Cleopatra's Needle Part 10

REED (=es=) _es_. The final syllable in name Rameses. Some are disposed to render the reed as _su_, and thus make the name Ramessu.

With his name the king a.s.sociates the remaining hieroglyphs of the cartouche.

The figure with sceptre is the G.o.d Amen. On his head he wears a tall hat made up of two long plumes or ostrich feathers. On his chin he wears the long curved beard which indicates his divine nature. A singular custom among the Egyptians was tying a false beard, made of plaited hair, to the end of the chin. It a.s.sumed various shapes, to indicate the dignity and position of the wearer. Private individuals wear a small beard about two inches long. That worn by a king was of considerable length, and square at the end; while figures of G.o.ds are distinguished by having long beards turned up at the end. The divine beard, the royal beard, and the ordinary beard, are thus easily distinguished.

Amen was the supreme G.o.d worshipped at Thebes. He corresponds to Zeus among the Greeks, and Jupiter among the Latins. Rameses a.s.sociates with his own name that of Amen. The hieroglyphs inside the cartouche are "Ra-mes-es-meri-Amen," which literally translated mean, "Born of Ra, beloved of Amen." The king consequently claims descent from the supreme solar deity of Heliopolis, and the favour of the supreme G.o.d of Thebes.

_First side.--Left hand._

"Horus, powerful bull, beloved of Ra, lord of Upper and Lower Egypt, lord of festivals, like his father Ptah-Totanen, son of the sun, Rameses-meri-Amen, powerful bull, like the son of Nut; none can stand before him, lord of the two countries, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, son of the sun, Rameses-meri-Amen."

On the third face, Rameses calls himself the son of Tum, but here he claims Ptah Totanen as his father.

Ptah, also called Ptah Totanen, was the chief G.o.d worshipped at Memphis, and is spoken of as the creator of visible things. Tum is also represented as possessing the creative attribute, and it is not improbable that Ptah and Tum sometimes stand for each other. The obelisk stood before the temple of Tum at Heliopolis, and was probably connected with that deity.

That Ptah stands for Tum seems to receive confirmation from the fact that after Ptah's name comes the figure of a G.o.d used as a determinative. This figure has on its head a solar disk, and therefore appears to be intended for a solar deity.

Nut was a sky-G.o.ddess, and represents the blue midday sky. She was said to be the mother of Osiris, who is the friend of mankind, and one of the G.o.ds much beloved.

_Second side.--Right hand._

"Horus, powerful bull, son of Kheper, king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, golden hawk, abounding in years, greatly powerful, son of the sun, Rameses-meri-Amen; the eyes of created beings witness what he has done, nothing has been said against the lord of the two countries, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, son of the sun.

Rameses-meri-Amen, the l.u.s.tre of the son, like the sun."

The _kheper_, or sacred beetle, was sacred to both Ptah and to Tum, and it ought to be observed that Rameses claims each of these G.o.ds as his father.

The _hawk_ was an emblem of a solar deity, and it was described as golden, in reference to the golden rays of the sun.

The bird at the bottom of this lateral column of hieroglyphs rendered the l.u.s.tre, is the _bennu_, or sacred bird of Heliopolis, regarded as an incarnation of a solar deity, and therefore the symbol for l.u.s.tre or splendour. It is often depicted with two long feathers, or one feather, on the back of its head.

_Second side.--Left hand._

"Horus, powerful bull, beloved of truth, king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, born of the G.o.ds, holding the country as son of the sun, Rameses-meri-Amen, making his frontiers at the place he wishes--at peace by means of his power, lord of the two countries, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, son of the sun, Rameses-meri-Amen, with splendour like Ra."

In the above _frontier_ is represented by a _cross_, to indicate where one country pa.s.ses into another. The flat land of Egypt is represented by a straight line (_ta_), probably designed to be a layer of earth, while a chip of rock stands for any rocky country, such as Nubia, or for a rocky locality, as Syene, on the frontiers of Nubia, the region of the great granite quarries. In the column it will be noticed that Rameses vauntingly a.s.serts that his conquests were co-extensive with his desires.

_Third side.--Right hand._

"Horus, powerful bull, beloved by Ra, king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, lord of festivals, like his father Ptah, son of the sun. Rameses-meri-Amen, son of Tum, out of his loins, loved of him. Hathor, the guide of the two countries, has given birth to him, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, son of the sun, Rameses-meri-Amen, giver of life, like the sun."

In the above, the hieroglyph rendered Hathor is an oblong figure with a small square inscribed in one corner, thus resembling a stamped envelope.

This oblong figure called _ha_, probably represented the ground plan of a temple or house, and is rendered abode, house, temple, or palace, according to the context. Inside the ground-plan in this case is a figure of a hawk, the emblem of a solar deity. Here it stands for Horus, and the entire hieroglyph (_ha_, _hor_) rendered Hathor, means "the abode of Horus." The "abode of Horus" refers to his mother, a G.o.ddess who is therefore named Hathor, or Athor. The cow is often used as an emblem of this G.o.ddess. Isis also is the reputed mother of Horus, and consequently some think that Hathor and Isis are two names for one and the same G.o.ddess.

_Third side.--Left hand._

"Horus, the powerful bull, son of Tum, king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, lord of kingly and queenly royalty, guardian of Egypt, chastiser of foreign lands, son of the sun.

Rameses-meri-Amen, coming daily into the temple of Tum; he has seen nothing in the house of his father, lord of the two countries, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, son of the sun, Rameses-meri-Amen, like the sun."

In the above the word rendered guardian is _mak_, a word made up of three phonetic hieroglyphs, namely, a hole, arm, and semicircle.

Egypt, called _Kham_, that is the black country, is here represented by a crocodile's tail, since crocodiles were common in the country, and characteristic of Egypt.

The word rendered chastiser is in the original _auf_, a name made up of three phonetic hieroglyphs, namely, an arm, chick, horned snake. The arrangement of these hieroglyphs with a view to neatness and economising s.p.a.ce displays both taste and ingenuity.

While it is a.s.serted that Rameses went into the temple of Tum every day, it is also said that he saw nothing in the temple. This seems like a contradiction; but, according to cla.s.sic writers, Rameses II., called by the Greeks Sesostris, became blind in his old age, and the preceding pa.s.sage may have reference to the monarch's blindness.

_Fourth side.--Right hand._

"Horus, powerful bull, beloved of Ra, king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, the son of Ra, born of the G.o.ds, holding his dominions with power, victory, glory; the bull of princes, king of kings, lord of the two countries, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, son of the sun, Rameses-men-Amen, of Tum, beloved of Heliopolis, giver of life."

In the above, a lion's head, called _peh_, stands for glory, and a crook like that of a shepherd, called _hek_, stands for ruler or prince.

The phrase, "king of kings," occurs in the above, and is the earliest instance of this grand expression--familiar to Christian ears from the fact that in the Bible it is applied to the High and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity. "Alleluia: for the Lord G.o.d Omnipotent reigneth ...

and on His vesture a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."

_Fourth side.--Left hand._

"Horus, powerful bull, son of Truth, king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, golden hawk, supplier of years, most powerful son of the sun, Rameses-meri-Amen, leading captive the Rutennu and Peti out of their countries to the house of his father; lord of the two countries, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, son of the sun, Rameses-meri-Amen, beloved of Shu, great G.o.d like the sun."

The first half of the above is almost identical with the upper part of the lateral column on the second side, right hand. The _Rutennu_ probably mean the Syrians, and the _Peti_ either the Libyans or Nubians.

Shu was a solar deity, the son of Tum.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

CHAPTER XIV.

THE RECENT DISCOVERY OF THE MUMMIES OF THOTHMES III. AND RAMESES II. AT DEIR-EL-BAHARI.

In Cairo, at the Boolak Museum, there is a vast collection of Egyptian antiquities, even more valuable than the collections to be seen at the British Museum, and at the Louvre, Paris. The precious treasures of the Boolak Museum were for the most part collected through the indefatigable labours of the late Mariette Bey. Since his death the charge of the Museum has been entrusted to the two well-known Egyptologists, Professor Maspero and Herr Emil Brugsch.

Professor Maspero lately remarked that for the last ten years he had noticed with considerable astonishment that many valuable Egyptian relics found their way in a mysterious manner to European museums as well as to the private collections of European n.o.blemen. He therefore suspected that the Arabs in the neighbourhood of Thebes, in Upper Egypt, had discovered and were plundering some royal tombs. This suspicion was intensified by the fact that Colin Campbell, on returning to Cairo from a visit to Upper Egypt, showed to the Professor some pages of a superb royal ritual, purchased from some Arabs at Thebes. M. Maspero accordingly made a journey to Thebes, and on arriving at the place, conferred on the subject with Daoud Pasha, the governor of the district, and offered a handsome reward to any person who would give information of any recently discovered royal tombs.

Behind the ruins of the Ramesseum is a terrace of rock-hewn tombs, occupied by the families of four brothers named Abd-er-Rasoul. The brothers professed to be guides and donkey-masters, but in reality they made their livelihood by tomb-breaking and mummy-s.n.a.t.c.hing. Suspicion at once fell upon them, and a ma.s.s of concurrent testimony pointed to the four brothers as the possessors of the secret. With the approval of the district governor, one of the brothers, Ahmed-Abd-er-Rasoul, was arrested and sent to prison at Keneh, the chief town of the district. Here he remained in confinement for two months, and preserved an obstinate silence. At length Mohammed, the eldest brother, fearing that Ahmed's constancy might give way, and fearing lest the family might lose the reward offered by M. Maspero, came to the governor and volunteered to divulge the secret. Having made his depositions, the governor telegraphed to Cairo, whither the Professor had returned. It was felt that no time should be lost. Accordingly M. Maspero empowered Herr Emil Brugsch, keeper of the Boolak Museum, and Ahmed Effendi Kemal, also of the Museum service, to proceed without delay to Upper Egypt. In a few hours from the arrival of the telegram the Boolak officials were on their way to Thebes. The distance of the journey is about five hundred miles; and as a great part had to be undertaken by the Nile steamer, four days elapsed before they reached their destination, which they did on Wednesday, 6th July, 1881.

On the western side of the Theban plain rises a high ma.s.s of limestone rock, enclosing two desolate valleys. One runs up behind the ridge into the very heart of the hills, and being entirely shut in by the limestone cliffs, is a picture of wild desolation. The other valley runs up from the plain, and its mouth opens out towards the city of Thebes. "The former is the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings--the Westminster Abbey of Thebes; the latter, of the Tombs of the Priests and Princes--its Canterbury Cathedral." High up among the limestone cliffs, and near the plateau overlooking the plain of Thebes, is the site of an old temple, known as "Deir-el-Bahari."

At this last-named place, according to agreement, the Boolak officials met Mohammed Abd-er-Rasoul, a spare, sullen fellow, who simply from love of gold had agreed to divulge the grand secret. Pursuing his way among desecrated tombs, and under the shadow of precipitous cliffs, he led his anxious followers to a spot described as "unparalleled, even in the desert, for its gaunt solemnity." Here, behind a huge fragment of fallen rock, perhaps dislodged for that purpose from the cliffs overhead, they were shown the entrance to a pit so ingeniously hidden that, to use their own words, "one might have pa.s.sed it twenty times without observing it."

The shaft of the pit proved to be six and a-half feet square; and on being lowered by means of a rope, they touched the ground at a depth of about forty feet.