails.com
Homosexual Love Song in the Chester Beatty Papyrus?
According to Egyptology.com: “Chester Beatty I is a papyrus containing songs for entertainment. Included on it is a collection of seven love songs each alternating between the voice of a man and the voice of a woman. They were all probably written by a man. We are only concerned with one of the poems here refered to as Stanza The Third. Robyn Gillam wrote: "In the cycle of poems called "The Great Dispenser of Pleasure," each stanza contains a word play on the number it is assigned in the cycle. In this story a boy and girl fall for each other but fail to connect. This is poem three of seven. The boy is downcast by his lack of success and decides to go out of town to Nefrusy, a centre of the cult of Hathor, the goddess of love. How this text is to understood is the subject of much debate."- [Source: Egyptology.com]
Stanza the Third: The Mehy Poem In P. Chester Beatty I reads:
“My heart purposed to see its beauty,
Sitting within it.
I found Mehy a-riding on the road,
Together with his lusty youths.
I knew not how to remove myself from before him. Should I pass by him boldly?
Lo, the river is the road,
I know not a place for my feet.
Witless art thou, O my brave heart, exceedingly, Why wilt thou brave Mehy?
Behold, if I pass before him,
I shall tell him of my turnings;
Behold, I am thine, I shall say to him,
And he will boast of my name,
Alloting me to the first-come hareem of some one among his followers.
[Source: A.H. Gardiner, “The Library of A. Chester Beatty,” The Chester Beatty Papyri, No. 1, London: Oxford University Press, 1931]
“I decided to go to Nefrusy
And while I was staying there
I came across Mehy in his chariot on the road with his buddies
I did not know whether to avoid him (or)
pass by, nonchalant-like
Look, the river was like a road
I couldn't place my feet.
My heart is clueless:
"Why should you pass by Mehy?"
If I stroll past him
I would blurt out my moves(i.e.with the girl) 'Look I am yours!' I will say to him.
Then he will shout out my name
And he will assign me to the mess of the first one of his entourage
The poem involves the relationship between the speaker (a man) and his girlfriend and the charioteer Mehy. Gillam wrote in Chronique d'Egypte : "There is no mistaking the emotional upheaval that takes place in the speaker when he meets Mehy on the road". It is not known who exactly Mehy was. He may have been a son of Seti I or maybe a favorite fiend from outside the family. But at some point he fell into disfavor.
Religious Hymns in Ancient Egypt
The hymns which have come down to us from ancient Egypt in such great numbers arc mostly in the form of litanies in praise of the power of the gods; there seems to be no question of devotional feelings on the part of the singer, in fact the greater part consists of stereotyped phrases, which could be adapted to any of the mighty gods, and could also be used in adoration of the king. [Source: Adolph Erman, “Life in Ancient Egypt”, 1894]
The hymns show him honour — to him whose fear is impressed upon all countries — great in fame, who has subdued his enemy — praised by the great cycle of gods — to whom the dignity of his father is given — he has received the lordship of the two countries — all creatures are full of delight, their hearts are full of joy, all men rejoice and all creatures adore his beauty “— these are examples of this phraseology; if the name of one of the gods is added, and a few allusions to the myth of the god, his temple, or his crowns, are put in, the hymn in its usual form would be complete.
Is it possible, for instance, to imagine anything more unmeaning than the following hymn to Osiris, which describes his statue and enumerates his temples? “Adoration to thee, Osiris, son of Nut! Lord of the horns with the high pillar, to whom the crown is given, and the joy before the gods! Created of Atum! Whose power is in the hearts of men and gods and spirits! To whom was given the lordship in Heliopolis; great in existence at Busiris! Lord of fear at 'Eadte, great in manhood at Resetu! Lord of might in Chenensuten, Lord of the sistrum in T'enent! Great in love in every country, of beautiful memory in the palace of the god! Great in splendour at Abydos, to whom was given the triumph before the gods. . . }
Comparatively speaking, the best amongst these religious poems are some that formerly enjoyed a very wide circulation: the “Adorations of Re'. " When the sun rises in the east, the divine land, and drives away the darkness, then all living creatures shout for joy, especially the baboons, who, as the Egyptians believed, were wont then to raise their paws in adoration to that beneficent day-star. Mankind they thought ought also to act like these pious learned animals, and thus to say to the rising sun:
“Adoration to thee, O Ra at thy rising, to Atum at thy setting! Thou dost rise, dost rise and shine, thou shinest, crowned the king of the gods. Thou art the lord of Heaven and the lord of the earth, who hast made those above and those below. Thou only god, who art from the beginning! Thou who made the world, and created man, who made the river of heaven and created the Nile, who made the water and gave life to what therein is! Who piled up the mountains and caused men and cattle to exist. . . . "
Hymn to the Nile (c. 2100 B.C.)
The “Hymn to the Nile” (c. 2100 B.C.) reads: “Hail to thee, O Nile! Who manifests thyself over this land, and comes to give life to Egypt! Mysterious is thy issuing forth from the darkness, on this day whereon it is celebrated! Watering the orchards created by Re, to cause all the cattle to live, you give the earth to drink, inexhaustible one! Path that descends from the sky, loving the bread of Seb and the first-fruits of Nepera, You cause the workshops of Ptah to prosper! [Source: Oliver J. Thatcher, ed., “The Library of Original Sources” (Milwaukee: University Research Extension Co., 1907), Vol. I: The Ancient World, pp. 79-83, Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Egypt, Fordham University]
“Lord of the fish, during the inundation, no bird alights on the crops. You create the grain, you bring forth the barley, assuring perpetuity to the temples. If you cease your toil and your work, then all that exists is in anguish. If the gods suffer in heaven, then the faces of men waste away. Then He torments the flocks of Egypt, and great and small are in agony. But all is changed for mankind when He comes; He is endowed with the qualities of Nun. If He shines, the earth is joyous, every stomach is full of rejoicing, every spine is happy, every jaw-bone crushes (its food).
flooded Nile at sunset
“He brings the offerings, as chief of provisioning; He is the creator of all good things, as master of energy, full of sweetness in his choice. If offerings are made it is thanks to Him. He brings forth the herbage for the flocks, and sees that each god receives his sacrifices. All that depends on Him is a precious incense. He spreads himself over Egypt, filling the granaries, renewing the marts, watching over the goods of the unhappy. He is prosperous to the height of all desires, without fatiguing Himself therefor. He brings again his lordly bark; He is not sculptured in stone, in the statutes crowned with the uraeus serpent, He cannot be contemplated. No servitors has He, no bearers of offerings! He is not enticed by incantations! None knows the place where He dwells, none discovers his retreat by the power of a written spell.
“No dwelling (is there) which may contain you! None penetrates within your heart! Your young men, your children applaud you and render unto you royal homage. Stable are your decrees for Egypt before your servants of the North! He stanches the water from all eyes and watches over the increase of his good things. Where misery existed, joy manifests itself; all beasts rejoice. The children of Sobek, the sons of Neith, the cycle of the gods which dwells in him, are prosperous. No more reservoirs for watering the fields! He makes mankind valiant, enriching some, bestowing his love on others. None commands at the same time as himself. He creates the offerings without the aid of Neith, making mankind for himself with multiform care.
“He shines when He issues forth from the darkness, to cause his flocks to prosper. It is his force that gives existence to all things; nothing remains hidden for him. Let men clothe themselves to fill his gardens. He watches over his works, producing the inundation during the night. The associate of Ptah . . . He causes all his servants to exist, all writings and divine words, and that which He needs in the North. It is with the words that He penetrates into his dwelling; He issues forth at his pleasure through the magic spells. Your unkindness brings destruction to the fish; it is then that prayer is made for the (annual) water of the season; Southern Egypt is seen in the same state as the North. Each one is with his instruments of labor. None remains behind his companions. None clothes himself with garments, The children of the noble put aside their ornaments.
“He night remains silent, but al1 is changed by the inundation; it is a healing-balm for all mankind. Establisher of justice! Mankind desires you, supplicating you to answer their prayers; You answer them by the inundation! Men offer the first-fruits of corn; all the gods adore you! The birds descend not on the soil. It is believed that with your hand of gold you make bricks of silver! But we are not nourished on lapis-lazuli; wheat alone gives vigor. A festal song is raised for you on the harp, with the accompaniment of the hand. Your young men and your children acclaim you and prepare their (long) exercises. You are the august ornament of the earth, letting your bark advance before men, lifting up the heart of women in labor, and loving the multitude of the flocks. When you shine in the royal city, the rich man is sated with good things, the poor man even disdains the lotus; all that is produced is of the choicest; all the plants exist for your children. If you have refused (to grant) nourishment, the dwelling is silent, devoid of all that is good, the country falls exhausted.
“O inundation of the Nile, offerings are made unto you, men are immolated to you, great festivals are instituted for you. Birds are sacrificed to you, gazelles are taken for you in the mountain, pure flames are prepared for you. Sacrifice is metle to every god as it is made to the Nile. The Nile has made its retreats in Southern Egypt, its name is not known beyond the Tuau. The god manifests not his forms, He baffles all conception. Men exalt him like the cycle of the gods, they dread him who creates the heat, even him who has made his son the universal master in order to give prosperity to Egypt. Come (and) prosper! Come (and) prosper! O Nile, come (and) prosper! O you who make men to live through his flocks and his flocks through his orchards! Come (and) prosper, come, O Nile, come (and) prosper!”
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons, The Louvre, The British Museum, The Egyptian Museum in Cairo
Text Sources: UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, escholarship.org ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Egypt sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Tour Egypt, Minnesota State University, Mankato, ethanholman.com; Mark Millmore, discoveringegypt.com discoveringegypt.com; Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Discover magazine, Times of London, Natural History magazine, Archaeology magazine, The New Yorker, BBC, Encyclopædia Britannica, Time, Newsweek, Wikipedia, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, “World Religions” edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File Publications, New York); “History of Warfare” by John Keegan (Vintage Books); “History of Art” by H.W. Janson Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.), Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.
Last updated August 2024