ANCIENT EGYPTIAN CULTURE
Nefertiti
The study of ancient Egyptian culture — whether it be art, music, dance, theater, literature or whatever — is based mostly on identifying scenes associated with each of these art forms from monuments, temples and tombs and translating and interpreting the inscriptions and texts found with them. Some information has been gleaned from artifacts found in burials.
One of the biggest problems with ancient Egyptian culture — particularly the art that is found in temples and tombs that have been excavated — is that it is so idealized and propagandized it is often difficult to derive meaningful information from it. This was a problem with a lot of ancient art. Artists tended to present the world as the commissioner of the art wanted it depicted rather than as it really was. Some of the most interesting Egyptians art is depicts scenes from everyday life such as people hunting and fishing and baking bread and purifying water.
In his book “The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt” Toby Wilkinson deftly illuminates the pageantry and cultural sophistication of pharaohnic Egypt and highlights the fact that “the Egyptians were adept at recording things as they wished them to be seen, not as they actually were,” and that tomb decoration was “designed, above all, to reinforce the established social order,” for instance, showing a tomb’s owner dominating every scene, towering in size over his family and workers.” [Source: Michiko Kakutani, New York Times March 28, 2011]
Herodotus devoted nearly all of Book 2 of “Histories” to describing the achievements and the curiosities of the Egyptians. Over time the Greeks and Romans wiped out Egyptian culture. Later archaeologists and historians pieced together portraits of ancient Egypt’s kings, including Narmer, the first ruler of a united Egypt (whose reign began around 2950 B.C.) ; the warrior king Thutmose III, who secured Egypt’s control over the Transjordan; the eccentric Akhenaten who declared himself a co-regent with the sun; and Ramesses II, who ruled for an astonishing 67 years and would be immortalized in Shelley’s poem “Ozymandias.”
Categories with related articles in this website: Ancient Egyptian History (32 articles) factsanddetails.com; Ancient Egyptian Religion (24 articles) factsanddetails.com; Ancient Egyptian Life and Culture (36 articles) factsanddetails.com; Ancient Egyptian Government, Infrastructure and Economics (24 articles) factsanddetails.com
Websites on Ancient Egypt: UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, escholarship.org ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Egypt sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Discovering Egypt discoveringegypt.com; BBC History: Egyptians bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians ; Ancient History Encyclopedia on Egypt ancient.eu/egypt; Digital Egypt for Universities. Scholarly treatment with broad coverage and cross references (internal and external). Artifacts used extensively to illustrate topics. ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt ; British Museum: Ancient Egypt ancientegypt.co.uk; Egypt’s Golden Empire pbs.org/empires/egypt; Metropolitan Museum of Art www.metmuseum.org ; Oriental Institute Ancient Egypt (Egypt and Sudan) Projects ; Egyptian Antiquities at the Louvre in Paris louvre.fr/en/departments/egyptian-antiquities; KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt kmtjournal.com; Ancient Egypt Magazine ancientegyptmagazine.co.uk; Egypt Exploration Society ees.ac.uk ; Amarna Project amarnaproject.com; Egyptian Study Society, Denver egyptianstudysociety.com; The Ancient Egypt Site ancient-egypt.org; Abzu: Guide to Resources for the Study of the Ancient Near East etana.org; Egyptology Resources fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk
Ancient Egyptian Literature
pyramid text Egyptian literature doesn’t get much attention, especially compared to its art and architecture. Most of what has been written in the ancient Egyptian language consists of spells, incantations, lists, medical and scientific texts and descriptions of the netherworld. The ancient Egyptians produced fables, heroic tales, love poems and descriptions of battles but nothing that has stood the test of time like the Greek myths or Homer’s epics.
A representative passage from the “Pyramid Texts” goes: “The King is the Bull of the sky, Who conquers at will, Who lives on the being of every God, Who eats their entrails.”
The “ Ebers Papyrus” (1550 B.C.) is said to be the oldest book in existence. The Ani Papyrus (1200 B.C.) was 78 feet long. Texts like “The Story of Sinuhe,” “The Eloquent Peasant,” “The Report of Wenamun , “The Tale of Woe,” and The Teaching of Ankhsheshonq” are interesting stories in their own right but also offer invaluable insights into ancient Egyptian society and the daily life or ordinary Egyptians.
Hieroglyphic Texts
Most documents and important information was written in papyrus texts. The hieroglyphics found on tomb walls and works of art tended to be formulaic and offered little information that wasn’t already known.
Three important papyrus texts have survived to this day are: “The Pyramid Texts” , “Book of the Dead” and the “ Coffin Text”. They consisted mostly spells intended to bring about salvation and comfort the dead in the next world.
Vanessa Thorpe wrote in The Observer, “The script of a papyrus is read from one side across to the other, depending on which way round the depicted animal heads are facing. The spells and incantations appear alongside the images they evoke and they commonly deal with the sort of problems faced in life, such as the warding off of an illness. They are usually rather straightforward: prose rather than poetry. "Get back, you snake!" reads one for protection against poisonous serpents. For the ancient Egyptians, the act of simply writing something down formally, or painting it, was a way of making it true. As a result, there are no images or passages in The Book of the Dead that describe anything unpleasant happening. Setting it down would have made it part of the plan. There was, however, always a heavy emphasis on dropping the names of relevant gods at key points along the journey.[Source: Vanessa Thorpe, The Observer, October 24, 2010]
A hymn to the god Amen with a prayer for the queen, written in around 1300 B.C., goes: "Prize from the Chief Wife of the King, his beloved...Nefertiti, living, healthy, and youthful forever and ever."
Recitation and Speech Acts in Ancient Egypt
Erika Meyer-Dietrich of the University of Uppsala in Sweden wrote: “Ancient Egyptian texts have been found with instructions on how they should be performed. Recitation, speech acts, and declamation are related to the action of speaking out loud in religious- ritual and juridical contexts, as well as for entertainment. Recitations are used in contexts that demand a correct wording or the power of words as utterance. Speech acts are performative or operative texts, which have an effect by being spoken out loud and result in a change of the persons or objects that are addressed by the text. Declamations are a performance of literary compositions to an audience. The basis on which texts can be considered as part of a recitation, speech act, or declamation are not only in-text terms but also indications of their performance- context, their localization in an accessible place, and their performance by an authorized person. [Source: Erika Meyer-Dietrich, University of Uppsala, Sweden, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2010, escholarship.org ]
“Egyptian wisdom literature (such as the Instruction of Ptahhotep on Papyrus Prisse 5, 4 - 7) and narratives (the Tale of the Eloquent Peasant, for example) clearly establish the relationship between speaker and listener. The pronounced word is the heard one. It is through listening that knowledge is gained. Sinuhe is motivated to stay where he hears the Egyptian language. The importance of listening corresponds to the emphasis on language as a bond that connects speaker and hearer. The relationship involves people across gender borders and ontological borders. In addresses to the living, the deceased requests that the offering formula be read aloud. With the sound of their voice, visitors who read the formula give rise to the actual existence of that, which they are evoking for the benefit of the deceased. The relationship works on an ethical level. It integrates people into society.
“The Egyptian idea, which regards the word that leaves the speaker’s mouth as a creative act , conveys the belief that the spoken word is powerful. The word of the creator is communicated to the multitude (as we see in Coffin Texts I 325a, Book of the Dead 38: 2, and Stela Turin 1791). The asymmetry of the few who recite and the many who hear the recitation is emphasized in the Middle Kingdom (for example, in Stela Cairo CG 20017) and the Second Intermediate Period (see the inscription in Tomb el-Kab). “Raising the voice” (rdj xrw) announces someone’s arrival (such as we see in the Harper’s Song in Theban Tomb 178). This cultural attitude concerning the potential and the spread of the language justifies a perspective on texts as communicative acts that are orally performed.”
Recitation in Ancient Egypt
Erika Meyer-Dietrich of the University of Uppsala in Sweden wrote: “The concept of the spoken word as the perceived one is in line with the evaluation of pronunciation that is obvious in the rich use of recitation markers in the texts. A distinction between the pronounced word as such and declamation understood as skilled and professional recitation is unattainable. The Egyptian obsession with the written word can be observed in the scribes’ playful attitude in puns and alternative spellings. In the available source material, this is not matched by an apparent obsession with the way words have to be performed in the texts. The most valuable source for instructions on how to recite religious texts has survived in the Ptolemaic and Roman Book of the Temple (Quack 2002). According to this book, the children of high-ranking priests were trained in musical performance of hymns, appropriation of traditional texts (reciting by heart), and explanation of problems (comments). A “book of recitation after” is listed among the scriptures. The education of scribes who worked as magicians, teachers (jmj-r sbAw) in the House of Life, chironomists, music teachers (jmj-r Hsw), and religious specialists such as lecture priests or stolists (Hm-nTr) andthe Great of the Pure Ones (aA wabw), who recited the daily temple ritual, shows the importance of recitation in ritual. [Source: Erika Meyer-Dietrich, University of Uppsala, Sweden, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2010, escholarship.org ]
“The scarce evidence of terms employed for techniques of recitation gives rise to a lexicographical problem regarding the audible dimension of words. 4dAdA (“to tremble (with the voice)”), suggested as tremolo, wSA (“to start singing”), and tjA (“to scream”) are mentioned in the Book of the Temple. Singing without instruments may indicate a rhythmic performance of lyrics, hymns, prayers, and laments as a kind of Sprechgesang. Njs (“to call”) is treated as reading aloud). 9sw (“to call”) and Snj nt-a (“to recite the ritual”) is, used for the recitation of spells.
“The weight that is put on the perception of words is not sufficient to classify texts as read in reality. This even applies to texts with recitational instructions or markers that clearly characterize them as recitation and to texts that are iconographically represented as spoken. Written markers that designate the text as words to be uttered are: Dd mdw (“to say words”), r-Dd (“in order to say”), and TAz (“spell”). Uninterrupted speech is indicated by Ddj (“to carry on without pausing”). Markers indicating that words have to be repeated in the same or in a reversed order are: zp 2 (“once again,” literally “twice”), Dd mdw 4 (“to be recited four times”), and TAz-pXr (“vice versa”). In tombs of private individuals, iconography provides an imagined speaker- situation for uttered words. Texts are accompanied by a representation of the speaker with a gesture of recitation. In tombs from the 5th - 11th Dynasty, the lecture priest holds the unrolled papyrus scroll. Sometimes the tomb owner is represented as the speaker. He is depicted as a man with one arm lifted up in invocation like the determinative A 26 in Gardiner’s sign list. The hand held to the mouth is a gesture of a call. When the speaker is introduced in the form of a picture or the first person pronoun, it is possible to understand the text recited in an appropriate context as ritual activity.
“Within their cultural context, the interaction on a symbolic level renders the pronunciation of words and their perception in no respect less real. A consequence of the imagined performance of texts that are located in inaccessible places is that the performance is congruous with the text. Performance is an activity that defines itself by being acted out. Imagined speech acts lack the discrepancy between text as prescript and recitation as acting. Therefore, a prerequisite for texts that can be suggested as part of a recitation is the possible discrepancy between text and performance constituted by the accessibility for the actor and the visibility of the text. To include recitation by heart reduces the condition for performance to accessible spaces. The locations can be exclusive, e.g., temples for the daily cult, tomb chapels, and the embalming hall, or public, e.g., procession routes on the occasion of religious festivals. In order to transfigure offerings, speech acts were performed in the temple and the necropolis. The recommendation in the Calendar for Good and Bad Days to “hurry and spend the day in a festive mood with spells” calls for recitations on the occasion of festivals. Biographies, Harper’s Songs, and funerary papyri mention in this context the recitation for the ba of a god as being advantageous. It is reasonable to assume that location and time for magical spells differed from the performance in public spaces. To cure a seriously ill individual, the spells must have been recited at any time and in any place, including private homes.”
Performative Speech Acts in Ancient Egypt
Erika Meyer-Dietrich of the University of Uppsala wrote: “Texts that were recited on a regular basis have survived, inscribed in temple walls and as papyrus documents. The most important papyri are the Ramesseum Dramatic Papyrus from the Middle Kingdom, the libraries that were attached to the temples from the Late Period, and magical papyri, the latest of them written in Greek. Ritual texts are multifunctional. In papyri for ritual use, different types of text can be combined: instructions, comments, narrative passages, and performative expressions. In view of the dimension of time, performative texts can be categorized as prescriptive, operative, and interpretative texts. Only the operative parts of ritual texts function as speech acts, that is, the words have the power to do things the very moment they are uttered. To be operative, words have to address somebody and do what they do because of their connotations that attach certain values to them. Prayers, hymns, and aretalogies addressing a god use a salutation, the second personal pronoun, names, titles, and epithets. [Source: Erika Meyer-Dietrich, University of Uppsala, Sweden, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2010, escholarship.org ]
“Words as deeds act simultaneously on two levels. They work on the level of operative texts as performed and on the level of speech acts as activity in its own right, which is the change of the social or ontological status of the addressed persons and objects. Both activities are dialectically related. Expected results of acting by speech influence how speech acts are performed. A possible criterion to distinguish operative texts from non-operative texts is that ritual as activity constitutes itself as different and in contrast to other activities. Roeder puts forward the criterion of semantic power to create a ritual environment that is believed to exist. According to Egyptian terms, three different operative text-types can be discerned: 1) the sAx (“to transfigure”), which indicates the effect of speech acts to transform the addressee into a person who can act, or a profane object into a religious one by recitation; 2) protective and therapeutic spells to save from harm or cure the addressee and curse the enemy; and 3) sHtp (“to satisfy”), which are hymns to appease the addressee.
“A religious-ritual or juridical setting is a plausible scenario for speech acts. In the Coffin Texts, the perception of words confirms a successful illocutionary act. Statements like “my words have been heard” legitimate the deceased. The reference to words that were heard in trial or before the tribunal of the gods shows that, like the religious-ritual, also a juridical context is supposed to render a quotation functional and authentic as a speech act. Non-religious recitations may have been uttered in the court of law, which took place in “the gate of justice.” As religious or juridical activity, recitation has to be performed by specialists who embody the required practical knowledge and who are endowed with the power to do what they are doing. A condition for operative speech in regard to the situation is a cultural convention that agrees on the criteria for persons who are authorized to recite words in a certain context. The power to act is referred to and thereby reproduced in the speech act itself as the performer’s self- representation in the daily temple ritual. The power is institutionalized. It sanctions priests to take on the role of a divine being on the occasion of festivals, to recite formulae in the ritual of embalming and for the funeral, and to read liturgies for a deceased individual during lunar feasts and other calendrical festivals. It permits scribes and magicians to pronounce spells that affect the cause of life or cure somebody.
“The ritual knowledge required in terms of competence and performance classifies recitation both as ritual practice and as performing art. It demands a state of purity, preparation for the act itself, speaker competence, and ritual mastery. The state of purity is described in the Book of the Dead and on stelae: “One has to recite the spell clean and pure, not having approached women and not having eaten small cattle or fish” The special preparation for the speech act is the purification of the mouth and, according to one source, also the ears; they were purified with salt or with incense. Speaker competence includes “ritualization,” which means the use of language as speech act in a ritual.”
Ritualization in Ancient Egypt
Erika Meyer-Dietrich of the University of Uppsala wrote: “Ritualization forms texts to distinguish them from daily spoken language. This can be done by using an archaic type of language for religious texts. It explains the appearance of Late Middle Egyptian, also called égyptien de tradition, that coexisted with later Egyptian for more than a millennium. Ritualization is the structuring of recited texts in a rhythmic manner by employing the language’s natural rhythm, caesuras, alternating speakers, choral passages, and refrains. Moreover, speaker competence includes the knowledge of the ritual language, intimacy with the use of language, the range of meaning attached to words in a ritual, and their possible connotations. The speaker embodies a practical knowledge of how to perform the ritual. Recitation as ritual practice is the capability to put forward expected values that are attached to words. This is accomplished by positioning them first in the text, accompanying them with gestures for recitation, singing them, or reading them in an appropriate manner according to situation, purpose, and intended effect. [Source: Erika Meyer-Dietrich, University of Uppsala, Sweden, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2010, escholarship.org ]
wo priests, one with a papyrus roll, the other with a vase for libations
“A connotational device of positioning, called “honorific anticipation,” is testified in writing. Signs and names referring to the divine or royal sphere precede the rest of the sentence independent of their actual syntactic position to express a cultural attitude vis-à-vis the person it represents. The question arises whether such a cultural attitude is exclusively graphic or can be assumed for oral performance. Ritual practice is using words in a way that highlights or minimizes certain inherent aspects by means of stress, tone, pitch, lengthening, pauses, and rhythm. While the investigation of such audible resources must remain hypothetical, the researcher should keep them in mind. Connecting ritually performed speech acts with other activities in the ritualization process synchronizes them with the ritual environment. Therefore, correct timing is essential for the act itself to work in the intended manner.
“Ritual mastery is the ability “to take and remake schemes from the shared culture that can strategically nuance, privilege or transform”. This allows ritual specialists to pronounce texts unmodified or to give them subtle nuances. The relationship between historical developments in ritual discourse and performance causes minor changes, e.g., of personal pronouns in texts. These changes may support their actual performance. Developments in the spoken language and changes in cultural conceptions influence ritual recitation. One example is the change in the use of ritual language that appeared during the reign of Thutmose III.”
Declamation of Literature
Erika Meyer-Dietrich of the University of Uppsala wrote: “Except for ritual speech acts, literature is the type of texts that were probably recited in ancient Egypt. The sources comprise tales, travel narratives, dialogs, teachings, and poetry. Isolated calls and speaker labels that are included in a wider concept of narratology are not part of a recitation. No archaeological finds testify to reading in public or private circles. However, several circumstances promote the assumption that literary texts were performed orally. They are comprehensively investigated in Parkinson’s treatment of Middle Kingdom literature as social practice. The word Sdj (“to recite”) is used for ritual texts, spells, letters, and biographies, implying a declamatory method of delivery. The style of literary compositions reflects a performative oral setting. However, it is not clear whether these characteristics of text composition testify to the performance of texts or otherwise. Written in order to be heard, the author may invent a fictive audience for the text. [Source: Erika Meyer-Dietrich, University of Uppsala, Sweden, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2010, escholarship.org ]
“The criteria of visibility and accessibility for recited texts also apply to literature. Within their fictional framework, literary compositions are enacted communication. In contrast to ritual texts, declamation of literature is not operative as performative speech in the sense that the words uttered do things. Their performance is limited to the level of words that are delivered in a declamatory manner. The second level of speech acts as activity in its own right is not relevant to literature. Literary performance also differs in its time dimension. In contrast to future-oriented speech acts, the performance of literature is retrospective. Narratives tell something that has taken place. In teachings, things that have yet to happen are presented as consequences.
“In the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2030–1640 B.C.), structuring points mark the rhythm of speech. In the New Kingdom (1550–1070 B.C.), paragraph markers, units of thought—also called parallelismus membrorum or thought couplets, which is the use of language in its natural rhythm in the sense of structuring a narrative —metrics, and devices for a poetic style indicate the rhythm of speech. The performer combines the customary use of language with a sensitivity of reading that is discernible in how he follows the plotline. The performance of literature in an elite context is attainable in the prologue to the Tale of the Eloquent Peasant. Evidence for told folklore is scarce. Educated scribes were the storytellers. Other professions that are trained in rhythmic performance of texts, e.g., singers, chironomists, and priests, cannot be excluded as possible performers of literary compositions. Among the holdings of the temple library of Tebtunis were teachings and narratives. In the Myth of the Sun’s Eye, the god Thoth in his shape as a baboon tells stories to appease and to entertain Tefnut. It has been suggested that the lines written with red ink and the remark xrw.f m-mjtt (“his voice likewise”) instruct the storyteller to use the same intonation every time the baboon is speaking.
“The narrator tells literary works as entertainment or moral instruction. For that purpose, the language, colloquial or elevated, functions as rhetoric resource for the storyteller or lecturer. A rhetorical element that is discernible in literature is dialectical positions. The partners in the fictive dialogs are named. The author introduces a following recitation by “he says.” Often he also mentions the listener in a dialog with “he said to me.” In the Middle Kingdom, examples of speech that are not introduced by such a remark are rare. The introductory remark “NN says” appears seventy times in Papyrus Westcar. The story takes place in a scenario that the listener recognizes.
“An introductory remark, for example, sDd.j (“I shall tell you”), introduces the narrative passages in the Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor and anchors the story in the moment when it is told. The quoted passages raise the empathy of the listeners. The choice of citations or sayings increases familiarity. Enclitic particles and exclamatory devices address an audience. Devices that raise the listener’s empathy in performance are the style of literary compositions, refined language, and means of articulation, e.g., emphatic constructions and topicalization.”
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).
“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.
flooded Nile at sunset
“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!”
Ancient Egyptian Limericks?
Red Chapel detail 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.
Egyptian Love Poem (c. 2000-1100 B.C. )
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.
family group of one man and two women
“ 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]
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.
Tale of The Eloquent Peasant (c. 1800 B.C.)
“The Tale of The Eloquent Peasant” (c. 1800 B.C.) Is one of the most famous ancient Egyptian stories. According to the historian George A. Barton it shows a remarkable appreciation of the rights of the common people.” The main part of the story goes: “There was a man, Hunanup by name, a peasant of Sechet-hemat, and he had a wife,......by name. Then said this peasant to his wife: "Behold, I am going down to Egypt to bring back bread for my children. Go in and measure the grain that we still have in our storehouse,............bushel." Then he measured for her eight bushels of grain. Then this peasant said to his wife: "Behold, two bushels of grain shall be left for bread for you and the children. But make for me the six bushels into bread and beer for each of the days that I shall be on the road." Then this peasant went down to Egypt after he had loaded his asses with all the good produce of Sechet-hemat. [Source: George A. Barton, “Archaeology and The Bible,” 3rd Ed., (Philadelphia: American Sunday School, 1920), pp. 418-421, Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Egypt, Fordham University]]
“This peasant set out and journeyed southward to Ehnas. He came to a point opposite Per-fefi, north of Medenit, and found there a man standing on the bank, Dehuti-necht by name, who was the son of a man named Iseri, who was one of the serfs of the chief steward, Meruitensi. Then said this Dehuti-necht, when he saw the asses of this peasant which appealed to his covetousness: "Oh that some good god would help me to rob this peasant of his goods!" The house of Dehuti-necht stood close to the side of the path, which was narrow, not wide. It was about the width of a ............-cloth, and upon one side of it was the water and upon the other side was growing grain. Then said Dehitu-necht to his servant: "Hasten and bring me a shawl from the house!" And it was brought at once. Then he spread this shawl upon the middle of the road, and it extended, one edge to the water, and the other to the grain.
“The peasant came along the path which was the common highway. Then said Dehuti-necht: "Look out, peasant, do not trample on my clothes!" The peasant answered: "I will do as you wish; I will go in the right way!" As he was turning to the upper side, Dehuti-necht said: "Does my grain serve you as a road?" Then said the peasant: "I am going in the right way. The bank is steep and the path lies near the grain and you have stopped up the road ahead with your clothes. Will you, then, not let me go by?" Upon that one of the asses took a mouthful of grain. Then said Dehuti-necht: "See, I Will take away your ass because it has eaten my grain."
“Then the peasant said: "I am going in the right way. As one side was made mpassable I have led my ass along the other, and will you seize it because it has taken a mouthful of grain? But I know the lord of this property; it belongs to the chief steward, Meruitensi. It is he who punishes every robber in this whole land. Shall I, then, be robbed in his domain?" Then said Dehuti-necht: "Is it not a proverb which the people employ: The name of the poor is only known on account of his lord?' It is I who speak to you, but the chief steward of whom you think." Then he took a rod from a green tamarisk and beat all his limbs with it, and seized his asses and drove them into his compound. Thereupon the peasant wept loudly on account of the pain of what had been done to him. Dehuti-necht said to him: "Don't cry so loud, peasant, or you shall go to the city of the dead." The peasant said: "You beat me and steal my goods, and will you also take the wail away from my mouth? O Silence-maker! Give me my goods again! May I never cease to cry out, if you fear!"
“The peasant consumed four days, during which he besought Dehuti-necht, but he did not grant him his rights. Then this peasant went to the south, to Ehnas to implore the chief steward, Meruitensi. He met him as he was coming out of the canal-door of his compound to embark in his boat. Thereupon the peasant said: "Oh let me lay before you this affair. Permit one of your trusted servants to come to me, that I may send him to you concerning it." Then the steward Meruitensi, sent one of his servants to him, and he sent back by him an account of the whole affair. Then the chief steward, Meruitensi, laid the case of Dehuti-necht before his attendant officials, and they said to him: "Lord, it is presumably a case of one of your peasants who has gone against another peasant near him. Behold, it is customary with peasants to so conduct themselves toward others who are near them. Shall we beat Dehuti-necht for a little natron and a little salt? Command him to restore it and he will restore it."
“The chief steward, Meruitensi, remained silent — he answered neither the officials nor the peasant. The peasant then came to entreat the chief steward Meruitensi, for the first time, and said: "Chief steward, my lord, you are greatest of the great, you are guide of all that which is not and which is. When you embark on the sea of truth, that you may go sailing upon it, then shall not the.........strip away your sail, then your ship shall not remain fast, then shall no misfortune happen to your mast then shall your spars not be broken, then shall you not be stranded — if you run fast aground, the waves shall not break upon you, then you shall not taste the impurities of the river, then you shall not behold the face of fear, the shy fish shall come to you, and you shall capture the fat birds. For you are the father of the orphan, the husband of the widow, the brother of the desolate, the garment of the motherless. Let me place your name in this land higher than all good laws: you guide without avarice, you great one free from meanness, who destroys deceit, who creates truthfulness. Throw the evil to the ground. I will speak hear me. Do justice, O you praised one, whom the praised ones praise. Remove my oppression: behold, I have a heavy weight to carry; behold, I am troubled of soul; examine me, I am in sorrow."
“[Barton: Meruitensi is so pleased with the eloquence of the peasant that he passed him on to another officer and he to still another until he came before the king. Altogether the peasant made nine addresses. His eighth address follows.] This peasant came to implore him for the eighth time, and said: "Chief steward, my lord, man falls on account of............ Greed is absent from a good merchant. His good commerce is......... Your heart is greedy, it does not become you. You despoil: this is not praiseworthy for you.........Your daily rations are in your house; your body is well filled. The officers, who are set as a protection against injustice, — a curse to the shameless are these officers, who are set as a bulwark against lies. Fear of you has not deterred me from supplicating you; if you think so, you have not known my heart. The Silent one, who turns to report to you his difficulties, is not afraid to present them to you. Your real estate is in the country, your bread is on your estate, your food is in the storehouse. Your officials give to you and you take it. Are you, then, not a robber? They plow for you......... for you to the plots of arable land. Do the truth for the sake of the Lord of Truth.You reed of a scribe, you roll of a book, you palette, you god Thoth, you ought to keep yourself far removed from injustice. You virtuous one, you should be virtuous, you virtuous one, you should be really virtuous. Further, truth is true to eternity. She goes with those who perform her to the region of the dead. He will be laid in the coffin and committed to the earth; — his name will not perish from the earth, but men will remember him on account of his property: so runs the right interpretation of the divine word.
“"Does it then happen that the scales stand aslant? Or is it thinkable that the scales incline to one side? Behold, if I come not, if another comes, then you host opportunity to speak as one who answers, as one who addresses the silent, as one who responds to him who has not spoken to you. You have not been.........; You have not been sick. You have not fled, you have not departed. But you have not yet granted me any reply to this beautiful word which comes from the mouth of the sun-god himself: "Speak the truth; do the truth: for it is great, it is mighty, it is everlasting. It will obtain for you merit, and will lead you to veneration.' For does the scale stand aslant? It is their scale-pans that bear the objects, and in just scales there is no.............. wanting."
“[Barton: After a ninth speech on the part of the peasant, the tale concludes as follows.] Then the chief steward, Meruitensi, sent two servants to bring him back. Thereupon the peasant feared that he would suffer thirst, as a punishment imposed upon him for what he had said. Then the peasant said....Then said the chief steward, Meruitensi: "Fear not, peasant! See, you shall remain with me." Then said the peasant: "I live because I eat of your bread and drink your beer forever." Then said the chief steward, Meruitensi: "Come out here............" Then he caused them to bring, written on a new roll, all the addresses of these days. The chief steward sent them to his majesty, the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Neb-kau-re, the blessed, and they were more agreeable to the heart of his majesty than all that was in his land. His majesty said, "Pass sentence yourself my beloved son!" Then the chief steward, Meruitensi, caused two servants to go and bring a list of the household of Dehuti-necht from the government office, and his possessions were six persons, with a selection from his.........., from his barley, from his spelt, from his asses, from his swine, from his...[Barton: From this point on only a few words of the tale can be made out, but it appears from these that the goods selected from the estate of Dehuti-necht were given to the peasant and he was sent home rejoicing.]”
Tale of Sanehat
“Tale of Sanehat” is about an Egyptian palace official called Sanehat. After the death of the old king, afraid of upheavel and unrest, to flees to Syria where he builds a new life in exile and achieves great power under the ruler there. At the height of his powers he is challenged to a duel by a Syrian champion: Sanehat kills the champion, ushering in a long period of peace. Near the end of his life Sanehat feels that it his duty to return to Egypt and be buried there. The reigning king of Egypt invites him back, and he returns to the palace he had left years earlier. His many years in exile taught him what it means to be an Egyptian.
The first part of “Tale of Sanehat” goes:
“Nobleman and overlord, governor and canal-cutter, sovereign among the Syrians
One known to the king directly, his favourite, the Follower Sanehat
He says:
I am a Follower who follows his lord, a servant of the family-quarters of the king
Of the noblewoman, abounding in favour, King's Wife of Senusret in Khenemsut
King's Daughter of Amenemhat in Qaneferu, Neferu, lady of reverence
The god ascended to his horizon, the dual king Sehetepibra
He fared up to the sky, joining with the sun-disk, divine limbs merging with his creator
The Residence was in silence, hearts in sorrow,
The Double Gate sealed,
The court with head on knees, the nobles in lament
[Source: Transliteration after Koch 1990, using the two principal sources (Berlin 3022 for the bulk of the text, and Berlin 10499, for the first section, missing in 3022), University College London, ucl.ac.uk/museums
“ Now His Majesty had sent an army against the Land of the Timehu
With his eldest son as its commander,
The good god Senusret
He was sent to smite the hill lands, to quell the inhabitants of Tjehenu, He was just on his return, and had brought the captives of Tjehenu,
And all the limitless herds
The courtiers of the Palace despatched to the Western reaches,
To inform the King's Son of the turn of events in the Chamber
The envoys found him on the road,
And had reached him at the time of dusk
Not a slight moment did he delay,
The falcon, he flew off with his followers,
Without having his army informed of it
“ Now there was a despatch with regard to the King's children
who were following him in this army
One of them was summoned
Now I was up, and heard his voice
When he was speaking - I was a short distance away
My heart stopped, my arms crossed, trembling fell through my whole body
I slipped back in starts to seek out a hiding-place,
To place myself between the bushes, to remove the way and its farer
I made my way south
without thinking of approaching this Residence.
I imagined there would be bloodshed,
and I denied I could survive it
“ I negotiated the Sea of Truth in the area of the Sycamore,
And I made it to the Island of Sneferu
I rested on the curb of the fields,
And moved on when it came to day.
I crossed a man standing at a fork in the road:
He hailed me, but I feared him
Evening fell as I trod on to the mooring-point of the horned bull
I ferried across in a cargo-boat without a rudder, thanks to a breeze from the west
I crossed by the east of the quarry in the ascent of the Goddess of the Red Mountain
I forced my legs to move on northwards
I reached the Walls of the Ruler, made to repel the Syrians and trample on the nomads
I took my shelter in the bush
From fear of being seen by the guard on the wall who was on duty
And made my way at night
“ At daybreak I reached Peten
And alighted at the land of the Great Black Water
Thirst struck, it overwhelmed me
I panted, my throat parched
I said, this is the taste of death,
Binding my heart and my body
I heard the sound of lowing of cattle
And sighted Syrians
I was spied out by one of their scouts who had been in Egypt
Then he gave me water, and milk was cooked for me
I went with him to his people. What they did was good.
“ Hill-land passed me to hill-land
I wound up in Byblos, and travelled up to Qedem
I had spent a year and a half there when Amunenshi fetched me,
He being a ruler of the hinterland of Syria
He said to me
You would be well with me, you can hear Egyptian
He said this because he knew my character, and had heard of my talent
The Egyptians who were there with him had given witness for me
Then he said to me
How is it that you have reached these parts,
Has something happened in the Residence?
“ Then I said to him,
The dual king Sehetepibra has gone to the horizon,
How it happened is not known.
But I was told indirectly. I was coming with the Timehi-land army
When it was reported to me
My heart failed, and brought me on the road of flight
Though I had not been implicated and no accusation had been made against me
(though so slander had been heard, and my name had not been mentioned by the reporter - I do not know what brought me to this hill-land)
It is as if a slight of the god,
As a Delta-man seeing himself in Abu
Or a marsh-man in the Land of the bow
“ Then he said to me
How will that land be now, without that effective god
Whose fear permeated the hill-lands like Sekhmet in a year of plague
Then I addressed myself to him in reply to him
Why, his son is entering the palace
And has taken up the inheritance of his father
He is a god without equal, with no other existing before him
He is a master of far-sightedness, excellent in planning, effective in decrees
Coming and going follow his decrees
He is the one suppressing the hill-lands while his father was within his palace
And reporting to him that whatever he ordained has come to pass
“ He is truly a strong man made by his strong arm,
A man of action - noone comes close to him
He is to be seen as he descends for archery,
Joining the fray,
He is one who takes the horn, wearing down all hands
- so his enemies cannot gather their forces
He is one cleansed in sight, cleaving foreheads,
So noone can stand in his way
He is one who strides ahead to shoot down those in flight
Giving no quarter to the man who turns tail
He is the stout-hearted in the moment of the charge
He is the turner who never turns tail
He is the broad-hearted one when he sees the multitude,
Who never places rest behind his heart
“ He is the forward mover when he descends to the Easterners,
His delight is the plunder of archery,
He takes his shield, tramples underfoot,
He never raises his arm twice for the kill
(his arrow never strays, his bow never strains)
The nomads are routed before him as at the might of the Great Goddess
He fights and plans the outcome,
He never guards, without event
He is a lord of mercy, full of kindness,
He has conquered by love, his citizens love him more than themselves
They rejoice over him more than over their god
Women surpass men in extolling him
As he is king, and he had conquered still in the egg,
His face was set to it from the moment he was born
With him comes the increase in births
He is the sole one of the gift of god,
How joyful is this land that he has come to rule -
“ He is one who extends the borders
He will seize the southern lands,
Before considering the northern lands
He has been made to smite the Syrians and trample the nomads
Send to him and let him know your name
Do not plot anything against His Majesty
He will do everything for you that his father did
He will not fail to do good for the hill-land that will be loyal to him
Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (c. 2200 B.C.)
The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor is a Middle Kingdom story of an Ancient Egyptian voyage to "the King's mines". It goes: “The wise servant said, "Let thy heart be satisfied, O my lord, for that we have come back to the country; after we have been long on board, and rowed much, the prow has at last touched land. All the people rejoice and embrace us one after another. Moreover, we have come back in good health, and not a man is lacking; although we have been to the ends of Wawat [Nubia], and gone through the land of Senmut [Kush], we have returned in peace, and our land — behold, we have come back to it. Hear me, my lord; I have no other refuge. Wash thee, and turn the water over thy fingers; then go and tell the tale to the majesty." His lord replied, "Thy heart continues still its wandering words! but although the mouth of a man may save him his words may also cover his face with confusion. Will you do then as your heart moves you? This that you will say, tell quietly." [Source: Eva March Tappan, ed., “The World's Story: A History of the World in Story, Song and Are,” (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1914), Vol. III: Egypt, Africa, and Arabia, trans. W. K. Flinders Petrie, pp. 41-46]
“The sailor then answered, "Now I shall tell that which has happened to me, to my very self. I was going to the mines of Pharaoh, and I went down on the sea in a ship of one hundred and fifty cubits long and forty cubits wide, with one hundred and fifty sailors of the best of Egypt who had seen heaven and earth, and whose hearts were stronger than lions. They had said that the wind would not be contrary, or that there would be none. But as we approached the land, the wind arose, and threw up waves eight cubits high. As for me, I seized a piece of wood; but those who were in the vessel perished, without one remaining. A wave threw me on an island, after that I had been three days alone, without a companion beside my own heart. I laid me in a thicket, and the shadow covered me. Then stretched I my limbs to try to find something for my mouth. I found there figs and grain, melons of all kinds, fishes, and birds. Nothing was lacking. And I satisfied myself; and left on the ground that which was over, of what my arms had been filled withal. I dug a pit, I lighted a fire, and I made a burnt offering unto the gods.
“"Suddenly I heard a noise as of thunder, which I thought to be that of a wave of the sea. The trees shook, and the earth was moved. I uncovered my face, and I saw that a serpent drew near. He was thirty cubits long, and his beard greater than two cubits; his body was as overlaid with gold, and his color as that of true lazuli. He coiled himself before me. "Then he opened his mouth, while that I lay on my face before him, and he said to me, "What has brought you, what has brought you, little one, what has brought you? If you say not speedily what has brought you to this isle, I will make you know yourself; as a flame you shall vanish, if you tell me not something I have not heard, or which I knew not, before you.'
“"Then he took me in his mouth and carried me to his resting-place, and laid me down without any hurt. I was whole and sound, and nothing was gone from me. Then he opened his mouth against me, while that I lay on my face before him, and he said, "What has brought you, what has brought you, little one, what has brought you to this isle which is in the sea, and of which the shores are in the midst of the waves?'
“"Then I replied to him, and holding my arms low before him, I said to him, "I was embarked for the mines by the order of the majesty, in a ship, one hundred and fifty cubits was its length, and the width of it forty cubits. It had one hundred and fifty sailors of the best of Egypt, who had seen heaven and earth, and the hearts of whom were stronger than lions. They said that the wind would not be contrary, or that there would be none. Each of them exceeded his companion in the prudence of his heart and the strength of his arm, and I was not beneath any of them. A storm came upon us while we were on the sea. Hardly could we reach to the shore when the wind waxed yet greater, and the waves rose even eight cubits. As for me, I seized a piece of wood, while those who were in the boat perished without one being left with me for three days. Behold me now before you, for I was brought to this isle by a wave of the sea.'
“"Then said he to me, "Fear not, fear not, little one, and make not your face sad. If you have come to me, it is God who has let you live. For it is He who has brought you to this isle of the blest, where nothing is lacking, and which is filled with all good things. See now, you shall pass one month after another, until you shall be four months in this isle. Then a ship shall come from your land with sailors, and you shall leave with them and go to your country, and you shall die in your town.'
“'"Converse is pleasing, and he who tastes of it passes over his misery. I will therefore tell you of that which is in this isle. I am here with my brethren and my children around me; we are seventy-five serpents, children, and kindred; without naming a young girl who was brought unto me by chance, and on whom the fire of heaven fell, and burned her to ashes. As for you, if you are strong, and if your heart waits patiently, you shall press your infants to your bosom and embrace your wife. You shall return to your house which is full of all good things, you shall see your land, where you shall dwell in the midst of your kindred.'
“"Then I bowed in my obeisance, and I touched the ground before him. "Behold now that which I have told you before. I shall tell of your presence unto Pharaoh, I shall make him to know of your greatness, and I will bring to you of the sacred oils and perfumes, and of incense of the temples with which all gods are honored. I shall tell, moreover, of that which I do now see (thanks to him), and there shall be rendered to you praises before the fullness of all the land. I shall slay asses for you in sacrifice, I shall pluck for you the birds, and I shall bring for you ships full of all kinds of the treasures of Egypt, as is comely to do unto a god, a friend of men in a far country, of which men know not.'
“"Then he smiled at my speech, because of that which was in his heart, for he said to me: "You are not rich in perfumes, for all that you have is but common incense. As for me, I am prince of the land of Punt, and I have perfumes. Only the oil which you say you would bring is not common in this isle. But, when you shall depart from this place, you shall never more see this isle; it shall be changed into waves.'
“"And behold, when the ship drew near, according to all that he had told me before, I got up into an high tree, to strive to see those who were within it. Then I came and told to him this matter, but it was already known unto him before. Then he said to me, "Farewell, farewell, go to your house, little one, see again your children, and let your name be good in your town; these are my wishes for you.'
“"Then I bowed myself before him, and held my arms low before him, and he, he gave me gifts of precious perfumes, of cassia, of sweet woods, of kohl, of cypress, an abundance of incense, of ivory tusks, of baboons, of apes, and all kinds of precious things. I embarked all in the ship which was come, and bowing myself, I prayed God for him. Then he said to me, "Behold you shall come to your country in two months, you shall press to your bosom your children, and you shall rest in your tomb.' After this I went down to the shore unto the ship, and I called to the sailors who were there. Then on the shore I rendered adoration to the master of this isle and to those who dwelt therein.
“"When we shall come, in our return, to the house of Pharaoh, in the second month, according to all that the serpent has said, we shall approach unto the palace. And I shall go in before Pharaoh, I shall bring the gifts which I have brought from this isle into the country. Then he shall thank me before the fullness of the land. Grant then unto me a follower, and lead me to the courtiers of the king. Cast your eye upon me after that I have both seen and proved this. Hear my prayer, for it is good to listen to people. It was said unto me, "Become a wise man, and you shall come to honor,' and behold I have become such."
“This is finished from its beginning unto its end, even as it was found in a writing. It is written by the scribe of cunning fingers, Ameni-amenaa; may he live in life, wealth, and health!”
Princess Ahura: The Magic Book (c. 1100 B.C.)
“Princess Ahura: The Magic Book” (c. 1100 B.C.) Is about the brother-sister marriage of the two children of the King Merneptah. It reads: “We were the two children of the King Merneptah, and he loved us very much, for he had no others; and Naneferkaptah was in his palace as heir over all the land. And when we were grown, the king said to the queen, "I will marry Naneferkaptah to the daughter of a general, and Ahura to the son of another general." And the queen said, "No, he is the heir, let him marry his sister, like the heir of a king, none other is fit for him." And the king said, " That is not fair; they had better be married to the children of the general." And the queen said, "It is you who are not dealing rightly with me." And the king answered, "If I have no more than these two children, is it right that they should marry one another? I will marry Naneferkaptah to the daughter of an officer, and Ahura to the son of another officer. It has often been done so in our family." [Source: From: Eva March Tappan, ed., The World's Story: A History of the World in Story, Song and Art, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1914), Vol. III: Egypt, Africa, and Arabia, trans. W. K. Flinders Petrie, pp. 47-55]
“And at a time when there was a great feast before the king, they came to fetch me to the feast. And I was very troubled, and did not behave as I used to do. And the king said to me, "Ahura, have you sent some one to me about this sorry matter, saying, "Let me be married to my elder brother?'" I said to him, "Well, let me marry the son of an officer, and he marry the daughter of another officer, as it often happens so in our family." I laughed, and the king laughed. And the king told the steward of the palace,"Let them take Ahura to the house of Naneferkaptah tonight, and all kinds of good things with her." So they brought me as a wife to the house of Naneferkaptah; and the king ordered them to give me presents of silver and gold, and things from the palace.
“And Naneferkaptah passed a happy time with me, and received all the presents from the palace; and we loved one another. And when I expected a child, they told the king, and he was most heartily glad; and he sent me many things, and a present of the best silver and gold and linen. And when the time came, I bore this little child that is before you. And they gave him the name of Merab, and registered him in the book of the "House of Life."
“And when my brother Naneferkaptah went to the cemetery of Memphis, he did nothing on earth but read the writings that are in the catacombs of the kings and on the tablets of the "House of Life," and the inscriptions that are seen on the monuments, and he worked hard on the writings. And there was a priest there called Nesiptah; and as Naneferkaptah went into a temple to pray, it happened that he went behind this priest, and was reading the inscriptions that were on the chapels of the gods. And the priest mocked him and laughed. So Naneferkaptah said to him, "Why are you laughing at me? "And he replied, "I was not laughing at you, or if I happened to do so, it was at your reading writings that are worthless. If you wish so much to read writings, come to me, and I will bring you to the place where the book is that Thoth himself wrote with his own hand, and which will bring you to the gods. When you read but two pages in this, you will enchant the heaven, the earth, the abyss, the mountains, and the sea; you shall know what the birds of the sky and the crawling things are saying; you shall see the fishes of the deep, for a divine power is there to bring them up out of the depth. And when you read the second page, if you are in the world of ghosts, you will become again in the shape you were in on earth. You will see the sun shining in the sky, with all the gods, and the full moon."
“And Naneferkaptah said, "By the life of the king! Tell me of anything you want done, and I'll do it for you, if you will only send me where this book is." And the priest answered Naneferkaptah, "If you want to go to the place where the book is, you must give me a hundred pieces of silver for my funeral, and provide that they shall bury me as a rich priest." So Naneferkaptah called his lad and told him to give the priest a hundred pieces of silver; and he made them do as he wished, even everything that he asked for. Then the priest said to Naneferkaptah, "This book is in the middle of the river at Koptos, in an iron box; in the iron box is a bronze box; in the bronze box is a sycamore box; in the sycamore box is an ivory and ebony box; in the ivory and ebony box is a silver box; in the silver box is a golden box; and in that is the book. It is twisted all round with snakes and scorpions and all the other crawling things around the box in which the book is; and there is a deathless snake by the box." And when the priest told Naneferkaptah, he did not know where on earth he was, he was so much delighted.
“And when he came from the temple, he told me all that had happened to him. And he said, "I shall go to Koptos, for I must fetch this book; I will not stay any longer in the north." And I said, "Let me dissuade you, for you prepare sorrow and you will bring me into trouble in the Thebaid." And I laid my hand on Naneferkaptah, to keep him from going to Koptos, but he would not listen to me; and he went to the king, and told the king all that the priest had said. The king asked him, "What is it that you want?" And he replied, "Let them give me the royal boat with its belongings, for I will go to the south with Ahura and her little boy Merab, and fetch this book without delay." So they gave him the royal boat with its belongings, and we went with him to the haven, and sailed from there up to Koptos.
“Then the priests of Isis of Koptos, and the high priest of Isis, came down to us without waiting, to meet Naneferkaptah, and their wives also came to me. We went into the temple of Isis and Harpokrates; and Naneferkaptah brought an ox, a goose, and some wine, and made a burnt offering and a drink offering before Isis of Koptos and Harpokrates. They brought us to a very fine house, with all good things; and Naneferkaptah spent four days there and feasted with the priests of Isis of Koptos, and the wives of the priests of Isis also made holiday with me.
“And the morning of the fifth day came; and Naneferkaptah called a priest to him, and made a magic cabin that was full of men and tackle. He put the spell upon it and put life into it, and gave them breath, and sank it in the water. He filled the royal boat with sand, and took leave of me, and sailed from the haven: and I sat by the river at Koptos that I might see what would become of him. And he said, "Workmen, work for me, even at the place where the book is." And they toiled by night and by day; and when they had reached it in three days, he threw the sand out and made a shoal in the river. And then he found on it entwined serpents and scorpions, and all kinds of crawling things around the box in which the book was; and by it he found a deathless snake around the box. And he laid the spell upon the entwined serpents and scorpions and all kinds of crawling things which were around the box, that they would not come out. And he went to the deathless snake, and fought with him, and killed him; but he came to life again, and took a new form. He then fought again with him a second time; but he came to life again, and took a third form. He then cut him in two parts, and put sand between the parts, that he should not appear again.
“Naneferkaptah then went to the place where he found the box. He uncovered a box of iron, and opened it; he found then a box of bronze, and opened that; then he found a box of sycamore wood, and opened that; again he found a box of ivory and ebony, and opened that; yet, he found a box of silver, and opened that; and then he found a box of gold; he opened that, and found the book in it. He took the book from the golden box, and read a page of spells from it. He enchanted the heaven and the earth, the abyss, the mountains, and the sea; he knew what the birds of the sky, the fish of the deep, and the beasts of the hills all said. He read another page of the spells, and saw the sun shining in the sky, with all the gods, the full moon, and the stars in their shapes; he saw the fishes of the deep, for a divine power was present that brought them up from the water. He then read the spell upon the workmen that he had made, and taken from the haven, and said to them, "Work for me, back to the place from which I came." And they toiled night and day, and so he came back to the place where I sat by the river of Koptos; I had not drunk nor eaten anything, and had done nothing on earth, but sat like one who is gone to the grave.
magic wands
“I then told Naneferkaptah that I wished to see this book, for which we had taken so much trouble. He gave the book into my hands; and when I read a page of the spells in it, I also enchanted heaven and earth, the abyss, the mountains, and the sea; I also knew what the birds of the sky, the fishes of the deep, and the beasts of the hills all said. I read another page of the spells, and I saw the sun shining in the sky with all the gods, the full moon, and the stars in their shapes; I saw the fishes of the deep, for a divine power was present that brought them up from the water. As I could not write, I asked Naneferkaptah, who was a good writer and a very learned one; he called for a new piece of papyrus, and wrote on it all that was in the book before him. He dipped it in beer, and washed it off in the liquid; for he knew that if it were washed off, and he drank it, he would know all that there was in the writing.
“We went back to Koptos the same day, and made a feast before Isis of Koptos and Harpokrates. We then went to the haven and sailed, and went northward of Koptos. And as we went on, Thoth discovered all that Naneferkaptah had done with the book; and Thoth hastened to tell Ra, and said, "Now, know that my book and my revelation are with Naneferkaptah, son of the King Merneptah. He has forced himself into my place, and robbed it, and seized my box with the writings, and killed my guards who protected it." And Ra replied to him, "He is before you, take him and all his kin." He sent a power from heaven with the command, "Do not let Naneferkaptah return safe to Memphis with all his kin." And after this hour, the little boy Merab, going out from the awning of the royal boat, fell into the river: he called on Ra, and everybody who was on the bank raised a cry. Naneferkaptah went out of the cabin, and read the spell over him; he brought the body up because a divine power brought him to the surface. He read another spell over him, and made him tell of all that happened to him, and of what Thoth had said before Ra. We turned back with him to Koptos. We brought him to the Good House, we fetched the people to him, and made one embalm him; and we buried him in his coffin in the cemetery of Koptos like a great and noble person.
“And Naneferkaptah, my brother, said, "Let us go down, let us not delay, for the king has not yet heard of what has happened to him, and his heart will be sad about it." So we went to the haven, we sailed, and did not stay to the north of Koptos. When we were come to the place where the little boy Merab had fallen into the water, I went out from the awning of the royal boat, and I fell into the river. They called Naneferkaptah, and he came out from the cabin of the royal boat. He read a spell over me, and brought my body up, because a divine power brought me to the surface. He drew me out, and read the spell over me, and made me tell him of all that had happened to me, and of what Thoth had said before Ra. Then he turned back with me to Koptos, he brought me to the Good House, he fetched the people to me, and made one embalm me, as great and noble people are buried, and laid me in the tomb where Merab my young child was.
“He turned to the haven, and sailed down, and delayed not in the northof Koptos. When he was come to the place where we fell into the river, he said to his heart, "Shall I not better turn back again to Koptos, that I may lie by them? For if not, when I go down to Memphis, and the king asks after his children, what shall I say to him? Can I tell him, "I have taken your children to the Thebaid and killed them, while I remained alive, and I have come to Memphis still alive?=" Then he made them bring him a linen cloth of striped byssus; he made a band, and bound the book firmly, and tied it upon him. Naneferkaptah then went out of the awning of the royal boat and fell into the river. He cried on Ra; and all those who were on the bank made an outcry, saying, "Great woe! Sad woe! Is he lost, that good scribe and able man that has no equal?"
“The royal boat went on without any one on earth knowing where Naneferkaptah was. It went on to Memphis, and they told all this to the king. Then the king went down to the royal boat in mourning, and all the soldiers and high priests and priests of Ptah were in mourning, and all the officials and courtiers. And when he saw Naneferkaptah, who was in the inner cabin of the royal boat — from his rank of high scribe — he lifted him up. And they saw the book by him; and the king said, "Let one hide this book that is with him." And the officers of the king, the priests of Ptah, and the high priest of Ptah, said to the king, "Our Lord, may the king live as long as the sun! Naneferkaptah was a good scribe and a very skillful man." And the king had him laid in his Good House to the sixteenth day, and then had him wrapped to the thirty-fifth day, and laid him out to the seventieth day, and then had him put in his grave in his resting-place....I have now told you the sorrow which has come upon us because of this book.”
Herodotus on the Egyptian Version of Story of Helen
Herodotus wrote in Book 2 of “Histories”: “Pheros was succeeded (they said) by a man of Memphis, whose name in the Greek tongue was Proteus. This Proteus has a very attractive and well-appointed temple precinct at Memphis, south of the temple of Hephaestus. Around the precinct live Phoenicians of Tyre, and the whole place is called the Camp of the Tyrians. There is in the precinct of Proteus a temple called the temple of the Stranger Aphrodite; I guess this is a temple of Helen, daughter of Tyndarus, partly because I have heard the story of Helen's abiding with Proteus, and partly because it bears the name of the Foreign Aphrodite: for no other of Aphrodite's temples is called by that name. 113. [Source: Herodotus, “The Histories”, Egypt after the Persian Invasion, Book 2, English translation by A. D. Godley. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1920, Tufts]
“When I inquired of the priests, they told me that this was the story of Helen. After carrying off Helen from Sparta, Alexandrus sailed away for his own country; violent winds caught him in the Aegean and drove him into the Egyptian sea; and from there (as the wind did not let up) he came to Egypt, to the mouth of the Nile called the Canopic mouth, and to the Salters'. Now there was (and still is) on the coast a temple of Heracles; if a servant of any man takes refuge there and is branded with certain sacred marks, delivering himself to the god, he may not be touched. This law continues today the same as it has always been from the first. Hearing of the temple law, some of Alexandrus' servants ran away from him, threw themselves on the mercy of the god, and brought an accusation against Alexandrus meaning to injure him, telling the whole story of Helen and the wrong done Menelaus. They laid this accusation before the priests and the warden of the Nile mouth, whose name was Thonis. 114.
“When Thonis heard it, he sent this message the quickest way to Proteus at Memphis: “A stranger has come, a Trojan, who has committed an impiety in Hellas. After defrauding his guest-friend, he has come bringing the man's wife and a very great deal of wealth, driven to your country by the wind. Are we to let him sail away untouched, or are we to take away what he has come with?” Proteus sent back this message: “Whoever this is who has acted impiously against his guest-friend, seize him and bring him to me, that I may know what he will say.” 115.
“Hearing this, Thonis seized Alexandrus and detained his ships there, and then brought him with Helen and all the wealth, and the suppliants too, to Memphis. When all had arrived, Proteus asked Alexandrus who he was and whence he sailed; Alexandrus told him his lineage and the name of his country, and about his voyage, whence he sailed. Then Proteus asked him where he had got Helen; when Alexandrus was evasive in his story and did not tell the truth, the men who had taken refuge with the temple confuted him, and related the whole story of the wrong. Finally, Proteus declared the following judgment to them, saying, “If I did not make it a point never to kill a stranger who has been caught by the wind and driven to my coasts, I would have punished you on behalf of the Greek, you most vile man. You committed the gravest impiety after you had had your guest-friend's hospitality: you had your guest-friend's wife. And as if this were not enough, you got her to fly with you and went off with her. And not just with her, either, but you plundered your guest-friend's wealth and brought it, too. Now, then, since I make it a point not to kill strangers, I shall not let you take away this woman and the wealth, but I shall watch them for the Greek stranger, until he come and take them away; but as for you and your sailors, I warn you to leave my country for another within three days, and if you do not, I will declare war on you.” 116.
“This, the priests said, was how Helen came to Proteus. And, in my opinion, Homer knew this story, too; but seeing that it was not so well suited to epic poetry as the tale of which he made use, he rejected it, showing that he knew it. This is apparent from the passage in the Iliad (and nowhere else does he return to the story) where he relates the wanderings of Alexander, and shows how he and Helen were carried off course, and wandered to, among other places, Sidon in Phoenicia.
This is in the story of the Prowess of Diomedes, where the verses run as follows:
“There were the robes, all embroidered,
The work of women of Sidon, whom godlike Alexandrus himself
Brought from Sidon, crossing the broad sea,
The same voyage on which he brought back Helen of noble descent. [Hom. Il. 6.289-92]
“[He mentions it in the Odyssey also:]
“The daughter of Zeus had such ingenious drugs,
Good ones, which she had from Thon's wife, Polydamna, an Egyptian,
Whose country's fertile plains bear the most drugs,
Many mixed for good, many for harm: [Hom. Od. 4.227-30]
....”and again Menelaus says to Telemachus:
I was eager to return here, but the gods still held me in Egypt,
Since I had not sacrificed entire hecatombs to them. [Hom. Od. 4. 351-2]
“In these verses the poet shows that he knew of Alexander's wanderings to Egypt; for Syria borders on Egypt, and the Phoenicians, to whom Sidon belongs, dwell in Syria. These verses and this passage prove most clearly that the Cyprian poems are not the work of Homer but of someone else. For the Cyprian poems relate that Alexandrus reached Ilion with Helen in three days from Sparta, having a fair wind and a smooth sea; but according to the Iliad, he wandered from his course in bringing her. 118.
Herodotus on Egyptian Version of the Trojan Story
Herodotus wrote in Book 2 of “Histories”: “Enough, then, of Homer and the Cyprian poems. But, when I asked the priests whether the Greek account of what happened at Troy were idle or not, they gave me the following answer, saying that they had inquired and knew from Menelaus himself. After the rape of Helen, a great force of Greeks came to the Trojan land on Menelaus' behalf. After disembarking and disposing their forces, they sent messengers to Ilion, one of whom was Menelaus himself. When these were let inside the city walls, they demanded the restitution of Helen and of the property which Alexandrus had stolen from Menelaus and carried off, and they demanded reparation for the wrongs; but the Trojans gave the same testimony then and later, sworn and unsworn: that they did not have Helen or the property claimed, but all of that was in Egypt, and they could not justly make reparation for what Proteus the Egyptian had. But the Greeks, thinking that the Trojans were mocking them, laid siege to the city, until they took it; but there was no Helen there when they breached the wall, but they heard the same account as before; so, crediting the original testimony, they sent Menelaus himself to Proteus. 119. [Source: Herodotus, “The Histories”, Egypt after the Persian Invasion, Book 2, English translation by A. D. Godley. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1920, Tufts]
“Menelaus then went to Egypt and up the river to Memphis; there, relating the truth of the matter, he met with great hospitality and got back Helen, who had not been harmed, and also all his wealth, besides. Yet, although getting this, Menelaus was guilty of injustice toward the Egyptians. For adverse weather detained him when he tried to sail away; after this continued for some time, he carried out something impious, taking two native children and sacrificing them. When it became known that he had done this, he fled with his ships straight to Libya, hated and hunted; and where he went from there, the Egyptians could not say. The priests told me that they had learned some of this by inquiry, but that they were sure of what had happened in their own country. 120.
“The Egyptians' priests said this, and I myself believe their story about Helen, for I reason thus: had Helen been in Ilion, then with or without the will of Alexandrus she would have been given back to the Greeks. For surely Priam was not so mad, or those nearest to him, as to consent to risk their own persons and their children and their city so that Alexandrus might cohabit with Helen. Even if it were conceded that they were so inclined in the first days, yet when not only many of the Trojans were slain in fighting against the Greeks, but Priam himself lost to death two or three or even more of his sons in every battle (if the poets are to be believed), in this turn of events, had Helen been Priam's own wife, I cannot but think that he would have restored her to the Greeks, if by so doing he could escape from the evils besetting him. Alexandrus was not even heir to the throne, in which case matters might have been in his hands since Priam was old, but Hector, who was an older and a better man than Alexandrus, was going to receive the royal power at Priam's death, and ought not have acquiesced in his brother's wrongdoing, especially when that brother was the cause of great calamity to Hector himself and all the rest of the Trojans. But since they did not have Helen there to give back, and since the Greeks would not believe them although they spoke the truth—I am convinced and declare—the divine powers provided that the Trojans, perishing in utter destruction, should make this clear to all mankind: that retribution from the gods for terrible wrongdoing is also terrible. This is what I think, and I state it.
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 September 2018