Legends of the Gods Part 7

And the Prince of Bekhten sent a messenger a second time into the presence of His Majesty, saying, "O King, my Lord, I pray His (i.e., Thy) Majesty to command that a G.o.d be brought hither to contend against the spirit."

Now when the messenger came to His Majesty in the first month[FN#163] of the season of Shemu, in the twenty-sixth year [of his reign], on the day which coincided with that of the Festival of Amen, His Majesty was in the palace (or, temple?) of Thebes. And His Majesty spake a second time[FN#164] in the presence of Khensu in Thebes, [called] "Nefer- Hetep," saying, "O my fair Lord, I present myself before thee a second time on behalf of the daughter of the Prince of Bekhten." Then Khensu, in Thebes, [called] "Nefer-Hetep", was carried to Khensu, [called] "Pa- ari-sekher," the great G.o.d who driveth away the spirits which attack. And His Majesty spake before Khensu in Thebes, [called] "Nefer-Hetep," saying, "O my fair Lord, if thou wilt give (i.e., turn) thy face to Khensu, [called] 'Pa-ari-sekher,' the great G.o.d who driveth away the spirits which attack, permit thou that he may depart to Bekhten;" [and the G.o.d] inclined his head with a deep inclination twice. And His Majesty said, "Let, I pray, thy protective (or, magical) power [go] with him, so that I may make His Majesty to go to Bekhten to deliver the daughter of the Prince of Bekhten [from the spirit]."

[FN#163] The month Pakhon of the Copts.

[FN#164] The text makes no mention of the first application to Khensu.

And Khensu in Thebes, [called] "Nefer-Hetep," inclined his head with a deep inclination twice. And he made [his] protective power to pa.s.s into Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast," in a fourfold measure. Then His Majesty commanded that Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em- Uast," should set out on his journey in a great boat, [accompanied by] five smaller boats, and chariots, and a large number of horses [which marched] on the right side and on the left.

And when this G.o.d arrived in Bekhten at the end of a period of one year and five months, the Prince of Bekhten came forth with his soldiers and his chief[s] before Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher," and he cast himself down upon his belly, saying, "Thou hast come to us, and thou art welcomed by us, by the commands of the King of the South and North, User-Maat-Ra-setep-en-Ra!"

And when this G.o.d had pa.s.sed over to the place where Bent-Resht was, he worked upon the daughter of the Prince of Bekhten with his magical power, and she became better (i.e., was healed) straightway. And this spirit which had been with her said, in the presence of Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast," "Come in peace (i.e., Welcome!), O great G.o.d, who dost drive away the spirits which attack! Bekhten is thy city, the people thereof, both men and women, are thy (servants, and I myself am thy servant. I will [now] depart unto the place whence I came, so that I may cause thy heart to be content about the matter concerning which thou hast come. I pray that Thy Majesty will command that a happy day (i.e., a festival, or day of rejoicing) be made with me, and with the Prince of Bekhten." And this G.o.d inclined his head [in approval] to his priest, saying, "Let the Prince of Bekhten make a great offering in the (presence of this spirit."

Now whilst Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast," was arranging these [things] with the spirit, the Prince of Bekhten and his soldiers were standing there, and they feared with an exceedingly great fear. And the Prince of Bekhten made a great offering in the presence of Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast," and the spirit of the Prince of Bekhten, and he made a happy day (i.e., festival) on their behalf, and [then] the spirit departed in peace unto the place which he loved, by the command of Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast." And the Prince of Bekhten, and every person who was in the country of Bekhten, rejoiced very greatly, and he took counsel with his heart, saying, "It hath happened that this G.o.d hath been given as a gift to Bekhten, and I will not permit him to depart to Egypt."

And [when] this G.o.d had tarried for three years and nine months in Bekhten, the Prince of Bekhten, who was lying down asleep on his bed, saw this G.o.d come forth outside his shrine (now he was in the form of a golden hawk), and he flew up into the heavens and departed to Egypt; and when the Prince woke up he was trembling. And he said unto the prophet of Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast," "This G.o.d who tarried with us hath departed to Egypt; let his chariot also depart to Egypt."

And the Prince of Bekhten permitted [the image of] the G.o.d to set out for Egypt, and he gave him many great gifts of beautiful things of all kinds, and a large number of soldiers and horses [went with him]. And when they had arrived in peace in Thebes, Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari- sekher-em-Uast," went into the Temple of Khensu in Thebes, [called] "Nefer-Hetep," and he placed the offerings which the Prince of Bekhten had given unto him, beautiful things of all kinds, before Khensu in Thebes, [called] "Nefer-Hetep," and he gave nothing thereof whatsoever to his [own] temple.

Thus Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast," arrived in his temple in peace, on the nineteenth day of the second month[FN#165] of the season Pert, in the thirty-third year of the [reign of the] King of the South and North, User-Maat-en-Ra-setep-en-Ra, the giver of life, like Ra, for ever.

[FN#165] The month Mekhir of the Copts; the season Pert is the Egyptian spring.

A LEGEND OF THE G.o.d KHNEMU AND OF A SEVEN YEARS' FAMINE.

In the eighteenth year of the Horus, Neter-Khat, of the King of the South and North, Neter-Khat, of the Lord of the Shrines of Uatchit and Nekhebit, Neter-Khat, of the Golden Horus Tcheser,[FN#166] when Matar was Ha Prince, and Erpa, and Governor of the temple-cities in the Land of the South, and director of the Khenti[FN#167] folk in Abtu,[FN#168] there was brought unto him the following royal despatch: "This is to inform thee that misery hath laid hold upon me [as I sit] upon the great throne by reason of those who dwell in the Great House.[FN#169] My heart is grievously afflicted by reason of the exceedingly great evil [which hath happened] because Hapi (i.e., the Nile) hath not come forth[FN#170] in my time to the [proper] height for seven years. Grain is very scarce, vegetables are lacking altogether, every kind of thing which men eat for their food hath ceased, and every man [now] plundereth "his neighbour. Men wish to walk, but are unable to move, the child waileth, the young man draggeth his limbs along, and the hearts of the aged folk are crushed with despair; their legs give way under them, and they sink down to the ground, and their hands are laid upon their bodies [in pain]. The shennu[FN#171] n.o.bles are dest.i.tute of counsel, and [when] the storehouses which should contain supplies are opened, there cometh forth therefrom nothing but wind. Everything is in a state of ruin. My mind hath remembered, going back to former time, when I had an advocate, to the time of the G.o.ds, and of the Ibis-G.o.d, and of the chief Kher-heb priest I-em-hetep,[FN#172] the son of Ptah of his Southern Wall."

[FN#166] Tcheser was a king of the IIIrd Dynasty, and is famous as the builder of the Step Pyramid at Sakkarah. His tomb was discovered by Mr. J. Garstang at Bet Khallaf in Upper Egypt in 1901.

[FN#167] i.e., the people who were in front of, that is, to the South of Egypt, or the population of the country which lies between Dakkah and Aswan.

[FN#168] The ancient Egyptian name for Elephantine Island, which appears to have gained this name because it resembled an elephant in shape.

[FN#169] i.e., the palace.

[FN#170] i.e., risen.

[FN#171] i.e., the high court officials and administrators.

[FN#172] The famous priest and magician, who was subsequently deified and became one of the chief G.o.ds of Memphis.

"Where is the place of birth of Hapi (the Nile)? What G.o.d, or what G.o.ddess, presideth (?) over it? What manner of form hath he? It is he who stablisheth revenue for me, and a full store of grain. I would go to the Chief of Het-Sekhet[FN#173] whose beneficence strengtheneth all men in their works. I would enter into the House of Life,[FN#174] I would unfold the written rolls [therein], and I would lay my hand upon them."

[FN#173] Hermopolis.

[FN#174] Per-ankh, or Pa-ankh, was a name given to one of the temple- colleges of priests and scribes.

Then [Matar] set out on his journey, and he returned to me straightway. He gave me instruction concerning the increase of Hapi,[FN#175] and told me all things which men had written concerning it, and he revealed to me the secret doors (?) whereto my ancestors had betaken themselves quickly, the like of which has never been, to [any] king since the time of Ra, (?). And he said unto me: "There is a city in the middle of the stream wherefrom Hapi maketh his appearance; "'Abu'[FN#176] was its name in the beginning; it is the City of the Beginning, and it is the Nome of the City of the Beginning. [It reacheth] to Uaua,[FN#177] which is the beginning of the land. There is too a flight of steps,[FN#178] which reareth itself to a great height, and is the support of Ra, when he maketh his calculation to prolong life to everyone; 'Netchemtchem Ankh'[FN#179] is the name of its abode. 'The two Qerti'[FN#180] is the name of the water, and they are the two b.r.e.a.s.t.s from which every good thing cometh forth (?).

[FN#175] i.e., the Inundation, or Nile Flood.

[FN#176] The Elephant City, i.e., Elephantine.

[FN#177] A portion of Northern Nubia.

[FN#178] This is probably an allusion to the famous Nilometer on the Island of Philae.

[FN#179] i.e., "Sweet, sweet life."

[FN#180] The Qerti were the two openings through which the Nile entered this world from the great celestial ocean.

"Here is the bed of Hapi (the Nile), wherein he reneweth his youth [in his season], wherein he causeth the flooding of the land. He cometh and hath union as he journeyeth, as a man hath union with a woman. And again he playeth the part of a husband and satisfieth his desire. He riseth to the height of twenty-eight cubits [at Abu], and he droppeth at Sma-Behutet[FN#181] to seven cubits. The union(?) there is that of the G.o.d Khnemu in [Abu. He smiteth the ground] with his sandals, and [its] fulness becometh abundant; he openeth the bolt of the door with his hand, and he throweth open the double door of the opening through which the water cometh."

[FN#181] Diospolis of Lower Egypt, or "Thebes of the North."

"Moreover, he dwelleth there in the form of the G.o.d Shu,[FN#182] as one who is lord over his own territory, and his homestead, the name of which is 'Aa' (i.e., the 'Island'). There he keepeth an account of the products of the Land of the South and of the Land of the North, "in order to give unto every G.o.d his proper share, and he leadeth to each [the metals], and the [precious stones, and the four-footed beasts], and the feathered fowl, and the fish, and every thing whereon they live. And the cord [for the measuring of the land] and the tablet whereon the register is kept are there.

[FN#182] The G.o.d who separated the Sky-G.o.ddess Nut from the embrace of her husband, the Earth-G.o.d Keb, and who holds her above him each day.

"And there is an edifice of wood there, with the portals thereof formed of reeds, wherein he dwelleth as one who is over his own territory, and he maketh the foliage of the trees (?) to serve as a roof.

"His G.o.d-house hath an opening towards the south-east, and Ra (or, the Sun) standeth immediately opposite thereto every day. The stream which floweth along the south side thereof hath danger [for him that attacketh it], and it hath as a defence a wall which entereth into the region of the men of Kens[FN#183] on the South. Huge mountains [filled with] ma.s.ses of stone are round about its domain on the east side, and shut it in. Thither come the quarrymen with things (tools?) of every kind, [when] they "seek to build a House for any G.o.d in the Land of the South, or in the Land of the North, or [shrines] as abodes for sacred animals, or royal pyramids, and statues of all kinds. They stand up in front of the House of the G.o.d and in the sanctuary chamber, and their sweet smelling offerings are presented before the face of the G.o.d Khnemu during his circuit, even as [when they bring] "garden herbs and flowers of every kind. The fore parts thereof are in Abu (Elephantine), and the hind parts are in the city of Sunt (?).[FN#184] One portion thereof is on the east side[FN#185] of the river, and another portion is on the west side[FN#186] of the river, and another portion is in the middle[FN#187] of the river. The stream decketh the region with its waters during a certain season of the year, and it is a place of delight for every man. And works are carried on among these quarries [which are] on the edges [of the river?], "for the stream immediately faceth this city of Abu itself, and there existeth the granite, the substance whereof is hard (?); 'Stone of Abu' it is called.

[FN#183] Kens extended south from Philae as far as Korosko.

[FN#184] Perhaps Sunut, = the Syene of the Greeks, and the {hbw SuWeNeH} of the Hebrews.

[FN#185] i.e., Syene.

[FN#186] i.e., Contra Syene.

[FN#187] i.e., the Island of Elephantine.

"[Here is] a list of the names of the G.o.ds who dwell in the Divine House of Khnemu. The G.o.ddess of the star Sept (Sothis), the G.o.ddess Anqet, Hap (the Nile-G.o.d), Shu, Keb, Nut, Osiris, Horus, Isis, and Nephthys.

"[Here are] "the names of the stones which lie in the heart of the mountains, some on the east side, some on the west side, and some in [the midst of] the stream of Abu. They exist in the heart of Abu, they exist in the country on the east bank, and in the country on the west bank, and in the midst of the stream, namely, "Bekhen-stone, Meri (or Meli)-stone, Atbekhab (?)-stone, Rakes-stone, and white Utshi-stone; these are found on the east bank. Per-tchani-stone is found on the west bank, and the Teshi-stone in the river.

"[Here are] the names of the hard (or, hidden) precious stones, which are found in the upper side, among them being the ..... stone, the name[FN#188] of which hath spread abroad through [a s.p.a.ce of] four atru measures: Gold, Silver, Copper, Iron, Lapis-lazuli, Emerald, Thehen (Crystal?), Khenem (Ruby), Kai, Mennu, Betka (?), Temi, Na (?). The following come forth from the fore part[FN#189] of the land: Mehi- stone, [He]maki-stone, Abheti-stone, iron ore, alabaster for statues, mother-of-emerald, antimony, seeds (or, gum) of the sehi plant, seeds (or, gum) of the amem plant, and seeds (or, gum) of the incense plant; these are found in the fore parts of its double city." These were the things which I learned therefrom (i.e., from Matar).

[FN#188] i.e., the stone was very famous.

[FN#189] The "fore part," or "front," of the land means the country lying to the south of Nubia, and probably some part of the modern Egyptian Sudan.

Now my heart was very happy when I heard these things, and I entered into [the temple of Khnemu]. The overseers unrolled the doc.u.ments which were fastened up, the water of purification was sprinkled [upon me], a progress was made [through] the secret places, and a great offering [consisting] of bread-cakes, beer, geese, oxen (or, bulls), and beautiful things of all kinds were offered to the G.o.ds and G.o.ddesses who dwell in Abu, whose names are proclaimed at the place [which is called], "Couch of the heart in life and power."

And I found the G.o.d standing in front of me, and I made him to be at peace with me by means of the thank-offering which I offered unto him, and I made prayer and supplication before him. Then he opened his eyes, and his heart was inclined [to hear] me, and his words were strong [when he said], "I am Khnemu,[FN#190] who fashioned thee. My two hands were about thee and knitted together thy body, and "made healthy thy members; and it is I who gave thee thy heart. Yet the minerals (or, precious stones) [lie] under each other, [and they have done so] from olden time, and no man hath worked them in order to build the houses of the G.o.d, or to restore those which have fallen into ruin, or to hew out shrines for the G.o.ds of the South and of the North, or to do what he ought to do for his lord, notwithstanding that I am the Lord and the Creator.

[FN#190] He was the "builder of men, maker of the G.o.ds, the Father who was from the beginning, the maker of things which are, the creator of things which shall be, the source of things which exist, Father of fathers, Mother of mothers, Father of the fathers of the G.o.ds and G.o.ddesses, lord of created things, maker of heaven, earth, Tuat, water and mountains" (Lanzone, Dizionario, p. 957).

"I am [he] who created himself, Nu, the Great [G.o.d], who came into being at the beginning, [and] Hapi, who riseth according to his will, in order to give health to him that laboureth for me. I am the Director and Guide of all men at their seasons, the Most Great, the Father of the G.o.ds, Shu, the Great One, the Chief of the Earth. The two halves of the sky (i.e., the East and the West) are as a habitation below me. A lake of water hath been poured out for me, [namely,] Hap (i.e., the Nile), which embraceth the field-land, and his embrace provideth the [means of] life for "21 every nose (i.e., every one), according to the extent of his embrace of the field-land. With old age [cometh] the condition of weakness. I will make Hap (i.e., the Nile) rise for thee, and [in] no year shall [he] fail, and he shall spread himself out in rest upon every land. Green plants and herbs and trees shall bow beneath [the weight of] their produce. The G.o.ddess Renenet[FN#191] shall be at the head of everything, and every product shall increase by hundreds of thousands, according to the cubit of the year. The people shall be filled, verily to their hearts' desire, "and everyone. Misery shall pa.s.s away, and the emptiness of their store-houses of grain shall come to an end. The land of Ta-Mert (i.e., Egypt) shall come to be a region of cultivated land, the districts [thereof] shall be yellow with grain crops, and the grain [thereof] shall be goodly. And fertility shall come according to the desire [of the people], more than there hath ever been before."

[FN#191] The G.o.ddess of the harvest.