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STORIES FROM ANCIENT EGYPT
Stories have always rejoiced the heart of the Egyptian, both of ancient and modern days, and when the treasury of the folklore of the fellahin was brought to light, the learned discoverer conjectured at once that these tales were to a large extent of very early origin. In fact a comparatively large number of tales of very similar character have come down to us from the various periods of Egyptian history. [Source: Adolph Erman, “Life in Ancient Egypt”, 1894]
We know little of the literary conditions that existed before the time of the Middle Kingdom; several tales of that period have however come down to us, and the contents of these show that they were of popular origin. A remarkable fragment contained in a Berlin papyrus is also, comparatively speaking, of homely form. It relates that a shepherd caught a glimpse of a goddess in the marshes, and fell deeply in love with her: “he had never spoken to her, (but) her power pursued his body. " e then caused the wisest of the magic formulae of the shepherds to be read, and “as it dawned quite early . . . and he had placed himself before the lake, then she came divested of her clothes and with disordered hair." What she said to him the reader must imagine for himself, for unfortunately an old proprietor of the book thought well to wash off the end as well as the beginning of the papyrus, in order to provide himself in a cheap way with clean paper.
The Egyptians of the Middle Kingdom seem to have been especially fond of stories of travel, in which the hero relates his own adventures. Out of the half-dozen books which we possess of this period, two at least contain narratives of this kind, whilst we have not a single one of later date. In the first a shipwrecked sailor narrates his wonderful experiences on the fabulous snake-island; the other story has less the character of a romance — it describes the fate of an exile amongst the Syrian Bedouins. The tale is simple and homely, there is nothing remarkable in the contents, and the fame that the book enjoyed for centuries must have been due to the charm of its half poetic style.
Ancient Egyptian stories which, as we have seen, often contain the plot of historical events, convince us that the mighty deeds of the kings, their great buildings, and their wars, could rouse the imagination of the Egyptians to nobler compositions than these hymns. As a nation, however, they seem scarcely to have risen above these unpretending tales to the higher step in poetic art, to epic poetry, for in the literature that has been preserved to us there is only one example of an attempt to relate the deeds of the Pharaoh in true poetic form.
Tale of The Eloquent Peasant
“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.]”
For the complete article from which the material here is derived see Tales of Ancient Egypt: The Tale of The Eloquent Peasant, Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Egypt, Fordham University sourcebooks.web.fordham.edu
Tale of Sinuhe
“Tale of Sinuhe” is about an Egyptian palace official called Sinuhe (also known as Sanehat). Likely composed in the beginning of the Twelfth Dynasty after the death of Amenemhat I (also referred to as Senwosret I), the tale explores universal themes such as divine providence and mercy. The oldest known copy of the text dates to the reign of Amenemhat III, around 1800 B.C. The work was so popular within Egypt that newer copies have been found ranging up to 750 years after the original. [Source Wikipedia]
After the death of the old king, afraid of upheavel and unrest, Sinuhe 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: Sinuhe kills the champion, ushering in a long period of peace. Near the end of his life Sinuhe 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 Sinuhe” goes:
“Nobleman and overlord, governor and canal-cutter, sovereign among the Syrians
One known to the king directly, his favourite, the Follower Sinuhe
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
For the complete article from which the material here is derived see Tale of Sinuhe web.archive.org
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!”
For the complete article from which the material here is derived see Tales of Ancient Egypt: The Shipwrecked Sailor, around 2200 B.C., Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Egypt, Fordham University sourcebooks.web.fordham.edu
Tale of Two Brothers
The “Tale of the Two Brothers” comes from the Papyrus D'Orbiney. It has been dated to the End of the 19th Dynasty, around 1185 B.C. It goes: Once upon a time there were two brothers, so the story goes, having the same mother and the same father. Anpu was the name of the elder, and Bata was the name of the younger. Now as for Anubis, he [possessed] a house and had a wife, [and] his younger brother was (associated) with him after the manner of a son, so that it was he (that is, the elder brother) who made clothes for him while he (that is, the younger brother) followed behind his cattle to the fields, since it was he who had to plow. It was he who reaped for him, and it was [he] who did for him every chore that was in the fields. Indeed, his younger brother [was] a perfect man: there was none like him in (the) entire land, for a god's virility was in him. [Source:Perankh]
“After many days following this, his younger brother [was tending] his cattle according to his daily habit, and he would [leave work] for his house every evening laden [with] every vegetable of the field, [with] milk, with wood, and [with] every [good produce of] the field; he would place them before his [elder brother] while he was sitting with his wife, and he would drink and eat, and [he would leave to spend the night in] his stable among his cattle [daily].
“After dawn and the next day had come about, [he prepared foods] which were cooked, and he would place them before his elder brother, [and he would] give him bread for the fields, and he would drive his cattle to let them graze in the fields while he followed behind his cattle. [And th]ey [would] tell him: The herbage of such and such a place is good. And he would listen to all that they said and take them to the place with good herbage which they were desiring. The cattle that were in his charge became so exceedingly fine that they multiplied their offspring exceedingly.
“At plowing time his [elder] brother told him: have a team [of oxen] made ready for us for plowing, for the soil has emerged so that it is just right for tilling. Also, you are to come to the field with seed because we shall begin to cultivate tomorrow. So he said to him. Then his younger brother made all preparations that his elder brother had told him to [make]. And after dawn [and the next] day had come about, they went to the field carrying their [seed] and began [to] plow with [their hearts] exceedingly pleased about their project as [they] began to work.
“After many [days] following this, while they were in the field, they needed seed. He sent his younger brother, saying: You shall go and fetch us seed from town. His younger brother found the wife of his elder brother seated plaiting her (hair). he told her: Get up and give me seed so that (I) may hurry off to the field, because it is for me that my elder brother is waiting. don't cause a delay. Then she told him: Go, open the magazine and fetch for yourself what you want. Don't make (me) leave my hairdressing unfinished.
“then the youth entered his stable and fetched a large vessel, since it was his desire to take out a lot of seed. he loaded himself with barley and emmer and came out carrying it. Then she said to him: how much is it that is on your shoulder? And he told her: It is three sacks of emmer and two sacks of barley, totaling five, that are on my shoulder. So he said to her. Then she [spoke with] him, saying: There is [great] virility in you, for I have been observing your exertions daily. For it was her desire to know him through sexual intimacy. she got up, seized hold of him, and told him: Come, let's spend for ourselves an hour sleeping (together). Such will be to your advantage, for I will make you fine clothes.
“Then the youth became like an Upper Egyptian panther in harsh rage over the wicked proposition that she had made to him, and she become exceedingly fearful. he argued with her, saying: Now look, you are (associated) with me after the manner of a mother, and your husband is (associated) with me after the manner of a father, for the one who is older than I it is who has brought me up. What means this great offense which (you) have said to me? Don't say it to me again. but I shall tell it to no one, for I will not let it escape my mouth to anybody. he picked up his load and went off to the field. Then he reached his elder brother, and they began to work (at) their project.
“Afterward, at evening time, his elder brother left work for his house, while his younger brother was (still) tending his cattle and [would] load himself with all produce of the field and bring back his cattle before him to let them spend the night (in) their stable, which was in town. The wife of his elder brother was fearful (on account of) the proposition which she had made. She then fetched grease and fat and feigningly became like one who has been assaulted with the intention of telling her husband: it's your younger brother who has assaulted (me). Her husband left work in the evening according to his daily habit. He reached his house and found his wife lying (down), feigning (to be) sick, so that she did not pour water upon his hand(s) according to his custom, nor had she prepared lighting for his arrival, so that his house was in darkness as she lay vomiting. her husband said to her: Who has quarreled with you? She said to him: No one has quarreled with me except your younger brother. When he returned to take out seed for you, he found me sitting alone and said to me, "Come, let's spend an hour sleeping (together). You shall put on your wig. " So he said to me, but I refused to obey him. "Isn't it so that I am your mother, and that your brother is (associated) with you after the manner of a father?" So I said to him. And he became afraid and assaulted (me) to prevent me from making a disclosure to you. Now if you let him live, I'll take my life. See, as soon as he returns, don't,,him, because I denounce this wicked proposition which he would have carried out yesterday.
“then his elder brother became like an Upper Egyptian panther, and he had his spear sharpened and placed in his hand. His elder (brother) stood behind the door (of) his stable in order to kill his younger brother upon his return in the evening to let his cattle enter the stable. Now when the sun set, he loaded himself (with) all (sorts of) vegetables of the fields, according to his daily habit, and returned. the lead cow entered the stable and said to its herdsman: Look, your elder brother is standing in wait for you bearing his spear to kill you. You shall depart from his presence. He understood what his lead cow had said, and the next one entered and said it also. He looked under the door of his stable and observed his elder brother's feet as he was standing behind the door with his spear in his hand. he set his load onto the ground and hastened to run off (in) flight, and his elder brother went in pursuit of him, carrying his spear.
“Then his younger brother prayed to Pre-Harakhti, saying: My good lord, it is you who distinguishes wrong from right. Thereupon Pre heard all his petitions, and Pre caused a great (gulf of) water to come between him and his elder (brother), infested with crocodiles, so that one of them came to be on one side and the other on the other (side). His elder brother struck twice upon (the back of) his hand because he had failed to kill him. Then his younger brother called to him on the (other) side, saying: Wait there until dawn. As soon as the sun rises, I shall be judged with you in his presence, and he shall deliver the culprit to the just, for I will never again be present in your company nor will I be present in a place where you are. I shall go to the Valley of the Pine.
“Now after dawn and the next day had come about, Pre-Harakhti arose, and they observed each other. Then the youth argued with his elder brother, saying: What's the meaning of your coming in pursuit of me in order to kill (me) unjustly without having heard what I have to say? for I am still your younger brother, and you are (associated) with me after the manner of a father, and your wife is (associated0 with me after the manner of a mother, isn't it so? When you sent (me) to fetch us seed, your wife said to me, "Come, let's spend an hour sleeping (together). " But see, it has been distorted for you as something otherwise. Then he informed him about all that had transpired between him and his wife. he swore by Pre-Harakhti saying: As for your (coming) in order to kill me unjustly, carrying your spear, it was on account of a sexually exhausted slut. he fetched a reed knife, cut off his phallus, and threw it into the water. The catfish swallowed (it), and he grew weak and became feeble. his elder brother became exceedingly grieved and stood weeping for him aloud. He could not cross over to where his younger brother was because of the crocodiles.
“then his younger brother called to him, saying: If you have recalled a grievance, can't you recall a kindness or something that I have done on your behalf? Please depart to your home and take care of your cattle, for I shall not stay in a place where you are. I shall go off to the Valley of the Pine. now what you shall do on my behalf is to come and care for me if (you) find out that something has happened to me (when) I extract my heart and put it on top of the flower of the pine tree. and if the pine tree is cut down and falls to the ground, you are to come to search for it. If you shall have spent seven years in searching for it, don't let your heart become discouraged, for if you do find it and put it into a bowl of cool water, then I will become alive in order that (I) may avenge the wrong done to me. Now you shall ascertain whether something (has happened) to me if a beaker of beer is delivered to you in your hand and produces froth. Don't delay upon seeing that this comes to pass with you.
“Then he went off to the Valley of the Pine, and his elder brother went off to his home with his hand(s) placed upon his head and his (body) smeared with dirt. Presently he reached his home, and he killed his wife, cast her (to) the dogs, and sat down in morning over his younger brother. After many days following this, his younger brother was in the Valley of the Pine with no one with him while he spent all day hunting desert game. He returned in the evening to spend the night under the pine tree on top of whose flower his heart was. And after many days followed this, he built for himself a country villa with his (own) hands (in) the Valley of the Pine, filled with all (sorts of) good things with the intention of establishing a home for himself.
“Presently he went out form his country villa and encountered the Ennead as they were walking (along) governing the entire land. The Ennead spoke in unison, saying to him: Oh, Bata, Bull of the Ennead, are you alone here having abandoned your town before the face of the wife of Anubis, your elder brother? See, (he) has killed his wife, and thus you will be avenged upon him (for) every wrong done against you. For they were exceedingly sorry for him. Pre-Harakhti told Khnum: Please fashion a marriageable woman for Beta so that he does not (have to) live alone. thereupon Khnum made for him a house-companion who was more beautiful in her body than any woman in the entire land, for (the seed of) every god was in her. then the seven Hathors came (to) see her and said all together: It is by an execution knife that she shall die.
“Then he proceeded to covet her exceedingly while she was dwelling in his house and while he spent all day hunting desert game, bringing (it) back, and putting (it) down before her. he told her: Don't go outside lest the sea carry you away, for I will be unable to rescue you from it, because I am a female like you and my heart lies on top of the flower of the pone tree. but if another finds it, I will fight with him. Then he revealed to her all his inmost thoughts.
“After many days following this, while Bata went to hunt according to his daily habit, the maiden went out to stroll under the pine tree which was next to her house. thereupon she beheld the sea surging up behind her, and she hastened to flee from it and entered her house. then the sea called to the pine tree, saying: Seize hold of her for me. And the pine tree removed a curl form her hair. The sea brought it to Egypt and deposited it in the place of the launderers of Pharaoh then the scent of the curl of hair appeared in the clothes of Pharaoh and the king wrangled with the launderer of Pha. oh saying: Scent of ointment is in the clothes of Pharaoh. The king came to wrangling with them daily, but they didn't know what to do. the chief launderer of Pharaoh went to the bank with his mind exceedingly vexed as a consequence of the wranglings with him daily. then (he) stopped still and stood by the seashore opposite the curl of hair that was in the water. he had someone go down, and it was brought to him. (Its) scent was found exceedingly fragrant, and he took it away to Pharaoh.
“then the learned scribes of Pharaoh were brought. They told Pharaoh: As for this braid of hair, it belongs to a daughter of Pre-Harakhti in whom there is the seed of every god. Now it is a tribute to you (from) another country. Send envoys forth to every foreign country in order to search for her. As for the envoy who will go to the Valley of the Pine, have many men go with (him) in order to fetch her. Then His Majesty said: what you have said is very good, very good. and (they) were sent off.
“After many days following this, the men who had gone to a foreign country returned to render report to His Majesty whereas those who had gone to the Valley of the Pine failed to return, for Bata had killed them leaving (only) one of them to render report to His Majesty then His Majesty again sent forth many soldiers as well as chariotry in order to fetch her, there being a woman among them through whom all (sorts of) beautiful feminine adornment were presented to her.
“The woman returned to Egypt with her, and there was jubilation for her in the entire land. Then His Majesty proceeded to love her exceedingly, and the king appointed her to be Chief Lady. the king spoke with her in order to have her describe the nature of her husband and she said to His Majesty : have the pine tree cut down and hacked up. the king sent soldiers bearing their copper (implements) in order to cut down the pine tree, and they reached the pine tree. they cut off the flower upon which was Bata's heart, and he fell dead at the very same moment.
“After dawn and the next day had come about and after the pine tree had been cut down, Anubis, the elder brother of Bata, entered his house and sat down and washed his hand(s). he was handed a beaker of beer, and it produced froth. Another of wine was handed him, and it turned bad. then he took his staff and his sandals as well as his clothes and his weapons, and he hastened to journey to the Valley of the Pine. He entered the country villa of his younger brother and found his younger brother lying dead upon his bed. He wept when (he) saw (his) younger brother lying in a state of death, and he went to search for his younger brother's heart beneath the pine tree under which his younger brother slept in the evening. he spent three years in searching for it without finding it. Now when he had commenced the fourth year, his heart desired to return to Egypt, and he said: I shall depart tomorrow. So he said in his heart.
“After dawn and the next day had come about, he began walking under the pine tree and spent all day searching for it. he gave up in the evening. Again he spent time in order to search for it, and he found a (pine) cone. he left for home with it. It was really his younger brother's heart. And he fetched a bowl of cool water, dropped it into it, and sat down according to his daily (habit).
“After darkness had fallen, his heart absorbed the water, and Bata shuddered over all his body and began looking at his elder brother while his heart was (still) in the bowl. Anubis, his elder brother, took the bowl of cool water in which was his younger brother's heart and (had) him drink it. His heart assumed its (proper) position so that he became as he used to be. Then each embraced the other, and they conversed with one another. Then Beta said to his elder brother: Look, I shall become a large bull that has every beautiful color and whose sort is unparalleled, and you shall sit upon (my) back. As soon as the sun rises, we shall be where my wife is that (I) may avenge myself, and you shall take me to where the king is, for every sort of good thing shall be done for you and you shall be rewarded with silver and gold for taking me to Pharaoh because I shall become a great marvel, and there shall be jubilation for me in the entire land, and (then) you shall depart to your (home) town.
“After dawn and the next day had come about, Bata changed into the form which he had mentioned to his elder brother. Then Anubis, his elder brother, sat down upon his back until dawn, and he reached the place where the king was, and His Majesty was informed about him. He saw him and became exceedingly joyful over him. He served him a grand oblation, saying: It is a great marvel that has come to pass. And there was jubilation for him in the entire land. then his weight was made up in silver and gold for his elder brother, who (again) took up his abode in his (home) town. the king gave him much personnel and a lot of goods, for Pharaoh preferred him exceedingly over anybody (else) in the entire land.
“Now after many days following this, he entered the kitchen and stood in the place where the Lady was. he began speaking with her, saying: See, I'm still alive! She said to him: Who are you, I ask? And he told her: I am Bata. I realize that when you caused the pine tree to be hacked up for Pharaoh it was on account of me, to keep me from staying alive. See, I'm still alive, but as a bull.
“The Lady became exceedingly fearful because of the revelation which her husband had made to her. then he left the kitchen, and His Majesty sat down and made holiday with her. She poured (drinks) for His Majesty so that the king was exceedingly happy in her company. then she said to His Majesty : Swear to me by god as follows, "As for what (the lady) will say, I shall grant it to her. " And he heard all that she said: Let me eat of the liver of this bull, for he never will amount to anything. So she said speaking to him. The king became exceedingly vexed over what she had said, and Pharaoh was exceedingly sorry for him.
“After dawn the next day had come about, the king proclaimed a grand oblation as an offering to the bull, and the king sent a first royal cupbearer of His Majesty to sacrifice the bull. And subsequently he was sacrificed. While he was upon the shoulders of the men, he trembled in his neck and caused two drops of blood to be shed beside the two doorposts of His Majesty one landing on one side of the great portal of Pharaoh and the other on the other side. they grew into two large Persea trees, each one of which was choice. Then someone went to tell His Majesty : Two large Persea trees have grown this night as a great marvel for His Majesty beside the great portal of His Majesty And there was jubilation for them in the entire land, and the king presented an offering to them.
“After many days followoing this, His Majesty appeared at the audience window of lapis lazuli with a wreath of every sort of flower on (his) neck, and he (mounted) a chariot of electrum and came out from the palace in order to inspect the Persea trees. Then the Lady came out in a chariot following Pharaoh His Majesty sat down under one Persea tree, (and the Lady under the other Persea tree. And Bata) spoke with his wife: Ha, you liar! I am Bata. I'm alive in spite of you. I realize that as for your having had (the pine tree) cut down for Pharaoh it was on account of me. And I became a bull, and you had me killed.
“After many days following this, the Lady stood pouring (drinks) for His Majesty so that the king was happy in her company. She told His Majesty : Swear to me by god as follows, "As for what the Lady will tell me, I shall grant it to her. " So you shall say. and he heard all that she said, and she said: have these two Persea trees cut down and made into fine furniture. Then the king heard all that she had said, and after a brief moment His Majesty sent skilled craftsmen, and the Persea trees were cut down for Pharaoh the queen, the Lady, observed it (being done), and a splinter flew up and entered the Lady's mouth. She swallowed (it) and became pregnant in the space of a split second, and the king made out of them whatever was her desire.
“After many days following this, she bore a son, and someone went in order to tell His Majesty: A son has been born to you. then he was brought, and nurse and maids were assigned to him. There was jubilation (for him) in the entire land, and the king sat down and made holiday and proceeded to hold him on his lap. His Majesty cherished him exceedingly immediately, and the king appointed him Viceroy of Kush.
“After many days following this, His Majesty made him crown prince of the entire land. and after many days following this, when he had completed many [years] as crown prince in (the) entire land, His Majesty flew up to the sky. Then the (new) king said: Have my great officials of His Majesty brought to me that I may inform them regarding every situation that I have been involved in. His wife [was] brought to him, and he was judged with her in their presence. A consensus was reached among them. His elder brother was brought to him, and he appointed him crown prince in the entire land. he (spent) thirty years as King of Egypt. he departed from life, and his elder brother acceded to his throne on the day of death.
For the complete article from which the material here is derived see “Tale of the Two Brothers”, George Mason University, olli.gmu.edu or Or Internet Archives archive.org
Khufu and the Magician
King Khufu was the builder of the largest pyramid. A story recorded hundreds of years after his death goes: Once upon a time King Khufu ordered his sons — they were all first reciter-priests to the king — to relate tales of the wonderful deeds of certain great magicians at the court of his predecessor. One had caused a faithless wife and her lover to be seized by a small crocodile of wax; another had by a magic formula fetched up from the depth of the water a jewel which a lady had dropped there, etc. Khufu admired exceedingly the learning of these ancient wise men, and at the end of each story he ordered an offering to be made to the hero of the tale. [Source: Adolph Erman, “Life in Ancient Egypt”, 1894]
When it came to the turn of Prince Hardadaf, he produced no story of an ancient magician, but preferred to relate to his father a talc of a man still living in his own time. “This man is called Ded'e and lives in Dedsnefru. He is a young man and eats 500 cakes of bread together with a joint of beef, and drinks 100 jugs of beer, even at the present day. He knows how to set on a head that has been cut off, and he can cause the lions of the desert to walk behind him. " One other thing Ded'e knew which would be sure to interest King Khufu. He knew where certain secret things out of the house of the god Thoth were hidden, which the king had long wished to use/tr his Jiorirjon {i. e. cither for his palace or for his pyramid).
Khufu immediately sent Hardadaf to fetch the wise man to his court; boats were equipped, and the prince went up-stream until he came near Ded-Snefru. There he landed, and was carried in his ebony sedan-chair to the house of the aged learned man, whom he found stretched on his couch. After a few general remarks on health in old age, the prince ga\c his message as follows: “I have come from afar as a messenger frt)m my father Khufu, to summon thee to cat of the excellent food that he gives, and of the meats of his attendants, that he may conduct thee by a beautiful life to thy fathers, who arc in the city of the dead. " Ded'e declared himself ready to follow the summons of the king, and “the prince Hardadaf gave him his hand and raised him up. Then he went with him to the bank of the river, whilst he gave him his arm. " Then they went downstream in the same boats; the learned man stipulated however (if I rightly understand) for a special boat for the transport of his books. “When he had now arrived at court, Prince Hardadaf went in to announce the news to King Khufu. Prince Hardadaf said: ' O king, my lord, I have brought Ded'e. ' The king answered: ' Run and bring him in. ' His Majesty then went into the hall of the palace, and Ded'e was led in to him.
“His Majesty said: ' How is it, Ded'e, that I never see thee? ' Ded'e answered: ' He who is called, comes; the king calls and behold here I am. ' The king said: 'Is it true what they say, that thou canst set on a head that has been cut off? ' Ded'e answered: ' Yes I can, O king, my lord. ' The king said: ' Let them bring in a prisoner from the prison . . . ' Ded'e answered: ' Not so, not a man, O king, my lord. Behold, let the order be given that this shall be carried out on an excellent animal. " Then they brought a goose and cut off its head; the goose was then laid in the western corner of the hall, and the head in the eastern corner, and Ded'e said his magic formula. Then the goose stood up and tripped along and the head did likewise. When now one part had come to the other, the goose stood there and cackled. They then brought a duck (?) and the same happened to it. Then the king caused a bull to be brought and his head to be thrown on the ground. Ded'e said his incantation, and the bull stood there behind him. " . . .
These miracles convinced the king that he might really trust to the wisdom of Ded'e, and he now asked him openly about the subject which he had at heart, viz. as to the hiding-place of certain secret things, which had been originally in the house of the god of wisdom. But the king received no satisfactory answer; the wise man acknowledged indeed that he knew the house at Heliopolis, in which they were, “but," he added, “I will not bring them to thee. " “Who then will bring them to me? “asked the king, and the wise man answered: “The oldest of the three children, whom Reddedt will bear, shall bring them to thee. "
When Khufu asked in amazement who this Reddedt might be, Ded'e explained: “She is the wife of a priest of the god Re', in the town Sachebu, who is now pregnant with three children by Ra of Sachebu. He has told her that they will exercise that excellent dignity over this whole country, and the eldest of them shall be high priest of Heliopolis. " “Then was his Majesty very sad. " Well might he be so. He knew well what the wise man had meant by tJiat excellent dignity. What Ded'e had prophesied was the future birth of three kings of a new people. All the Pharaohs boasted that they were descendants of the sun-god, who had now begotten himself a new people, and had rejected the old one.
What Khufu decided to do to turn aside this threatened disaster remains uncertain. Our book passes on to the climax, the birth of the three sons of the god. When the hour of the delivery of Reddedt drew near, Ra called to the goddesses Isis, Nephthys, Mescchent, and Ileqt, as well as to the god Khnum, and said: “Come, hasten and deliver Reddedt of her three children, who shall at a future time exercise that most excellent dignity over this whole country. They shall build your temples, care for your altars, increase your drink-offerings, and cause your temple revenues to be great. " The divinities followed his bidding, and repaired in human form to the house of the woman, where they presented themselves to the anxious earthly husband the priest Ra'uoser, as experienced women, who "understood how to deliver. " He admitted them into the house, they closed the door behind them and began their work. They brought three children into the world, each measured a cubit and had powerful bones; Isis gave a name to each, and Mesechent prophesied of each, that “he would become a king over this whole country. " This prophecy was fulfilled later, in fact the three children became, as we know by their names, the first three kings of the 5th dynasty.
When the goddesses left the house and announced to the husband of Reddedt the birth of the triplet, he was full of gratitude and presented them with some corn, which they gladly accepted. Khnum, who played the part of their servant, had to lade himself with it. “When they were now returned to the place whence they had come, Isis spoke to those divinities: ' How is it that we have come away without working a miracle for those children, a miracle to announce to their father who sent us thither? ' “After much consideration they formed diadems and laid them in the grain that they had received as a reward; they then raised a storm, which carried this grain back into the house of Reddedt. When now, after a fortnight, Reddedt began again to see after her household affairs, she learnt to her astonishment from her maid that the grain which had been given away was still there. She sent the girl to fetch some of it, but the girl returned frightened, for as soon as she had opened the house in which the grain lay,. she had "heard the sound of song, music, and dancing, as if to do honour to a king. "
Tale of the Doomed Prince
The "Tale of the Doomed Prince" dates to the 18th Dynasty (1550-1292 B.C.) which survived partially on the verso of Papyrus Harris 500 currently housed in the British Museum. The story goes: “There was once a king, who had no son. He therefore prayed the gods to give him a son, and they ordered that a son should be born to him. He slept at night with his wife and she became pregnant. When her months were accomplished, behold she bore a son. When now the Hathors came to decide upon his fortune, they said: ' He shall die by a crocodile, a snake, or a dog. ' The people who were with the children heard these words. They related them to His Majesty. Then was His Majesty very very sad. Then His Majesty caused a castle to be built in the mountains; this castle was provided with servants and with all good things from the palace, and the child was never allowed to go out of the castle. [Source: Adolph Erman, “Life in Ancient Egypt”, 1894]
“Now when the child had grown tall, he went up on the roof and saw a greyhound running after a man, who was walking along the road. He said to the servant who was with him: ' What is that following the man, who is walking along the road? ' He answered him: ' That is a greyhound! ' The child said to him: ' Let them bring me one. ' Then the servant went and told the king. The king then said: ' Let them take him a pup, that his heart may not grieve about it. ' Then they brought him the greyhound.
“Now after many days were gone, the child waxed great in all his members, and sent to his father to say: ' Why should I remain here? Behold I am predestined to the three fates, and whether I do according to my will or not, God will do as He wills. ' Then they gave him weapons of all kinds . . . they brought him to the eastern frontier and said to him: ' Go then according to thy wish. ' His dog was with him, and he traveled according to his heart's desire in the mountains, and lived on the best mountain game. Then he came to the prince of Naharanna. The prince of Naharanna had an only child, a daughter. He had built a house for her with a window more than seventy cubits from the ground. He ordered all the children of all the princes of Charu to be brought before him, and said to them: ' Whoever shall climb to the window of my daughter, shall have her for wife. '
“Now after many days had passed, and the princes were making their daily attempt, the youth came past. Then they brought the youth to their house, they washed him and gave his horse food. They did all manner of good to the youth, they anointed him, they bound up his feet, and gave him of their own bread. They then talked to him and said: ' Whence comest thou, thou beautiful youth? ' He answered them: ' I am the son of an Egyptian officer, my mother died, and my father took to himself another wife. . . . Thereupon she hated me, and I ran away and fled before her! ' Then they embraced him and kissed him. "
The prince then learnt from his hosts, what had brought them hither, and naturally he also became desirous to win the king's daughter. “Then they went to climb, as was their daily endeavor, and the lad stood afar from them and watched, and the eyes of the daughter of the prince of Naharanna rested upon him.
“Now after some time had passed, the youth went to climb with the children of the princes. He climbed and reached the window of the daughter of the prince of Naharanna. She kissed him and embraced him in all his limbs. Then they went to rejoice the heart of her father, and said to him: ' A man has reached the window of thy daughter. ' The prince then asked: ' The son of which prince is it? ' and they answered him: ' It is the son of an officer, who has fled from his stepmother in Egypt. ' Then the prince of Naharanna was exceeding angry. Then he said: ' I give my daughter to no Egyptian fugitive; he may return to his house again,' and they went and told him: ' Go back again to the place whence thou hast come. ' But the daughter seized him and swore: ' By Re'-Harmachis, if they take him from me, I will neither eat nor drink until I die. ' Then the messenger went and told her father what she had said. The prince sent people to kill him whilst he was in his house. But the daughter said: ' By Re', (if they kill) him, then I (also) shall be dead by sunset — I will not live an hour without him. ' . . . Then the messenger told this to her father. "
The father could not understand such love, and he gave his daughter to the youth. “He embraced him and kissed him in all his limbs, and said to him: ' Tell me then who thou art; behold, art thou not now my son? ' He answered him: ' I am the son of an Egyptian officer, my mother died, my father took to himself another wife, thereupon she hated mc, and I fled before her. ' Then he gave him his daughter to wife, and gave him (servants) and fields together with cattle and all good things.
“Now after some time the youth spake thus to his wife: ' I am predestined to three fates, to the crocodile, the snake, and the dog. ' Then she said, ' Let then thy dog, who runs before thee, be killed '; he answered: ' I will not allow my dog, whom I have brouglit up from a pup, to be killed. ' Then she feared much for her husband, and would never let him go out alone. " Thus far the tale goes. From the mutilated pages of handwriting that follow we next gather that, thanks to the watchfulness of his wife, the prince escapes from the danger which threatens him through the snake and the crocodile. It is probable that his faithful dog afterwards involuntarily takes his life, and thus his fate is fulfilled.
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 August 2024