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THE WAY T

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Myth and Mankind

According to ancient Egyptian myth, the sun god, who brings light to the world,

born anew every morning,

is

through the heavens by boat during the day,

travels

and enters the underworld by Sekhmet,

is

humans, sometimes using disease

her messenger.

as

of underworld gods,

a jury

human

including Osiris, determines whether a

condemned

in The

new book

Way

to

be

are

all

an exciting

that explores ancient Egyptians, dual fasci-

one volume

just

IS

stories

Eternity: Egyptian Myth,

nation with the physical world and

This

will

after death for sins.

These incredible found

goddess,

and rebellious

said to slaughter criminals

Other myths hold that

A

night.

series called

in a

new Time-Life Books

Myth and Mankind,

examination of world myth and

Whether exploring

after death.

life

a culture-by-culture its

historical roots.

the myths of India, early America,

Tibet or Greece, each book brings an ancient culture to

life as

never before.

As like

no

other.

a result, this

Every book

filled

is

a

is

world history

with the strange sto-

nes, mystic rites, angry gods, vision quests

symbols

at the heart

of

all

cultures

most history books. Such myths standing how, since the

dawn of

—

but

and magic left

out of

are central to

under-

time, people

around

the world have sought to explain birth, death, creation, love

and other mysteries of

intersection

life.

These myths

of imagination and

experience, dreams

and

history,

the

wisdom and

reality.

Quite simply, these stories ever told, stories so

are the greatest

powerful and unforgettable

that they have been told for centuries. get the story

lie at

Who

could for-

of Dionysus, the half-mortal god of wine

and celebration born from the thigh of the Greek

God

Continued on Back Flap

a

The Way to

.

Eternity

Digitized by the Internet Archive in

2011

http://www.archive.org/details/waytoeternityegyOOflem

The Way to

.

Eternity

EGYPTIAN MYTH

MYTH AND MANKIND THE WAY TO ETERNITY:

Egyptian Myth

Writers: Fergus

Fleming (The Egyptian World, The Divine Creators, Living with the Gods, The Judgement of Osiris, The Egyptian Legacy) Alan Lothian (The Mighty Sons of Re, Tales of Magic and Fantasy) Consultant:

Dr Joann Fletcher

Created, edited and designed by

Duncan Baird Castle House 75-76 Wells

London

©

Publishers

Street

WIP 3RE

1997 Duncan Baird Publishers

All rights reserved.

Unauthorized reproduction, in any manner, is prohibited.

DUNCAN BAIRD PUBLISHERS Managing

Editor:

Stephen Adamson

Art Director: Gabriella Le Grazie Editors:

Helen Cleary, Ruth

Petrie

Designer: lona McGlashan Picture Researcher: Anne-Marie Ehrlich

Artworks: Neil Gower, John Woodcock Map Artworks: Lorraine Harrison

Artwork Borders:

Sally

Maltby

Simon Ryder Andrea Buzyn

Editorial Researcher: Editorial Assistant:

TIME-LIFE

BOOKS

Staff for

THE WAY TO ETERNITY:

Editorial

Manager: Tony Allan

Egyptian Myth

Design Director: Mary Staples Editorial Production:

Jenny

Croxall, Ju.stina

Cox

Published by Time-Life Books BV, Amsterdam First

Time-Life English language printing 1997

TIME-LIFE is Time Warner

a

trademark of

Inc,

USA

7054 3503 2

i.sBN

Colour .separation by Colour.scan, Singapore Printed and bound by Milanostampa, SpA, Farigliano,

Title

the

page: King Seti

II

Italy

holding a shrine bearing the head of

ram god, Amun, c.1210bc.

Contents page:

A wooden

statuette of

Tutankhamun

in

the form of Anubis, the guardian of cemeteries, from the boy-king's

tomb

(1

323-1 333bc).

30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12

11 10 9

8 7 6 5 4 3 2

Contents WORLD

6

THE EGYPTIAN

8

Centuries of Civilization

20

Picture Essay:

Symbols and Amulets

22

THE DIVINE CREATORS

24

Order out of Chaos

34

The Sun

43

The Servant of the Sun

46

Picture Essay:

Cod

THE THRONE OF OSIRIS

96

Preparing for Eternity

1

02

Journey into Darkness

1

09

The

1 1

2

114

Houses of the Gods

LIVING WITH THE

52

The Celestial Domain

58

The Divine Protectress

66

Sacred Animals

71

Picture Essay:

A

1 1

1

6

24

Mummy's

Curse

Picture Essay: The

TALES OF

Tomb

of Tutankhamun

MAGIC AND FANTASY

Practitioners of

A Magical

Magic

Universe

128

Royal Tales of Enchantment

132

THE EGYPTIAN LEGACY

GODS

50

Divine Menagerie

74

THE MIGHTY SONS OF RE

76

The Conflicts of Horus and Seth

86

The Kings

92

Picture Essay: The Great Pyramids

in

94

1

38

Glossary

1

39

Index

1

44

Further reading

Myth

^^I^-^

and

picture credits

WORLD

THE EGYPTIAN

fti^i

As they approached the ancient temples of Thebes, the column of French

One by one

soldiers faltered.

mouthed while

they dropped their

shouted orders

their officers

in

vain.

and stared open-

rifles

The year was

1

798 and

France had conquered Egypt. Hundreds of miles to the north, on the plateau of Giza, their leader

Napoleon Bonaparte gave

more measured response

a

the three huge pyramids that towered above him.

immediately instructed

down

to

do some

in scale.

Napoleon

climb the highest one, and

his generals to

settled

calculations. By the time that the generals had returned, his

sums were complete.

If

of a metre thick that

were dismantled, he announced,

three pyramids

all

would form

their stones

They were crumbling and

was magnificent

of various sizes, but even the smallest

A*

to

a wall three metres high

and a

third

would surround France.

the following year, similar discoveries and calculations

In

were made by the French

as they

swept across the land.

Before them lay remnants of a civilization so ancient and yet so advanced that

newcomers

among

to

its

existence must have been hard for the

comprehend. The

was

the troops at Thebes,

majesty: "Pencil

in

hand,

official artist,

represent Egypt's

at a loss to

passed from object to object,

I

drawn away from one thing by the

ashamed

who had been

interest of

of the inadequacy of the drawings

The temples, tombs and monuments

another

made

I

...

I

felt

of such sublime things."

that lined the Nile

were

certainly

Above: The pyramids of (from

left

to right)

Menloure, Khephren

vestiges of a remarkable society,

bore

fitting tribute to

zenith

Libya

of the world's

most sophisticated

the west to the river Euphrates

in

relics

civilizations. At

1450bc the power of ancient Egypt extended from

in in

one

and the sheer size and longevity of the

its

its

border with

the east, and from the

Nubian

and Khufu

sive,

in

were

Giza, built

C.2500BC.

Opposite: Mysterious

and imposing, the Great Sphinx

deserts

at

at

Giza has the

conquests, although impres-

head of a

man and

of secondary importance to Egypt's ruling powers: the heart of the

body of a

lion.

the south to Syria

in

the north. But

its

It

the

dates

from C.2500BC, but has

empire

lay,

as

it

always had, along the Nile. The riverbanks were a haven

which the Egyptians could nourish In

the

their

own

due course, the world outside began

last truly

turies, the

Egyptian ruler

was ousted by

to

in

unique vision of the world.

encroach upon Egypt.

Persian forces.

In

In

been repaired

at various

times in Egyptian history.

343bc

the following cen-

country would be governed by foreigners: Greeks, Romans, Arabs,

Turks, French

and

British. But,

treasures have been preserved

despite the overlay of foreign cultures, Egypt's

and

still

capture the imagination of the world.

7

EGYPTIAN WORLD

THE

Ancient Egypt The main are

pyramids and religious

cities,

shown with

their Egyptian,

sites of

ancient Egypt

Greek and modern names.

Centuries of Civilization Ancient Egypt was a land of dualities - stark oppositions woven into the very character of the This binaiy notion

culture.

THE MEDITERRANEAN

^-.

.

-i=^,

,A

/

/

Per-Wadjet/BWu -v v (Tell el Fara'in)

^^^X

Alexandria

Deshret, (Tell

Basta)

danger,

LOWER

Temple

^ Pyramid

U" 'nun/Heliopolis

Men

(Tell

Hisn)

b

site

Major tomb

\

/

site

site

• Other site or city

)

"The

home

Red

was

Land",

place

a

of

of marauding

nomads and wild aniwas the fertile land which bordered the Nile, a place where crops flourished and civilized life was possible. The Nile was vital to the prosperity of Kemet mals. Kemet, or "The Black Land",

EGYPT Giza Saqqara 'm nefer/Memphis '(•

to

Egyptian thought: pre-creation, for example, was known as the time "before there were two things".

The primary contrast was that of Deshret versus Kemet - the desert versus the valley and the Delta.

-^-ij

Per-Bastet/Bubastis

was fundamental

and

central to Egypt's

economic success.

It

flowed

more than 6700 kilometres from equatorial Africa to the Mediterranean, and was fed at its source by monsoon rains that came in from the Indian Ocean. The rains fell in spring and the flood

/

waters reached Egypt in summer, swamping a onethousand-kilometre tract of valley floor with water that silt.

on receding left behind a rich, black alluvial Between July and October the Nile valley was

barely habitable, but

Chemnu/Hermopolis Magna l-Ashmunein)

land

t • Akhetaten

(Tell

was

el-Amarna)

the floods retreated the

perfect for planting

were

harvests

when

declined to

its

By

bountiful.

and the

April the

resulting

had

Nile

lowest level and the land began to

dry and crack. During the following weeks Egyptians

prayed

for signs of the next deluge.

However, the flood

lunet/Tentyris

UPPER EGYPT

was

(Dendera)

always

not

Sometimes

dictable.

Abdju/Abydos

Waset/

/ 4

lunyt/Latopolis (Esna)

Djeb/Apollinopolis

Magna

(Edfu)

^Thebes

kind

of

(Luxor)

uted

by one

v

'

of the

Nile near Aswan.

"Red Land",

attrib-

myth

to

Philae Island its

flood

came

in

35). At other times the

such a destructive torrent that whole it

is

never far from

especially

worid (see page

sins of the

communities were devastated. Very occasionally failed to

come

tainty, the

the river,

Elephantine Island (Aswan)

disaster

divine retribution for the

A view

The Deshret,

Ombos (Kom Ombo) W

it

was too low, and then people would starve in their thousands - the

Nubt/Ombos (Naqada) * Hermonthis (Armant)

pre-

around

upper reaches.

altogether. Yet, for

all their uncerwaters were regarded as a miracle from

above - proof

that there

was an order

verse and that the Egyptians were

its

to the uni-

deserving

EGYPTIAN WORLD

THE

beneficiaries.

It is

not surprising that the Greek his-

torian

Herodotus,

Egypt,

named

It is

people

impossible to be sure

fully to

appreciate this

who

in

canals

Irrigation

silt

to

fields.

Cultivation of

crops,

was possible

The haven

in

Nile

explc:)iting

wheat and

almo.st

valley

the

was

river

is

in

Thebes

being shown cattle

readiness to record their numbers.

papyrus

in

There

evidence that cattle-breeding took

is

place along the Nile from a very early date.

river's

all

and dykes were fertilizer

on the

barley, the staple

a

self-contained

civilization

could

and west,

providing a conduit for trade. Within

prosper-

this

ous environment the small farming communities of the

initial settlers

each with

its

own

developed ruler

and

into larger provinces

its

own

capital. In

time

these coalesced into kingdoms.

year round.

provided

deserts to east

to

thrive.

cataracts

(massive rapids) to the south and sea to the north, it

man

first

were constructed

be used as

which Egyptian

Bounded by

from a tomb painting

for his inspection, while a scribe holds a

but throughout

gift,

divert water to outlying areas, built to collect

.were the

detail

(1390BC). The dead

inhabitants have undoubtedly

its

ingenuity

great

potential.

wrote extensively about

the land "The Gift of the Nile".

Egypt's histoiy

shown

who

A

naturally resistant to outside invasion.

The

ensured that crops would grow, while also

As befitted the Egyptian concept of the country

was

originally divided into

two

kingdoms: Lower Egypt, made up of the

where the

river

duality, distinct

flat

Delta

fanned out and emptied into the

Mediterranean, and Upper Egypt, which stretched

from the apex of the Delta

at

Memphis

to the

Sacred Writing Writing, for

most Egyptians,

was a mystery. Less than one per cent of the population was literate

- scribes, priests and

some of the The

royalty.

among

nobility

and

literate

were

the elite

script as a

and used

their

medium of power.

Unlike spoken Egyptian which lasted well into the

(disappearing only variant, Coptic,

Middle Ages

when

its

last

was superseded

by Arabic), written Egyptian died with the demise of ancient Egypt.

The

inscriptions

on

meant "owl". But with time the

tombs and temples became

language grew more complex.

meaningless without anyone

Some

who

assume phonetic values; known

could read them.

They remained so

when

until

1821,

a French scholar, Jean-

came

A

to

phonograms, they represented

individual consonants or

combinations of consonants -

inspected a section of inscribed

the owl could also be the

in

same decree

three scripts - hieroglyphic,

demotic

simplified script

equivalent of an English "m", the

symbol

for a

detail

from the Abydos King

receiving gifts from Rameses

II,

house also

were only used

for sacred texts.

The system of hieroglyphs was reserved largely for ceremony,

represented the sound "pr" and a

and by 2600bc an easier

used for manuscripts) and

bee could stand

hieratic,

Creek. The Rosetta Stone,

translate as "bit".

(a

brought to London by the British

Champollion

for a syllable or

The ideogram depicting

to successfully

for

had emerged

a razor,

example, changed shape

more

fluid version of

hieroglyphic which enabled scribes to present a legible

cross-reference the symbols and

over the centuries to match the

account without having

decipher their meanings.

types of razor

resort to the

Initially,

written Egyptian took

in

script,

for

everyday use. Hieratic was a

Hieroglyphs were mutable.

army, enabled

List,

noting previous monarchs worthy of

C.1290BC. Hieroglyphs ("sacred words")

Frangois Champollion,

stone detailing the

current use.

to

complicated

Hieroglyphic script could be

formalities of hieroglyphs.

the form of ideograms - pictorial

read from

Demotic, known to the

left

to right, right to

representations of an object or

left,

an idea. Sprawled decoratively

from the middle out. The

across temples and tombs,

symbols pointed the way.

top to bottom

hieroglyphs, or "sacred words",

ideogram with a

as the Greeks called them,

faced

finely

10

as

hieroglyphs

were

executed and apparently

very simple - a picture of an owl

or,

sometimes,

for

an

If

face, say a bird,

then you read the

left,

script

from

right,

you read from

left

to right;

Egyptians as sekh shat ("writing

if it

hieratic in the sixth century bc,

and might

in

time have evolved

into a national script,

faced

right to

documents"), then replaced

left.

last

had the

dynasties been less rigid

their outlook.

in

THE cataracts at

Aswan

the south.

in

Around 3100bc

two areas were united under one ruler who wore both the Red crown of Lower Egypt and the tliesc

New

White crown of Upper Egypt. During the

Kingdom to

a reference to the

the

title

situation

Early Egyptians

shippers, but as they deities

unity, but the

were ancestor wor-

formed settlements, so

emerged. These

worshipped

goddesses.

in

the capital of each region gained

local

deities usually represented

The northern kingdom was

repre-

sented by Wadjet, the cobra goddess of Lower Egypt,

with regard to religion was altogether

more complex.

they were called in the Ptolemaic period), the deity

were eventually unified were symbolized by two

tion of this Egyptian term.

moved towards

As the

originally

monarch's residence. Our use of

Egypt

it.

settlements grew into provinces (or "nomes" as

prominence. The two kingdoms that emerged and

"pharaoh" comes from the Greek coraip-

Politically

the Nile or the animals that lived around

came

(t-.1539-1075Bc), the Egyptian king

be described as per-aa, "great house",

EGYPTIAN WORLD

while

Nekhbet,

the

vulture

goddess of

Upper Egypt, prevailed in the south. The Egyptians who adopted these new gods did not abandon the old ones, but merely exfoanded their devotion to accommodate them. While

acknowledging Wadjet,

inhabitants

of

a

11

EGYPTIAN WORLD

THE

Lower Egyptian settlement might variety of deities - their forebears,

also worship a their

own

local

god, and any number of "universal" gods, representing elemental forces. Beliefs travelled

Herodotus noticed in

and intermingled.

In 450bc

that the priesthood of

Upper Egypt, venerated

crocodile represented the

Thebes,

a pet crocodile.

The

god Sobek, whose cen-

their status

was

precarious.

To

celestial

power.

the gods.

was

When

The dual

the pharaoh died he joined

role ascribed to the

named

fuse together different ideas

cleariy

they did extensively

was for

district's

the cult centre of

much The

god, although Thebes

Amun-Re, the highest

deity

of Egypt's history. first

pharaohs must have realized that

pharaoh

consistent with the Egyptians' tendency to

town of Crocodilopolis. The Thebans were worshipping another

power

embodiment of the god Horus - the son of Osiris and Isis - who was the image of both royal and

of worship lay to the north in the aptly

tre

reaffirm their

concept of the god-king was born. Each pharaoh came to be considered as the earthly the

and

beliefs,

which

By about 2800BC the principle of the god-king had been accepted as the ideological basis on which every pharaoh should rule. As one inscription put it, the in

their religion.

pharaoh was "superintendent of

all

things

which

heaven dispenses and the earth produces". This

1

1th-century bc papyrus from The

Book of the Dead shows

two representations of the eye of Horus. Generally shown as a falcon, Horus was a powerful sky god who embodied kingship.

12 ''^«»^'^^S»>«^i^^&M»«^Ui^^

The

religious aspect of the pharaoh's role, however, was to a large extent delegated to his high priests, who acted as intermediaries between

EGYPTIAN WORLD

THE

An

illustration of

dancing

tomb

painting

girls, after

a

from the

8th Dynasty

1

550-1 307BC). The many

(1

scenes of dancing indicate that

was

it

of festivals

a

common

feature

and celebrations,

and also of ordinary entertainment.

heaven and

earth.

As monarch, however, he had

mn

a large

and

his political obligations

and increasingly sophisticated realm,

administration

were

was delegated

Day-to-day

vast.

a

to

ministiy

nobles, bureaucrats and priests. At the

the vizier, cials, for

ling

of

to

who was

of

helm was

accountable, with lesser

offi-

the administration of justice, the control-

and

trade

foreign

and

tribute,

the

assessment and gathering of taxes.

against

These

devices

Agriculture

was

major

the

consisted

of

steps

which the height of the Nile was measured.

As the flood determined the year's crop and hence

fields. All

who

those

percentage of their produce being taken as tax by the vizier's men. During the

was

in flood, the general

bounty was so great

been

time a relatively comfortable

life.

quate provisions and

had one day

or

foreign

powers

what was

craftsmen

off in ten.

holidays, such as the

which could

receiving ade-

treated,

facilities.

make

Accounts of the it

clear that they

There were also

New

chaos to the countiy. But

family events such as births and deaths

ing,

After

like

a

after

the

his predecessors,

brief

returned to

its

period

of

each upheaval the

several days. Cardinal

were occa-

new monarch assum-

sions for private ceremony.

the mantle of Horus.

tombs bear numerous depictions of the dancing

turmoil,

Egyptian

life

previous harmony, punctuated by

the annual flood.

last for

official

Year and the harvest

festival,

itself,

for the

monuments may have labourers seem to have

invaded. Occasionally a pharaoh's misrule brought

system reasserted

had

Building huge stone

of turbulence. Dynasties rose and throne,

Nile's

after the taxes

live

lives of the royal

as regional

even

people could

collected,

smoothly, although, inevitably, there were periods fell

Nile

population might also be

that

been comparatively well

set the size of contributions.

the whole, Egypt's political system ran

the

months when the

expected to labour on a number of royal projects

been gmelling, but the

seized

Egypt's

did so were liable to see a

a farmer's yield, scholars have suggested that the

nobles

of

income, and most of the population worked the

water level served to

On

source

such as the building of a pyramid. But the

Tax assessment possibly involved the use of Nilometers.

The Two Lands

and feasting

The

that

elite

The walls of Egyptian

accompanied such

- the

celebrations.

aristocracy, the high priests

and the higher-ranking bureaucrats - enjoyed

a

13

EGYPTIAN WORLD

THE

was

Standard of living that well

beyond the reach of

the

labouring

any

luxu-

rounded by las in the

sur-

life

of

and

they

on

their

ple,

to

spend The nobleman pursuing wildfowl

and

children

have medicinal

believed to

ers

in this

wall painting of c.1390bc would have

been hunting

were given

status

alike

They were

qualities,

and

also

in

everybody could look forward an

reserved for the upper classes.

There

is

no consensus

legal rights in a

inclusive system

Egyptian

their

society,

to the possibility of

OLD KINGDOM

FIRST

MIDDLE

DYNASTIC PERIOD

INTERMEDIATE PERIOD

KINGDOM

2920-2575BC

2575-21 34BC

2134-2040BC

2040-1 640BC

First

Dynasty

Ninth and Tenth Dynasties

of events before 664bc,

2920-2770BC Second Dynasty 2770-2649BC

(before reunification

and most of the dates

Third Dynasty

of Egypt)

over the exact dating

work-

field

By the time of the New Kingdom at eternity was no longer held to be exclusively

tection against the glare of the sun's rays.

EARIY

citi-

afterlife.

least,

Ancient Egyptian History

busi-

And, whatever

of law.

acted as an insect repellent, as well as offering pro-

TIME LINE

own

higher-class

complex and

for sport.

worn by

galena (lead ore), were

sell

and even run

zens but even

made from green

women

prop-

only

-^

malachite (copper ore) and black

men,

buy and

nesses. Similarly, not

appearance. For exam-

eyepaints

wills,

erty,

their

money

could draw up

their

wives enjoyed leisure and wealth, with

the

in

ancient world - they

prosperous landowners.

There

in

had

Egypt

elsewhere

vil-

countryside,

enjoy the

Women

greater freedom than

where they escaped to

it

completely

ancient

servants.

owned

also

'\

like

division, but

not

inequitable.

stories in

which they were

and

was

society,

was one of con-

other,

trast

town houses of

two or three

They

Egyptian

classes.

Many possessed rious

rrfs-

2134-2040BC Eleventh Dynasty

2134-2040BC

2649-2575BC

given here before that

Djoser

year represent The Great Sphinx

approximations generally agreed

upon

names of

known pharaohs under the dynasty

when they

2575-2465BC

Eleventh Dynasty

(after

Snofru, Khufu, Khephren,

2040-1 991 BC Montuhotep Nebhepetre Twelfth Dynasty

Fifth

:£j^^i^:^

ruled.

unification)

Dynasty

2465-2323BC

1991-1783BC

Sixth Dynasty

Thirteenth Dynasty

2323-21 50BC

The

14

royalty.

Menkaure -^'-

first

pyramid was

built

by King Djoser in the 3rd Dynasty and was stepped.

influence

extended beyond

Fourth Dynasty

better-

have been included,

Ciza In this era Osiris's

by Egyptologists. Only the

at

dates from the 4th Dynasty.

Teti,

Pepi

1

Seventh and Eighth Dynasties 21 50-21 34bc

783-1 640BC

Fourteenth Dynasty

II

(ruled concurrently with

A

typical

tomb

painting.

the 13th

&

15th Dynasties)

EGYPTIAN WORLD

THE The The of

essentially

Afterlife

on what people could see or touch -

idea of death as only a temporary interruption

animals, the

far into

Egyptian pre-

- and

naturally

by the annual

probably goes back

life

histoiy

-

was suggested

it

of vegetation

rebirth

who was murdered hy added

76-77),

a

life

new

by

came

and private funerary

confident or otherwise they

beyond the

sui-\'ival

his wife Isis (see

grave, the Egyptians

The

In

rituals.

"When

wealthy give a parry and the banquet

man

round among the guests

carries

image of

is

of

a corpse in a coffin, cai-ved

And

upon

its

as

death,

in

topography: whereas Kemet's black earth

cer-

the

The

dead.

preservative,

the

alike,

dryness

desert's

was buried

on

this

you

body, as you drink and

will

be

just like

it

make

when you

The poorest made do with the sand, but the body of a

effectively preserved in a

says, 'Look

to

be

manner appropriate

to

design and building techniques.

pharaonic tombs were square, mud-brick

The

edifices

built

are dead.""

in

NEW KINGDOM 1

to great

Initially,

of the reality of death. Egyptian religion was based

1640-1 3 50BC

in

need led

merry, since

packed with

SECOND

natural

pharaoh required special treatment. He had

wooden

story underlines the Egyptians' ready acceptance

INTERMEDIATE PERIOD

a

there.

a shallow grave in

and painted

and

was

and everybody, pharaoh and peasant

innovations

in turn,

body

Egypt was dependent

life,

He shows

each guest

to the

that the

so everyone took pains to

his status as a god-king. This

to

happen

provide shelter for the individual's

to resemble the real thing as closely as possible. it

to

vital

sustained the living, Deshret's red sands conserved

finished, a

a

intact to

was

It

physical

the

quately as possible.

to play

occasions they chose to remind them-

selves of death. Herodotus reported:

afterlife.

of

and the har-

ensure that their bodies were preserved as ade-

pages

were

the

Nile

sense

acute

this

soul after death.

tainly obsessed with mortality, and even on the liveliest

in

remain

and

felt

moon, the

extended to what was thought spirit

Osiris,

Seth

brother

his

element, which

a crucial role in royal

However

flood.

deceased with the god

identification of the

brought back to

Nile

the

after

vest

the

siin,

550-1 070BC

the

the

in

all

sand,

surrounded by

the things that the ruler might

such

afterlife,

as

food,

pits

need

weapons and

GRAECO-ROMAN

THIRD

LATE

INTERMEDIATE PERIOD

PERIOD

PERIOD

712-332BC

332BC-AD395

1

070-71 2bc

Tutankhamun's mask. Fifteenth, Sixteenth

and

(in a

divided country

1070-945BC Twenty-Second Dynasty 945-71 2bc Sheshonq Twenty-Third Dynasty 828-71 2bc Twenty-Fourth Dynasty 724-71 2bc Twenty-Fifth Dynasty 770-71 2bC

all

ruled concurrently with

each other!

covered

in

1

A

550-1 307BC

Hatshepsut, Tuthmosis

III,

motifs that

Amenhotep

allude to the

Tutankhamun (see above) Nineteenth Dynasty

unification of

III,

Akhenaten,

the two lands

1307-n96BC

after the

Seti

turmoil of a

Twentieth Dynasty

civil

war

in

this period.

Ptolemaic Dynasty

304-30BC

I,

Ranieses

n96-1070BC Rameses

III

II

Cleopatra VII

Roman Emperors 30BC-AD395

Twenty-Fifth Dynasty

712-664BC

Eighteenth Dynasty is

Alexander the Great

I

Seqenenre, Kamose

This axe

Macedonian Kings 332-304BC

Twenty-First Dynasty

Seventeenth Dynasties

vase,

typical of

household objects of this time.

Twenty-Sixth Dynasty

664-525Br Twenty-Seventh Dynasty (First

Persian)

525-404BC

Twenty-Eighth Dynasty

404-399BC Twenty-Ninth Dynasty 399-380BL

Shu, god of

Thirtieth Dynasty

gained popularity

380-343BC Second Persian 343-332BC

26th Dynasty. Above:

Left,

above:

An amulet air,

of

who in

the

Craeco-Roman tomb.

A

15

EGYPTIAN WORLD

THE

furniture. In the earliest years of Egyptian history,

servants

were considered

afterlife,

and were

even

essential

the

in

accompany

sacrificed so as to

master on the journey to the underworld. For

their

the benefit of

one eady pharaoh,

Djer,

who

ruled

around 2900bc, several hundred members of his retinue appear to have been killed so that they might serve him

human

was

sacrifice

But the practice of

after death.

short-lived: eventually, bodies

were replaced by effigies. The custom of including other paraphernalia in the tomb was also rationalized in later years. As well as stores of food, an individual might be given a scythe in order to harvest his or her Similarly, wall paintings

and

cai-vings

substitutes for real offerings,

made

own

crop.

were used

which could not be

indefinitely.

This drive towards moderation, however,

not applied to the tombs themselves. early days of the

and magnificence. The structures were in time placed stepped

The

pyramid.

eariy

lining

chambers and

A

limited

some

as

form

in the

pyramids'

some of

Saqqara Pyramid (see page 30) -

smooth

a

were

themselves

later

interior

the

masoniy. The stepped shape - such as the

form

amount of granite was

of the

facing

for

the

steadily

in tiers to

bricks

was

mud-bricked

replaced with more enduring material of local limestone. for

From

Old Kingdom, they grew

in size

used

as

exterior

that of the

gave way

to

sides of the true pyramid.

The tomb-building process became hundreds of workers were mobilized

port the stone, cut

it

to

lengthier to trans-

shape and assemble

according to an architect's instructions. In cases the logistical and engineering

seem almost

incredible today.

skills

it

some

involved

The Great Pyramid

for example, commissioned in about 2550BC by the pharaoh Khufu, stood 230 metres square at its base and reached a height of 146 at

Giza,

After mummification the

body was usually placed

in

even two or three, one inside the other) constructed

a coffin (or in

human

form and often elaborately painted with mythological scenes.

16

This

mummy

anonymous

case from Thebes, c.IOSObc, was

singer.

made

for

an

THE metres.

EGYPTIAN WORLD

comprised 2,300,000 blocks of stone

It

averaging 2.5 tonnes in weight, although the heav-

reached 15 tonnes. The construction continued

iest

through most of Khufu's twenty-three-year reign.

many thousands

took

men

of

It

to build not only the

pyramid but also the inclined ramps necessary

to

haul blocks to the upper courses. In time pyramid-building

and

chambers became popular

burial

tombs

However, burial

in

went out of

entailed

instead.

drawback

a

never

Deshret

the

fashion,

had:

that

by

isolated

tl

masonry from the desiccating sand, bodies began

was unthinkable, and

to decay. This

had

be solved

to

dead was

to

be preserved. The Egyptians looked

ways of maintaining the body

for alternative

form so

pristine its

the problem

the physical integrity of the

if

that

journey to the

was

it

afterlife.

fully

in

prepared for the

Embalming was

the

answer (see pages 96-99).

:Ml'l,::AA

The earliest embalming technique was wrap the corpse in resin-impregnated linen,

now known

process

which

derives

mummification

as

from

the

embalmers became more

U]1U:

a

term

(a

word

Persian-Arabic

monmiya, meaning "bitumen" or

to

'

As the

"pitch").

mummifica-

proficient,

became longer and more complex. The results were impressive: mummified remains have been

By the end of the Middle Kingdom, pyramid-building had died

found

out,

tion

that are possibly five

thousand years

old.

was not only the body that had to be preserved and commemorated. The Egyptians set It

and instead pharaohs had secret rock-cut tombs

Deir el-Bahri contains two royal mortuary temples, the

site at

larger being that of

great store

by naming people and

name

was seen

itself

objects,

homes even prayers.

after the

The

spirit

in

temples and

corpse had been preserved,

name being honoured was

in daily

also nourished every

day

with offerings of food and sustenance.

A

Queen Hatshepsut

(t

473-1 458bc).

and the

as a living entity. Accordingly,

ceremonies for the dead continued

with the deceased's

built for

them with separate mortuary temples some distance away. This

The pharaoh's example was followed by many of his subjects, although on a lesser scale. Nobles and courtiers in the Old Kingdom had their

own

tombs, usually clustered around that of their

ruler.

Their bodies, like those of the pharaohs,

administer to the religious needs of the royal dead,

were embalmed, and their names also were commemorated by priests to whom they left substan-

had the

tial

state-funded

priesthood,

established

to

particular responsibility of immortalizing

endowments. (When the endowments ran

out,

tance, as a result of belonging to families to

commemoration continued through the religious texts inscribed in the tomb.) Even minor officials contrived some form of constRicted burial place,

the

albeit

successive wives.

generations

Many

priests

of

pharaohs

and

their

held their office by inheri-

which same job was guaranteed from one generation

to the next.

cliff

sometimes only

along the Nile.

a

modest rock-cut tomb

in a

17

EGYPTIAN WORLD

THE

The Last Dynasties much of its history

Thebes was

For

Memphis,

the city of

Egypt was governed from

strategically situated at the

point where

out history,

was

it

Through-

the cultural bastion of Egypt.

Whenever invaders entered

the

country,

they

Upper Egypt met Lower Egypt. Some twenty kilometres to the northwest, on the plateau of Giza, was the group of pyramids that would so

have to confront armies from Thebes, far south, marching north to repulse them.

impress Napoleon and his soldiers, as well as

intruders could not be driven out

was one of the major burial sites for pharaohs. But there were many others littered up and down the Nile, and among

nationwide control, Thebes

tory for the culture that eventually reasserted

the most spectacular

the aggressors

millions of later visitors. Giza

temples

assumed

was

the cluster of

tombs and

Thebes.

at

During the

usually established themselves in the Delta only to

First

Intermediate Period, Thebes

becoming Upper Egypt. It was and for more than a eventually

role,

By

the

acted as a reposi-

still

middle of the

power was on

Egypt's

internecine struggles, ble. In

525BC

it

became

part of the Persian Empire,

defeating and killing Nectanebo

ishing

Napoleon's soldiers would

On

be

the west

bank of the

rows of mortuary temples,

sei-ving the

grandeur.

grounds hidden

On

the east

bank

ninety-eight-hectare

in

the desert

lay Karnak,

cliffs

complex of temples,

and courtyards dedicated

to the

sun god Amun-Re.

regained

its

independence

the

II,

was

violated

and

his

sarcophagus

later

Barely a decade fled before

was ruled

the Persians themselves

later,

Alexander the Great. Thereafter, Egypt for three

hundred years by

the Greek-speaking Ptolemies.

these

was

power) led southwest

Empire. The coup de grace occurred

impressive

complex

Amenhotep

III

Luxor,

at

smaller

yet

constructed

by

honour of Amun-Kamutef.

in

Wherever the

seat of

power

lay,

Thebes was

which all other places were was widely held to be the most splendid of all. As one scribe declared:

the touchstone by

judged. city

still

in

centuiy ad, religion.

those

who

are far from Thebes?

They spend if

only

their

we had

it,

The bread there with goose its

water

is

is

is

tastier

at its

than cakes

name,

when

of Egypt's native religion

one

gets drunk.

lives at

Thebes."

Roman

in the fourth

The

civilization

last living vestiges

were swept away.

of ancient Egypt then van-

ished with astonishing rapidity. Within a year, sand drifted into spaces that

had been hallowed

for

millennia. In the following centuries, tombs,

which

even during Egypt's zenith had been prey

tomb-

robbers,

were ransacked with

a

new

to

ruthlessness.

Pyramids were treated with indifference, and were

made

partially

dismantled to provide stone for building

prising merchants discovered a

till

of

became the Empire's The Emperor Theodosius I ordered the

sweeter than honey, it

last

Christianity

purposes. The

how one

The

province of the

a

fat,

one drinks of O! That

day blinking they say -

became

closure of the temples, and the

had in their hearts,

his succes-

Cleopatra; after she committed suicide

30bc, Egypt

It

do they say every day

'"What

taken to

Alexandria to be used as a public bath.

sors,

the

tmly

last

Egyptian pharaoh. Following his death his tomb

From Karnak an avenue of stone sphinxes (human-headed lions that were symbols of royal to

in the

following century, in 343bc the Persians returned,

an aston-

pylons (ceremonial gateways)

obelisks,

statues,

later

it

bc,

borders began to crum-

its

awed -

beyond.

cultural

Weakened by

the wane.

and although

royal burial

itself.

millennium

first

millennium Egyptian rulers were buried and worshipped there. Visitors of the time must have been

Nile stood

the

and assumed

more powerful, so Thebes's

also a major religious site

city's

If

But as the invasions became more frequent and

the administrative centre for

just as

to the

influence diminished.

prominent

a

- by the

18

a thoroughly "Egyptian" city.

they claimed ingredient

final

could

indignity

cure

came when

any

enter-

new medicine illness.

was powdered mummy.

Its

that

main

THE

I/I'-—,-

„p-'

,1

'i^-^y.fL-

,,

-

*3"-

--/-'•

EGYPTIAN WORLD

-J)

l;^.

1

?&g:-^/a

JWH

Both Rameses

II

(1

290-1 224bc),

who

built this

gateway or pylon, and

Alexander the Great (332-323BC) regarded the temple of Amun-Khamutef at

Luxor

(initially built

merit additions. Luxor

by Amenhotep is

III)

as sufficiently important to

one of three main

religious sites at Thebes.

19

SYMBOLS AND AMULETS i

Amulets manifest both the intricate workmanship of Egyptian craftsmen and the complexities of religious symbolism in Egypt. First made in the Predynastic period

{

(as early as

4000bc), amuletic jewellery was considered essential both to earthly security and to the well-being of the deceased's spirit in the afterlife. An amulet was worn as an ornament but its primary purpose was to protect or bestow magical benefits upon the wearer. Although they were

^,^$35525%^^

made from every sort of material, amulets were most commonly given a bright faience glaze. Gods or goddesses (or their animal manifestations), sacred animals and

iJJJSil^^

1^

figures are the

^'"**'%Sk/**w

^N.?W

ill

human

frequent themes.

This necklace found in

Tutankhamun's tomb (he died in 1323bc) features

most

Above: The

function, as did the gold

the most powerful

the wedjat (or Eye of

Horus; see page 57), which

symbolized wholeness. The

amulet

knowledge, had a funerary

one of

protective amulets -

ibis

representing Thoth, god of

jackal.

^

The squatting

figure of 1

\

Amun-Re,

however, would

have been worn by the

smaller element takes the form of the

two djed

pillars that

represent stability flanking the sa amulet of protection.

^f^

-*^^*»r

%\\ .;*.

Above: This glazed earthenware amulet of Taweret, the

fertility

goddess,

who

'

took the

form of a hippopotamus, was probably worn by a

woman

in

the belief that

protect her during childbirth.

it

would

HMfiMHiimiJiMi

living.

.\

k,

^c*

f^.

An amuletic bangle wrought and

eyes,

in

gold

c.2000bc, features wedjat

silver,

ankh

("life")

symbols, djed pillars

and deified animals such as baboons, snakes and falcons.

i^

V^

>,?. '^..1^.

»: ^J//

« '/r^''"«/*i

Above:

A

hip girdle combining cowrie

shells, fishes

and sidelocks of

hair,

flanking a central pendant in the form of

' ^i

J Above: Queen Ankhesenamun

^

the young

assists

king during a royal bird hunt. From a panel on the

\

right-hand side of a small gilded shrine, this tender

scene evokes aspects of the couple's

life

together.

t^

ifeii.

left: Lions

and

were revered by the Egyptians and Re

deified as Bastet

(see pages

Above-.

The

lavishly

decorated golden

mask of Tutankhamun

is

generally

66-67). This protective lioness-head,

recognized as the greatest of Egypt's

made

ancient treasures.

wood

of gilded

of blue glass,

is

- one of three

with eye markings

part of a funerary couch

ritual

couches found

in

antechamber of Tutankhamun's tomb.

the

the

It

covered the head of

mummified pharaoh.

Spell

151b from

The Book of the Dead, engraved on the

back of the mask, gave protective function.

it

an important

Right The scarab beetle represented the sun god Re. This exquisite pectoral

ornament, found

in

a jewel box in

the tomb, bears signs that include the king's throne name.

Below

left

The

feet of Tutankhamun's

throne take the form of lion claws and lion

heads surmount

its

front legs to

symbolize power. The backrest displays a royal scene beneath the sun disc.

Below right

This beautiful two-metre-

high canopic chest was carved from a single block of calcite (quartz).

goddesses

Isis,

The

Nephthys, Selkis and

Neith embrace the four corners of the shrine. Beneath

its lid

im"

are funerary

jars.

OF MAGIC

TALES

AND FANTASY

Ao

Clement of Alexandria

"Egypt", declared

the third century ad,

in

"is

the

!>

mother of magicians." As a leader of the early Church, pious Clement did not approve of a culture that championed of his statement

spells

and enchantment; but the

would not have been doubted. By the Graeco-Roman

Egypt was regarded throughout the classical world as the

many Greek

scholars visited the country to further their

Indeed, magic suffused the spiritual

much

and nourished the crops

of Egypt's people

silt

fertilized their soil

a divine creative force

that sustained them.

(known

It

period,

home of magic, and own learning.

life

as the Nile's annual deposit of rich

truth

was perceived

as

had existed since the

as heka) that

beginning of time, and even before: heka furnished the power used by the

gods to bring the world into being.

first

Heka was

often described as "the art of the mouth", as

depended on incantation and

it

The written word was

spells.

thought to be even more powerful. Thus the greatest magicians Egypt were the

in

hery-heb,

or

"lector

priests",

who were

responsible for the sacred temple papyri. They spent their lives

immersed in their

in

magic and were known

Just as

awe

it

of them.

informed and animated

integral part of Egyptian science

men were expected

versed

have the power of heka

voices: their ability to utter fatal curses, for example, put

lesser mortals in

cated

to

in its

to

religion,

heka was also an

and technology. Physicians and other edu-

know

the rudiments of magic.

A

doctor not

The goddess

portrayed as a

possessed

use would be regarded as

adept

less

in treating

a patient.

Isis,

self-

woman

by her regalia {opposite),

was venerated by

However, knowledge of magic was not something that could

be learned, but was blessing bestowed or withheld. People so blessed were

known

as the hekau,

qualified

Magic

some

greatest

among

these were the pharaohs,

all

Egyptians as "great in

magic".

who

on account of the divine origins of kingship. ritual

guided Egyptians through

birth into old age.

for

and the

{above)

or an icon encumbered

As magic and religion were inseparably intertwined, heka was essentially a godly power.

whether

reason,

possible magical

it

It

all

the stages of their

lives,

from

could protect them against disaster and disease; and

failed, victims

still

remedy had been

had the comfort of knowing

tried

on

their behalf.

if,

that every

115

TALES OF MAGIC AND

FANTASY

Practitioners of Magic Magicians often featured as the heroes of Egyptian myth, defying disease and performing miracles. Kings and quarrymen, doctors and diplomats, midwives and mariners: all relied

on

at least

a

little

magic

to help

them

get through

life.

Magical powers were

accessible to priests, healers and scorpion-charmers, and everyone deferred to Egypt's gods, who were the greatest magicians of all.

Isis is

often shown, as in this

Late Period bc sculpture,

suckhng her infant son Horus. Venerated for her healing powers,

this

goddess was

also Egypt's archetypal

wife and mother.

The Egyptian pantheon was steeped conditioned the atmosphere

was

in

in magic.

It

which the gods

medium through which they disbursed their power, the armament with which they fought their quarrels. But no deity possessed evolved;

it

the

such mastery of the

art as

most Egyptians believed magician

the goddess

to

Lsis,

in the universe.

had proved her masteiy of magic

Isis

whom

be the most powerful

beginning of time,

when

she used

it

at

the

to restore the

dismembered body of her husband Osiris, the ruler, protector and judge of the dead (see pages 76-84). This story of resurrection was recorded in funerary inscriptions (known as the Pyramid Texts; see page 26) dating from the middle of the third millennium

and

but incorporating even older tales

bc,

spells.

One

of

Isis's

most important

ability to heal the sick.

spell to cure

A

skills

was her

surviving text includes a

burns and fevers which works by a

symbolic change of

identity.

For the

spell's dura-

becomes Horus, the son of Isis. The goddess then enters the patient's room to ask tion, the patient

for water.

she

When

told that there

replies: '"Water

my

flood between patient saliva

within

is

thighs."

by using her

and

own

urine. This spell

is

none

my mouth Isis

available,

and

magical body

had

to

a Nile

then cures the fluids,

be recited over

gum and cat hairs mixed with woman who had given birth to a boy;

a concoction of

the

milk of a

the

mixture was then smeared over the patient so as to

make

the fever abate.

Although from

at least

Isis's

magical powers were fabled

the second millennium bc, and her

PRACTITIONERS OF MAGIC

^dt^M SfS-sKM^^sM^m iS^o#Mf ag^Waj ijg'A^.I

and the Seven Scorpions

Isis

Having murdered

and her young son Horus Thoth,

Isis,

husband and brother of Isis,

Osiris, the

who provided an

as hostages.

One

night the captives broke free with the aid of the

escort of seven scorpions to assist

them

in

tow,

her young son. As the boy lay

came upon

dying, his mother ran around

a

town crying for help; but in payment for her earlier inhospitality, no one came to

the

need of food and shelter. The first house that she tried belonged to a wealthy noblewoman who promptly village, in

slammed

the door

of the entire party.

in

her aid.

the face

Isis,

Isis

girl

By

reciting the

recovered

woman's

at

and her son, and so they prepared to avenge their mistress. Six of them passed

belongings to

into the

seventh,

who

peasant

before

After the death of her husband

crept into the

brother Osiris,

that

Isis

it

was not

into

and

gave

Isis

all

her

and the poor

girl.

was incorporated one of the most potent

spells to give protection against

was protected by

venomous

Thoth's seven scorpions.

goddess of healing was celebrated long

that,

of the

This story

their

of the

noblewoman's house and stung

role as a

names

once. His mother,

truly repentant,

venom

his

the poison, so that the child

brusque treatment of the goddess

tail

felt

seven scorpions, she neutralized

The scorpions, however, were rich

she

cast a powerful spell over him.

hospitality.

enraged by the

whom

mother's account, and so she

only too happy to offer the

goddess

boy,

should not be punished on

home of who was

found the dilapidated poor peasant

however, took pity on the

young

continued unshaken, and soon a

god

daring escape.

in their

with Horus and the

scorpions

goddess

their evil brother Seth kept the

until late in Egypt's history

she became a prominent cult figure, with tem-

stings.

adversaries.

Who

mother and

nurturer, to shield her

alien

better than

Isis,

the universal

people from

harm?

ples dedicated to her alone.

By

the Ptolemaic period, however,

thought to protect more than

just

the sick,

Isis

was

and her

powers were revered across Egypt. Her greatest temple was built around 380bc at Philae, on an island in the Nile close to the

page

127).

was believed

that

a

the male gods, the mightiest in magic

was

the

Nubian border (see

was considered

boon. Revered as the god of knowledge and writ-

thousand soldiers" and

she

Of

God of Knowledge

moon god Thoth, who was either represented as a human figure with the head of an ibis or as a ba-

There, the goddess

"more powerful than

Thoth,

sheltered

Egypt

it

from

ing,

he was often shown carrying the

scribal tools

of ink palette and pen which he used to record

all

Because written magic was believed so

invasion. This protective force also nullified the

things.

powers of Nubian sorcerers who frequently appear in Egyptian tales as dangerous and formidable

powerful, Thoth, as the inventor of hieroglyphs,

was

also held to

be the inventor of magic

itself.

117

TALES OF MAGIC AND

FANTASY

Since another of Thoth's functions

was

the messenger of Egypt's gods, the Greeks

him with

identify

Hermes,

their

to

be

potential at their

to

Prince Neferkaptah, a character

came

own

divine

been based on the

messenger. After Egypt came under Greek aile in 332BC, Thoth's cult city of Khmun was renamed

Hermopolis.

And

Thoth

Trismegistus,

mystery

cult

as

all

the

Greek god

became

the

still

of

has

Khufu.

a

texts.

its

was The Book of Thoth, within which the most powerful secrets were locked. But this text was always

who

many

historical

victim

who may figure

was have

of Prince

son of the Old Kingdom pharaoh, According to a stoiy written in the

He was

a passionate reader of the papyri

archived in temple libraries throughout the kingdom. But he was also humane: he loved deeply

At the heart of the god's mystique

of people

One such

Ptolemaic period, Neferkaptah was a powerful magician proficient in the knowledge of magical

followers today.

associated with great danger. There are

peril.

Hardjedef,

Hermes

centre

of his own, which

own

his sister-wife

Ahwere and was devoted

to their

young son Merib.

One

tales

discovered the book's destmctive

day, as Neferkaptah studied inscriptions

on the wall of

a temple,

he heard laughter and

Thrice-Great Thoth The god Thoth fascinated the Greeks, identified

him with

and gave him

their

who messenger god Hermes,

the epithet Trismegistus,

''thrice-great".

JtSi^i'^fn^tS I'ls^is

meaning

The Greeks were particularly

*>^,^?.

r>mjmh

captivated by the elusive Book of Thoth,

r^>j^txi

zny^jif^'

described by Clement of Alexandria as forty-two secret books of wisdom. These texts, housed in

temple archives, were regarded as the work of Thoth himself.

These books were in fact rewritten as the Hermetica by Graeco-Roman visitors during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, from the first to the third centuries ad, and so contained a mix of Egyptian myth and Creek philosophy, with the addition of alchemical and astrological lore and

powerful

spells.

believed the texts to be immeasurably ancient, and steeped in Egyptian wisdom that had

been passed down through the millennia from one of

another To

Hermes

nothing

their adherents, the writings

Trismegistus (Thoth)

amounted

to

than the universal secret of life. The Hermetica included elaborate spells for imprisoning demons, and magical charms to make

118

A

3000-year-old papyrus records a charm against headaches.

By Greek times, such

less

statues speak or prophesy, as well as texts

on

spells

were credited

to the

god Thoth.

classical subjects such as astronomy, medicine, geography, and even rudimentary chemistry. These

were

Many

initiate to

a.

treated in a philosophical language that

was

mostly taken from contemporary Greek thinking but was widely believed to be far older

Throughout the Middle Ages, the books appealed enormously to scholars and alchemists from all - Muslims and Jews as well as Christians. For example, the Polish astronomer Copernicus,

traditions

who

established that the earth orbited the sun,

claimed that he had reached

his

conclusions partly

as a result of his study of Hermetic writings.

.«s-,^t> -.^..^

«f-^^W^

turned to see a wizened old priest cackling at

When

him.

Neferkaptah asked him what

he found so amusing, the

saw the box marooned on dry bed, and surrounded with snakes

and the

at last

as the old priest

priest replied:

"Why do you waste time on these worthless spells? know where you

His spells successfully held the

venomous

I

can find the great Book of Thoth Its

itself.

first

creatures

bay,

at

except for an enormous snake

wi

spell

had suggested.

that

was

tightly coiled

around

With

mighty

box.

the

a

•"^C^CPS^

you power over the sky above and the earth below, and control over

blow from

the birds and the beasts and the fishes

chopped

his

bronze axe, Neferkaptah

the monster in half.

But the

you power over the Land of the Dead: it will bring the dead back to life and

was supernatural and the two halves promptly rejoined. The snake magician-prince and attacked the

allow you to see the gods them-

began

The second

of the sea.

Neferkaptah

selves."

creature

spell will give

Again

he

that

felt

simply had to have the book and

asked the

have to do

to obtain

it.

for

one hundred

two

priests to serve his

In

(see page 96), the old

per box

Within

is

that,

man gave him

flesh

book

come

Nile near

in the

cop-

n supplication, a kneeling priest

performs a

ritual.

Priests

were held

to have

Neferkaptah

creature's healing at

died

opened

and the

last,

agony.

in

the

box,

iron

then with frantic haste tore through

there

a

is

box of ebony,

ivoiy,

which con-

box within which you

The book

is

will

the remaining boxes until at

of their status. This bronze figurine

He

from the 21st Dynasty.

in the

Neferkaptah was confident that his magician's the stings of snakes

and

home

to

wife and son, and took them with him to ship. There,

the river bed.

He

he used a multitude of

earth,

of the

birds,

Exultant, he

spell

first

immedi-

now

held

beasts

the

went on

in their

tme forms,

priest

had

him.

told

and even the

to read the

second

fishes.

spell.

The

the stars were revealed to him as

was

the Land of the Dead,

and he could perceive the gods themselves.

then employed some especially

his ship

Nile,

old

able to understand the language

moon and

Still

powerful magic to divide the waters of the

the

as

sun, the

whereabouts of the box on

spells to discover the

he

the powers of enchantment over the

Suddenly, he was

scorpions. Without hesitation, he rushed

read the

and sure enough, he

ately,

these boxes."

would overcome

last

held Tloe Book of Thoth in his hands.

is

gold. But there are six miles of

Coptos by

The

serpent

writhing

whole

his

together.

magic was broken

His arms outstretched

writhing snakes and countless scorpions guarding

skills

before the two halves could

magic powers by virtue

find a golden box.

box of

Finally,

diy river bed over the monster's cut

another of juniper wood.

and then another of tains a silver

rejoined.

death

after

one of copper; and

is

and again

handful of sand scooped from the

Coptos, in an iron box. Inside the iron

box

fragments

the

prince

the

and

on the bed of the

lying

again

Neferkaptah thought of throwing a

the following information: "The is

embrace.

its

exchange

silver pieces

ka

and

in

sliced at the serpent; again

what he would

priest

choke him

to

trembling with excitement, he returned to

row back to wife was reading the two great

and ordered the crew

Coptos. While his

to

119

~z :

/

\

/

\U\

\ 1/

) /

t

i

w

(k i

/

I

I

/

I

120

I

\

PRACTITIONERS OF MAGIC Neferkaptah copied the words on to fresh

spells,

papyrus, soaked

in

it

beer and crumbled

bowl of water, which he swallowed

became drunk with power, and set sail for his

home

it

into a

at a gulp.

in that

He

condition

Memphis.

in

behaviour.

ment

man who had

for the

"How can

father the king,

and

Book of Thoth

I

return alone, alive, to

tell

my

him what has happened?"

to control his grief,

tightly to his

he

tied

The

body, and hurled him-

His corpse was not found until

a suitable punish-

his ship arrived in

Memphis, when the

slain

the monster

Re agreed with Thoth, and

a terrible

punishment was chosen.

bereft king

saw the remains of his son tangled in its rudders. The king ordered the fateful book to be buried forever with his son. But, despite the ble

To start with, young Merib, Neferkaptah's was killed. Cursed by Re, he fell into the

son,

remorse.

self into the river.

himself

guardian of his book and taken the book's power for himself.

alone on the

com-

Thoth

demanded

plained to Re and

set off

boat journey to Memphis, he was stricken with

he moaned. Unable

But the gods were extremely displeased by Neferkaptah's

As the despairing prince

terri-

example of Neferkaptah, others would come

a later time to seek out the text

— only

similar price for their daring (see

page

in

pay a

to

111).

waters of the Nile and drowned. At once, his father

second

tecited Thoth's

come back

But Merib did not

spell.

body floated to the surface and his mouth opened for a final time to pronounce the wrath of Re on his father. Then he fell

to

life:

instead, his

Distraught, his parents

silent forever.

back to Coptos so

that

rowed

The Elements of Magic while no man or woman could match of the gods, everyday magic the business of mortals

-

was

still

the

power

very

much

especially those

who had

Merib could be embalmed

while a suitable tomb was prepared to receive his

mummified body. No sooner had they returned

Memphis than Ahwere, Neferkaptah's wife, became the next victim of the curse. Like her son, she was struck

down

and

Neferkaptah

splashed

into

tried

use

to

the the

to

river.

When

second

spell,

Ahweres corpse could do no more than repeat Res judgement as her own dead child had done. Crazed

with

grief,

Neferkaptah

Coptos and buried his wife beside

went back his

son

to

in the

newly completed tomb.

Right.

A quartzite

priest

Petamenope contemplates one of

statuette of the lector

the thousands of sacred scrolls entrusted to him during his lifetime.

Petamenope

Opposite:

A

lived

around 700bc.

lector priest

offering to the gods.

considered masters of

all

Egypt possessed - above

were adept

in

makes an

Such men were

magic.

the lore that all else,

they

121

TALES OF MAGIC AND

FANTASY

mastered the power of the written word, although these were few in number.

was

Before the advent of writing in Egypt, magical traditions

must have been passed down by word of

mouth. But very early

and

spells

in the land's

long history,

had been preserved in the were recorded in writing - an art

rituals that

oral tradition

generally reckoned to be profoundly magical in

The sacred

itself.

who

those

who

texts

had

Of

to

great

the sunu, usually translated as "physician" -

although the ancient Egyptians tion

between medicine

as a magical practice. ical

inevitably

came

it

which was advanced for the time. The priests of Sekhmet had a particu-

their learning but

their

during religious

Medicine was practised not on its

communicat-

effect.

well or

king

cological

ces - were used

lector priests served the

matic envoys. priests

employed

either

as

-*ari

W^

from a

dirt

mouse

fae-

in the belief that

trusted

effects

in

"House of

the

numbers of

Life"

Here

absorbed

arcane

magical

Sometimes they sold outside the

House of

lore.

their services Life,

perform-

ing important rituals for those

bers of the afford them.

laity

who were

mem-

able to

because

potions

they

in

were

demons who

Patients themselves

I

less

were often

concerned with the contents of

magical potions than they were with

priests

studied the secrets of the scrolls and

positive

body. Urine

patient's

created illness and suffering.

to store great

religious texts.

a

believed to repel the

attached to most temples, in which

were established

in

and dung were often included

More often, however, seem to have been the

produce

can

stances

iper-ankh), an educational institution

122

-

small quantities of negative sub-

direcdy,

libraries

more

while

effects,

patient's fingernails, or

boded

palace advisors or else as diplo-

these

ritual to further its

of the ingredients for

bizarre ingredients

ill.

Some

and

Some

henbane and mandrake - would have had straightfoi-ward pharma-

had access to the "Dream Books" - papyri which described dreams and explained their meanings, they

but in conjunction with

these spells - such as the herbs

rately interpreting dreams, as they

whether

own

incantations

and funerary ceremonies. They also had a reputation for accu-

indicating

Isis herself,

regular worship.

They

ing sacred

be

to

they sought to control through

for

for

thought

propagated by the goddess

for

were responsible texts

which was

ease,

is

whom

even more so

knowledge of magic.

responsibility to deal with dis-

lar

population were able to read.

were respected

for centuries. All

age,

believed that less than one per cent of the

Lector priests

med-

trained in the medical technology of the

hold a

to

eariiest surviving

methods already known

men

very high status in a country where

and medicine

as a science

The

distinc-

little

Egyptian doctors, whether priests or not, were

rose to the office of hery-heh, "lec-

tor priest",

made

papyri date from around 1825bc, although they

refer to

be guarded by

understood them, and

importance to ordinaiy Egyptians

ensuring that A

fertility figurine

such as

this

Middle Kingdom example made in

faience (glazed earthenware)

tions

as a

good luck charm

during childbirth. This tattooed figure

is

nude except

for the

elaborate hip girdle.

appropriate

invoca-

to the appropriate

god, and that the correct procedure

was followed

would have been used by

women

the

were made

dition to larly

so

have a ting,

for the particular con-

be cured. This was particu-

when an

ailment did not

visible cause.

for

example,

Thus bone-set-

was

largely

a

PRACTITIONERS OF MAGIC matter of following medical procedures; whereas

unexplained headaches required

treating

ence

refer-

to the texts for relevant spells.

poisonous creatures. This position was usually

and held by a doctor, a lector priest or labotirer - one such whose name was

part-time

even a

There was a rationale behind the ingredients

recorded was a certain

that

were included

village

the

routines

that

medicinal spells, as well as

in

they followed. The powerful

was used to keep Honey was used to

smell of garlic, for example,

snakes and scorpions

some

at bay.

and wounds, as

relieve burns

is

it

to this

day by

And

practitioners of alternative medicine.

a

purely symbolic methodology suggested that a

designed as an antidote to poison should be

spell

said over a knotted rope so that the poison

be

Amenmose

of Deir el-Medina.

of the

Theban

These people were

demand, because poisonous snakes and scorpions were a constant menace to all always

in

Men who worked amid

Egyptians.

the

sun-

scorched stones of temple or tomb constmction sites

were

particularly at risk,

and there was often

a scorpion-charmer assigned to a particular

work-

force, or to a military expedition into the desert.

would

"tied up".

The scorpion goddess Serqet stands guard over the

Tutankhamun

(1

that cured stings

Weshptah There are

a

Misfortune number of mythic

and

bites.

tales of doctors

in spells

She was also known as a protectress

of the Canopic jars in which a

's

coffin of

333-1 323bc). Serqet was called upon

mummy's

entrails

were stored.

and

necromancers, performing mirac-

lector priests as

ulous acts by exploiting the powers of the gods to raise corpses

ers

were

from the dead. However,

far

from

architect to

pow-

The unfortunate vizier and chief

infallible.

Weshptah, for example,

their

who was

King Neferirkare around 2440bc, could

not be saved from death, according to a tale

recorded

in

Weshptah's fragmentary tomb inscrip-

This relates

tion. latest

how

was inspecting his accompanied by his retinue

the king

building project,

of courtiers. Despite the king's compliments about the work,

Weshptah paid him no heed. The king

turned to reproach Weshptah,

who

instantly

fell

to

the ground - not in apologetic abasement but

because he had suffered some kind of stroke and

was

incapacitated.

Weshptah was taken back the lector priests

to the palace,

and

and doctors arrived with the

intention of curing him. But a miracle

was not

forthcoming: the best that the king could do for his architect

special

a

was

ebony

mark of

to organize his burial

coffin constructed

on

and have

a

his behalf as

respect.

Another valued magician was the scorpioncharmer, Serqet,

a

man who

claimed the

title

kberep

meaning "one who has power over the

scorpion goddess Serqet", and

who

dealt with

123

TALES OF MAGIC AND

A Magical

FANTASY

Universe

Heka was believed to dwell in objects as well as individuals. Amuietic jewellery, for example, was inscribed with magical texts and symbols which usually included protective spells to

ward

used during

off evil spirits (see

ritual,

were believed

At their simplest, amulets were

more than an

pages 20-21). Other objects, such as the magic "wands" to reinforce the effect of religious ceremonials.

made from nothing

inscribed pebble; but for the rich,

Egypt's craftsmen

were more than capable of

in rituals date

from about

2800BC. Usually carved from hippopotamus ivory,

cre-

they appear to have been modelled on the throw-

ating exquisite, much-treasured scarabs of every

power could come

which farmers used to chase off birds. Wild birds were a common symbol for chaos, and

design, colour or rarity as well as from

the control of wild creatures represented a power-

valuable material.

from

its

inscribed words,

elements gave

One

it

An

amulet's

and any combination of these heka.

ing sticks

ful victory evil.

of the most important of the various

The

of the forces of order over the forces of latter

childbirth, so the

were

particularly

wand was

potent during

often placed over the

forms of amulet was the wedjat ("divine eye") of

unborn

the sky

god Horus whose left eye was lunar and whose right eye was solar. The lunar eye, damaged

seems

by

popotamus goddess, Tawaret, who watched over mothers and is usually shown on its surface with

his uncle Seth

according to myth, was restored

by the goddess Hathor and therefore came to represent wholeness and healing. But it was the god Thoth who brought back from Nubia the eye of Fioais that

was associated with

the wedjat eventually

124

Magic "wands" used

came

child during

to

pregnancy

rituals.

The wand

have represented the powers of the hip-

other helpful deities. Tawaret usually appears with the

body of

a hippopotamus, a crocodile's

tail

and

the sun. Therefore,

woman's sagging breasts. Her symbolic presence was believed to ensure a safe delivery.

and con-

Early examples have animal heads carved at

to symbolize

powers of both the lunar and the eye (see pages 28 and 57).

a

tain the healing

each end, but otherwise these wands were plain

solar

design.

Through the

third

millennium

Bc,

in

however.

A

l^liUfte,,

1^

i

i^6»

!l2^iaj|S'A,

and the Sorcerer of Nubia

Siosire One

MAGICAL UNIVERSE

day, before the court

of King Rameses

II

Memphis, a

in

haughty Nubian appeared and issued a challenge to the best scholar of Egypt, testing his abilities in magic.

Holding a sealed papyrus up to the king, he asked "Can anyone

past,

here read this

years before,

opening

enough shall

it?

to

know

without

letter

there

If

do

none wise of Nubia

is

so, all

of Egypt's shame."

Perplexed, Rameses called for

Prince Setna, the most learned of his sons. Setna, too,

but, rather than

asked

was

baffled;

admit defeat, he

for ten days'

grace to to read

and simply anxiously at home, lying bed and hiding his face in

the strange fretted

how

letter,

on

his

his

garments. His wife asked

when

the Prince of

Nubia had used the powers of his great

magician Sa-Neheset to

bring Egypt's pharaoh to the

Nubian

court. There

he received

a brutal and shameful beating.

The pharaoh

sought

in turn

magical aid from his

own

and the struggle between the two nations turned into a battle of wills between two great magicians.

In

the end, Sa-

Paneshe triumphed and the humiliated Nubian sorcerer

what was wrong, but he gruffly told her that it was nothing a

swore by

woman

and a half thousand years. The young Siosire reached the end of his reading. "Now, O

his

could help with.

young son

When

Siosire tried to

comfort him, he said "You are only twelve.

me

A

child cannot help

here."

Eventually, however, Siosire

persuaded

his father to explain

years. But

reborn:

father held

it

still

rolled up.

from the

scroll tied to the

Nubian's

belt.

And what he

shocked the court.

I

I,

too,

am

one

"I

have been

Sa-Paneshe, and

I

challenge him once again!" For hours the two sorcerers fought spell against spell, the

one

seeking to destroy Egypt's court, the other to save

The next day Siosire went with his father to meet the pharaoh and the arrogant Nubian. At once, the boy proceeded to read

gods

can tell you why this Nubian is here. For he is Sa-Neheset, born again after one and a half thousand king," said the boy,

can do that!" To prove it, he asked Setna to bring a papyrus scroll from his bookchest. As the boy promised, he was able to read it while his "I

his nation's

all

not to return to Egypt for

the problem. "But that's easy,"

laughed the boy.

I

was a tale from the distant one and a half thousand

master-magician, Sa-Paneshe,

wrestle with the problem.

Setna had no idea

It

it.

At

last,

Siosire (or Sa-Paneshe) sent a fire-spell resist,

the other could not

and Sa-Neheset was

consumed

in

flames.

In

the cataclysmic

last

act of a

1500-year-long drama, the Nubian sorcerer Sa-Neheset and his scroll of spells are engulfed in the flames

summoned

by his

rival,

the Egyptian

master-magician Sa-Paneshe.

Victorious Sa-Paneshe

read

vanished too, called back to the

underworld by

Osiris.

^i^w