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A HANDBOOKOF

EGYPTIAN RELIGION



A HANDBOOKOF

EGYPTIAN RELIGION

BY

ADOLF ERMAN

WITH 130 I L L USTR ATI 0 NS

Published in th e or ig ina l German ed i t ion as a handbook, by t heGeneral Y t r w d t u n ~ of th e Berl in Imperial Museums

T R A N S L AT E D BY

A. S. GAIFFITH

LONDONARCHIBALD CONSTABLE & CO. L T D.

I907



1 t ICEARD C L AY & S O N S , LIMII’ED,

BREAD STREET BILL, E.C., AND

BUNOAY, SUFFOLK.



PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION

THE volume here translated appeared originally in 1904 asone of the excellent series of handbooks which, in addition todescriptive catalogues, are provided by the Berlin Museums for

th e guidance of visitors to their great collections. The hand-

book of th e Egyptian Religion seemed especially worthy of awide circulation. It is a survey by the founder of the modernschool of Egyptology in Germany, of perhaps the most interest-ing of all t he departments of this subject. The Egyptianreligion appeals to some because of its endless variety of form,and the many phases of superstition and belief that itrepresents ; to others because of its early recognition of a high

moral principle, its elaborate conceptions of a life after death,and its connection with t he development of Christ ianity ; toothers again no doubt because it explains pretty things dear tothe collector of antiquities, and familiar objects in museums.

Professor Erman is the first to present th e Egyptian religionin historical perspective; and it is surely a merit in, his work that out of his profound knowledge of the Egyptian texts, hepermits them to tell their own tale almost in their own words,either by extracts or by summaries. His pages are particularlyfree from theory, and no theory is needed to enga, e ourattention when the facts and views disclosed are so attractive.

The author has written a special preface for the Englishedition, and has modified one or two points in his text asregards the degree in which burnt sacrifice was customary. Afew of the illustrations that were in the original have been

omitted, and their places taken by others. Mr. Hil ton Pricehas especialiy to be thanked for his generosity in lending blocksemployed in the catalogue of his collection.

F. LL . GR IFF I TH . V



AUTHORS PREFACE

TH I S book has no pretensions to erudition, neither is it

one that will afford a systematic representation of its subject ;still less is i t exhaustive. My endeavour has been to exhibitto a wide circle of readers the development and decay of a greatreligion through more than three thousand years, and for thistask I had only a limited space at my disposal. Any discussionof disputed points was thus out of the question, and I had alsoto withstand the temptation to linger over points of specialinterest. The most important phenomena could only besketched in outline, and where I have cited details in order torender the picture more intelligible, I have been forced to choosealmost at random from the abundant material which lay readyto my hand. Other writers undoubtedly would often havediffered from me in their choice.

A greater difficulty lay in the immature condition of thesestudies. Of t he religions of the ancient world there is perhapsno other for which we possess such an amount of material, soendless and impossible to grasp, as we do for this. It is in facttoo great, and in addition to this our comprehension of theancient religious writings is still very incomplete. All theinsight and labour devoted by Brugsch, Budge, Lange, Lef&bure,Lepage Renouf, Lepsius, Maspero, Moret, Naville, Turaieff,Wiedemann, and many others, to the investigation of Egyptianreligion, or to its description, have hitherto resulted in littlemore than the preliminary orientation of this intricate domain,and it will require many more decades of hard work before weshall be able to obtain a clear view. At the present time,therefore, any one who wishes to construct a picture of Egyptian

vii



AUTHOR’S PREFACE...

V l l l

religion must make the sketch complete all round, and in sodoing must call imagination t o his aid more frequently than isdesirable. I must therefore ask that too much import,ancemay not be attached to this book; I have represented theEgyptian religion as it appears to me after thirty years’ studyof its monuments, but I am aware that I am not in a positionto insist strongly on every feature of the picture.

And one more remark. I considered it advisable to presentthis sketch of Egyptian Religion as it appears to an un -prejudiced observer, who knows nothing of the theories of

the modern science of religions; the reader will here findnothing of animism, or fetishism, of chthonic deities, nor yetof medicine men. The facts should first be established andwithout prejudice, before we attempt to fit them into a

scientific system.The illustrations to the German edition were drawn by Herr

Alfred Bollacher, under the guidance of Professor Schiifer.ADOLPE R M A N.

Steglitz, April 1904.



CQNTENTSCHAPTER

P RELIMINARY N OTE .I.

11.

111.

IV.

V.

VI.

V I I .

VIII .

12.

x.

91,

PAQE

. x v iI NTRODUCTION .

R ELIGIOUS EELIEFS OF TH E E ARLY P ERIOD .RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS OF THE E ARLY P ERIOD .R ELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND CUSTOMS OF THE NEW KING-

DOM .B ELIEFS REGARDING THE DEAD , OF THE E ARLY P ERIOD

AND O F THE N EW KIKGDOM .FUNERARY CUSTOX3 OB THE EARLY PERIO D AND OF

T H E NEW K INGDOM .MAGIC .EELIGION F TIIE L ATE P ERIOD

B ELIEFS REGARDING TIIE D EAD , AT TH E L ATE P ERIOD

T HE E GYPTIAN R ELIGION IN ADJACENT C OUNTRIES .T HE H ELLENISTIC P ERIOD IN E GYPT .T HE E GYPTIAN R ELIGION IN E UROPE .I N D E X

1

539

56

85

115148165184193203

239

257

ix



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FIR. PAUE

1. Crowns . . 5

2. Sceptres . . 6

3. Primitive temples . . 64. Warrior of the primitive period . . 6

6. The sky as a cow, supported by Shu and other gods . 87. The bark of the Sun . . o

5. Mother and child of the primitive period . . 7

8. The Sun god of Edfu . . 10

9. The Sun god . . 11

10. Thoth . . 1211. Hathor . 13

12. Neitli . 13

13. East . . 1414. Sekhmet . . 14

15. The Nile . . 14

16. Anubis . . 15

17. Wepwawet . . 15

18. Osiris . . 1619. Symbols of Osiris and Isis . . . 16

20. Symbol of Anubis . . 1621. Ptah in his chapel . . 1722. Sobk . . 17

24. Amon . . 1925. Set . . 1926. But0 and Nekhbet . . a0

23. &Tin . . 18

xi



xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FIU.

27.

28.29.30.31.

32.33.

34.35.36.37.38.

39.40.

41.42.43.44.45.46.47.48.49.50.51.52.53,5 4.55.56.57.

Isis .Nephthys .MaatSacred hawk .Apis bull .Phcenix .The young Sun god in the lotus blossomShu supporting NutIsis protecting Osiris with her wingsHorus .Ground -plan of the Temple of Ramses III., Karnak Temple of Abu Gurab (reconstructed)Chapel from the temple a t Phike .Incense burner .

Sistrum .Portable shrineThe king, Pepi I., in the Hall of JubileeHigh -priest of Memphis, with decoration and side lock Amon -Re handing the sword t o the kingTablet, dedicated to Amon -Re, fo r hearing a petition .Amenophis IV. praying, the sun above him

Amenophis IV. with his wife and children .Astarte on horseback .8utekh .Popular deities : Thoueris, Pataikos, BesNefer -tern .Tablet dedicated to MnevisAmenophis 111. and his IraThe Soul .The Field of Earu .Nut, with wings outstretched over Osiris

.

..

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

PAGE

20

2021222323262933344142

4446

48495154576062

697374767677

86879295



...LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS X l l l

FIG.

58.

59.60.61.

62.63.

64.65.66.67.68.

69.70.

71.72.73.74.75.76.77.7s.

79.80.

81.

82.s3.

84.85.

86.

87.88.

The judgment hall of Osiris.The third hour of the night.Pyramids and mortuary temples at Abasir .Mastabas ,

False door of t,omb of Ptah -hetepTable of offerings of the New Kingdom .The sons of Horus on a flower in the lake .Model rowing boat .Ushebtis of the New KingdomModel pyramid .Pectoral .Amulets for mummies .Vases to contain the intestines

(Papyrus of Hunnefer)(Tomb of Seti I.) .

..

.

.

.He who is in his Sun ” .

Magical figures .Amulet : Isis suckling HorusSmall stela : for protection against serpentsCord : with seven knots, and two labels with magic spellsAmulet .The divine wife .Sacred fish .Sacred snake and ichneumon .The dead Apis on a bierKhnum as a hawk .The wise Imhotep .Bronze coffin of a catWooden coffin of an ibisBast .Coffin with posts, of the late period

Hawk, from a coffin .Jackal, from a coffin .

..

.

.

.

PAGE

102

112118

119120123129130

141143144145146152157161161162163166170170

171173174177178179186

187187



xiv

FIQ.

89.

90.91.92.93.94.95.

96.97.9s.

99.100.101.

102.103.104.105.106.107.10s.

109.

110.111.

112.113.

114.

115.116.

117.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Disc for the head .Papyrus case .Sepulchral box .Gravestone of a Syrian woman, Akhet -abuFrom an ancient Cretan stone vaseGravestone of a Syrian Queen, from SenjirliJewawmelek, king of Byblos, before the goddess of

Ethiopian deity, from the Temple at Naga .Ethiopian gravestonePtolemy Philadelphus, Arsinoe, etc., worshipping the

..

.

Byblos .

Mendes ram .Ground -plan of Temple of DenderahThe spear of Horus .Gravestone of a man named ImhotepIsis, with rudder and cornncopeiaIsis-Hathor-Aphrodite .Harpokrates .Serapis as Zeus -Serapis .Serapis and eagle .Priests carrying a statue of HarpokratesHarpokrates on a goose .Harpokrates on a ram .Harpokrates carrying a jar .Isis .Isis-Sothis on a dog .Osiris as a mummy .Isis and Osiris in a shrineBes as a protecting warriorHorus as a warrior .The Good Shepherd ,

.

.

.

..

PAQE

188

186

189191193194

195

199200

. 205

. 211. 214. 217

. 21s

. 21s

. 219

. 219

. 219. 222. 223

. 223

. 224

. 224

. 225

. 225

. 226

. 227

. 227

. 22s



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xv

PIQ.

118.

119.120.121.122.123.124.125.

126.127.128.129.130.

Amulets : inscribed stone .

Gravestone of the Roman periodMummy, with painted portrait of the deceasedEnd of a mummy case ; painted to represent a temple .Coffin of the children, Sensa6s and Tkautbi .Mummy case of the latest period

Scene on the Nile : from Roman relief in terra cottaAntinous .

Serapeum.

Amaryllis, priestess of Isis .Temple Festival : Isis temple at PompeiiIsis statue found a t CologneCoins of Julian with Apis and Anubis

. .

..

..

.

PAQE

229

231232233233234240

241

247249250252254



PRELIMINARY NOTE

I T is well known that our knowledge of Egyptian history is

very incomplete. We will here indicate th e meaning of th edivisions which have been adopted in order to supply the lack of an accurate chronology. The history of Egypt is dividedthus-

1. The P REHISTORIC P ERIOD .2. The E ARLIEST P ERIOD , from the founding of the united

kingdom of Egypt (about 3300 B.c.). This is divided intothree dynasties.

3, The O LD KINGDoM.-The first great period in Egypt(about 2800 -2300 B.C.), comprising Dynasties IV., V. andVI.

4. An intermediate period of which li ttle is known.5. The M IDDLE K INGDOM . Dynasties XI.-XIII. , including

the great period of the twelfth dynasty (circa 2000 -1800B.C.).

6. The so -called H YKSOS P ERIOD , of which little is known.

7. The N EW KINGDOM , comprising Dynasty XVIII. (1580-1320 B .c.), the great epoch of Egyptian power, andDynasties XIX., XX. (1320 -1100 B.C.).

8. The so -called L IBYAN PERIOD , an in tcrmedia te t ime of which little is known.

9. The S AITIC PERIOD , comprising Dynasty XXVI., the timeof the Sa i t e kings (663 -525 B.c.), and the time of thePersian domination (525-332 B.c.).

10.The

‘‘ H ELLENIC P ERIOD ”in Egypt, comprising the timeof Alexander; the Ptolemaic kings (332 -30 B.C.) ; and

the Roman domination (from 30 B .c.).xvi



INTRODUCTION

F ROM time immemorial, the narrow valley of the Lower Nilewas inhabited by a people of African race, who pastured theircattle on the marshes of the Delta, and grew their corn in thecultivated land of the upper country, and in consequence of these peaceful pursuits attained earlier than other nations toan advanced stage of civilization. When, a t some later period,the needy Bedouins of the Arabian peninsula seized thecountry - an event which has been repeated in less remote

times- the Egyptians adopted their language, but not theircivilization, and a people of mixed nationality was formed whoabandoned none of their earlier customs. To this we have aparallel to-day in modern Egypt, where invading Bedouins, theArabs of Islam, have once more imposed their own language onthe people, while yet these Arabic -speaking Egyptians have inno way changed their mode of life from that of their Christianand pagan forefathers. For the nature of that marvellouscountry is stronger than any human power.

There is, however, one point in which the modern Arabsappear to have imposed their influence far more successfullythan the Bedouin of ancient times. They have succeeded ingiving the Egyptians a new religion, as well as a new language,whereas there are no indications of a similar result of theancient invasion. I n the beliefs and conceptions of the ancientEgyptians as me find them in the earliest literature there isnothing that relates in any way to the characteristics of thedesert, or to the conditions of life there, while there is verymuch that can only be explained by the peculiar conditionsof Egypt. The religion of Egypt must therefore be consideredt o be a product of Egypt, whence in large measure it acquired

1-



2 INTRODUCTION

its special character. Egypt is an agricultural country, thatnotwithstanding its productiveness demands hard work, andtrains its inhabitants to practical life. Their belief9 are thusdistinguished by a certain sober earnestness ; on this heavy soila lively fancy will not flourish, but all manner of superstitionsspring up readily. The world inhabited by these people wasa limited one, they knew only their long, narrow valley, whereeach year their marvellous river deposited its wealth over thecountry ; beyond there was only the desert, with which man -kind had no concern. One thing, however, served to raise themind of the Egyptian to something above himself, as for usto-day it invests the Nile valley with magic : the sky, with theglory of its sun and the indescribable splendour of its stars.In these stars the Egyptian recognized his gods, and for him nogod could rank higher than the sun, which maintains all thingsand which calls all things into being. Among the objectsmost familiar to the Egyptian on earth were the animals and

birds ; as an agriculturist he would daily be brought into closecontact with them, and under their forms accordingly hefrequently represented his gods.

The peculiar character of the country influenced its religionin another way: it divided it. Lower Egypt is cut up in alldirections by arms of the river, marshes and watercourses;while Upper Egypt, the most important part of the country, is auniform narrow river valley where three to four million inhabit -

ants live on a strip of land which may be compared to that whichstretches from B$le to the sea. I n a country of this description,where the two divisions are so distinct and have but littlemutual intercourse, there must necessarily have sprung up inthe separate provinces differences in speech, in ideas and inreligion.

Thus in each larger town of Egypt and in the country sur -rounding it, religion assumed a special form. The principal

gods are called by different names in the different provinces.They have different legends and distinctive forms of worship ;besides this there is here and there a town with a specialgod of its own, not recognized elsewhere. So long as Egyptwas divided politically, these religious differences intensified



INTRODUCTION 3

from century to century; but when she was united into one

kingdoma

pecnliar process commenced. The religion of thetown that was the royal residence became the official statereligion ; the temple was visited from all parts of the country,and its god recognized by all. Before long the wish wouldarise in other cities to worship a god of such distinction.His worship would then be introduced, or i t would be dis -covered that the special god of the locality was in realitythe same, and the two would be blended into one. When,

with the progress of culture among the Egyptian nation,a

uniform intellectual life developed in art, in literature, inscience, we might expect to find that it led to a uniform andsimplified religion. But this was never attained to. Neitherthe stress of political circumstances, nor the advancing educationof the people, nor the increasing intercourse with other nations,ever brought this about. When the people of Bubastis learnt toworship the god Amon, because he was the deity of the royalcity, they did not in the slightest degree abate their reverencefor their goddess Bast, and when they began to realize that thisancient goddess is identical with Sekhmet and Isis, they did noton this account alter a fraction of their traditional conception of her, but simply added the new to the old.

A strange curse lay on the Egyptians : they could not forget.At the earliest period writing had been discovered by them andhad placed them in the front rank of the nations, but the priceof this remained to be paid. Every fresh epoch of their longexistence brought them new ideas, bu t the earlier ideas did not,disappear in consequence, It i s possible that the latter mightfall into temporary neglect, but they were still treasured assacred possessions, and in another century would once moreassume a prominent position. Or again, a book that lay dor-mant in some temple library would one day become a livinginfluence. In this way the confusion of ideas, national andlocal, old and new, increased with every successive period, andadded to the mass of religious details that rejoiced the Egyptiantheologians, but which we regard with horror.

Yet it will well repay us to follow the beliefs of the Egyptiansthrough the centuries, even if the points we attempt to observe



4 INTRODUCTION

are precisely those which the Egyptian priest would have held

in contempt. To notice how the Egyptian in the primitiveperiod believed that he could see his gods still living a naturallife ; how later, when his gods, living in their colossal temples,had become strangers to him, he invented for himself certainhelpers whom he could treat with greater intimacy; how at onetime a ruler of the country bravely attempted to free himself and his people from the yoke of the ancient faith ; how amongall the extravagant ideas concerning life after death, the feeling

yet obtained that the righteousness of man would then be farmore powerful than forms and ceremonies - to see these thingsappears to us of much greater importance than to know allthe names, symbols, and feast days of the gods and goddesses.



A HANDBOOKOF

EGYPTIAN RELIGION

CHAPTER I

RELIGIOUS B E L l E F S O F THE EARLY PERIOD

WH EN the subject of Egyptian religion is mentioned, ourthoughts turn instinctively to thc beliefs held at the periodduring which was achieved the building of the temples of Karnak and Luxor, of Medinet Habu, and Abu Simbel, palaces where thegods sat enthroned, and where their magnificent festivals werecelebrated. But this period, so well known to us, is separatedby a vast interval from the time when the Egyptian religion firstacquired its external forms. An examination of these external

forms will show how faithfully the representations of the godswere adhered to, and how modest and simple must have beenthe conditions of the nation that first created them.

The people had already learnt to carve rough figures of godseither in human or animal form, andthese they chose to distinguish by avariety of crowns, but as yet their im -agination did not go beyond diadems

formed either of handfuls of reeds, thehorns of sheep or cows, or of ostrich

carried a staff such as every Bedouin cuts for himself a t thepresent day, and their goddesses were contented with a simple

5

feathers. For a sceptre, their gods FIQ. 1. C R O W N S .



6 A HANDBOOK OF EGYPTIAN RELIGION

reed. Their temples were mere huts with walls of plaited

wicker work, the front of the roof was adornedwith projecting wooden beams. A few shortposts and two high masts in front of thebuilding were added to provide furtherdecoration. The altar consisted of a reedmat, and for the celebration of festivals,simple bowers were erected.

Where the outward forms were so primi-

tive we must expect t o find the religiousconceptions even more primitive, and all that

f~ ~ . 2 .a. BCEPPR&S.b is known to us of the ancient modes of

a. Gods'. b. Goddesses'. thought confirms this expectation.Those to whom the following ex -

planation of Egyptian ideas may seemfar too simple, should remember thatfor the most part they were conceivedby a race of naked, half savage peasants.These ideas were inherited by theEgyptians of historical times, the sub-

jects of Cheops, Amenemhat andRamses, who preserved them for us. I n order to understand

them it is necessary to transport ourselvest o tha t far-distant infancy of the Egyptiannation, when the inhabitant of the NileValley gazed with awe on the ever-movingbodies in the heavens above him, and inthose marvellous phenomena recognizedthe gods who ruled the world.

Numerous are the ideas concerning theuniverse, and the representations by whichthe people attempted to express their ideas.In one of these the sky appears as an im-mense cow whose feet are resting on theearth. I n another the sky is a wornan,

F I G . 4 WARRIOR OF THE w.ho supports herself with hands and(Berlin, 15084.) feet on the earth. Bu t the most usual

representation, at lcast in later times, is one where the sky is

PRIMITIVE PERIOD.



RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OF THE EARLY PERIOD 7

a sheet of water, on which the stars sail in boats; or againit rests on the so -called fozw pillars of heave%,

fabulous mountains, situated a t the four cornersof the earth. While th e sky is usually regardedas being feminine, a woman, and a cow, theearth figures as a man on whose back it is thatvegetation grows. Apparently the grammaticalgender of the two words - pet, “ sky,” is feminine,to , ‘‘earth,” is masculine - led to this conception.

We also meet with a multiplicity of ideas

regarding the sun. In the morning it is born,either as a calf of the celestial cow, or as a childof the goddess of the sky; in the evening it isan old man who goes down to the dead. It isthe right eye of a great god whose left eye is F ~ ~ .5 . XOTaER

the moon, and who flies across the heavens like PRIDIITIVE PERIOD.

a hawk. Or again a beetle, the great dung -beetle (Berllnl 14441‘)

of Egypt rolls the sun before it , as its earthly brother is seenrolling the ball in which it lays its egg. Or, and this is themost brilliant idea, the sun, moon and stars sail in ships over theheavenly ocean. This, however, raises the question how it ispossible for the sun which disappears every evening in theWest to reappear in the morning in the East; a questionusually solved by the Egyptians by imagining a second heavenunder the earth, which the sun traverses by night. It is a

dark place, inhabited by the dead, lighted at night by the sunwhen he sails through it in his bark. For even this under -

world possesses a river, a mysterious stream which also ascendsinto the world of the living. At the southern border of Egypt,near the island of Elephantine, it rises in two whirlpools andflows through Egypt as the river Nile.

From this we see that in the eyes of the primitive Egyptianeven the Nile did not Bow outside Egypt. The cataract formedthe extreme boundary of his world. Out of all these in -

congruous elements the Egyptian of historical times set himself

to compose his picture of the universe, and mixed themhaphazard without permitting himself to be disturbed by theincredible nonsense which ensued. The sky was pictured as a

A N D C H I L D OF THE




cow ; and ships sailed along her belly.ocean; and as giving birth t o the sun.

It was spoken of as anThe sun god was

p.

w

2 '

R

6d

Fr

spoken of as a beetle; and the sun was described as his eye.And thus it is with names and forms, which, originally separate



RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OF THE EARLY PERIOD g

conceptions, become confused. For instance, in immediatesequence and in one sentence the sun god is spoken of asRe, Khepre, Horus, Har-akhti, Atum, etc. Alsoin the case of descriptionsof the individual gods,which we are now aboutto consider, we shall re-

cept this complexity of ideas, as only too often we do not possess the information thatwould enable us to disentangle them. There is yet anotherelement in this medley, the constant confusion, half serious, half playful, between the gods and their sacred animals. Because inprimitive Egypt the water god was regarded as a crocodile, andthe moon god as an ibis, these gods were often regarded andrepresented in later times under these forms, but this did notpreclude human forms being also attributed to them. A S a

rule a compromise was effected in representing them, and thegods were shown in human form with the heads of theirrespective animals.

The Egyptian artist learnt in very early clays to correct theunnatural nature of such a fusion by clever artistic treatment,so that in good representations of the gods we scarcely findourselves disturbed by it.

To the Egyptians there was no god of higher standing thanthe sun god, who was regarded as the sole creator, and ruler of the world ; from the bark in which he traversed the heavens,the great god, the god of heaven governed all things, and who-soever in daily life merely speaks of the god, he will think of him. All things exult when he arises, and even the apes prayunto him ; men also raise their hands morning and evening, andlaud him thus : Glory to thee, thou who r isest i n the horizon. . . .“ Praise to thee ’’ say the assembled gods, (( thou beautij%d beloved

child.” When he c~risesmunkind lives, and the people exult on hisaccount. The gods of Heliopolis shout to him, and the gods ofboth the great cities extol him. The baboons laud him, ‘ I Praise tothee ’’say all the beasts togeiher. Thy serpefit overthyozus thy foes.

peatedly be forced to ac - FIQ. 7. THE BARK OF THE SUN.



I O A HANDBOOK OF EGYPTIAN RELIGION

Thou ezultest in thy barks, thy manhood i s content . . . and thourejoicest, lord of the gods, oiier that which thou hast created. They

rejoice; the waters of heaven become blue in thy presence and at thy glance the ocean glistens?

From earliest times this god had special localities devotedto his worship, but one of these rose to such fame as to over-shadobv the others. This was On, oras following the Greek nomenclature it is generally called-Heliopolis, the primeval city,situated not far from modern Cairo at Matariyeh. We believeit is evident that the Egyptian religion was greatly influencedat the earliest period by Heliopolis, and up to the latesttimes the priests of On were credited with the possession of great wisdom.

FIG. 8. T H E SUN QO D OF EDFU.

Another important centre of the worship of the sun god, wasEdfu in Upper Egypt, where even now his temple standscomplete. Here originated the remarkable figure of the godwhich represents him as the sun with multicoloured wings ashe flies across the heavens triumphant over his enemies. Thisfigure of norus of Edfu (or, as he was usually styled, he of Edfu)is placed over the gateways of the temples to keep o u t all evil

things. The most generalone, R E , denoted the sun itself. HORUS or H AR -AKHTE

originally stood for the god, regarded as a bird of prey withblazing eyes, while I ~ H E P R Edenoted t,he god in form of a beetle.Finally the evening sun was represented by A T U M in the formof an old man. The sun god is usually represented with thehead of a sparrow-hawk surmounted by the sun; this is en-

circled \vi th its terrible servant, the fire -spitting serpent, whodestroys his enemies. For there is no lack of enemies to opposethe progress of the sun, and one of these, Apophis, the cloud and

Numerous were the names of the sun god.

Book of the Dead. Totb. ed. Naville, 15 A.



RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OF THE EARLY PERIOD I T

storm serpent, is the embodiment of all that is terrible. Butthey cannot obstruct the progress of the god, he accomplishesin triumph his journey across the heavens,and in the evening arrives at the moun -tains of the West, where he is receivedby the goddess of the West. Here hequits his morning bark in which he travelsby day, and enters the evening bark tobegin his nightly journey through theunder-world. There he shines forth fo r the great god Osiris, the eternal Lord.The dead, however, the inhabitants of thecaverns, greet him joyfully; they ltyt tiptheir arms and praise him, they declareunto him their wishes. . . . Their eyesopen once more at the sight of him, and their heart i s fi l led with j o y when they see

him. He hears the prayers of those who liein the eofins, he e w e s their pains and drives away their sorrows. He restores 9. TIIE IUN GOD.

breath t o their nostrils.As the winds of the upper - world can find no entrance to this

Hades, the dead fasten a cord to the fore part of the ship anddrag it on earth, as boats are towed on the Nile when the windis unfavourable?

The part assigned by the Egyptians t o the moon god, therepresentative of Re by night, is far less important. He is theibis-headed god T ROTH , the bull amomg the stars, the moon in

heaven, as he is called in an inscription in the Berlin collection.2At the same time, he is the scribe of the gods, and the judge i n

heaven, who gave speech and wriding, and by his arithmeticenabled gods and men to keep account of their possessions.He is the god of all wisdom and learning, and he discovered thedivine words, i. e. written characters. It is easy t o see how it was

1 Totb. ed. Naville, 15 B. 11. For the further development of this idea,see Chapter IV .

Berlin, 2293.



1 2 A HANDBOOK OF EGYPTIAN RELIGION

that the moon god assumed this character, for he regulated timeand therefore would be the representative of all reckonings andnotes of events. The principal centre of his worship was a tEshmunen in Middle Egypt, the town which was called Her -

mopolis in Greek times. Under anothername, KH ONS U, he who tyavds ~ C T O S S theheavens, the moon was worshipped atThebes in purely human form as a child,although this god appears to have beenlittle known in early times outside his ownabode. It is only in the New Kingdomthat for a time we find representations of him appearing prominently elsewhere.

We also meet with the goddess of thesky under various names, which prove theirdevelopment from differing conceptions of

FIQ. IO. TH OTH . her. As NUT , she retained her characteras the female representative of the sky, and

wife of the earth god KEB . This very small share is all she wasaccorded in the actual religion of Egypt, and in historical timesshe received scarcely any veneration. Under another name,however, she was extremely popular as HATHOR. Although thisname, Ilbzcsc! of Horus, abode of the sun god, directly and un -

equivocally designates her as the sky, yet an almost completechange in her r61e occurred early. As by her position as goddessof the heavens she was the chief of the goddesses, she was

also the divine representative of women, who worshipped herbefore all others, and thus she became the brilliant goddess of pleasure and of love. Other aspects must have grown out of her characteristic of sky goddess, but to us they remain incom -prehensible. She is called the eye of Be, and she appears as thegoddess of the West ; as such she stands on the mountain of theWest and receives the setting sun and the dead. It is needlessto remark that the goddess of women would necessarily have

innumerable sanctuaries. One of the principal of these wasDenderah in Upper Egypt, where her temple still delights U S

with its beauty.The cow form of the goddess of heaven, to which we have




already referred, appears originallyclusively to Hathor, but it is possiblethat its application to this goddesswas not popular, and also that whenmerely the head of the cow wasplaced on her, it was not in agree -ment with her later characteristics.Therefore in very early times aremarkable head was contrived forher, human, yet at the same timeanimal, a broad kindly woman’s

to have been assigned ex-

face surrounded by thick plaits of FIO. 11. HATHOR .

From a capital a t Bubastis.hair, and retaining nothing of thecow except the ears, which preserve some traceof the animal in her aspect. Or else shehas an ordinary woman’s head, and a head-dress which recalls the ancient celestial cow,consisting of two horns between which appearsthe sun.

We also find the sky goddess in NE I TH of Sais, the mother who brought f o d the sum, whobegan to b&ng forth even before being born?Like HATEIOR,she is a goddess of women. It

is probable that at one time she was thenational goddess of Lower Egypt, as she wears

FIG. 1 2 y F E I T I I .the red crown of that country, and holdsarrows in her hand as though she were of

warlike character. There is another great goddess of the Deltato whom it is natural to assign a similar origin; BAST, or asthe Greeks called her, Bubastis, is a counterpart of the joyousHathor, delighting in dancing and music. She is cat-headed,and is usually represented with the sistrum of the dancing womenin her hand and a basket on her arm. When these attributesare omitted it is difficult to distinguish between the cat’shead of Bast and the lion’s head of the goddess SEEHMET, themighty one. On this fact the Egyptians founded a connectionbetween the two. Even if the goddesses were as distinct as

1 Vatican statue of Naophore (Brugsch, !l’hes., 637).




their two animals, yet Sekhinet is a terrible goddess of war andstrife, and the question arises whether both these divinities with

FIG. 13. BAST.

(Berlin, 11354.)F IG . 14. SEKHMET.

colourless names, She who is fi.om Bast and The mighty one, didnot develop originally from such a sky goddess as we are alreadyacquainted with in Nut, Hathor andNeith. For is not Hathor the kindly god -dess of love? and yet in the legends, aswe shall see, she appears as a dreadfulgoddess who slew the enemies of Re.

Another member of the group of heavenly deities is SHU, or as he is fre -quently called, Onuris, supporter of theIzeuvens, who raises up and supports thesky. H e is also represented as a columnof air, and in him we may well see thegod of the atmosphere which lies betweenheaven and earth (see Fig. 34).

From the great importance of the Nilefor the land of Egypt we should expectto find this river among the principalgods of the country. But he has to con-tent himself with being called the father F ~ ~ .15. TH E NILE.



RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OF THE EARLY PERIOD 1 5

of the gods, and with receiving offerings at the time of theinundation, otherwise he plays no more important part inreligion than the sky goddess Nut, or the earth god Keb. Attimes he is given a subservient part; on the sculptures he isrepresented in partly female form, in thecostume of fishers and sailors, standingbefore the great gods and presenting themwith gifts which his wakers have produced.

The dark world under the earth, towhich the sun sinks in the west, andwhere also the dead belong who sleepin the earth, was more remote from man -kind than were the heavens, and this maybe the reason why representations of thelords of the under -world are yet moreconfused than those of the sky. Variouslocalities possessed their own gods of thedead, and these had no relation to eachother, The first of these were conceivedof as jackals, such as the ancient god of the dead, ANUBIS,who later superintended the process of em-

balming, and the two gods WEPWAWET,the guides, a well-chosen name, as it wasthey who showed the dead the pathsthrough their dark domain. It was per -

fectly natural that the jackal should beconsidered the animal of the god of thedead ; in the desert where the dead wereburied, these animals might be seen everyevening, prowling about in the dusk. I nthe neighbourhood of Memphis a god withthe head of a sparrow-hawk was wor-shipped, SOKARI S ,another god of the dead,whose celebrated shrine Ro-Setau, thegates of the ways, led direct t o the under-world. It is possible that part of thisshrine hss survived in the so -called

temple of the Sphinx, the colossal building which a t the

AI*UU1S.

FIa. 17. WEPWAWET.

Hllton Price Colleotlon.




present day excites the wonder of visitors to the pyramids

of Gizeh.

FIQ.id18. OSIRIS.

But the glory of all these guardians of thedead was early thrown into the shade by theappearance of OSI RI S , although originally thisgod can hardly have been ruler of the under-world. H e became so in consequence of thetradition (see p. 32 et seq.) which relates thathe was put t o death, and subsequently livedagain as one of the dead. Two towns weremore especially his sanctuaries, Dedu in theDelta, later named Busiris, and Abydos inMiddle Egypt, where he was worshipped as the$mt of those who a y e in the west, e. g. king of the dead. He is usually represented in humanform, as a mummy, with crown, sceptre andwhip as symbols of his rank as a king. I nBusiris, however, he was worshipped by thefaithful under a strange figure, that of apillar, of which the upper part is many timesrepeated. As the emblem of Osiris, this pillarbecame one of the most sacred symbols of theEgyptian religion, but what can it have been

originally 1 Was it, a s modern scholars have conjectured, someancient wooden “fetish ” of the dwellers in Busiris? or was it

as Egyptian theologians wishedto prove it, the backbone of thegod, which was buried in thattown ? I n any case it is worthyof note that there are otherinstances of such symbols asthis of Osiris in the same S Y M B O L FIG 8 ~ M B O L19.locality. Both his wife Isis OSIRIS. ISIS.

and his friend Anubis have emblems which are

difficult to explain. Delivht in such mystifications?is one of the characteristic features of ancient

It has not been difficult to trace the origin of mostSYMBOL O FANUBIS.




of the gods we have mentioned so far. But there are many of

whom this cannot be said, of whom some feature is comprehen -sible, but whose characteristics as a whole areentirely obscure to us. In the temple Hat-ke -ptah,where Memphis stood later, a god was worshippedfrom the earliest times ; on the breast of his rudestatue v e can discern two hands holding a sceptre,while the head appears to be shaven and devoid of any ornament, This is Ptah, the divine sculp -tor, who gave and still gives form to all things andall beings on earth. H e was regarded by artists andartisans as their patron.

I n a similar character of creator and sculptorof certain beings we meet with another importantgod, either as a ram, or with a ram’s head, KHNUM,worshipped in rnany localities. At one of his

FIQ. 22. SOBK. :om his temple in theFayBm. (Berlin, 16953.)

temples, that on the island of Elephantine, a new characteristicwas attributed to him. Here inthe midst of the foaming cataract,where it was believed that thewaters gushed up from the under -world, he figured also as thecataract god, lord of the cool

waters, a character which cer -

tainly was not his originally. It

must have been far earlier thatthe god S OBK was worshippedas a water god. H e is crocodile-headed as though water were hisspecial element, and in no dis -trict was he more worshippedthan in the Payhm, that regionof lake and marsh, where the land

had laboriously to be redeemedfrom the water.

I f it were owing to the positionof his temple th at the god of Elephantine developed into a

2




water god, it must have been on those same grounds tha't two

other gods became gods of the East. I n the land of Goshen,which stretches out from the Delta eastward into the desert,a god was worshipped, H AR-SOP D, who, as his name shows,was originally connected with the ancient sun god Horus,but who is only known to us as protector of the Easterndesert. Another lord of the East, the god MI N, was wor -

shipped in that part of Upper Egypt where the Nileand the Red Sea approach each other

FIQ. 23., MIN. (Berlin, 2439

most closely, and which was therefore atall periods the starting point of thecaravan route to the Eastern world.Those who pursued this route, and whohad therefore to brave the dangerousneighbourhood of the rapacious troglo -dytes, naturally committed themselvesa t Koptos to the protection of Min, thelocal god, before leaving the Nile Valley.Thus he became also a god of theEastern desert, the lord of f0reig.n lands.The archaic statues of Min, now atOxford, found by Petrie in the founda -

tions of the temple u t Koptos, prove to ushow ancient this conception was; eventhose rude sculptures of the earliesttimes have bivalve shell, elephants andmountains represented on the girdles,precisely the things to which the Koptosroad led the way. Here again thisattribute of Min is certainly not hisoriginal one. H e is an ithyphallic figure,as if he were intended to beget the

world, as according to a myth t o be quoted later (see p. 26)the sun god is said to have done. As Min is frequently spokenof also as Horus, it may well be considered probable that Minis another name of the sun god. From another point of viewalso this figure is remarkable. On his head he wears twofeathers, and the right fore - arm, with which he supports a




scourge, is held upright. When, therefore, a few miles south of

the honie of Min, we meet with another god who wears similarlofty plumes, who is frequently representedas ithyphallic, and who also resemblesM in in being of purely human form withdark complexion, it is natural to regardhim as another form of Min. This god isno other than AMONof Thebes, king of the gods of later Egypt. I n the early

times with which we are now dealing, noone could have foreseen the importancethat would one day accrue t o him. Hewas the obscure god of a small town, andeven his nearest neighbours, the peopleof Hermonthis, worshipped another god,the hawk-headed MONT. This Montfigures as the god of war. He conducts

the ancient sword of sickle form.defeated enemies to Pharaoh or hands him

F I G . 24. AMOP.

Egypt possessed yet another god of warlike tendencies, S ET.

Few gods are so famous as he is, and yet hisorigin is entirely unknown to us. Traditionhas introduced him as well as Horus, theancient sun god, into the Osiris myth, and hasblurred and confused both presentments. Horusbecomes the son, and Set the wicked brotherof Osiris, who is defeated by Horus, but it isexactly in this apposition of the two gods, thatwe find an indication of an earlier character forSet, t o which we possess other clues. Whenwe find the two divisions of the countrydesignated as The two halves of HOTUSand Set,and when according to an ancient title theruler of these two divisions is styled HOTUS nd

Set, it appears that we have met with some of the numerous survivals of that far -distant time

when Egypt was divided into two opposing kingdompr. ProbablySet was then the protector of the kings of Upper Egypt and

F ~ ~ .5. **,.(Berlin, 13186.)




Horus of those of Lower Egypt. The animal by which Set is

represented or whose head he wears, was considered in latertimes to be a donkey, although at least it could only have beena caricature of one. Probably it was intended for some animalwith which the Egyptians of historical times were not familiar.

As we find in Set and Horus theprotectors of the two ancient divi -

sions of Egypt, so also we know theirprotecting goddesses. I n the ancientcapital of the Upper Kingdom, themodern El Kab, flew N EKHBE T inthe form of a vulture, guarding theking. In Buto, the lower capital,dwelt UTO in the form of a serpent.In common with her city slie isusually called Buto, following a

Cnreek transposition.I n historical times, these two were

combined as joint patronesses of theunited kingdom, and we find occa -

sional variants where both are represented as vultures, or both as

FIR. 28. BUT0 ABD NEKHBET.

F I R. 27. ISIY.(Hilton Price Collection.)

serpents, The goddess N U T

FIO. 8. NEPHTHYS.(Hilton Price Collection.)

of Thebes had also originally the




form of a vulture, and might therefore be interchangeable with

the protecting goddess Nekhbet. Later, when she rose to greatimportance as the wife of Amon, she was represented as a womanwearing the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt which she hadborrowed from the kings of her city.

W s have no knowledge of the original nature of TSIS, thegoddess who finally superseded almost all others, and appearsbefore us as the sole goddess of Egypt. She has met with thesame fate as her husband Osiris, her son Horus, her sister

Nephthys and her brother Set; who lost all their originalcharacteristics when they were interwoven inthe Osiris myth. Although no goddess is sofrequently mentioned as Isis, she appears beforeus only as the faithful wife of Osiris, and thedevoted mother of Horus. She is merely s nadjunct to her menfolk.

Another goddess must be mentioned of whom

we may safely affirm that she owes her existenceto no phenomenon of nature. She is entirelya product of human invention and is thus a pureabstraction. This is MAAT, goddess of truth,whose priests were the supreme judges, and whowas regarded as wife of the divine judge Thothand daughter of the supreme god Re. As earlyas the Old Kingdom she ranked among the god -desses, nevertheless she is quite as much anartificial product as are the personifications of beauty or wisdomwhich we frequently find cited in poetry.

Many readers will consider that a very large number of thegods have already been mentioned, and yet these €orm but asmall proportion of the deities venerated in Egypt. If a listcould be made of all those worshipped at one time or anotherin the temples and shrines of the Nile Valley, they would prob -ably amonnt to many hundreds of divinities. No doubt many of them are substantially identical even though they wwar distinctcrowns, and bear distinct names, but if these were all subtractedthere would still remain a large number of beings of sacredcharacter, who stand alone, and whose worship was confined to

FIQ. 29. MAAT.

(Hllton PliceCollection.)




one town only. They are the creations of simple minds, ready to

believe that stones, trees, and animals may be the abode of spirits. The unknown power who thus manifests itself has giftsand prayers offered to it, owing to the awe which it inspires,and in course of time when the people of the town have longworshipped it in private, it finds a place in the temple and isadded to the number of official divinities.

To the great group of such gods of inferior rank belong thesacred animals, of whom traces can be found in the temples as

early as the Old Kingdom.We have already seen how the

Egyptians of the earliest times frequently conceived of theirgods in animal form. The sky as a cow, the sun as a sparrow-hawk, the moon as an ibis, the god of the dead as a jackal, the

water god as a crocodile. These were symbols,necessary t o mankind when they sought toexpress themselves metaphorically. We our-selves cannot avoid such figures of speech; wespeak of the hand of God, and the mouth of God, and when we think of Him personally, weinstinctively think of Him in the form of an oldman. Where a divinity and an animal wereassociated with each other, there was naturallya desire to see that special animal in the templeof the god. In the temple of Sobk there wasa tank containing a crocodile, a cat dwelt in thetemple of Bast. Sparrow-hawks were kept in

the sanctuary of the sun god, where they sat on perches andpeacefully pecked their food out of bowls. There were othercreatures kept in temples which were not representations of thegod but stood in another definite relation to them. Theybelonged to them in much the same manner that the dovesbelonged to Aphrodite, or th e owls to Athene. This is especiallythe case with some of the more widely known of these aninials,the heron, Phcenix, and the bull Mnevis, who dwelt in thetemple a t Heliopolis, and the bull Apis, in the sanctuary of Ptaha t Memphis. We cannot now trace why Apis attained to suchhonour. That Mnevis should be regarded as the animal of thesun god is not surprising, as that god was often addressed as a

FIG. 30.SACRED IIAWK.




bull, to the Egyptians the essence of all strength and virility.With regard to the Phcenix which was born in the pastures1

of the temple and whichonly occasionally allowed it -self to be seen there, weare tempted to attribute itsorigin to a chance. I s it notpossible that once in thoseearliest times some heronsmade their nest accidentallyin this most sacred locality,and would not this nest forman object of veneration andcuriosity for the simple - FIc. 31

minded worshippers at thetemple ? For a long period they would see the nest occupiedeach successive year, then perhaps the birds would desert it ;

and great must have beenthe joy after many yearswhen another Phcenix oncemore found its way there, tobe a marvel to all the peopleof Heliopolis.

I n the case of such aliving presentment of thegod, some of his divinitywould inevitably be trans -ferred to the bird, and thehumbler classes would feelalmost more attracted by

this god who moved among them, and could be seen by his wor -shippers, than by the image which, concealed in the Temple inthe holy of holies, was hidden from the eyes of the faithful,and only shown at the great festivals.

Eventually these revered animals were recognized as sacredby the official religion, and considered to be incarnations of the

Metternich Stela 77.

F I G. 32. PH(EN1X.




god. Thus, in Apis dwelt the soul of Ptah ; and did one of thesebulls die he transferred himself to another, and Apis lives cmew.

Animal worship must have arisen in some siwh way, and thusit, came into being at a very early period. It was a remarkableadjunct to the Egyptian religion, but it did riot belong to itsoriginal structure. In later times veneration for the sacred cat,monkey, sheep, and serpent increased greatly, and in the laststages of the religion of Egypt, their sacred character extendedto all their kind outside the temples, but the ancient faith of t hepeople knew nothing of this craze.

The forms of these various divinities we have sketchedhere do not correspond with the actual beginnings of Egyptianreligion, for t o that we have no clue, but only to a very ancientofficial form which survives in the cults, and also in the carvingsand inscriptions of the temples. But the carvings and inscriptionscontain milch that has to be rejected for this earliest period, andwhich is the result of the growth of tradition, that inevitableprocess of transformation which pervaded the Egyptian religion

as it does all others.In its youth a nation may well be satisfied with worshippingthe gods which it believes it sees on earth, and with winningtheir favour by means of offerings and prayers, but a maturenation becomes more intimately acquainted with the deity, andthe more intimate i t becomes, the more i t discards the notion of his unapproachable majesty. Then it is tha t imagination beginsits work, and the divine is represented more and more as human ;

deities t ha t appear to resemble each other, or that are worshippedin the same locality, are grouped together into one family ; thepreferences or hatreds of gods for each other become known ;the manner in which the world originated becomes clearlydefined, and also the order in which the gods reigned.

From century to century story-tellers and poets develop thesestories more fully, the details of t he myth become richer andmore brilliant, until at last the whole fabric of theology iscomplicated and adorned by their addition and superstructure.Thus in speaking of Thoth, it is no longer the moon that isthought of, but the god who arranged the dispute in the greatHall of Heliopolis, and justified Osiris before his foes. Anubis



RE1,IGIOUS BELIEFS OF THE EARLY PERIOD 25

no longer means the ancient guardian of the dead, but thefriend of Osiris who carried out his burial. It was only in theritual, with its unchangeable customs, that the old ideas survived,only partially comprehended. But in course of time the influenceof the myths made itself felt even in the ritual, and the originalOsiris and Isis had to make way for the traditional Osiris andIsis, now widely known among the nations.

It is in this period of mythology that we first know anythingof the religion of Egypt; even our earliest texts are full of allusions t o the myth. The day whemin. . . . The mightwhewin . . . That gad who . . . these are expressions wemeet with at every turn. But numerous as these allusions are,we understand little of them, for the stories to which they referare not told us in the texts. If any literature relating to thesestories ever existed, it is entirely lost. It is possible that actualmythological writings never existed; it would be quite un -necessary t o write down tales familiar t o all, passed on fromgeneration to generation by word of mouth. We are thereforeobliged t o draw our knowledge of this important side of Egyptian religion from very doubtful sources, from magic spells,which found their magic character on relations of similar deedsof the gods, from isolated inscriptions of the latest times, oreven (and this is actually our main source of knowledge) fromPlutarch’s account of Isis and Osiris.

It is obvious that the form taken by the stories in these textsis not always the ancient one t o which they refer, but we areforced to depend on them, and must be satisfied when here andthere they enable us to correct or to amplify our knowledge onsome point.

The myths of which we shall now speak are naturally only asmall part of the great mass of stories of the gods with whichEgypt a t one time must have been flooded, and the reader willnot be surprised to find that they do not always fit into eachother. I n each district tradition would necessarily take a formth at would assign the most prominent part to the favourite localdeity. This is especidly apparent in the stories relating t o thecreation of the world.

In the beginning only chaos existed, Nun, the primeval




waters. Out of this in some way or other the sun god wascreated. He came into being while as yet there was 1ao heaven,

when neither serpent nor reptile was formed. He carne into baing in the f o w n of Khepre (page l o ) , and them was szothing thatwas with him iiz that place where he was . . . resting i ? ~ thewaters of Nun, and he .found no place where he could stand.

F I G . 33 . THE YOUNG SUN GOD IB

THE LOTUS BLOSSOM.

Then the g o d bethought himself inhis heart t o create other beings, andhe begat of himself and spat it out.And what he spat out was the god

Shu, and the goddess Tefnet, thosetwo beings who, according t o Egyptianbelief, supported the heavens. Shuand Tefnet then produced Keb andNut, the earth god and sky goddess,and Keb and N u t produced Osiris andSet, Isis and Nephthys, whose childrrenare many on this eayth.

This account, taken from a late book of magic; is shown by numerous allu -sions to have been a tradition knowna t one time throughout Egypt. Yetthese allusions prove that the traditionwas variously coloured in differentlocalities. According t o some a lotusflower sprang out of the primeval

waters on which sat the young sungod as a child. In E s h m u n h , however, tradition told of amound in the waters of Desdes,and of an egg laid in a nestthere, from which the sun god was hatched 2 in the sameway as the waterfowl of the Egyptian marshes. Eight primevalbeings in the form of frogs and serpents took some part inthis event, and a cow (which must be connected with thecelestial cow) was also present; the young god seated himself

on her back, and swam across the water. Abydos boasted aBudge, Nesiamsu, p. 147 et seq.

2 Mug. Pap., Harris, 6 , 10; Brugsch, Oare, 26, 23; Todt. 85. 13.



RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OF T H E EARLY PERIOD 27

birthplace of the sun) and ZThebes also prided herself lateron possessing the magniJeent prinwal mound?

I n Abydos the gods who issued from the mouth of Re himself were not Shu and Tefnet, but Shu and the frog goddess Hekt,the progenitors of the gods.3

There is a variant of the Heliopolitan tradition which is alsoworthy of notice. Here the god is said to have first appearedas the Bmben stone in the house .f the Phaznix? That he begatof himself may have appeared too incredible to many, and,therefore, from the minor name Yusau, by which the god wasdistinguished at this occurrence, the name of a consort of thegod was formed, Yusas, who was actually worshipped atHeliopolis.

Another section of these myths shows how deeply in otherrespects they had impressed themselves on the official religion.It generally sets forth the family tree of the gods thus-

Sun God

Shu - Tefnet

K eb - Nu t

Osiris-Isis Set-Nephthys

c,

<

-

These gods, who connect the beginning of the world withhuman times, had by this time become of great importanceto the people of Heliopolis, as the immediate descendants of their great god, and they therefore grouped together this familyof Re under a special name, the Ennead. This name quickly m e twith universal acceptance throughout Egypt, and forthwith itwas felt necessary to accord a similar honour to the other gods.I n addition to the Great Ennead a Lesser group was constructedcomposed of Horus, Thoth, Anubis and others, These twogroups form the eighteen gods who figure even in the earliesttexts. Later on, other great towns wished to possess enneads

1 London, 567 ; Louvre, C. 3.L.D. I I I . 24d ; and L.D. IT. 21 c.

3 Louvre, C. 3 ; London, 567.Pyr. Chap. 367 ( = N . 663).




of their own, to compete with those of Heliopolis. To dothis they displaced one of the nine in order to make roomfor their local deity, or they even added him to the ennead,undisturbed by the fact that in this way their group of nineactually contained ten members.

I n connection with the t radit icn of the origin of the earliestgods, another is supplied by the magical text already quoted, of which we would-gladly know more, as again and again we meetwith references to it. This is the legend of the Eye of the Stun.Unfortunately it has been so niuch altered by the magicians of the late period, who themselves cannot have understood theancient texts, that we must abandon any hope of understandingthe original. This only is apparent, tha t for some reason theeye of the god had been taken away from him, and that the twomodernized gods Shu and Tefnet restored it to him, and it wept on his account and mankind came out of the tears which issued front the eye. And it was enraged, when it mtzLrned and found that another had grown in i ts place; then if I understand rightly

the god took the eye, and set it as the serpent in his forehead,so that the eye of the sun now rules the whole world, for the ser-pent which Re wears on his forehead is verily the symbol of hismight. Any attempt to make sense of this myth is useless;but it should be remembered that the Eye of the Sun, as wehave just seen, denoted at one time th e sun itself, and at anothertime was a name of Hathor. The statement that mankindoriginated from his tears arose from a play on the very similar

words remyyet, “ tears,” and romet, “ mankind.” Similar punninginventions play an important part in all these Egyptian myths.They underlie the above -mentioned story of S hu and Tefnetbeing produced by spitting. This peculiarity is explained bythe importance attached by the Egyptians to the names of things. The name possesses something of the nature of theobject, and it is owing to this t ha t the sun god, for instance,is called his own creator because he himself formed his name?

We have seen above how the race of Re was propagated andhow his grandchildren, the god Keb and goddess Nut , were theearth and the sky; but the earth and the sky were not yet

1 Totenb. ed. Neville, 17, 6.




separated, and Nut still lay upon her brother Keb. Therefore

her father Shu thrust himself between them, and raised her intoth e heights, and with her he raised into the heights all thegods that had hitherto been created, and Nut took possessionof them, counted them and made them into stars. Even thesun itself was not excepted,and now they all sail in theirships over the body of Nut .This was the actual begin -ning of our present world;when heaven and earthwere thus separated fromeach other, all things fell intotheir present order.

If this myth just quotedgives as a reason for the sunhappening to be in the sky,that Shu raised up Nut, a

given by another and latertradition. The reader will not have forgotten that there wereother conceptions of the beginning of the world, as we havealready learnt. I n this instance the sky is a cow.

Once in ancient days Re, the sun god,ruled as king over menand gods alilce. I n course of time, however, he grew old, hisbones were silver, his limbs were gold, his hair real lapis-lazuli.This was observed by men, and they thought blasphemously of him, but the god was not ignorant of their thoughts, and he saidto one of his followers : I Call to me my eye,and Shu and Tefnet,Keb and Nut, together with the fathers and nzothers who were withme, when I was in the waters of Nun, and also the god Nun. . . .Z’hozc shalt bring them here quietly, that men may not see it , and that their hearts fai l lhem not. Thou shalt come with them t o thePalace, that they may give theiy opinion. . . .” These gods werebought and they threw thenaselves on the groimd before his Majestyand said : (‘Speak t o ZL S that we may hear.” Then spake Re toNun: Thou eldest of the gods, from whofn I issued and pro -genitor of the gods. Behold the men who issued o u t of my eye, and

fa r stranger explanation is FlQ. 34. bH U SUPPORTINQ NU & ON W H O S R BAOX

ARE THE SUN’S BARKS. KE B LIES BELOW.

(Berlin, 8.)




who have conceived words against m e . Tell me tohat ye would do with regard to this. I willed not to destroy them until I had heard what ye should say thereto.” The Majesty of Nun said:((My son Re, thou god who art greater than thy father and thycreator! Remain thou seated upon thy throne; the fear of thee i s yet great, if oizly thine eye be turned tigon those whoblaspheme thee.”

And now when Re turned his eye upon them, straightwaythey$ed into the desert, for their hearts feared o n aeeozcnt of thosethings which they had spoken. The gods, however, gave himfurther counsel, that he should send his eye down to theblasphemers, in order to smite them, and Re sent his eyc andit descended in form of the goddess Hathor. This goddess,how -ever, retwned after she had slain the men in the desert. Thensaid the Majesty of this god, (‘Welcome, Hathor. . . .” This goddessmade reply : ( By thy lve, I have been mighty among mankind ;it rejoices my heart.”

Then Re feared that Hathor would return next day andentirely destroy mankind. Therefore he said : ( ( Xzmmon yziiclclyt o me swift messengers, who can run like spirits.” Immediatelysuch messengers were byought to him and the Majesty of this god said to them: (( ITasten to Elephantine and b i i n g m e a great quaiztity of didi.” The god gave this dicli (it must have beensome kind of fruit with red juice) to the cudy-haired one of

Heliopolis and this spirit pounded it, while servant-maidsprepared beer from barley. Then the didi was stirred into themixture, and it became like human blood. Seven thousand jarsof beer weye made and the Majesty of the ki.ng Re came withthese gods to see this beer. When the inoming brolce whereon thisgoddess would slay manlcind, he said, ( ( I will deliver maizlcindout of her hands. . . . Carry it forth to the place where she would slay malzkind.”

This was done, and t h e beer was poured out until the fieldswere flooded four spans deep. In the morning the goddess sent aut, and found it Jlooded; her face was beazctiftdly mirrored in it .She drank of it , and it pleased her, she returned home drunkenand did not recognize men.

But though the aged god protected mankind from complete




extermination, he did not wish t o rule longer over these un -grateful people. “B y my life,” he cried, (‘my heart i s weary of

being among them.” Then he once more set the aged Nun inthe midst, and summoned his daughter the cow -faced Nut : Replaced himself on her back and she bore him up into theheights, where she now forms the heavens. But when Nutlooked downwards she trembled on account of the height. ThenRe called to Xhu, saying, ‘‘ lly so?z Shzc, place thyself under mydaughter Nut,place her upon thy head,’’ and Shu did as he wascommanded, and since then he has supported the celestial cow,on whose belly the stars glitter, and the sun sails in his ship?The same book of magic from which this myth is taken, alsogives us its version of how the moon originated. Once, whileRe sojourned in the heavens, he said, ‘(Call Thoth unto me,” and

forthwith he was brought. The Majesty of this god said to Thoth,‘(Be thou in heaxen i.n my place while I give light t o the gloriJiedones in the under -world. . . . Thou art in my stead, my representa -tive as thou shalt be called ; Thoth the representative of Re.” Andnow all manner of things were created by a punning speech of Re. H e said to Thoth, ,(I will cause thee to enzbrace (yonh)both the heavens with thy beauty and thy beurns,” so the moon was

created (yooh); and again with reference to the fact that for arepresentative of Re the position held by Thoth was somewhatlowly, &,I will sand (hob) to thee, those that are greater thanthou. . . .” TJaen came into being the ibis (hib), the bird of Thoth.

Of these traditions, none was more widespread or exerciseda greater and more lasting influence on the Egyptian nationthan that which tells of the god Osiris, his faithful wife Isis,and his brave son Horus. How this first arose, we cannot con -

jecture, for the original character of Osiris is doubtful, and thatof Isis is equally impossible to discover. That the ancient sungod Horus should here be represented as a child, shows howutterly everything is dislocated.

Like all Egyptian myths, these also must have existed atone time under very different aspects, and we have traces of a

According to the Book of the celestial cow, inscribed in the form ofa magical text in the Theban royal tombs.




very different version in two ancient texts,l where not onlySet appears as murderer of Osiris, but also the beneficent godof the moon and of wisdom. But on the whole the endlessversions of the Osiris myth agree on the principal points, andthese are accurately reproduced, although greatly amplified inPlutarch's Is is and Osiris.

As we have already seen, E e b the earth god and Nut the skygoddess had four children - two sons, Osiris and Set, and twodaughters, Isis and Nephthys; Isis became the wife of Osiris,Nephthys of S e t ; Osiris, however, ruled the world as king andinstructed mankind in all that was good. K eb gave him hisinheritance,2 The government over the two Egypts, , . , he madeover to him the guidance of the lands to prosperity, and gate thisland into his hand; its water, its air, its plants, all its herds, allthat $ies and all that hovers, its reptiles and its wild beasts, weregiven t o the son of Nut, and the two lands were contented thereat.For Osiris was an excellent ruler, he shone forth on the throne of his fathem as the sun, when he arises on the horison, when hesheds light on those who were in darkness. He was just andestablished truth i n Egypt; he was moreover (as the Greek version also states) a great warrior, gloriozcs when he overthrewthe enemy and powerful when he slew his fo e s ; the fear of himhad fa l l en upon his enemies and he enlarged the boundaries ; in thesame way he ruled excellently over the gods, as leader of everygod, with excellent laws, the Great Ennead praised him, the Lesser Znnead loved him. Why Set was his foe is not explained in theGreek account, perhaps the reason was considered obvious, fori n any oriental royal family of two brothers, if one of themsucceeds to the throne, it may be taken for granted that theother will be his natural enemy. We are only told that Se tcaught Osiris by means of a trick. For a long time he wasunable t o injure him, owing t o the devoted watchfulness ofIsis : Xhe was his safeguayd and warded of enemies, for sh43 uus

subtle, with an excellent tonyue, her word did not fail and she was

admirable in . command. Therefore Set attempted it by craft,

1 Pyr. Chap. 14 (= W. 236) ; 15 ( = W. 249).2 All that follows, unless otherwise specified, is from the hymn to Osiris

on stela 20 of the BibliothBpe Nationale. (Ledrain 21 - 28.)






the members had fallen apart, or (as th e later traditions haveit) had been rent asunder by S et ; wrapped it round with

bandages and carried out all that the later Egyptians performedfor their dead. Isis, however, cazised breath to enter into i t , withher wings, and thus the dead god began to return to life, heraised his arm, turned himself on one side, and then lifted uphis head? Although he could not return t o his former life onearth, yet he could enter upon a second existence, and frombeing king of men, become a king of the dead. But even upon

earth he was to triumph, for him and the

desolate Isis a champion was yet t o arise.While Isis hovered in the form of asparrow -hawk over the body of her hus -band she became pregnant? To escapethe machinations of Set, she thereuponfled to the swamps of the Delta, and inthis region, a t a spot where later Khenirnisstood, she gave birth to a boy, H O T U S ,

and stsclded the child in solitu& no one knew where. The goddess Buto,protectress of the Delta, took friendlycare of her. Many evils threatened thechild, but the watchfulness and care of Isis averted them all, and there was nopicture more beloved by the Egyptiansthan that of this goddess mother holding

her infant on her knee. Horus mean -while grew and flourished in seclusion,and when his arm was strong he fought against Set. It wasa fearful fight, which cost Horus an eye, and Set was alsoseverely wounded; Thoth, however, separated the assailantsand healed them. H e spat on the eye of Horus and it becamewhole ; Horus, however, took the eye and - we must give thestory as it is stated in tradition - gave it to his father to eat, and

by this offering of filial affection Osiris became animated and

Sculptures at Abydos and Denderah1 Cf. the illustrations Mar. Dend. IV. 68 et seq., 88 et seq.2 Pyramid. 154. (= T. 277 etc.).

(Mar. Dend. IV. 88, 90).



RELIGIOUS EELIEFS OF THE EARLY PERIOD 35

migh,ty.l So Horus triumphed, and as Isis led him into the hallcf Keb the gods assembled there greeted him joyfully : Veleome,Hort~s, on of Osiris : owagcous,just,son of Isis and heir of Osir i s !

But Set brought an action against him, and, according to theGreek account, disputed the legitimacy of his birth, and with thathis right t o inherit. But the great gods held a court of justice,they seated themselves in the hall of Keb, they tried the case, andturned theiy bacles 0% injustice. It was found that the word of

Horus wus ti-ue, l~ere was given to him the property of his father,and he went forth crowned, ncroyding to the command of Keb.

He took passcssion of the government of both lands, and the crownsrested tqon lzis hectcl. It was a t this tribunal, of which the sceneis always designated as the great hall of Heliopolis, that, as theEgyptian texts constantly affirm, Osiris was in some wayaccused by Set and other enemies - but Thoth, god of wisdom,had adopted his cause, and had made Osiris tme of voice; thegods declared that Set 'was defeated, and Osiris placed his footon him. He then asceuded into heaven and now reigns in the

height, or - when we accept a subterranean kingdom of th edead-below in the depths, over the dead. H e is the Jimt of those who am in the West, i. e. the dead, while his son Horus asfirst of the l iving took over the government of the earth, Wi thHorus the world of the present day began, for it is on his thronethat th e kings of Egypt sit as his successors.

This is only a short sketch that we have been able t o give, of the legend of Osiris, and there are of course other confusedideas connected with various conceptions of this multiformmyth. But the reader will not fail to discover in what respectthis legend differs from others, and what rendered it so popularamong the Egyptian people. It is the human element, the

justification of Osiris, the wifely devotion and mother love of Isis, the filial piety of Horus. These captivated th e Egyptiannation at a period which must have been very remote. At thesame t ime they formed the people's conceptions of the futurelife, teaching them that after death the just and upright weremore valued than those who had possessed authority and power

Healing by means of spittingis frequently mentioned.

1 Pyr. 145. (= T. 173) an 15 (= W. 267).



36

on earth. Beginning with matters relating t o the dead, theseconceptions of Osiris and Isis, of Horus and Set , extended theirinfluence more and more widely, until the entire religion wasunder their dominion. The most ancient form of religion atwhich we can arrive had been coloured and transformed by theOsiris legend, so much so, that we can almost distinguish it asan Osirian religion distinct from the belief of prehistoric timesof which we have no record.

From this Osiris legend, and from other legends of the godswhich have now disappeared, the misapplied learning of latertimes constructed a history of primeval events in which thegods are introduced as kings OJ’QTer and Lower Egypt, eachone with the number of centuries and years that he reigned.Keb, Osiris, Set and Horus follow in order, then Thoth andMaat ; then all manner of obscure gods, and, finally, thehuman kings, the Serwmts of f l o w s , end the primitive period1These absurdities were carried so far that formal titles wereinvented for the gods, similar t o those borne by earthly kings,

and as early as the beginning of the Middle Kingdom, Osirisappears on a gravestone with two correctly formed royal names :

Horzis “who set right $he slaughter of the two worlds,” king of

Upper a i d Lower Egypt ; ‘O s i ~ i sWennofre.”

It must not be overlooked that the first of these names refersto some part of the Osiris legend which is unknown to us ; i tappears as if the god, on entering into his kingdom, found Egyptplunged in warfare, and brought peace to it,

This sketch of the Egyptian religion would not be completeif we omitted a t the close to mention a being of sacred characterwho, according to our ideas, was certainly not one of the gods,and yet in the official religion was reckoned among them fromthe beginning; any one reading an inscription of the OldRingdom,and finding i t stated that so -and-so for his merits was

beloved of his god, would naturally imagine tha t in some way thegod was intended, whom the aforesaid man, with his household,

had served; this, however, is not the case; it is the king whois thus designated. And again, when reading a tomb inscrip-1 According to the Turin Papyrus.2 Louvre C. 2.

A HANDBOOK OF EGYPTIAN RELIGION



RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OF THE EAF-LY PERIOD 37

tion of the twelfth dynasty, we gain the impression that, to t h enobles of this period, the king was actually as much a divinity asmere any of the gods; they never weary of glorifying him, andtestifying to their reverence for him, while the gods themselvesare only mentioned incidentally. But it was not a t this period of rapid changes tha t this climax of Byzantinisin arose ; the divinityof th e kings belongs t o the primitive dogmas of Egypt. I n twopoints only is the king distinguished from the actual gods.While Re, Osiris or Horus are styled great god, the king hasto content himself with being called good god, and it is onlyafter his death that he attains to the higher title. Also duringhis lifetime he was accorded no fornial worship with temples,offerings, and priests, at any rate not in the early times. Itmust have beeri at the close of that period that the followingextravagances of poetical comparison were adopted. The kingis described as the sun god on ear th, his palace is the horizon;when he shows himself he arises, when he dies he sets. Thushe wears as his diadem the fire -spitting serpent, which thesun god bears on his forehead, and which destroys his enemies.

Again, the king is compared t o Horus, the son of Osiris,when he succeeded his father on the throne as Chief of theliving. I n this connection he is called HOTUS,he L o ~ d of thePalace, and his palace itself is callcd the solitudebecause Horusgrew up in solitude, Then again, the king is called the son of

Re; it might be thought that this was only intended t o meanthat the royal house was ultimately descended from the gods,and therefore from Re. Rut this is not so; in two temples of the New Kingdom 1 we find illustrated texts which show US howthis divine paternity must be understood. When the newly -madeQueen is established in the beauty of her house, the supreme godapproaches her, having taken the f o r m of her hzcsbad. She is

awalied lizy the sweet scent which surrounds him, and smiles on thegod. He goes to her and shows himself to he^ in his divine for m,and she extills o v e ~the sight of his beauty, and aft er this, whenthis god has done zoidh her all that he desired,he tells her thatshe shall give bir th to a son, who shall be king over Egypt. I t

1 Gayet, LOUXOT,l. 51 ; Naville, Deiv el Bnhvi, pl. 47.




will be remembered that an analogy to this extravagant craze ist o be found in the family history of the Hellenistic princes.

The sacred character of the royal house extended also to itsinsignia and attributes. The various crowns especially appearas sacred objects, which themselves possess divine powers, andthe principal functionary in charge of the royal jewellery servesit in the character of a priest?

I n the next chapter we hope to show how this deification of

the king is apparent in the temple scenes, where he appearsamong the gods as th e sole representative of the world.

British Museum, 5 i 4 .



CHAPTER I1

RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS OF THE EARLY PERIOD

W E cannot here attempt to describe all the religiousceremonies, to discuss the various plans of the templebuildings, or to define the distinctions between the differentorders of priests; the immense mass of material renders itimpossible to do so. We must confine ourselves to a rapidreview of some of the most important characteristics of theoutward forms of the Egyptian religion.

When the Egyptian named his temple the house of the god,the name was a literal expression of his belief: the deity dweltin the temple, as a man lives in his house, and the priests,the servafits of the god, who supplied him with food and attend -ance, were his household servants. This appears also in thereligious ceremonies, and perhaps in the arrangement of thetemple buildings - although in historical times this belief canhave been little more than an obsolete idea.

Each temple must originally have been dedicated to onesingle deity who was considered to be its loyd,but owing to thenatural anxiety t o secure the favour of other gods for the cityothers were added as secondary deities, and in the greatertemples the ir numbers steadily increased in the course of centu -ries. Two of these, a goddess and a god, were generally regardedas the wife and child of the principal deity. ‘rhus Ptah of Memphis had Sekhmet for his consort, and Xefer-tem for his son,

and Arnon had Mut assigned to him as wife, and the moon godKhons as his child. The goddesses had at least one child : thusHrnt>horof Denderah had the boy Ehi, and Buto a god Horus.

Of the temples of the earliest period, which, as we have alreadyseen (p. 6), consisted merely of simple huts, nothing has of

39




course survived to our times, but of the great buildings of earlyhistorical times also very little remains, for during the longcourse of centuries they were so frequently rebuilt, restored,and enlarged, that as a rule only occasional blocks of stoneremain in evidence of th e original construction. Nevertheless,from the scanty remains of these early temples which exist hereand there, we can form a correct idea of their original plan. Inappearance they were essentially the same as tlie great buildingswhich later arose in their place. The form anciently given to

a temple remained the model for all periods, and if we nowproceed to describe a temple of tlie N e v Kingdom, it is withthe certainty that our description applies equally to one of theearly period.

At the present day we are accustomed to see the magnificentruins of Egyptian temples situated in open spaces or on cultivatedground, and we involuntarily picture them in ancient days amongsuch surroundings. I n reality,however, these templeswere inside

the towns, amidst the medley of buildings and the narrow filthystreets of a southern city. The noisy bustle that went on aroundthem was shut out by the high wall that enclosed the precincts,and rendered them pure and peaceful spots in the midst of animpure and noisy world. At one time the way to the temple wasthrough the streets of the town, but it was necessary t o make amore open road for the convenience of the processions a t festivals.For this a straight broad Toad ofthe god was carried right through

the inhabited quarter, and lined on both sides with statues of rams, lions, or other sacred animals, as though they were intendedt o form a guard of stone to ward off the crowds from th e road of the god. At the point where this road reached the surroundingwall of the temple, rose the great gateway, the so-called pylon,an enormous entrance flanked by two high towers with slopingwalls.

Behind this gateway lay the first large space, an open court

surrounded by colonnades. Here the great festivals werecelebrated, in which a large number of the citizens were en-titled to t ake part. Behind this court there was a hall supportedby columns, the place appointed for all manner of ceremonies,and behind this again lay the holy of holies, the chamber where



RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS OF THE EARLY PERIOD 41

the statue of the god had his dwelling. I n adjoining apartmentswere the statues of the wife and son of the god. This was theessential part of a temple; naturally there would be variousadditional chambers to contain the sacred utensils, and for specialpurposes of the religious cults. A further characteristic of everytemple is that from front to rear each apartment was less lofty andlight than the preceding. I n t o thecourt the Egyptian sun blazed with un-interrupted splendour ; in the hall its

light was admitted to a modified ex -ten t through the entrance and throughwindows in the roof; in the holy ofholies reigned profoundest darkness.

The decorations of the temple wereessentially the same in all cases. Thewalls and columns were adorned withbrilliantly coloured reliefs, and with

inscriptions no less brightly coloured ;on the outside walls were representedthe deeds of the king who built thetemple ; inside the scenes referred tothe cult of the god, and pictured theevents that occurred every day withinthose walls. I n front of th e pylon, onthe outside, stood the obelisks, two

stone pillars, such as no doubt it wasth e custom t o place in front of other FrQ. 37. CROUND-Pt.AN OF TH E TEaIpLE

buildings. Behind them, on the walls OB RA"SES ''I' KARNAK*

of the pylon, there rose four high masts, from whose summitwaved bright-coloured flags. I n front of the gateway or insidethe court there were seated colossal statues of the king, as protectorof the sanctuary built by him. Other statues disposed in thedifferent parts of th e temple show him worshipping the god

with prayers or offerings. Statues of other gods were oftenplaced in the temple, as though they were intended to serveit s great lord, such as Nile gods, who bring him the pro -ducts of their waters, or lion-headed Sekhmet, to ward off his foes.




The great altar, which was merely a raised space on which

food was laid, stood most usually in the centre of the colonnadedcourt; smaller tables on which food and drink could be placedwere provided in other parts of the temple.

This, as we have described it, is the usual type of the Egyp -tian temple, which we find almost everywhere, although incertain cases the plan may be greatly altered owing t o additional

RIQ. 38. TH E 1EMPLE OF ABU CURAB. (Reconstiucted.)

buildings or to the peculiar conditions of the building site, or toother special circumstances. There is, however, a small numberof temples entirely divergent from this type mliich we must notomit to mention, as it includes the temple of Abu Gurab, whichhas so greatly enriched t h e Berlin Museum. These are thetemples of the sun of the fifth dynasty, which have been supposed,with somedegree of probability>to be copies of the celebratedteniple of the sun at Heliopolis, which is lost t o us. Accordingto tradition the kings of the fifth dynasty were descended froma high -priest of Re, and, in fa&, we find that they accordedspecial honours to that god. Most of these kings built a newsanctuary for him close to the royal city, at which the most

I follow here information communicated verbally by ProfessorSchafer.




important personages of the court officiated as high -priests.

These temples, which bore names such as fnvozcrite dwellingof Re, were large open courts, a t the further end of which stoodan immense obelisk on a substructure of pyramidal form ; thiswas the principal part of the temple, and was no doubt regardedas the dwelling of the god ; possibly it was a copy of th e cele -brated Benben stone at Heliopolis, which was of similar form.I n front of the obelisk there stood the great altar of the god:in addition the court merely contained some small offices

necessary for the cult, so that the worship of the god wascarried on in the open air. The decorations of the templeon the whole did not differ greatly from those usually employedbut in one of the side passages which led t o the base of theobelisk the pictured scenes differed entirely : the seasons of the year are bringing offerings to the king of all the eventsof each period, both on land and water, the growth of theplants, the increase of animals, the labours of mankind. It

is possible that these lively scenes found a place in the templebecause it is the sun god who causes all things to live andincrease.

If these sanctuaries of Re existed without a special cultusstatue, because the obelisk was revered as a dwelling -placeof the god; according to Egyptian ideas this in itself was astrange departure from accepted custom, for in every other cultthe statue of the god was the most important object in the

temple. On i t rested - as later inscriptions state - the s o d of the god when it carne out of heaven, as upon its b0dy.lFrequently, however,as these cultus statues are referred to, andmany as are the copies of them that we possess, both large andsmall, yet not one of them appears to have survived to our day ;

all seem t o have fallen victims to the hatred of the Christiansat the downfall of the Egyptian religion. I n the later temples,however, we possess descriptions and representations from which

we can form an accurate idea of them. The temple of Hathorof Dendera possessed, among others, the following sacredproperties :

1 Dmnichen, Temp. Inser. xxv. ; Dumichen, Resdtate ,38-41.




Bathos., pniizted ( 2 ) wood, copper, inlaid eyes, height 3 e l l s ,

Is is , painted acacia wood, eyes inlaid, height 1 ell.

IJos.us,painted wood, inlaid eyes, height 1 ell and 1 finger. Buto, painted wood, old eyes, height 1 ell, etc?These ancient sacred statues were, therefore, not of great size- by far the greater number were only one ell, i. e. 1 6 inches

high, and as a rule were made of wood. I t was imperative tha tfigures of the god should be drawn about at festivals, and this it

would not be possible to do with the heavy stone statues. Thenagain, most of the figures of the gods were formed on the samemodel, and were only distinguished by the different heads,crowns, and attributes. The beard was a plaited tress with the

4 spans, and 2$n$ers.

end turned up, similar totribes of Central Africa.

BIQ. 9. CHAPEL FROM THE TEMPLEAT PHILAG. (Paris.)

1 hat worn at the present day by theIf the clothing was represented, itgenerally consisted, in the case of the gods, of a peculiar short gar -

ment suspended by straps over theshoulders, while the goddesses worethe usual feniale attire, I n thecase of certain figures of the primi -tive period, that of Ptah, for instance(see p. 17)) the clothing is notindicated, and the figures havemuch the appearance of mummies.

The usual abode of the god washis chapel, in the last and mostsacred apartment of the temple.This chapel was frequentlyrnade outof one single block of hard granite,which surrounded the sacred statuewith an impenetrable wall; infront a bronze framework was in -

serted and fitted with double doors.The place where this chapel stood,the great p l a c e as it was called, mas-

now the spot where th e daily ceremonies were conducted.1 Dumichen, R e s d t c c t e ,34 -36; 39 -40.






Horus who was t o be seated on the throne of his father ; Keband Osiris, and all that belonged to their circle. And this ritual

was the same for all the gods, for as far back as we know any-thing of them, no temple was able to exist without Osiris andhis family.

The ceremonies also, which the priest performed, were in themain the simplest possible. After he had offered incense and

F I G. 40. INCENSE BURNER, brOn2e. (Hilton Price C O l I C C t l O n . )

had filled the holy of liolieswith the perfume, he approachedt h e chapel and opened it. He saluted the god with repeatedprostrations, and with chanting or repetition of hymns. Hethen took his vessels, which were close at hand in a box, andbegan the daily toilet of the god. Twice he sprinkled water overthe statue from four jugs, he clothed it with linen bandageswhich were white, green, red, and reddish in colour, he anointedit with oil, painted it with green and black paints, and com -pleted its toilet in other respects. Finally he fed the god, bysetting before him a variety of food and drink, bread, geese,haunch of beef, wine and water. Flowers also could no morebe omitted from an Egyptian table of offerings than they couldbe from the dining-table of a noble.

These daily offerings, the so-called permanent ones, wereprovided for out of the regular income of the temple; but inaddition there were special arrangements for supplies for thegreat offerings on feast days. The amount of these offeringsvaried greatly, according t o the wealth or the poverty of thedifferent temples, and me must not take for granted that somuch was everywhere offered to the gods, as was done later inthe colossal temples of the New Kingdom. And yet in early

times an extraordinary amount of food was disposed of in thegreat temples, and we cannot refrain from questioning what canhave been done with these good things after they had lain th e




correct time before the god. It is well known that other ancientnations sought to ensure their offerings reaching the deity byburning them, and in Egypt also this custom was not unknown,but judging from the evidence of the later period we find italways remained the exception, and as the food would certainlynot be allowed to be wasted, some use must have been found forit. From the grave inscriptions we learn of one method of dispos-ing of it which can only have been a make-believe. The deaddesired to share in the food from the altar of the god, a f h thegodhnd satisJied hinzselftherowith.l Thus it is evident that the divineofferings were subsequently presented to the distinguished deadof whom there was a statue in the temple (cf. chap. v.). Inthe same way a man of the New Kingdom desired that hisbody might be wrapped in clothing, of that which the god had taken of; thus the bandages in which the statue of the god wasdaily wrapped could also be ofYered to the dead as new clothing.Bu t without doubt the ordinary use of the offerings, and one of which no mention is made, must have been that the priestsappropriated them for their own use and that of their house-holds, when they had lain a sufficient length of time before thegod. On feast days the assembled crowds in the templesshared this food and the festivals ended with a general banquet.A record of the New Kingdom 3 also tells us that differentprovision was made for the different ranks of the visitors : mealsready arranged were brought to the god of good bread, meat,cakes, and $at loaves, and of these 15 were in show baskets,35 in gold bnslcets,and 895 in food baskets. While these andother good things were enjoyed by the princes and highofficials, the ordinary visitors to the festival of many days’duration received 90,250 ordinary loaves as provisions.

As we have already seen, it was part of the regular duties of the priests to extol the god in songs in the daily ceremonial aswell as a t great festivals. We do not know whether these songswere merely recited or whether they were also sung; but we

For instance, Cairo, 20514 ; 20642.Tomb of Puheri. B Kah. P1. iu . 4.

3 Harris Papyrus, 17a, 14 et seq., to the end of the list of the feast of Medinet Habu.






of the harem mere accustomed to do, when dancing before theirlord. It was the same with dancing, when occasionally at

special religious festivals the people expressed their joy byleaping and jumping.

There was no temple which did not celebrate some suchfestival. As a rule there were one or more principal feasts,celebrated on appointed days, when some of th e most importantevents of the history of the god had occurred, perhaps the daywhen h e was born, or on which he had defeated his enemies.Also they would celebrate the b @ w h a gf periods of time, such

as New Year’s day, or the first of t he month. On these days,when the whole town is in festival as was said, the religiousceremonies were more ornate in character. The ritual was en -riched with special hymns, the temple was decorated, and therewould also be a n illumination, a lighting of lamps, both thereand in the town. The offerings, as we have already remarked,would be so greatly increased that even the throng of guestswho had crowded to the temple for the festival could besufficiently supplied. Theprincipal business on sucha day was, however, thatthe people should behold the beauty of their lord;tha t the statue of th e godshould be exhibited. Itwas taken out of its chapel,and carried out of the holyof holies in a light shrine,accompanied by priestsbearing a number of sacredobjects and symbols onstaves. The shrine wasthen set down to be gazedat, at various placesin the F I G 42. PORTABLE SHRINE O F BRONZE AND WOOD.

Prrsmted by Amnsis t o a Temple at Thebes.(Beilm, 8708.)fore - part of tlie temple, or

in the town, on stone pedestals, somewhat similar in form tothe Greek altars; incense was burnt, and prayers and offeringsmade to it. At last came the great moment, when th e hangings

4:



5 0

which closed in the sides of the shrine were withdrawn bythe priests, and when the excited crowd could hail with shouts

the small statue, which in their eyes was the most sacredobject in the world.The lit ter on which tlie shrine was borne was frequently

made in the form of a ship, for the Egyptians, ~7hosetraffic,owing to the nature of the country, was almost entirely con -ducted by water, looked on the ship as the natural mode of transport. The god would also possess an actual ship, in casehe had to cross the Nile for a festival, or, as sometimes happened,

he had occasion to visit the friendly god of another city. A s arule the processions on feast days did not travel so far; theyremained in the neighbourhood of the temple, and made theirway perhaps to a second temple in the town or to some othersacred place. The reason why such and such a place should bevisited, and that such and such customs should be observedthere, may be sought in the traditions concerning the god, forthe festival was frequently the celebration of some special day

in his life. This led in very early times to the performance of scenes taken from the legends of the god. Thus we learn froma memorial stone in the Berlin museum that a distinguishedtreasurer who held office at Abydos under Sesostris 111.) andwho took part in the Osiris festivals, twice had the honour of overthrowing the enemies of O s i ~ i s ,on one occasion o n the day of the great strife. Ramses IV., however, kindled in the sameplace a light to Osiris on the day when his mummy was embalmed.

He drove #et away from hirn, when he would have robbed him of

his limbs. He established his son HOTUSas heir to his throne.And at the Horus festival at Abydos the same king spat onhis eye after it had been seized by him who had subdued hirn (seep. 34). He gave him the throne of his father and his heritage in the whole land. He made his word true (see p. 35) on thed r y of giving judgment. He caused hirn to pass through .Egyptand the red land as the representative of Har-alchte.l At

another performance, the feast of the setting up of the Osiriscolumn (p. 16), which was originally performed at Memphis, one


1 Stela Ramses IT., Cairo (Mar. Ab. 11. 54 - 55).



RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS O F THE EARLY PERIOD 5 1

of these columns was raised by cords until it stood upright. Itwas Osiris who was thus raised up, after a representation of hi&burial had been acted on the previous day. This ended withperformances, the meaning of which we cannot grasp. Somepart of the crowd leapt and danced, others fell upon hisneighbour, and he who did so called out, I have seized Horus;again, other groups pommelled each other with sticks andfists, some represented the two towns of Pe and Dep, outof which the ancient capital of But0 arose; and finally fourherds of oxen and asses were driven four times round the t0wn.l

We know too lit tle of these legendst o be able to understand the wholeof this. It is probable that thesewere preliminaries preceding theenthronement of Horus, which wasperformed on the following day.As a fact these performances werelater combined with another, that

referred to the coming to the throneof the earthly king, to his jubilee,Tal J(INGI, PEPI I. (circa 2600

celebrated for the first t ime thirty B.c.), in the Hall of JuBllee. (From

years after his appointment assucces so~ o the thyone,and was then repeated every three years.

Of what a multitude of offerings, burnings of incense, and pro -cessions this great festival consisted, which statues of the godswere placed in their shrines, and which were carried about onpoles, what priests and what nobles of the kingdom took parttherein, and how finally the king seated himself in a specialfestal hall, first on one throne, and then on another; all thiswas set forth in long rows of scenes in various temples, pre -sumably in that one where the king in question celebrated hisfestival.

It cannot have appeared strange t o an Egyptian that thisroyal festival should be of a religious character, for was not hisking a god, and in the temples and in the service of the gods hemust have been accustomed to hear of the king and of th e king

1 Bragseh, Thesaicwrs, 1190 e t sep.

th e celebrated Sed feast, whichwas43.

Hammamat.)




only. And here we meet with one of the most remarkableaspects of the Egyptian religion.

From the very first the rulers of Egypt considered themselvesbound to present gifts t o the more important temples of theirdominions, and to provide for their building; this was for thema natural obligation. Furthermore i t became the custom, in anytemple which had been richly endowed by a king, t o implorethe blessing of the gods upon him before all others, while th etemple inscriptions and scenes served as a perpetual reminderof him. But, strangely enough, the fiction soon arose that every

temple was built exclusively by the king and was also sup -ported by him, so that all that was contributed by the devoutcitizens, and the revenues belonging to the temple, were entirelyignored. This continued throughout all periods, and even theGreek kings and Roman emperors were pleased to figure as thebuilders of all the temples tha t arose during their reigns.

Bu t what was this fiction compared with the monstrous concep-tion which in all the temples caused the king alone to take the

placeof

mankind. For the official religion as it was accepted inthe temples, there existed only the god and the king ; he servedthem, he built their temples, and made offerings to them, andthey rewarded their beloved S O N for his pious devotion with life for nzillionsof yGars, with victory over his enemies and everlastingfame, The gods are no longer the gods of the Egyptian people,they are the gods of Pharaoh theiy son. And this relation of thesovereign to the deities is carried yet farther. If the king builta

temple he didit

not so much from devotion t o the god, as forhis own future glorification. He has made this as ?lis monument,thus begins every dedicatory inscription from the earliest times,and then follows the name of the temple which the king hasbuilt to the god his father. Certainly these are set phrases andinherited customs, but that suoh phrases and customs could havebeen evolved during the growth of the nation, and that later noone should have found them incongruous, is an undeniabIeproof of the poverty of this official religion.

It is a natural result of this idea that the temple scenes givethe impression that t he priests are not present, bu t that theking takes their place, On all the walls the offerings and cere-



RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS OF THE EARLY PERIOD 5 3

monies are represented as they mere performed before the god,but it is always the king who is officiating. Although we canunderstand that the king on some special occasion may haveoccasionally exercised priestly functions, yet that he should havetaken part in the ceremonies of the countless temples of hisdominions can only have been a theoretical possibility. Theactrial performers at the Egyptian ceremonies must have beenthe priests, even though they represented themselves in therituals as merely the delegates of the king?

The natural relationship imposed on the more importantfamilies by the charge of a sanctuary which had existed in theirtown since the memory of man, prevailed i n Egypt in theearliest times, and again in the Middle Kingdom we find in thegreater temples that the priesthood remained in certain families,whose niembers generally adopted it as a secondary profession.And here we speedily arrive at another development; certainpriestly orders are connected with certain professions. Thusthe high judicial functionaries of the Old Kingdom are at thesame time priests of the goddess of truth, the physicians arepriests of Sekhmet, the great artists are priests of Ptah.

At the head of every temple was a high -priest who acted asoverseer of all the sacrecl o$ices, he is initiated into divine booksand divine things and gives directions to the priests as mgulatingthe festivals. H e has a loud voice when he praises the god and a

pure hand when he brings $ewers and offem watw and food uponthe altar.2 The administration of the temple property is incum -bent on him, and in war he has also to command the contingentprovided by his temple.

In the great sanctuaries these high -priests frequently borespecial antiquated titles. Thus at Heliopolis the high -priestwas called He who is great in beholding, perhaps because he couldbehold at pleasure the Feauty of his lord, i. e. the statue of thegod ; while at E s h m u n h he was great of tize$ve. At Memphis,where Ptah the god of artificers was worshipped, the title of thehigh -priest was the chief of the artificers, and in the Old Kingdomhe held the position of superintendent of sculpture and all such

Mariette, Abydos, I. 24.Griffith, Siut. I. 216-217; 237-239.




artistic work ; it appears that originally this combination of

spiritual and worldly offices was shared by two persons, buttowards the end of the Old Kingdom the king transferred everydivine .fair, and every du ty that w as in charge of Zhe two high-pyiests,to Teti -Sabu, because his majesty trusted him especially?The important position held by such high -priests was denoted bythe peculiar decoration worn by them, of it character which, as the

accompanying sketch shows, must evi -dently have dated from the earliest times.I n the snialler temples all these acces -sories were of course less insisted on, andthe dynasts of provincial towns weregenerally contented with the title Super -intendent of the pr iests.

These I‘ priests” (literally divine serv -ants) were not all of the same class.There were the Icherheb, wLose dutyappears t o have been to read the ancient

-__ rituals at the ceremonies, and whoseBIG.44 . HIGH-PRICSTOI ~ I E ~ ~ P H I ~ ,second title, scribe of the divine books,

designates them clearly as learned stu-dents of the ancient sacred literature.

Wliat were the original functions of the so -called zoe’b priestsis shown by th e name, which is derived from the word for “ pure ’);

we find them in sacrificial scenes, after examining the blood of the animal, declaring that it is pure. Other priestly titles whichare frequently mentioned, such as that of the divinefathew, offerno explanation of their meaning.

As we have said, for the greater number of these clerics thepiiesthood was only a subsidiary occupation ; they formed thehourly priesthood of the temple or, as we may perhaps expressit, alternating priests, who were divided into four sets, andalternately relieved each other in their duties. This at any ratewas the system during the Middle Kingdom, when we haveclear inforniation regarding these matters, niore especially fromdeeds belonging to a temple built by Sesostris 11. to Anubis, in

WITH DECORATION ON THE BREASTAN D WITH TH E SIDE LOCK.

(Beilin, 12410.)

1 Mariette, Mnstnbns, E. 3 .




the town close to his pyramid. These papyri, which are now at

Berlin, inform us that in addition to eight minor officials thepermanent staff of the temple consisted only of the prince andsuperintendent of the temple (i. e. the high -priest) and the chief Jchc~lzcb,who were thus the administrators of the temple propertyand the directors of the ceremonies; nine other priests took regular turns there ; a supcrintcndend of clnsses, a temple scribe,an o ~ d i n a ~ yherhcb, etc., and each time one of these classesentered on their duties, they took over the sanctuary and all its

contents from the outgoing class, and relieved theni of theircharge.

It will be seen that the power of the lay element in religiousmatters was not absent, notwithstanding the fiction of the kingas sole priest. The laity were specially prominent in the wor -ship of the goddesses ; almost every lady of early times styledherself a priestess either of Nei t or of Hathor.

In this active participation of the people in the relib'lOUS

ceremonies there lay a security that, independently of the officialreligion, the relationship of individuals to their gods should notbe lost. Those who were not connected with the temple aspriests, might yet have it in their power to pray and offersacrifices there to the god of the city.



CHAPTER I11

RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND CUSTONS OF TH E NEW KINGDOM

DURING that earliest period, the religious beliefs of which wesketched in our first chapter, the religion of the Egyptiannation became more and more complicated. The principalgods of the people were worshipped as local gods under variousnames. I n the historical period this particularism came to anend owing to the fact tha t at three periods, which lasted for manycenturies, the whole country was united in one great common -wealth. This drew the religion into closer unity, and thusmuch which originally belonged to one town only, becamegradually th e common property of the whole nation. Theearliest example of such dissemination we have already (p. 27)seen in the Osiris myth; as early as the Old Kingdom thebelief in this god of the dead prevailed from the Delta toElephantine, and in Memphis, Sokar, the ancient local god of the dead, appeared only as another name of Osiris. After theMiddle Kingdom we meet with other similar combinations, evenamong gods who originally had no connection with each other.I n the temple a t Koptos the goddess Mut of Thebes was calledat one time Bast, and at another time Sekhmet of Memphis,lalthough she was neither cat - nor lion -headed, but figured as avulture. A t the same period the god Min of Koptos was forcedto appear merely as another name for the universally belovedHorus. H e is called the son o Osiris, and among other borrowedphrases, it is related of him that he chastised his foes , and

protected his fathey . . . seized 2he crown,, awl that the inheyit-ance o his father was given to him2 With the sun god also,the great ruler of the world, were combined deities who

$6Petrie, KopSos,X. 2 ; p. 12. 2 Rlariette, Cat. d’ilbydos, 813.



BELIEFS AND CUSTOMS OF NEW KINGDOM 57

had nothing in common with him, possibly at the time when

the kings of the fifth dynasty venerated Re before all othergods; Khnum god of Elephantine, Sobk the ancient watergod, and Amon of Thebes were transformed into Khnum -Re,Sobk -Re, and Amon -Re. Few of these combinations can havebecome popular, but a differentfate awaited the most importantof them all, and for a thousandyears the hybrid Anion -Re re -

mained the foremost of all theEgyptian gods.During the early period, the

town of Thebes in Upper Egyptwas so unimportant that the an -cient religious texts do not refer i nany way to it or its gods ; neitherdid the ancient chiefs of the neigh -

bourhood revere its god Amon, butworshipped Mont, the god of theneighbouring Hermonthis. It wasonly in the Middle Kingdom, whent,wo families came to the throne,both of w h o m were of Theba n ori-gin-they bore su ch names as H e

F IG . 45. ADION -RE EIANDINQ TU E S I C K L E -

LIVERING FOREIGN NATIONS TO H IM .SHAFED SWORD TO TH E KING, AN D DE -

(From th e Temple of Modinet flabu.)of Amon, and Amon on the suminit

- that attention was turned to Amon. It is true that he wasnot the god of the royal city, for tha t was situated in MiddleEgypt in the vicinity of the Fayum, but an inimense temple wasbuilt for him. Amon became an important provincial god, andso did his consort Mut, who was also called Amaunet, a feminineform of the name Amon. She came to the fore with her husband,and, as we have already remarked, was also merged in a com -pound form, with Bast and Sekhmet. Bu t the great period for

the Theban deities dawned with the beginning of the NewEmpire.During the confusion which followed the twelfth dynasty, and

during th e foreign rule of the Hyksos, Thebes was the residenceof a princely family, who worshipped Anion -Re, as he was




henceforth called. It was this family that succeeded in driving

out the Hyksos, and as they acquired possession of the whole of th e country, and made Thebes their royal residence, it naturallyfollowed that Amon - Re, the Icing of the gods, should forthwithbecome the official god of the kingdom. Fate also decreed th atthese kings who had raised Amon -Re to such prominenceshould also allot him a degree of power which had hithertobeen quite unexampled in Egypt. From th e Euphrates faraway to the Xoudan, all countries paid tribute to t he Pharaoh,

and over the whole of this immense territory the fame of thegod was spread abroad. With some of the wealth which flowedinto Egypt, these Pharaohs and their descendants also built thecolossal temples of Thebes, as thankofferings for the victories towhich he had led them, and in other towns of their dominionthey built sanctuaries to him, so that in every place the god of

the ruling house might be worshipped. Thus for a long timehe was the supreme deity, although originally he was merely an

artificial conception, and possessed little individuality whichwas not borrowed from other gods.

There is a hymn of the New Kingdom in which this god, withmany names without nuinber,l is adored, and in reading it , onecannot fail to notice that, setting aside his name, and themention of Karnak, there is not much else which directly refersto Anion. What there is consists only of various plays on hisname, as c;rZief of mankind, whose name 4s secret (urnon) from his

children, and a mention of his lofty plumes? What is actuallysaid of him belongs peculiarly to two other deities whose namesare connected with him-Min and Re. When it is said of hiinthat the gods love his saaozcr when he comes fo r thhorn Punt (theland of incense) and that he is Yich in sweet scents when hereturns from the land of the Matoi, or when he is called theHorus of the East fo r whom the desert provides gold and silver,and lapis lazuli at his desire, all manner of incensein the land of

the Matoi, and f icsh myrrh for his nostrils, these are all thingswhich are said in extolling his neighbour, Min of Koptos, the

1 Hymn to Amon, Cairo, 9, 3.2 All that follows where not otherwise noted is taken from the hymn

to Anion at Cairo.




guardian of travellers in the desert. It is true that Min andAmon, as we have already (page 19) seen, were probably of identical origin, but the character of protector of the desert,borne by Min, can never have been shared with Amon, as histown of Thebes did not, lie on the great desert road.

Yet more incompatible appears the combination with Re.The god is referred to as Re, Chepre, or Atum ; he is the bullof Heliopolis; or the resplendent one in the house of Benhen(page 27); he traverses the heavens in peace and is lord of theevening- and morning-bark(page 11). He also wars with Apo-phis, and as with Re, so it is his eye that overthrows his enemies,his tuarrioiss shout when they see that the enemyi s overthrown, that his limbs are JEayed with the knife, that the $re has consumed him, and that his s o z d will be even nzore flayed than k i s body.These serpents, their eonzing will be resisted. The gods shout, thetroops of Re are content : the enemies of Atzcm'are overthrown,ICumak i s content, Heliopolis triumphs. .timon-Ite also adoptsthe mythological ~ 6 l eof the sun god and lie is praised that hehas judged between Horus and Set in the great hall, as chief of thegreat ennead of the gods. In the character of the sun god heappears like him as creator, preserver, and supporter of allliving things; he who hath made all, the sole one, with manyhands. He eomnaanded and the gods came into being,he is thefatlzer of the gods, he who niade mankind and created the beasts.Mccnlcilzd issued f rom his eye and the gods from his mouth (seepp. 26, 28), he it zs w h o makes pasture for the herds and fruit

trees for inen; who creates that whereby f i sk live in the river and the birds under the heavens; who gives breath to those who are in

the egg a ~ ~ dfeeds t72e son of the serpent, he creates that whereby thegnat lives and also the u m m sand fleas. He creates what i sneeded by the mice in their holes, and that which feeds the birds upon alltrees. The Nile comes o n Jzis account, he, the sweet, the well-beloved, and when lie comes, mankind lives. And this Lord of allgods is verily of le i idly heart, when men call to him he deliversthe fearficl from the insolent. Therefore is he loved and reveredby all things hig?~IS i s the heavens, broad as i s the earth, deep asi s the sea. The gods bow themselves befoye thy ntajesty and extoltheir creator, they ezzdt toheittheyapproach h im (whobagat them ;




‘‘ Glory to thee,” says every wild eyeatwe. Praise to thee,” says

every deseyt. The love of theeenfeebles the a ~ m s , and thy beautiful countenance (?) auseth thehands to sinlc ; the sight of thee causes the heart to forget.

And in this character of the all -beneficent sun god, the livinglamp, which rises f To m out the OC~CUZ of heaven: Amon attained

Thy beauty cuptivates the hearts.

Fig. 40 . TABLET, DEDICATED BY A MAN NAMED NEB-DfEHIT,T O AMON -R E , F OR HEARINQ A PETITION. (Berlin, 7354.)

real popularity. Theofficials prayed to himfor promotion,2 the

oppressed trusted inhim,for he is the vizierof the p o o ~ , ho takesno bribes, and whoalso does not corruptthe witnesses.3 Anycautious person mak -ing a promise added

these words: If Amonpaynbits me to live.4

Nevertheless thesun god, from whomAmon has borrowedall this, does not dis -appear from the sightof his people. Now,

as before, he is men -tioned without hesi -tation in conjunctionwith Amon, as a sep -arate god, and theyare represented sideb,y side. In the prayer

with which letters are commenced, the person addressed isalways committed in the first place to

ReHar -akhte, and only

secondarily to Amon ; also his name was employed to swear by,and finally, in the myths, Re Har -akhte remains, as formerly,the ruler of the world and of men.

Paheri, 9, 1. An. 4, 10, 5. 3 Bol. 1092, 2, 3. Turin, 16, 3.




It was only natural that the other gods of Egypt should besomewhat thrown into the shade during this period of the

supremacy of Amon -Re both in the State and among the people,even if their cults were still observed to some considerableextent. It was inevitable that the priests and worshippers of the ancient gods should resent this. Hac1 not Ptah of Memphisand Atum of Heliopolis previously been the supreme gods, whennothing was known of Amon, god of that obscure town of Thebes ? Was it right that all these other gods should be over -shadowed? It was a matter of course that such jealousies

should arise, and had i t not been for the existence of a strong partyantagonistic to the god, the great upheaval which we must nowconsider, and hy which the power of Re was overthcown, a t leastfor a time, could only have been carried out with greatestdifficulty. This upheaval is the so -called religious reform of Amenophis IV., the most remarkable episode we meet with inthe history of ancient Egypt. Unfortunately our informationwith regard to this period is of the slightest ; it consists only of

what we can gather and recover from the inscriptions, and of these the revengeful jealousy of the priests took care that littleshould survive for the future. Nevertheless we may, withoutexcessive rashness, seek the cause of these events in the extra -ordinary conditions which prevailed a t that time in Egypt.

The war against Syria was followed in the fifteenth century byan undisturbed period in which Egypt exercised her immensepower and acquired a position in the civilized world of that

time to which she had never before attained. All this wouldnecessarily produce an impression on the people, and in a shorttime a greater change occurred in feeling and ideas thancenturies had hitherto produced. The horizon of the nation hadwidened, and there began a breaking up of the old rigid andnarrow -minded Egypt. Canaan and Syria now belonged to thegreat empire, their princes lived at the Egyptian court, andsince commerce and communication had rendered the Egyptians

familiar with their foreign ideas and language, it was no longerpossible for them to be contemned as vile bcwbayians. Theposition of the kings also was radically altered; the Pharaohcould no loiiger be exrlusively the lord of the two Egypts, the



6 2 A 1 ~ A N L ) B O O KOF EGYPTIAN RELIGION

follower of Horus; he became a human king like his neigh -bours, the kings of Mitani and Babylonia. This appears forcibly

in the case of Amenophis III., whose long and peaceful reignwas followed by the great upheaval. Although, as traditioncompelled, he is still represented in the temple as a demi-god,on the great scarabs which he caused to be made to celebrateremarkable events of his reign, he permits the entirely humanside of his career to appear.

As though he were no Egyptian king he tells LIS how heslew 110 lions, that he chased a herd of wild oxen, and that

a daughter of the kingof

Mitani was sent to him accompaniedby 317 maidens. But above all, he informs the world that he,the all mighty king, has wedded Tyi, daughter of Yua and Tua,the favoured child of private people, and has made her hisqueen. When we read this, and reflect how little such state-ments are in accordance with the Egyptian sentiment of royalty,we cannot doubt that the king who chose to appear thus,must have gone far towards deserting his national position,

Egypt then began, as we should now express it, to become amodern State, and i t was under these circumstances that Amen-ophis IV. ascended the throne, and soon engaged in the conflictwhich was destined for a time to divert all modes of thoughtinto other directions.

Was this his own undertaking, or did he merely carry out aschenie commenced bj7 his father ? At any rate, he succeeded in

B I G . 47. BROM A BUILDING OB AMENOPHIS Iv . AT THEBES.To the right is the king praying, the su n above him : to th e left th e sun god

in his ancient form, but already with his new name. (Berlin, 2072.)

diverging from the paths hitherto followed. His first attempt




was t o reinstate the ancient sun god Re Har-akhte, who, as wehave seen, had been superseded by Amon, as supreme god of

the State. To this end he built new temples to him at Ttiebes,Memphis, Heliopolis, and other cities. By doing this he nodoubt complied with the wishes of the priests of the ancientgods; but that he himself had further views in doing so, isshown by his representing the sun god under a new form, andalso introducing a new name. Instead of the old hawk -headedfigure of the god, a new one now appeared, consisting of the discof the sun itself; from this descended rays, ending in hands

which held the sign of life. At times the uraeiis serpent ishanging from its lower edge, an allegorical addition, whichrecalls an Egyptian conception. It was a mode of representingthe god which could be understood by Syrians and Nnbiansalike, and we may well question whether such a reason did notlie behind its invention. For a great empire of the old worlda universal form of religion would prove a powerful bond of union, and if it was desired to invent such a god, it was far

easier t o introduce a colourless universal sun god, than onewhich was purely Egyptian, as was th e case with Amon. If,however, we study the new name of the god, Har-alchte whotyiuvaphs o n the horizon in his name “spleiadozw,who i s in thedisc of the sun,” we shall see in it the co-operationof learnedspeculation. No simple-minded worshipper of Re Har-akhtewould thus have designated his god. It is a subtle title, whichundoubtedly should be interpreted in its abstract meaning, that

it was not the actual planet that was worshipped, but the beingwho manifests himself therein. As later on we find the kingdescribing himself as the teacher of this new faith, we may perhapsascribe to him personally this theological conception. Also whenwe observe among the circle surrounding the king in later years,the Queen Mother Tyi, and his favourite the subordinate priestEi, husband to the king’s nurse, and take into account thepeculiarly morbid countenance of the Pharaoh, we are tempted

to construct from all this a history which more than once in theannals of the world has proved the end of a great royal house.One thing is, however, clear, that the introduction of the new

cult promptly met with opposition, and that this opposition




originated with the followers of Amon. For the king turnedwith embittered animosity against this god and determined to

overthrow him. Nothing should remain in Xgypt which couldcall to niind Amon or his wife Mut - not even their names.Wherever the word Amon appears in a temple, in a tomb, or uponsome object it must be erased, even though the monuments of the king’s ancestors were greatly damaged in so doing. As hisown name Amedmtp(Amon is content) by a most unfortunatecoincidence contained this hated word, the king discarded it, andcalled himself instead Ikh -en - aton, “glory of the sun’s disc.”

The fanaticism which is here apparent carried him fartherin his religious work and led to consequenccs which he cannothave originally intended. His sun god, who bad been refused aposition by the side of Amon, must now take his place, and infuture he must be represented only as the sui1 with far -reachingrays. The ancient name €Tar-akhte must alone be retained inthe official titulary of the god, his ordinary name must be Aton4%, the sun’s disc, a word which in sound and appearance

might appear adapted to take the place of the wonted Amow

Re 99 . Not only was the new sun god to be the supreme

deity, but lie must be tlic sole one. Let those who millbelieve in Ptali and I-Iathor, Osiris and Isis, but for the loyalsubjects of the king there must henceforth be only t h e one godwhom he worshippcd. And as an oriental king is not accustomedto lack “loyal followers,” it is easy to understand that for ten ortwenty years the new faith actually prevailed, at least amongthe upper classes of the people. The form taken by this newbelief we can infer from a long hymn, which beyond any doubtobtained official standing in the cult.

Thou, appearest wsple.lzdenton the horizon of the heavens, thouliving sun, who wast the $rst t o live. Thou arisest on the easternhorizon, a.izd $l les t the eayth with thy beauty. Thou ayt beautifdand great, radiant, high above the earth. Thy beains encompass the la,n,cls, all that thotc hast created. Thoic art Re . . . thouszcbdzcestthem with thy love. Thou art f a r ofJ yet thy beains are

tcpon the enrth. . . ,

0 1

It runs thus :






outward ap1xmmtce i s i n conformity with their colour. Ohdiscriminator, Ihou dost discviminatebetween the nations.

Thou formest the Nile in the depths, and leadest i t forth accord -ing to thy pleasure that it may provide for nzanlcind. . . .

All distant lands whose maintenance thou dost provide, and didst set a Nile i n the heavens, thai it might descend to them ; it casts %eaves upon the hills like the sea, and waters their pastures intheir towns. How excellent are thy decrees, thou Lord of Eternity !

The Nile in the heavens, thou dost caicse it to rain down for foreign nations, and for all wild beasts of the desert which go o p ~ foot, and the Nile which comes forth f rom the depths for Egypt. . .Thou naakest the seasons to sustain all that thou hast created,the wiizter to cool them, the heat, in which they taste of thee (1).Thou fornzest the distant heuvensthat thou mayest shine on them,that thou nmyestsee all that thou hast 7nade,alone, and arisingin thy countenance as the living sun, blazing, shining, with -

drawing, and returning again.Thou formest ( theearth) for thysew,ulziclacame into being from

thee alone, the cities, villages, tribes, roads and styeams. All eyesbehold thee before them, when t houart the sun of day over the easth.

A comparison of this magnificent hymn with the hymns tothe ancient sun god, or with those quoted above to Amon -Re,will show the fundamental differences between them. They allalike adore the god. as creator and protector of the world and of all living things. But the later hymn knows nothing of theancient name of the sun god, of his crowns, sceptres, and sacredcities. It knows nothing of his barks and crew, nor of thedragon Apophis. Nothing of the journey through the realms of th e dead, and the joy of those dwelling there. It is a songwhich might equally well be uttered by a Syrian or by anEthiopian in praise of the sun. I n fact, the manner in whichthese lands and their inhabitants are referred to in the hymnsuggest that it was intended to put an end t o the contempt withwhich the Egyptians had looked down on the vile barbarians.All men are children of the god ; he has given them differentcomplexions and different languages, and has set them indifferent countries, but he cares for all alike, and if t o onehe gives his Nile, t o another he gives his rain,




This new faith resembles our own so closely, that we feel our

sympathies unconsciously drawn to its courageous founder. Andyet if we consider dispassionately what Anienophis IV. actuallyattempted, we shall eventually realize that justice and common-sense are rather to be sought for on the side of his opponents,however distasteful the cause they represent may be to us.

For the time had not yet come for such a religion as that of Akhenaton, which was not national, but based on a universalhuman standpoint. And again, it was a cruel injustice to over -throw the established historical belief of the people, with whichtheir whole life was interwoven, and to force upon them a doctrinedevised with such bold independence. Amenophis IV. was noreformer, he was an enlightened despot, who wished to establishby force the deism of his day in place of the hereditary religion ;

such an audacious attempt could only impede th e healthydevelopment of the new creed.

How the people accommodated themselves to the dogma of their king is shown in two small monuments now in the BerlinMuseum. From the tombs all conceptions hitherto held must bebanished; that the deceased should implore the sun to grant himthe certainty of beholding him, and to give him the fresh breathof the north wind: was quite correct, but of Osiris and hiskingdom no more must be heard. Those who have read the fifthchapter, dealing with the funerary customs, and have seen howthese numerous funerary customs were the growth of centuries,and the many hopes and fears connected with their observance,will realize what it would cost the Egyptians t o renounce them.The consequence was that the people did not lose sight of them in the new religion, but in a spirit of contradiction theyeven introduced them into their new religious practices, Therewas no longer an Osiris nor a kingdom of the dead, but evennow the great scarab, which was there efficacious (p. 142),was inscribed with a prayer to the Aton and laid near themummy? The pyramid that enabled the dead man to be -hold the sun (p. 143) is scarcely in accordance with the newreligion, and yet it was found desirable to lay this also by the sideof the deceased, only ensuring that the figure and name of the

Lepaina Uemkmaler,107a. 2 Berlin, 15089,




Aton were on it.l Those figures intended to work for the dead(p. 141) in the realms of Osiris could not be dispensed with,even the grave of the monarch was provided with them, and onthem also a most incongruous prayer to the Aton is inscribed.

The king himself could not escape the anomaly that his ownposition as demi-god and sole representative of mankind was asurvival of the ancient religion. From this Amenophis IV. didnot free himself. H e remains the son of the body of the god,and a t the close of every hymn of any length which recognizesthe god as the father of mankind, he is introduced in theseterms : None other knowsthee, except thy son the Icing. We maytake for granted that the king was also represented in the usualfashion as the sole yepresentativeof the god in the great templehe built to the god, although none of his reliefs have survivedt,o our time.

This great sanctuary was not situated on any of the siteswhich had been consecrated places from early days, for all of

these were closely associated with recollections nott o

be toleratedby the adherents of a faith that acknowledged a god besidewhom there was no other. The king most wisely built a newcapital for the new Egypt, the city whose ruins we now callTell Amarna. I n this great city created by him, Amenophis IV.lived for over ten years surrounded by his loyal subjects whohad henrlcened to his tenehing. The brilliant life that was ledthere during that period is shown in the tombs near the city.

On a critical examination we learn from them all that is mostcharacteristic of the whole episode, so that we can here pass itin review. As in the religion the king desired to renounce allthe dead traditions, so in art also he attempted to shak2 themoff, and in both cases he found it necessary to dispose of thetraditions of thousands of years by an entirely independentcreation. Here also every man must see the world with hisown eyes, and here also must every man rejoice in universal

humanity and lay more stress on that than on national life.These scenes therefore show us the king and queen affectionatelyembracing one another, or drinking wine and eating fruit

1 Eerlin, 14123.




together, and rarely are the children of the king omitted, theyoung princesses ; the eldest talking to her mother, the secondamusing herself with the crown, and the youngest fondled in thearms of the king and kissed by him, as we see them on a relief inthe Berlin collection. Bu t prettily as all this is represented,

Flu. 48. AMENOPHIS IV. WITH HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN .Over them is the new form of sun god. (Berlin, 14145.)

the new art, like the new religion, was on an unsound basis, andneither of them proved permanent.

A t the death of the king, he was followed on the throne byvarious successors, who reigned only a short time, and who soonconsidered it incumbent on them to make their peace withAmon, and to remove once more to Thebes. With the princeHaremheb, who at one time was himself a follower of the Aton,

a family succeeded to the throne which had done more than anyother for Amon of Thebes. The triumph of the ancient religionwas complete, and all the records and buildings of the hereticswere now in their turn demolished. Proudly did the followersof Amon extol their god : Woe to him who injures thee ! Thy city




endures, but the city of him who injures thee hasperished. Shameupon

him who commits sacrilege against theein

any land.. . .

The sun of him who knew thee not has set; but he who 7cnows

thee, he shines; the sunetuary of him who injured thee lies in

darkness, and the whole earth i s in light? It was in very truthdarkness which descended upon the horrible blasphevnerof TellAmarna ; every memorial of him vanished, and it was only inmodern times that Lepsius undertook to restore his name andhis deeds once again to the light of day after more than threethousand years of oblivion.

So Amon-Re triumphed, and how magnificent was his triumphis shown by the immense temples erected to him during thenext ten years, and by the wealth of which he had command ;

but closer examination shows tha t the great convulsion hadnot passed without leaving traces behind. The Sta te madepeace with Amon and restored him to his rights, but it alsosupported the ancient gods of the great towns, Ptah of Memphis,Re Har-akhte of Heliopolis, Osiris of Abydos, etc., far morezealously than it had done previously; never had a sovereignbuilt or rebuilt so many temples as did Ramses 11.; there isscarcely a temple in Egypt that did not receive proofs of hispious care, as if to counterbalance what he was doing for Amonin Karnak and Luxor. A political force was at work here.During the latter half of the New Kingdom, Lower Egyptincreased greatly in importance, the royal residence was removedt o a town in the Delta, and Upper Egypt once more sank intothe subordinate position which naturally belonged to it,. Andthus in course of time the observance of the god of Thebesnaturally declined.

I n this second half of the New Kingdom, during the nineteenthand twentieth dynasties (about 1350- 1100 B .c.) we find the Egyp -tian religion more magnificent and brilliant than it ever wasbefore or after. Its gods were enthroned in those palatial templeswhich have no rivals in any other country or at any otherperiod ; temples that glistened with costly vessels, and where

1 Inscriptions in the hierat. Char. pl. xxvi. (after comparison with

2 H e is so callea in a late text, Ag. Ztschr. 39. 16.the original).



BELIEFS AND CUSTOMS OF NEW KINGDOM 7 1

offerings and ceremonies were carried on in greatest mngnifi-cence. The property of the principal temples was immense.Under Ramses 111. the temple of Amon a t Thebes possessed926 square miles of land and 81,322 serfs, as well as 421,362head of cattle. Heliopolis had 1 6 6 square miles of land,12,963 serfs, and 45,544 head of cattle; while the respectivenumbers for Memphis, which was far behind, were nearly 11square miles, 3,079 serfs, and 10,047 cattle. Such property andsuch temples naturally could not be administered in the simplefashion of earlier days, although no doubt it still prevailed inthe smaller temples. They required a complete administrativeorganization, where distinguished persons served as superin -tendents of th e treasury, of the land, granaries, cattle, orpeasantry, with scribes and soldiers, architects, sculptors,painters, and all classes of minor officials. The superior priestsof such a temple had immense power in their hands, and thehigh-priests of Amon especially were men of almost royal rank.

The career of such a prince of the Church is described to usby one of them, Bekenkhons, a contemporary of Ramses 11.) onhis statue a t Munich. H e was apparently successor of anotherBekenkhons, who was high-priest of Amon under AmenophisIII., and had already lived as an infant in the house of Amon.Although from the first he was destined for the office of apr ies t ,up to his fifteenth year he received, in common with otheryouths of rank, a military training as overseer of the stables tothe king. He then entered as we’b (p. 54) into the serviceof Amon, and remained four years in this lowest rank of priest -hood, He had then to serve twelve years as divine father,fifteen years as third priest, and twelve years as second. H ewas thus in his fifty-ninth year when the god made him, onaccount of his amazing excellence, the high-priest of Amon, a noffice he was destined to fill for twenty-six years, as a good

father of the suboydinates, who tyained their successors, stretched out the hand to those i n misery, who f e d the poor, and acted noblyin his temple. Also he was Jirst architect for the king for Thebes,and in this capacity adorned it with buildings and obelisks ; heplanted it with trees and otherwise arranged for the lordlyequipment of Karnak.




In such propitious circumstances, it is no subject for wonderthat there should be an increasing tendency among thepriests to form themselves into a separate class, distinct fromthe laity even in external appearance. However distinctivetheir vestments might be, the priests also avoided the ordinaryclothing of the period. While the laity a t this time clothedthe upper par t of the body, the priests merely wore the shortskirt of the Old Kingdom, or the longer one of the MiddleKingdom, as though in this way they wished to show theirconnection with past ages. Ncither did they adopt the

elaborate hairdressing which was the fashion of the day, butshaved their heads completely, so that th e office of templebarber was so sinecure. The reason for this must be sought,where the later Egyptians themselves found it, in the attemptto attain absolute cleanliness. Purity before all th ings wasdemanded of the priests; it is no empty phrase tha t we finda t the entrance of the inner courts of the templcs : .Let everyoiLewho enters he re bep w e . At the ceremony of initiation OF priests

to the temple they actually bathed in the lake that wassituated near the temple.During the New Kingdom, one blanch of religious work was

retained in the hands of the laity, of the women. Almost everylady took her part in the temple ceremonies as singer, andperformed with the sistrum before the beazit$%l countenance of the god. Such singing women existed in every town andevery temple, but it is, of course, the singers of Amon whom wemeet with most freqnently, and who were united in a specialorganization.

As we have already seen (p. 39), the ceremonial attendanceon a god, according to Egyptian ideas, in no way differed fromthe usual service paid t o a man of rank in his own house. Hisservants provided his food and clothing, while the women whoperformed music before him may be regarded as the hareem,who cheered their lord with music. In Thebes this fiction wascarried farther. Unlike other ladies, the wife of the high-priestwas not called a singer of Amon, bub bears the title of his chief coneubina. The queen moreover, or one of the princesses, figuresas the wife of the god, or as she is also called, divi?zevotnress.




The duties of these divine wives consisted only of perform -ing music before the god, but their position was one of thegreatest dignity, and, what was more, ensured them a largeincome. As early as the beginning of the New Empire, theyappear t o have played at any rate a considerable part inpolitics. As we shall see, they became later actual rulers overan ecclesiastical principality.

While we regard with astonishment the immcnse develop -ment of this official religion in the New Kingdom, we shall feelmore sympathy with the faith of the lower and upper classesof the people, which pursued its quiet way outside the temple,and of which we occasionally find traces. If we study thesmall s t e l a dedicated to some god by private people, or thesmall figures of gods which stood in private houses, or readthe inscriptions carved on rocks in the desert, we becomeacquainted with all manner of sacred beings who were notrecognized by the great temples. Among these are foreign godsfrom Palest ine,Phcenicia and Syria,brought to Egyptby soldiers or mer -chants, which figurechiefly as terribledeities, furious inwarfare, or stirringup storms at sea.Among these is Baalthe terrible, andResheph, who car -ries lance and shield,Astarte, who drivesa was chariot, Ke -desh who stands on alion, Anat, and thatAstarte who as a I

goddess of war is F I G. 49. ASTARTE O N HORSEBACK .

seated on a horse. Inscription in the desert near Rodesia, dedicated by an officer.

There is Satekh, a god who perhaps oxiginally arose from the




Egyptian god Set, but who was introduced by the Hyksos as aforeigner into the country, and who now appears as anothername of the god Baal. I n the eastern Delta, where the Hyksoshad their principal city, his was actually an official cult, and thekings of the nineteenth dynasty, who very possibly came frointhis neighbourhood, mentioned him witti Amon, Re, Ptah,among t h c great gods after whom they named their armies,

and to whom they dedicated their newcapital city Ramses. Baal, Astarte andAnat, moreover, were often introduced assimiles in the poetry of royal inscrip -tions : Astarte appears in the myths,l andeventually in a late form of the tradition of Horus of Edfu, she appears as his wife.Baal continued to be venerated at Mem -phis long after the time of the NewEmpire.

In additiont o

these gods who wereintroduced into Egypt from abroad, wemeet at this time with others, whoarose in Egypt itself, and who obtaineda great following, principally among the

Fin . SUTEIIB: tile sinall lower classes. The appearance of thesefloln the cIown, and also popular deities is a manifestation whichhim as aforelgndeltg. cannot be passed over without notice.8440.)

Thousands of years had passed since theold days, when the Egyptian built a primitive temple to his localgod, and with his family sought to propitiate him by means of various gifts, in order to secure him help and protection. Butthis god, with whom every citizen was familiar, eventuallybecame the peat god who granted victory and power to theking, and whom the king and his nobles worshipped beforeevery other god. His simple temple mas enlarged into a

magnificent sanctuary, his feasts were celebrated as State affairswith the greatest splendour, and his offerings provided for outof the rich revenues of the king. He possessed villages and

horns, th e appendage hanging

bands on the skirt chaiacterize

Amherst Papyri, pl. 19 et seq. See also Harris, Mugical Papyrus, . 8.




lands, slaves and cattle, his priests were personages of importance,

his high -priest a prince. I l e attained to a very high degreeof power and dignity. All this had entailed a loss on thoseto whom he had first owed his position, for the higher he rosein popular estimation, so much the more he became estrangedfrom the hearts of the people. So great and lofty was he thatthe humble man could not venture to trouble him with thedaily needs of body and soul ; he was placed high above thepeople, like the king, to whom honour was accorded, as ruler

and governor of all things, but who could not be confided in bythe individual.When religion developed in this direction, the necessity felt

by mankind for a superhuman helper and friend led to theintroduction of new deities. The great gods were too distant,but there were yet other sacred beings of lower rank, and it wasperhaps more possible for thein to share the cares of mankind,Among the names given by the people of Abydos to theirchildren in the Middle Kingdom occur such as these, g q t of theNeshrnet bark or of the Neshmet bark a son, as though in gratitudeto the bark of the Osiris temple for the birth of a child; thetemple furniture, which was seen during the processions, wasalso venerated by the people of Abydos as their great god,whom all Egypt w0rshipped.l We find the same in the NewEmpire, when the Egyptians of the middle classes namedtheir children by preference after the god Bes, and the goddessThoueris, and placed the figures of these sacred beings in theirhouses, notwithstanding that this bandy-legged Bes, and thishippopotamus-shaped Thoueris, in the religion of the priests andof the temples were only known as inferior assistants of thegreat gods.

Bes is only one of a number of male and female demons,who may almost be compared to the satyrs of the Greeks.They are half animal and half human, whose duty is to amusethe gods with music and dancing or to tend the divine children.They are comic beings, and their figures were used as handlesfor mirrors, or as jars for cosmetics, but they also fight withknives and bows against adversaries or strangle serpents and

1 From verbal information by Steindorff.




lions. And it is as a protection against such evil beings thatBes is particularly confided in. His wife is Thoueris, the

a. b. C.

F IG. 51. P O P UL AR D ~ I T I E S : (a ) THOUERIS (a) PATAIKOS, (c) BES, holding 8, lute.(Berlin, 10710, 1016, 666. )

favourite of the people. Her name signifies merely the great one.She is a hippopotamus standing on her hind feet.She holds the hieroglyphic sign protection, and thusshows what was expected of her. We also find thesemarvellous beings as constellations.

I n the same way Onuris, “the support of theheavens,” who is called the God Shu in inany locali -ties, is a protector against foes and evil spirits; inthe eyes of the people he has become a god whobears human burdens, the ‘‘deliverer” (Shed) whodrives as a prince in his war chariot, and slays wildanimals. Nefer-tern is also of ancient origin, andappears as the son of Ptah and Sekhmet; heappears to have been originally regarded as a flowerand he still wears a flower as his symbol on hishead. Another son of Ptah, the wise Imhotep,who was in fact a learned man of early times,and who began to be regarded as the patron of scribes in the New KingJom, we shall become better

F I G . 52.

Hilton PriceNEFER-TE~I.

~ ~ l l ~ ~ ~ i ~ ~ ~ . )




acquainted with later on (p. 1’73). The strange deformed childrenwhom, following Herodotus’ example, we call Pataikoi, who

\ \

F I G . 53. T AB L E T D E D I C AT E D T O MNEYIS B Y K E N, who is represented in the lower part.Above, the high -priest Prince Amosis is offering incense. (Berlin, 14200.)

were regarded as sons of Ptah,l must also have been closefriends of mankind.

The extent to which such sacred beings were also worshipped

1 Thus Herodotns, 111, 37.




in special localities must not be overlooked ; they were every-where. A letter from the city of Thebes commends the personaddressed not only to the great local gods, Amon, Mut and Khons,but also to the great gates of Bcki, the eiyht baboonswhich are inthe fore-cowt (undoubtedly statues of adoring baboons), as wellas to two trees. On the west bank of Thebes, however, wherethe necropolis city of the royal residence was situated, whichgave occupation to a large population of funerary priests, stone-masons, officials employed in the administration, and police,patron saints were found in the kings buried there in earliertiGes, and whose tomb rites were still observed. First of theseAmenophis I. and his mother Queen Nefret-ere were regarded asspecially gracious and helpful. Was it not their protection whichsaved one of these people, who thrust his hand into a hole in whichwas a great serpent ? Thus it i s seen, he says on the memorialstone which he dedicated in token of gratitude, how powerful i sAmenophis.2 There was also worshipped a special goddess of thenecropolis, Merit-seger, she who i s beloved by him who maketh silent,i.e. the friend of Osiris. She had her place on a mountain abovethe necropolis and therefore is herself called also the westernsummit. She was benevolent, but she was also addicted towarfare, as is shown on a stone tablet where Nefer-abu, a subor -dinate official of the necropolis, tells tis, in an inscription of whichthe orthography is very incorrect,3 Iwas a man without knowledge,

foolish, and knew not what i s good and what evil. I committed sin against the mountain summit. She chastised me, and I wa,s inher hand by niyJbt and by day, and I sat there . . . like those whoare pregnant. I called out for air but it came not to me. . . .

Behold, I say to great and small among the worlcmen : beware of the western sumnzit, who i s a lion in the summit. #he strikes as asuvage lion strikes, and pursues him who sins against heT. But when Icalled to my mistress I found she came to me with sweet bmath, and she was gracious unto me, when she had let me see her hand, and she turned peacefully to me. She caused me to forget m y illnesswhich had befallen me. Verily the western summit i s

Turin 48.Masyero, Etudes de Mythologie, p. 404 et . seq., here corrected from the

1 Bologna 1094, 10. 11 e t . seq.

original.




gracious, whew, one calls to her. Hearken,all ye ears zcpo~zearth ;beware of the western. summit. Would any Egyptian of thelower classes have ventured to attribute his punishment and hisdeliverance to Amon -Re of Karnak T

The importance now attached to these popular deities wasshared by the sacred animals of the temples whom we have already(p. 22) mentioned. At Berlin there is a memorial tablet whichrepresents a temple official of Heliopolis worshipping before theMnevis bull, as early as the beginning of the New Kingdom.When the bull or the cat died, it was buried with a certainamount of display, and in a place that already enjoyed the odour of sanctity. We possess the coffin of one of the sacred cats dedi-cated to it by Amenophis 111.1 And for the tombs of the Apisbulls one of the sons of Ramses II., a high -priest of ;Ptah,made most careful provision. Reverence for these tombs wascarried so far that the dead oxen were actually provided, asthough they had been human beings, with funerary figures towork for them in the next world (p. 141).

Gladly would we know what the lower classes, who found satis -faction in these lesser divinities, actually thought of t he universeand of the gods. Some insight into this will be afforded us bythe stories of the New Kingdom, which, as in all cases, reflectthe conceptions and ideas of the lower classes, although it maybe the more educated people who have preserved them for US.^

The principal god of the tradition is Re Har-akhte, while Ainonis actually not named. Re is lord of the world, who aids the

good people against the wicked. Accompanied by the Znneadof the gods he descends to earth like a king with his followers, tolook after the just. Hhnum is also present and creates mankind.At the birth of a child come the seven Hathor goddesses anddiscover what fate his god has allotted to him, and even thougha man attempt to escape his destiny the god verily does what hewill. That there should be marvellous trees, and bulls of everybeautiful C O ~ O Z L T ,and tha t it is well t o bring offerings to them, does

not appear surprising after the facts just quoted (p. 78). Theidea of the appointed fate of man seems to have been widely

1 At Cairo.The following is from d’0rbhey and Harris Papyri 500.




accepted. Thus, in an official document,l death is designated as t he destiny, and there is also a deit*y of this name who indeedappears rather to bestow a happy fate.

While the people thus adjusted their own beliefs, the educatedclasses pondered over their gods, and over the universe, and whilethey thus analyzed and philosophized their religious beliefs becameless fixed. More and more they minimized the differences betweenthe individual ancient gods, and the more complicated becametheir religion. It was in the house of life, i. e. the school of thelearned, that this wisdom was acquired, but that it also flourishedoutside the schools, among the educated classes, is shown by manysongs of this period, which prove by their freshness that theywere not composed in the house of life and which yet containthese ideas.

We must next hear what is told us by Ramses IT. on hismemorial tablet a t Abydos of what he had learnt in the courseof his researches in the house of life aniong the books, which hedid n ot cease to esteem. H e found there that thy nature, Osiris, i smore secret than that of all gods. Thou art the moon whichis inheaven. Thou rejuvenatest thyself at thy desire, thou becomesty o m g aecoiding to thy wish. Thou appearest in order to dispeldarkness, unointed and clothed (i. e. in thy festival pomp), f o vthe gods and magic come into existence to illuminate thy majestyand to bring thy enemies to the shambles . . . And m e n reckon that they may know the month; and work addition, that they mayknow thy time.

Vevilythou art the Nile, gq-eat upon the banks at the time of thebeginning of the season ; man and gods live by the moisture whichconacs from ihee.

I have also found thy majesty as king of the undcr-world . . .When Re rises every day and c o m e s to the under -world, in order to survey this land and also the countries, thou sittest there alsoas he. The majesty of l'hoth stands nigh unto you,in ordev to execute the commands which

proceed f rom your mouth?It will be seen that the character of god of the dead, that under

Together ye shull be called Bai Denzdem.

1 In the treaty of peace, Ramses 11.

2 Mariette, Abydos,ii. 54-55.




which Osiris was known and venerated by every Egyptian, here

takes the third place, and even then only in an unusual form.In its place the parts usually played by the moon and the Nileare attributed to Osiris. And a song which givcs utterance tosimilar ideas, places Osiris almost on the earth ; it representsOsiris lying as a corpse under the earth, and, as it were,supporting it, with all that is on it ; thus his back can be re -garded as the earth itself. The earth lies upon thine arm, and itscorners upon thee even unto the four pillars of heaven. Dost thoustir thysdf, the earth trembles, . . . and (the Nile) comes forth

from the sweat of thy hands. Thou providest the breath out of thythroat foy the nostrils of manleilzd. Eirerytliing whereby man lives,trees and herbs, barley and wheat, is of divine origin, and comesfrom thee. - Are canals dug . . . are housesand temples bzcilt,aremonuments dragged into place, are $elds laid out, are roclc-tombsand graves hewn out - they rest on thee, thou it is wha makestthem. Yet more there i s of thee than can be written, there i s no enqty space on thy back, they all lie onthy baclc and (thov, sayest) not : l a m laden. - Thou art the father and mother of mankind, they live by thy breath, ccnd $hey eat the$esh of thy b0dy.I

When this could be said in reference to one of the ancientgods, it may be guessed what was done with Amon-Re, who wasa t all times incomprehensible. H e had a soul in his Tight eye,thesun, he had another in his left eye,the moon: he is Shu, the godof the air, with tke noble aspect in the foiw winds. He is Osiris.It is he who can invest his body with all forms as he wishes, and thegods of the provinces are his forms? I n a document which wasdrawn up at Eshmunen, it is set forth how Amon made hiniselfa position everywhere, in order that his names might be many.3His original position had been on the heights of Eshminnen,where he landed from the Descles water, when he emerged outof the flood in a secret egg (p. 26). The goddess of heavenstood behind him as Arnaunet (p. 57)) and he seated himself on

this cow and grasped her horns, and swain across the flood and

They are upon thy back.

A. . 38. 32.Brugsch.ib. 26.

Qrosse Oase, S. 15 - 16, out of the Secret Book of Amon.

6




landed wherever he pleased ; and wherever he landed there he

became the god of the locality. I n Ehnas, where he first landed,he became the local god Harsaphes ; in Mendes he is the ramwhich is worshipped there ; in Sais he is the son of Neith, i. e.

Sobk; he is the ram of Heliopolis; he is Nun, the primevalwaters; he is the god Ptah Tenen of Memphis; he is Ptah, whois worshipped a t Thebes ; he is Min of Koptos; he is Mont of Thebes. The Nile, most ancient of the gods, is another formof him, and his is heaven, earth, the under -world, water, andair.

Where all the gods are so confused nothing really remainsof the ancient Egyptian religion except the external form;the names and figures of the gods are still there, but what theyrepresent are only varying aspects of the universe, and so farthis teaching may actually be called pantheistic.

The same educated classes who held these ideas now madeanother departure from tradition. Hitherto whoever prayed tothe gods, or sang hymns in their honour, had made exclusiveuse of the ancient traditional formulq which indeed containedfew ideas, but which were hallowed by centuries of use. In thelatter half of the New Kingdom this was changed, and the newideas and feelings which pervaded Egyptian life at this periodevoked a new type of religions poetry, that allowed free scopeto individual feelings and sentiments. Another proof of its popular character is that it is no longer written in thesacred language of the earlier literature, but is expressed in the

later colloquial language. The oldest and finest example of this poetry is the hymn of Arnenopbis IV. (p. 64); also thehymn to Amon-Re, which we have already quoted (p. 5 8 ) )where the god is adored as creator and protector of all, andwhich was already composed in the new style. A comparison of such poems with one of the older compositions, for instancewith the hymn to Osiris (p. 48)) will show a very greatchange. I n the one are lifeless references to a variety of tradi -

tions, in the other there is individual feeling, and the joy of observing the works and the goodness of God. Here the godis a good herdsman; Amolz, thou herdsman, who early drivest

forth the cows,who leadest the needy to the pastures. He is the




mast who defies the storm, he is the pilot who knows the

shoals, who i s longed after by him who i s o n the water.' Thothalso is the fruit tree, who feeds mankind, this great donz-palmof

sixty cubits o n which i s fruit ; kernels are i i z the fruit , and water i s in the kernels ; he is sweet s p i n g sf o r the thirsty in the desert ;

he it is who brings watw to distant There is a personalrelationship of affection and confidence with the god : Anzon - Re,

I love thee and enfold thee i n nLy heart. . . . I do not fo l lowanxiety in my heart, what Amon - Re saith, eonzethto pass.3 Thus

he unhesitatingly lays before him all the troubles of his heart :

Thou wilt save me from the mouth of men in the day when theyspeak lies? He who is slandered by some rival in order toobtain his ofice, prays to the sun god, or to Osiris, to aid him ;

and again another pleads thus : Anzon, lend thine ear t o one whostands alone in the e o w t of justice, who i s poor, and his opponent i s mighty. The tribunal oppresseth him ; ' silver and gold fo r thescribe, and clothes for the attendants !', but he Jindeth that Amolz

ehangeth himself into the vizier, whereby the p o o ~scape? It isalso actually stated in this poetry that the god directly espousesthe cause of the poor; when all are against him, then heremains his protector, the judge who receives no bribes, anddoes not influence the witnesses?

In one of these songss there is also observable (as wehave already seen on the memorial tablet of Nefer-Abu) anacknowledgment of the sinfulness of mankind. The Egyptiansof the early period cannot have been ignorant tha t we are allsinners, but before their gods they made no use of this know -ledge ; to them they always made assurances of their excellence.It is otherwise with the poet of the New Empire; he knowsthat he is a guilty man and prays to his god : Chastise me notaccording t o my many sins. Also the books of instruc -tion in wisdom - which from early times were popular inEgypt, and which hitherto had supplied little more than a

Inscription in the hier. Char., pl. xxvi.Sallier Papyrus, I, 8, 2 et seq.Inscription in the hier. Char,, 1, 1.

A. 8. 38. 19 et seq.4 ib.

6 An. 2, 8, 5 et seq8 An. 2, 10, 1 et seq.

5 "

' Bologna, 1094.2, 3 et seg.




correct rule of behaviour, now took another form. Serve thy

god and avoid what he abhors. Woe t o him who uttersuntruths against him or otherwise does something that he hates.If thou neglectest thy mother, so that she accuses thee and I+%

up her hands t o God, her cry will be heard and thou wilt bepunished? Make offerings t o him, and keep his feasts? Butwhen thou worshippest him, do i t quietly and without ostenta -tion in the sanctuary of God to whom clamour i s abhorrent. Prayto him with a longingheart, in which all thy w o ~ d sre hidden, so

will Jze grand thy requcst, and hear that which thou sayest, and accept thy offering.4 This assurance that God loves a silentprayer better than a loud one is found also in the hymn toThoth already quoted, which compares him to a well in thedesert ; thou sweet spring for the thirsty in the desert; it i s closed for those who spealc tJze~c,it is open for those who 7ceep silence there.When the sileizt mmz eometh he $ndeth the spring? I n silentio etspe shall man seek the aid of his god. It is the dawn of an in-

ward religion with which we meet a t the end of the New Empire.A new epoch of religious conception had been inaugurated by theeducated people of that period, the same period whose laterdevelopment produced the Psalms. In Egypt itself it came t o

an end before it attained to full development, and in the historyof ancient Egypt it is thus only an episode. What were tbecauses that interrupted this development we do not know, forduring the next century Egypt vanishes almost entirely from

our view. When we see it once more, political misfortuneshave broken its power ; the Egyptians had become a decayingnation who lived only in their past.

1 Max. d’dnii. 6. 12. 2 ib. 7 . 3.5 Sallier Papyrus, 1, 8, 2 et seg.

ib. 6 , 12 ; 2, 3 .

ib. 3, 2.



CHAPTER IV

BELIEFS REGARDING THE DEAD, O F THE EARLY PERIOD ANDOF THE NEW KINGDOM

IF there was a point on which the Egyptians differed fromevery other nation it was in their excessive care for the dead.Other nations have erected buildings for the worship of thegods, or for practical purposes, which may vie with the colossaltemples of Egypt, but such graves as the Great Pyramids, orthe rock tombs of Thebes, exist nowhere else in the world.

This must also strike any one who observes in our miiseumsthe immense variety of objects that were laid in the graves forthe use of the deceased in his future existence. The Egyptianswould not have persisted in these strenuous efforts during threethousand years had they not possessed very special views as tothe future destiny of the dead, views which we can comprehendto-day, thanks to their ancient literature which has come downto us in almost immeasurable abundance.

It is true that it is not literature in the exact meaning of theword, or only in the slightest degree. At best it consists onlyof short or long formulze, which from the earliest times were

recited at the graves. Of these formuh there are two greatcollections, from which we gather most of our knowledge of thesubject ; the so -called Pyramid texts, and the so -called Book of the Dead. The Pyramid texts is the name given by us tothe long inscriptions in certain pyramids of the end of the OldKingdom, which supplied the deceased kings with somethingapproaching a library of ancient writings bearing on their futuredestiny. The greater part of these are extremely ancient, and

were formulated at the earliest stages of Egyptian civilization.By the Book of the Dead we mean another group of texts mhichfrom the time of the New Eingdom were constantly writtenon papyri. Among them there is much that is undoubtedly

8.5




extremely ancient, but niany new ideas are added. It is there -fore to the Pyramid texts that we must turn in the first instanceto discover what it was that induced the Egyptians to bestowso much care on offerings to the dead.

The difference between the living and the non-living wasfrom the earliest times regarded by the Egyptians to be this,that the former were imbued by a special active force, whichthey called the ka. Every mortal received this ka at birth, if Re commanded it, and as long as he possessed it, as long as heis loyd of a ka, and goes with his ka, so long he is one of the

The ka is seen by no one, but itliving.

FIQ. 54. AMENOPHIS 111. AS ACHILD, AND HIS E A .

(From the Temple of Luxor.)

was assumed that in appearance it wasexactly the counterpart of the man. Asearly as the time when the sun god firstcame into existence, and formed the twoprimeval gods by spitting them out of hismouth (p.26))he laid his arms bel~indthem,and forthwith his ka went up over themand they lived? This stretching out thearms must be specially connected withthe investing with a ka, for from theearliest times two outstretched arms sig -nified a ka. When the man died, his kaleft him, but it was hoped that i t wouldstill concern itself with the body inwhich it had dwelt so long, and that at

any rate it would occasionally re-animate it. Aiid it wasprobably for the ka that the grave was so carefully attendedand provided with food, that it might not hunger or thirst.

In addition to this ka, which always remained a vague andundefined conception, notwithstanding the constant allusionsto it, the Egyptians dreamed also of a soul, which might be seenunder various forms. At death i t left the body and flew away,thus

itwas naturally a bird, and i t was only probable that when

the mourners were lamenting their loss, the dead man himselfmight be close at hand, sitting among the birds on the trees

1 Mariette, Abydos , Tableau xvi.



BELIEFS REGARDING THE DEAD 87

which he himself had planted. The thoughts of others turnedto the lotus flowers which had blossomed on the pool during thenight, and questioned whether the dead man might not bethere; or again to the serpellt which crept out of its hole S O

mysteriously as a son of the earth,or to the crocodile that crawledout of the river on t o the bank,as though it s true home were theland ; who could tell whether thesoul was not able to assume any

of these f o r m s and others alsothat it desim?, and whether itdid not abide here to -day andthere to-morrow in every placewhere i t wosi1d.l

Further thought, moreover, asto whether there might not bean abode for the dead similar toour world of the living, would

an abode could be situated.Every evening the Egyptian saw the sun sink in the west, toreappear at dawn in the east; during the night it must there -fore have traversed an under-world,a second subterranean heaven.It was only natural to claim this world, which was unapproach -able for the living, as the abode of the dead. The sun sank inthe west and sojourned there in a dark country which was onlyilluminated when he performed his nightly course and travelledthrough it. This conception early became popular, the realmsof the dead were styled the West, and the dead were called thedwellers i n the west.

It must be confessed that neither of these modes of life canbe regarded as happy. Whether a man fulfilled his destinyunder the earth, or appeared on earth in a variety of forms,it was in either case a melancholy existence, and no true life.It occurred, therefore, to some bold thinkers to doubt whether

1 It is impossible to doubt the extreme antiquity of this popular belief,although we first meet with it in the Book of the Dead.

FIG. 55. THE SOUL.raise the question where such (Hilton Price Collection.)




all alike must share this fate. Beside the many on earth whowere poor and of small account, were there not some who weregreat and mighty, and might there not be the same distinctionafter death; there must surely exist better conditions and abetter abode for the kings and other distinguished souls, forthose who should live accoding to the command of the gods: andthis place was in heaven.

The Egyptian could watch the stars as they sailed a t nightin that untroubled splendour vhich is exhibited by thegorgeous sky of his country. Of these he kuew several which

shone with especial brilliancy, the dog star, Orion, the morningstar, and thought these might assuredly be gods who, like thesun god, had left the earth. But what about the innumerablehost of nameless stars that surrounded even the least of these ?

Doubtless they were the dead, happy souls, who had foundtheir way to heaven, and who now wandered in eternal glorywith the gods. The great god the lord of heaven (i. e. the sun god)hac! held out his hand to them, or the goddess of heaven had

taken them to herself, and had ranged them among the inz- perishable stars of her body. Now, perhaps, does the deceasedappear to us as that single star which rises on the eastern side of

the heavens: and which with Orion and Sothis, the dog star,traverses the sky. "

The imagination of the nation was actively engaged in giv -ing definite form to this idea of the heavenly existence of the dead ; how motley and contradictory was the picture thus

formed will be shown in the following sketch, supplied by theearliest of the Pyramid texts.Like a bird the dead flies up to heaven: he goes to heaven

like the hawks and his feathers are like those of the geese," herushes at heaven likea crane, he kissesheaven lilce the falcon, h e l eapto heaven l ike the grasshopper! Thus he JEies away from you, yemen; he is no more upon earth, he i s in heaven 6 with his brethrenthe gods, where the goddess of heaven stretches out her hands to

him. He ascends to heaven, to thee, oh Re, with the head of a

Pyramid, 225 = P. 99. Pyr. 243 = P. 157.' ib. 225 = E. 99. ib. 251 = P. 173.

ib. 248 = M. 328. ib . 248 = P. 164.




falcon and wings of a goose . . . he moves his arms as a goose,and flaps his wings like a bird. He who f l ies,J l i e s , oh yemen, and thisoneJties away from you? I n heaven, however, that goddess Nut

places him as an imperishable star which i s upon her: she it i s who makes his life, she i t i s who givesbirth to hint. In the night he is begotten,in the night he i s born ; he belongs to those who arebehind Re, to those who are before the morning He journeysto the east side of heaven, to the place where the gods are born,and where: with them, he will be born, renewed, rejuvenated.

He will undoubtedly meet various gods and stars, who mighthinder him, but not one will be able to stop him; there i s nogod who arrested him, there i s no adversary who twned hint back from his road? " Whither goes he ? " asked a great bull,who threatened him with his horn. But the answer was given :

" He i s going to heavan full of vigour, that he may see his fathei;that he may see Re, " and the terrible creature lets him pass onS6The sun god takes a kindly interest in the new inhabitant of heaven : 1 give thee, he says, thy speech and thy body, and thoureceivest the form of a god ; he causes his body to become bright likethose of the heavenly ones ; he takes him as an oarsman in hisown ship? or assigns him a place in the forepart, and the crewwho row Re, they row hint also.1° Or, he even makes him thecommanding officer of his oarsmen,ll yea, he displaces his owncelestial scribe, and sets the deceased man in his placet2 so thathejudges, and i s aditrator, and gives commands to onewho i s greater than h0.1~ Thus he journeys over the heavens as companion of the sun god, and every god rejoices when he appr0aches.1~ Thothalso, the moon god, takes an interest in the deceased in the samemanner. By night he takes him i n his bark, and thus he traversesthe heavens like Re, and traverses the heavens like Thoth.15 Theexaggerated conceptions of the power of the illuminated deadin heaven, which find a place in many of the quotations already

Pyr. 91 = W. 570 et seq.

ib . 7 = W. 197 et seq.ib. 297 = P. 454.

ib . 215 = P. 63.

*ib. 56 = P. 171.ib. 251 = P. 173.7 ib. 206 = P. 18. Sonnenlitanei,Mar.; Ab.,11.14.

ib. 248 = P. 163. lo Pyr. 193 = T. 340.

ib. 252 = N. 948.l 3 ib. 193 = T. 342.

l2 ib. 257 = P. 186.l 4 ib. 252 = P. 175. ib. 6 = W. 195.




given, come even more prominently forward in others of theseformula. The dead is called a god outright; he is Thoth, thestrongest of the gods,l or he is Weneg (i. e. Shu), the son of Re,who supports heaven, leads tJze earth, jm?ges the gods? Well i s

it with those who see him, crowned with the headdress of Re,with his apron on like N a t h o ~ . ~ He goes to heaven and $rids Re

standing there . . . he places himself by his side, and Be does not permit him to cast himself on the growad, for he knows that he i sgreater than he? We knows that this imperishable illuminatedone is his son, and he sends out divine messengers to inform the

inhabitants of heaven that a new ruler has appeared for them.#et and Ncphthys, hasten ! proclaim to the southern godsand their illuminated ones : ‘ He comes, an imperishable illuminated o n e !

If h e wishes that ye die, ye die ; f he wishes that ye live, ye live.” Isis and Osiris must likewise betake themselves to the north,Thoth to the west, and Horus to the east. It is then said: Oh

Re Atum, thy son comes to thee, 72e comes to thee ; thou permittest him to live tcith thee, thou foldest him in thine awns, him, the

son of thy body eternally.5Full of alarm, the gods rouse themselves from their repose

before the great bird, which comes forth f r o m the Nile, iJze jackalgod which comes from out the tamarisJcs,6 for suddenly, like thebird that flutters up out of the water, and like the jackalwho starts out of the bushes, so has the dead man appearedin their midst.

This exaggeration is carried to its farthest extent in the

following text: where a wild exuberant fancy depicts the de -ceased as a huntsman, who captures the stars of heaven, anddevours the gods and the illuminated ones: heaven rains, thestars jigJzt, the bowmen wander about, and the bones of theALerus tremble . . . when they have seen how he ascends, and has a soul as a god who lives upon his fathers and feeds uponhis mothers. . . . His splendour is in heaven, his power i s in the

1 Pyr. 297 = P. 454.3 ib. 124 = T. 42.

7 ib. 63a = W. 496 et seq.8 The ‘(bowmen;’ the Akeru, and all the other names which occur here,

ib . 257 = P.185.4 ib . 222 = P. 90.

ib. 6 = W. 187.b. 13 = W. 222 et s e g .

obviously refer to the constellations.




horizon, like that o Atunz, his father who beggat him; he begathim as one who i s stronger than himself. . . . He it i s whodevours men and lives om gods. The Clasper of the Headsand the Emi-kehua c w e they who capture them for him; h e

who i s Sylendid o Head guards them f o r him and drives themt o him, the Heri -terut binds them f o r him, the runners withall kiaives stab them for him, and draw out their entrails, theXheshmu cuts them up for him and cooks part o them in hisevening cauldrons. He i t i s who devours their magic and swallows theii. illuminated ones. The great ones among themare his morning meal, the middle ones are his evening meal, and the small ones his night meal. The old ‘nzenand W O V L ~ I L mong

them come into his oven. The great one i n heaven casts $re on thecauldro.iz, which eoiatains the thighs of their eldest. The inhabit -ants o heaven are his property, and what he shoots are cauldronswith the limbs o their wives. This horrible fare is profitable tohim, for he consunzes their fu l l entrails and enjoys therewithsatiety ; he devours their hearts and their crowns and therebygains their powers, so that their magic i s in his body; he swallowsthe understanding o every god- ideas that are found even nowamong cannibals.

Such extravagances are of course exceptional, and, frequentlyas it occurs, even the belief that the dead could accompanyRe in his sun bark can scarcely be considered t o have beenthe truly popular view. According to that the illuminated had asecure dwelling -place on the east side of heaven upon its northern

part among the imperishable ones: or with the illuminated, theimperishable which are in the north o heaven or in the east oheaven? Perhaps this referred to the position in the north-eastof the circumpolar stars, which might truly be called theI‘ imperishable,” as, unlike the others, they never disappearedfrom the sky!

This abode of the blessed the people further figured to them -selves as a series of islands, surrounded on all sides by water ; itis easy to imagine that the broad streak of the milky way,whose ramifications contain dark patches, led to this conception.

Pyr. 262 = P. 203. ib. 292 = P. 435.ib. 251 = P. 174. 4 Verbal information from Borchardt.




One of these islands was called the Field of Rood, a name whichindicates that there provisions were not lacking ; on it reposed

the gods and the imperishable ones. Even better known is theField of ..%mu., whose name perhaps means field of bullrushes?

1 Verbal information from Sethe.




and which also was regarded by the Iater Egyptians as th e countryof the illuminated. That the Egyptian should consider these para -dises to resemble his own land, needs no explanation ; they hadwater courses which, like the canals of the Nile, were opened atthe times of inundation ; they were $Xed with water and becameverdant; in order to supply the deceased with sustenance.For without food even the gods and the illuminated ones of heaven cannot exist. I n the east of heaven stands that highsycamore upon which the gods sit: the tree of life by which theylive: whose fruits also feed the blessed. And the goddesses whoare in heaven provide him with food which is even more inno -cent. If he comes to Nut, or to the serpent which guards thesun, either of them greets him as her son : she has pity upon him,aitd ofers him her breast that he may suck, and thus he lives andis once more a clzild.4 He comes to each of his two mothers, thevdtures wiih long hair aad distended (1) breasts which si t on thehill of Schseh; they place their breasts to his mouth and never dothey wean hinz.5 Bu t he also who cannot dispense with thehabits of this world may hope for food, and for a more normalmode of life. He receives his share of that which i s i n thegranaries of the great god, he i s clothed by the immortals, and hasbread and beer which continue eternally : i he eats this his bread quite alone and needs 120 one wJ~ostands behind hinz to give himthereof? His provision is among the gods,and his water i s wine,like that of Re? When Re eats, he gives to him, when Re drinks,he gives to him. He sledps sozcndly every day . . . . hc fares better

to-day than yesterday? Thus fortunate is the jtcstiJcd with their provided rnotcths.1° They do not require hunger to eat and thirst to drinlc,ll and they need never fear that they will be forced tohave recourse to their own filth, that fare which the Egyptianever regarded with the utmost abhorrence.12

It was not accorded to all, however, on the beuutifkl roads which are in heaven.,13 to reach those fields of the blessed, for the

4

ib. 251=

P. 173 and 281=

P. 286.

Pyr. 292 = P. 416. ib. 251 = P. 174.3

ib. 292=

P. 431.5. ib. 281 = P. 303.7 ib. 294 = P. 443.9 ib. 3 = W. 180.

11 ib . 7 = w. 195.13 ib. 225 = P. 100.

ti ib. 288 = P. 395 ; 391.ib. 6 = W. 193.

lo ib. 254 = P. 178.l2 ib. 6 = W. 189.




waters that surrounded them were difficult to pass. Somewould hope to be carried over by favour of the divine birds,the hawk of Horus and the ibis of Thoth : Ye claws of Horus,

ye wings of Thoth, carry him over, and do not leave him tcntrans-ported1 Others pray to four heavenly spirits, Hapi, Amset,Duamutef, and Kebehsennf, the children of Horus, to bringthem a ferry boat; or they turn to the sun god himself, that heshould carry them over in his bark.3 Most, however, trust in aferryman, mho bears the names Z e who looks behind and Turn-

face, because he was forced to turn his head when he stoodaft punting his boat. He ferried the gods over in his boat:and would also render this service to the dead. Not t o all of them, however, for this ferryman of the Field of Earu onlyferried over thejzcst who hath n o boat, those who were found justbefore heaven aid earth, and before the island i t ,~e l f .~This is aremarkable trace of ethical conceptions in this early time, andin these pyramid texts it does not stand entirely alone. If among the deceased there is one of whom it can be said, ‘‘therei s no evil which he hath done,” the saying penetrates even to thesun god, and he receives him kindly;6 the deceased also profitswith regard to his reception in heaven, @@hehas never spoken evilof the king nor slighted the gods?

As a rule, however, it is rather bodily cleanliness which thegods demand of their new companion in heaven, and they thetn-selves aid him in this respect. The goddess who presides overthe rapids of Elephantine purijes him with o u r pitchers of water:or he bathes togetlzer with Re in the lake of Earzc : Horus drieshis body, Thoth dries his feet? There is yet another conceptionof the life after death which must be added to those alreadymentioned ; originally accessory to them, in course of time itdominated them all. This is the dogma of the dead god Osirisas king and prototype of all the dead.

We have already (p. 35) related the legend of this god, whodied, but returned again to life. One of his chief abodes was a tAbydos, which later on acquired great fame, as possessing the

Pyr. 288 = P. 390. 2 ib . 295 = P. 444.5 ib. 290 = P. 400.8 ib. 281 = P. 297.

3 ib. 245 = P. 160.6 ib. 297 = P. 455.!J ib. 112 = P. 234.

4 ib. 60 = W. 489.7 ib. 248 = P. 164.




head of the god as a relic, and it was very possibly here that theidea first arose of regarding the murdered god as ruler of therealms of the dead, the j i r s t of those who are in the West,according to one conception, the king of the illuminatedaccording to another.

But this conception of him as king of the dead was not theessential one : th at which decided the further developmentof Egyptian funerary beliefs was rather that the dead god wasalso looked on as a prototype of dead men. The man whowas laid in the grave had actually met with the same fate asthe god. Against his will he had bid farewell to life, andparted with wife and children ; was it not therefore reasonableto hope tha t h i s further career also should resemble that of thegod 1 Even as Osiris lives, he also will live; even as Osiris i snot dead,he also will not die ; even as Osiris i s not destroyed, healso will not be destroyed? Like a second Osiris he will awake toa new and joyous life. Like a second Horas his son will growup, he will triumph over the enemy who injured his father inlife, even as Horus triumphed over Se t ; he will guard his houseand uphold the honour of his name.

But before all, the dead may now arise after the samefashion in which Osiris once rose again, not as a shadowy ghost,but in a physical resurrection, for were not the limbs of Osiriscollected together 2 by the gods, his head oncemore uni ted to his

FIG. 57. NUT, WITH WINGS OUTSTRETCHED OVER OSIRIS. (Berlin, 10532.)

bon,es, and his

bones united tohis

headZ3 Therefore the samething may happen to the human dead if he is treated as a newOsiris. His bones still lie there crumbling and motionless, but

Pyr. 15 = W. 240 e t seq. ib. 153 T. 272.3 ib . 144 = T. 158.






they may kiss the ground at thy feet.l Thou standest now protected and eguipped as god,p*ovidedwith the form of osiris, on the throneof thejrst of those who are in the West. Thou dost as he did among the illuminated and the imperishable. Thy son, ho~ever,sits upon tJzy throne, provided with thy form. He does what thoudidst use to do before, he the first of the living, according to thecommand of Re. He cultivates barley, he cultivates spelt and givesthee thereof? Thou however causest thy house behind thee to

prosper and guardest thy children from harm?This is the destiny hoped for by the devout, who worship

Osiris. They must of course leave the earth, but they gonot as dead, they go as living;& in death they have not amere spiritual ghostly existence, but they awake to a realrenewed life, in full posscssion of their body and mind; they

possess their heart, they possess their mind, they possess their feet,they possess their mouth, they possess their arms, they possess all

We cannot say when this belief first spread widely among the

Egyptian people ; in any case it existed a t the primitive period,for even in the oldest form of funerary literature, in the pyramidtexts, we find everywhere formule in which the dead areconnected with Osiris. These examples taken from the pyramidtexts are undoubtedly only adaptations of yet more ancientformuls. So accustomed were the Egyptians to these utterancesof the ancient dogmas, that they could not omit them from theirnewer beliefs. An ancient formula which was widely in use

runs thus: Happy those who see, and well f o r those who hehold-say the gods - this god ascending to heaven . . . with his soul

upon him, with his knife at his side, and the mayic with him. . . thou ascendest to heaven, and dost meet him, Thelater adaptation runs thus : Happy he who sees the father-suith

Isis- and well for him who beholds the fathev--saith flephthys-to his futher, to Osiris, when he ascends t o heaven, among the stars,among the immortals, with the headcloth on the head, with thekntye at the side, and the magic with him. Kc goes forth to his

theiy 1i7nbs.5

Pyr. 206 = P. 6.

Totenbuch, 68.ib. 229 I. = P. 106.

7

ib. 206 = P. 18.ib . 9 = W. 206.Pyr. 95 = W. 584.



g S A HANDBOOK OF EGYPTIAN RELIGION

mother Nut and meets her, etc.l The first describes the journey

of the dead to heaven, who enters heaven as a new god, to theamazement of the ancient gods (p. 90); the name of Osirisis introduced in the second, heaven is changed into his mother nut, the gods have been altered to Isis and Nephthys, and thus atext descriptive of the journey of Osiris to heaven has beenproduced. We must confess th at the change has not improvedit either in meaning or in beauty.

Yet more barbarous is the use made of an ancient formulawhich extols the sky goddess who, by raising herself up, hadsnatched up the gods with her into the heights. Averse of thisformula ran thus: Nut , thou art crowned as king because thoudidst take possession o the gods, their souls, their inheritance, their

food, and all that they posses^.^ This has been freely used as

follows: Osiris, thou art crowned as king of Upper and Lower Egypt, because thou didst take possession of the gods, and their souls? Although certainly the beneficent Osiris never carriedoff the gods from the earth. It is also noteworthy that in this

variation the old word in Lower Egypt for a king has given placeto the official Pharaonic title - a clear sign of the late originof the compilation.

In other respects, again, the ancient funerary literature wasnot improved by the dissemination of the Osiris beliefs.

There had previously been no lack of conflicting ideas, andnow the jumble was complete. Read for instance the followingtext, which affords a good instance of this confusion: Awake for HOTUSand stand up against Set, raise thysex thou eldest son of Keb.

Thou, Sefore whom the two Xnncads tremble, for whom the chapelsexist, fo r whom the periods of t ime are celebrated as festivals . . .Thou traversest Abydos i7~ this thy illumination: of which thegods have commanded that it should be to thee, and thou aseendest to

h a t ,where Ariomis . The heavenly bull seizes thy arm. Thou eatest the food of the gods. . . He (Re) places thee as the morning star in

the midst o the Field of Earu. The gate o heaven to the horizoni s open to thee, and the gods rejoice (2) when thou approachest as a

star, which traverses the sea under the body of Nut in this thy1 Pyr. 255 = P. 181. ib. 227 = P. 101.

3 ib . 210 = P. 61.




majesty which Re hath commanded ; thou sittest wpon this thy throne

of bronze as if thou wert the great one of Neliopolis, in order that thou mayest guide the illuminated and content the imperishable?What a muddle it i s ! In th e first sentence the dead man isOsiris himself, in the second he travels to Orion, in the third heis a star with Re, in th e fourth he reigns as a king of the deadand of the stars.

This was only the beginning of the confusion. During thecenturies that followed, the period when the greater number of

texts of th e so-called Book of the Dead originated, these ideasagain assumed an entirely different form. We find all mannerof later ideas concerning the fate of the dead and the realms of Osiris introduced and mixed up with them, while the earliertraditional conceptions had by this time become colourless, andtheir meaning misunderstood. Thus t he ensuing confusion wasso great tha t it now scarcely repays the labour of attempting todisentangle it. There is, moreover, one point which is verycharacteristic of the Book of the Dead ; for the most part it wasregarded entirely as a collection of magic formula Should suchand such an event happen to the deceased, he utters a spell, inwhich he identifies himself with such and such a god, in thebelief that he will by this means become possessed of his at tr i -butes. He for instance who utters this spell : " Jfy name wasgiven me in the great house, and the mmembrance of my ?tarn>@in

the house of jlames, in that ?Light when the years were counted and the months reclconed, 1 am that one therein who sits in the east of heazen, and every god who cloth not follow me, that name I speak ! he will renwmber his name in the realms of the dmd.2

This fear lest in the hereafter the dead should no longerremember his own identity, was only one of many strangeanxieties which this magic of the Book of the Dead wasintended to relieve. He feared also lest he should have nomouth with which to speak to the gods: and lest he should berobbed of his heart? His head might be cut Notwith -

standing embalmment, his body might decay! hostile beings1 Pyr. 220 111. =&Ii I . 698 ; 701 et seq. ; 710 et seq.2 Totenbuch, 28. 3 ib. 22 . ib. 27.

ib. 43. 6 ib. 45.



roo A HANDBOOK OF EGYPTIAN RELIGION

might desire to deprive him of hisplace and throne in the realms

of the dead,l and he himself, like an unfortunate animal offeredin sacrifice, might come to the butcher’s block of the gods.2 Foodand drink might fail him, and he might be obliged to eat anddrink his own filth.3 If he really has water, it may happen tothe water to burn when he is about to drink it? Again, hissupply of air may fail.5 Against these and all similar perils,the spells of the Book of the Dead are intended to help.Against serpents, for instance, who can bite the dead, it is a

safeguard to address them thus : Oh serpent, come not ! Geb and Shu stand against thee. Thou hast eaten mice ; that i s loathsometo Rr! ; thou hast gnawed the bones of a putrid cat.6 And againstthe eating of excrement this chapter guards : l a m he who hathbread in Bcliopolis. My bread i s in heaven with Re, and my bread i s upon ewth with h’eb. The evening - and morning -bark of thesun bring it to m e from the house of the great god of

Truly fortunate were those who were provided with thismagic, and also knew how t o protect themselves by means of the spell which availed against the crocodile who would rob thedead man of his magic? Even during life the knowledge of allthese spells was of service: Whoever readeth these spells dailyover himself, he i s whole upon earth ; he escapes from every fire,and never doth anything evil m e e t him.9

All these anxieties and all this magic scarcely appear in thePyramid texts, with the exception of a series of spells againstsnakes. While the Book of the Dead differs so completely inthis respect from the Pyramid texts, it shows thereby a popularelement which in other respects is very characteristic of thelater work. Here primitive conceptions once more appearthat were almost lost sight of in the Pyramid texts, as they didnot accord with the heavenly existence hoped for by these greatlords. The dead man, or rather his soul, might change himself into all things that the heart desireth,1° into a phcenix, a heron, a

Eeliopolis? . . .

1 Totenbnch, 47.

5 ib. 56.7 ib . 53.9 ib. 18, end.

a ib. 50.

6 ib. 33.8 ib. 31.

l o ib. 64.

ib. 53. ib. 63 B.



BELIEFS REGARDING THE DEAD 1 0 1

swallow, a hawk, a worm, a crocodile, a lotus flower: the soulwould be able to unite itself once more with the body: and tofind the door of the tomb open: nothing would prevent it frombeing a& to go out by day ,in that form which it c h o o ~ e s . ~It isexactly this supreme desire of the dead man to dwell upon theearth in the day-time, when the sun is shining, which plays sogreat a part in the Book of the Dead, that later the whole book was known as the Book of coming out by Day.

But of far greater importance than all of these is a dogma of later origin, th at of the necessary justification of the dead. Wehave already seen that the dead Osiris was challenged by Set,and that the gods assembled to judge him in the hall of Heliopolis, and made him true of speech, that is, found himguiltless; we learn from the Book of the Dead: that similar

judgment halls were established in Busiris, Buto, Abydos,Herakleopolis, in the Sokaris Temple at Memphis, and in othersacred places, and everywhere it was Thoth who vindicated him.This conception led to a desire that the dead, as representingthe new Osiris, should also be vindicated by Thoth : as Osiriswas found to be just, so the deceased desired t o be found pureand sinless in the abodes of the dead - how should he otherwisefind acceptance in the realms of that god, who himself owed hisposition as ruler to his sinlessness ? It is a question of ethics,which in this Osiris myth thus makes its appearance in theEgyptian belief. From henceforth it is not the powerful anddistinguished who will triumph after death, but the upright andsinless.

That this conception of Osiris as judge of the dead had alreadyappeared in the Old Kingdom is shown by a tomb inscriptionthat speaks of the great god, the lord of jzcstice,6 but it was onlyduring the Middle Kingdom that it acquired definite form andgeneral recognition. I n the great chapter of the Book of theDead we next find it pictured thus : In a large hall, whose roof is ringed round with flames of fire and symbols of truth , Osirisis enthroned in 3 chapel ; before him is the symbol of Anubis

1 Totenbuch, 77-89.ib. 92.

6 ib. 18-20.

ib. 89.'ib. 18-64.

0 Mariette, Mastabas, D. 19.



1 0 2 A HANDBOOK OF EGYPTIAN RELIGION

(p. eo),the four sons of I-Iorus (p. 94), and the devourer of the

It-

West, a fabulous animalwho serves as protectorto the god. Above, i. e.farther back in the hall,

g sit the forty -two judges.i!... of the dead; below

again, i. e. in front, is2 the great balance, in$ which the heart of thek dead is to be weighed.3 The dead will be re -5 ceived by the goddess

of truth on entering thehall ; Horus and Anu-

$ bis then take his heart,2 and weigh it in the53 ba l ance t o p roveB R whether it is lighter4 8 than truth. Thoth, the

scribe of the gods, notesthe result upon his

P 4m s& tablets and communi-z g cates it to Osiris. Mores l remarkable, however,

than this representa-tion is the speech re-

8 quired of the dead5 m a q 2 when he arrives at 2 this hall of the twoi3 truths, when he i s freed

from all evil which heE:2 hus done, and when he

beholds the face of the

6 1 Maat does not appear' on the accompanying illus -

tration. (Eng. trans.)2 Totenbuch, 125.

4-

Y

z

m %

m'u3



BELIEFS REGARDING THE DEAD I 0 3

god. Thus runs his prayer : Praise be to thee, thou great god, thoulord of the two truths. I haw come to thee, oh my lord, that I may

behold thy beauty. Iknow thee, and know the names of the forty -twogods who are with thee i n the hall of the two truths, who live o n themil doers, and who drink their blood each day of the reckoningbefore Wennofre.

I come to thee and bring to thee truth, and chase away wrory

I have conwaitted no sins against mankind . . . I have not done that which the gods abhor. I have made no man evil in theeyes of his superior. I have not caused to weep. I have done no murder. I have not corn-manded to murder. I havenot diminished the food i n the temples. I huve not lessened thebread of the gods. I have not stolen the provisions of theilluminated. I have not committed impurity i n the pure abodesof the god of my city. I have not diminished the corn measure.

I have not diminished the cubit measure. I have not falsi$ed

the j e l d measure. I have not added to the weights of thebalance. I have not falsi$ed the tongue of the balance. I

have not stolen the milk from the mouth of the child. I havenot stolen the cattle from his pasture. I have not snared the birds of the gods. I have not caught the jish i n their lakes.

I have not hindered the water (of the inundation) in i ts time. I have Taot dammed up running water . . . I have not injured the herds in the tenqde domains. I have not hindered the

god in his revenues. A second confession of the same characterthen follows, in which a separate judge is appealed to for everysin. There is no doubt that originally it was entirely separate,and was afterwards introduced here, with the result that thedead man has twice to testify to his innocence ; Oh thw, wideof stride in Heliopolis, I have committed no sin. Oh Clasper of fiames in Kher-Ahau ! I haw, not stolen, Oh Nosein Hermopolis !

I have not defrauded. Oh Devourer of Shadows in Kerert! I

have not stolen. Oh Looker backward i n Rosetta! I have not murdered men. Oh Double lioness in heaven! I have not diminished the measure of corn. Oh Kizifk-eyed in Letopolis ! I

have done nothing dishonest. Oh flame in iKhetkhet! I have

doing.

I have not caused to hunger.

I have not occasioned grief t o any.




not stolen the Temple property. Oh Bone-breaker in Herakleopolis !

I have not lied. Among other sins which the dead man dis-owns before White -teeth, Devourer of blood, Devourer of enirails,Wanderer, and other similar terrible beings, are the following :

I have stolen no food. I have not slain sacred animals. I

have not lain in wait. I wasnot deaf to words of Iruth. I havenot consumed my heart (with remorse). I have not calumniated.

I have not uitered many words. I have not reviled the king. My voice was not loud. I have not reviled the god, etc. Thenagain t h e dead man addresses the terrible judges: May ye be

praised, ye gods. 1 shallnot fall by yozw sword. This god in whose following ye are,reports to you nothing evil about me. You are not concerned with me, ye speak the truth concerning me before the lord of all..For 1 have done jiutly in Egypt, I have not reviled the god, and the king of the time had nothing against me.

Praise to you, ye gods, ye who are in the hall of the two truths, ir,

whose body is no lie, and who live in truth . . . before Horus whodwells in his sun. Deliver me from Bebon, who lives on theentrails of the great ones, in the day of the great reckoning.

Behold, I come to you, without sin, without evil . . . I live bytrzbth, and feed myself with the t ruth of my heart. 1 have donethat which man eommandeth and that wherewith the gods arecontent, I

have given bread to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothing to

the naked, and a passage over the river to him who hath noboat. I have made offerings to the god and funerary gvts to theilluminated.

Deliver me, protect me ; Ye do not accuse me bcjore the great god. I am one who hath a clean mouth and pure hands, oneto whom those who see them cry, ‘‘ Welcome, welcome.”

Another great aid to the deceased in his search for justifica-tion, namely, that he has heard that word which the ass spake with

the cat, etc., is considered a proof that he has been a faithfulservant of Osiris, and has taken part in the feasts and ceremonies.If we look through these lists of sins not committed, it is

evident that the compiler found considerable difficulty in finding

I have not committed adultery.1 have not caused weeping.

I know you and know your names.

I have pleased the god with that which he loveth.



BELIEFS REGARDING THE DEAD 10 5

forty-two sins to assign to each of the forty-two judges, whosenumber was fixed by the forty -two provinces; they reappearunder different forms, or they are expressed quite generally.Those which are forbidden are somewhat as follows : Injury tothe gods and the dead, murder, oppression, stealing, robbingminors, fraud, impurity and adultery, lying, slander, reviling,lying in wait (eavesdropping) - all of which are also condemnedin our scheme of morality, There is only one which exceedsours, the remarkable but fine command which forbids heart eating, i. e. useless remorse,

What is elsewhere stated in the tomb inscriptions of the earliertime as warrant of the worth of the deceased is of equally simplecharacter : I gave bread t o the hungry and clothes to the naked,and gave a passage in my own boat to those who could not CTOSS.’

I was a father to the orphait, a husband to the widow, a protection from the wind to the shiveriszg; I anz one who spalce what wasgood and related what was good (not a scandal monger). Iacquired my possessions in a just rnanne~*.~

The dead who could not pass the test obtained no entranceinto the kingdom of Osiris, and this was sufficiently sad forthem, for now they must lie hungry and thirsty in their graves,and neither by day nor by night can they behold the sun. Butas in the case of earthly tribunals, a special punishment isawarded to those who are not acquitted, so €or the non - justifieddead a punishment was devised, although it was certainly alater addition. The judges carried swords with which to chastisethe guilty, and a peculiarly terribIe being, Bebon, of whom weknow nothing, was ready to tear him to pieces. But we do notlearn much more than this ; it was not a circumstance on whichthe imagination of the Egyptians loved to dwell.

Also with regard to the future of the blessed we do not learnmuch that is clear from the Book of the Dead. He has hisplace in the Hull befom the gmat god, and he knows every greatgod . . . He goes out into the Field of Earu. There i s givento him cakes and byead, and $elas of barley and spelt seaencubits high. The sewants of Horus gather in his harvest, and he

* Cairo, 20505, U.O. 2 Hanover, Kestner Museum, No. 11.Cairo, 1641.




eats of this barley and th is spe1t.l Or again : He goes in and out in the under -world, and inhabits the Field of Earu and dwells in

the Field of Food, the great place rich in breexes. He i s mightythere, and i s illuminated there, he ploughs them and harveststhere, and drinks there, and enjoys the pleasure of love there,and does everything that he did on eayth.2

We will quote two tomb inscriptions which will show theconceptions that prevailed during the New Kingdom as to theexistence of the blessed dead in connection with the Book ofthe Dead. I n the first Nachtmin, the superintendent of th egranary, desires for himself sFlendour in heaven, power upon earthand justi&ation in the under -world - to go in and out of mygrave - that I may cool myself in its shadow - that I may dailydrink watei- out of mypool - that my limbs may grow-that the

Nile may bring me nourishment and food and all gwen plantsim its time- that I may exercise myself upon the borders of my

pool, daily without ceasing-that my soul may hover on theboughs of the trees which I planted-that I may cool myself

under m y sycamores - that I viay eat the fruit which tl~eygive-that I may ham a mouth with which 1 may speak likethe sewmats of Sorus - that I may mount up to heaveyL, and descend to earth, and not be hindered on the way- that my ka maynot be waylaid-that my soul may not be shut up - that I may beamorhg the praised, i n the midst of the noble ones - that I may

plough my land i n the Field of Earu-that 1 may arrive at t heField of Food, that they may come out to me withjars and loaves

- with all food of the Lord of eternity - that I may receive myp-ovisions from the $esh on the altar of the great god.For Paheri, prince of El Kab, the following wishes are

expressed by his relatives : Thougoest in and out with a glad heart,and with the rewards of the Lord of the gods . . . Thou becomest aliving soul; thou hast power over bread, water and air. Thouchangest thyself into a phanix or a swaUow, a sparrow -hawk or aheron, as thou desirest. Thou dost cross i n the boat and art not

hindered. Thou sailest upon the water when a $flood ariseth. Thoulivest anew and thy soul i s not parted from thy body. Thy soul is a

1 Totcnbnch, 99. 2 ib . 110, introduction.3 Louvre, C. 55 .



BELIEFS REGARDING THE DEAD 10 7

god together with the illuminated, and the excellent souls speak withthee. Thou art among them and (terily) receivest what i sgiven upon

earth ; thou possessest water, possessest air, hast superabundance of that which thou desirest. Thine eyes are given to thee to see, and thine ears tohear speech, thy mouth speaketh, thy legs move, thy handsand arms bestir them.selves f o r thee, thy $ash grows, thy veins w e inhealth, and thou feelest thyself well in all thy limbs. Thou hast thine upright heart in thy possession, and thy earlier heayt belongsto thee. Thou dost mount up to heaven, and art szcmnzoned each dayto the libation table of Wennofre, thou receivest the food which hasbeen offered to him and the g$ts of the Lords of the necropolis.

And there are further wishes expressed for the same indi -vidual. Thou eatest bread in the pyesence of the god, on the great staircase of the Lord of the Ennead (of Osiris in Abydos). Thoudost mercise tlzyelf there and art friendly with the servants of Horus (the ancient kings who reigned there). Thou dost ascend and descend and art not prevented. Admittance i s mot refksed thee at the gate of Duat, but the folding doors of the horizon are opened tothee, and the bolts open to thee of themselves. Thou treadest the hallof the Two Truths, and the god who i s in it greets thee. Thouseatest thyself within the kingdom of the dead and wallcest about in

the “city of the Nile.” Thou rejoicest when thou ploughest thy portion of the Field of Earu. ‘What thou needest isprodzwed by thylabour, and thy harvest comes to thee as c o m . A rope i s fixed to theboat for thee, that thou mayest sail when it pleaseth thee. Everymorning thou goest out, and every evening thou retumest home. At night a lamp i s lighted for thee, until the sun again shines m a thybody. (‘Welcome” i s said to thee in this thy house of the living.Thou beholdest Re i n the horizon of heaven, a,nd gazest o n Amonwhen he ariseth. Thou awakest beautifid by day, all evil chased away from thee. Thou dost traverse eternity with j o y f t d n e s s and

with the praise of the god who i s in thee (i. e. thy conscience ?>.

Thou possessest thy heart, it doth iaot depart from thee. Thy food i s them where it should be.

A careful reading of this passage scarcely affords us a clearcomprehension of the life of the dead. That the dead passesthe night in the tomb or in the under -world, that he awakes inthe morning and leaves his grave, when he sees the sun arise ;






fashion a kind of geography of the Hereafter. That the Egyptiannation were not exempt from this is proved by the marvellousbooks, which pointed out to the deceased the road they shouldtake, and explained to him all th e various beings he would meetwith in the under-world.

Whoever entered the realms of the dead by the sacred placeof Ro-Setau (p. 15), had, as we learn from a map of theHereafter: two routes open to him, which would lead him tothe land of the blessed, one by water, the other by land. Bothare zigzag, and a traveller cannot change from one to the other,for between them lies a sea of fire. There are also by-ways, bywhich thou must not truuel, for they lead thee into the fire, orthey are by -paths. Also before entering upon either of theseroutes there is a gate of fire to be passed. This idea thatgates are placed in the road taken by the dead is also found inthe Book of the Dead? The Field of Earu has fifteen or twenty-one gates, and evil gatekeepers stand by them with knives intheir hands, and serpents also are stationed there.

The literature has developed strangely into two voluminousbooks, one of which indicates the route of the dead on their

journey, while the other conveys the sun through the under -world during the twelve hours of the night. Here we find theold idea that even the unfortunate dead in their darkness shallbe allowed once to behold the light, but how greatly is thisbeautiful conception weakened !

According to the Book of him who is in the tmder-world-usually called Amduat - the under-world is divided into twelveparts, which correspond to the twelve hours, and are spokenof asJields or cuverns. They have a large population of gods,of spirits, and of the dead. I n each there is usually a town, andeach is ruled by agod. As the Pharaoh sailed through the pro-vinces of his kingdom, so did the sun god sail from one cavern t oanother ; he issues his commands to the gods who are the~eilt,anddivides the land among them. Various gods formed the escoitof Re, and the goddess of that special hour also acted as his

1 The Zweiwegebuch,from a sarcophagus in the Berlin Museum,

2 Totenbuch, 144 -146.published by Count Schack.




guide. On this journey, however, he himself is actually a corpse,his $flesh as tlie text says; this melancboly circumstance isindicated by his now wearing the head of a ram.

During the first hour the sun god journeys into the earth,into the gateway of the western horixon: 1 20 skencrz long i s the

journey until he !reaches the gods of the under -world. The secondhour bears the name of Wernes, it is a field 408 skenae long and120 skenae broad ; from this point another bark is used by thegod, which at first is convoyed by four marvellous boats. Thefield of the third hour is also of similar extent, and here Osirisdwells, with his followers. Here also ships precede him, and hereceives a friendly welcome.

The fourth and fifth hour bring us into a strange locality, intothe passages, the secret cavemas of the West, where Sokaris, theancient Memphite god of the dead, has his abode. There dark -ness reigns, and Re does not see who i s therein, yet they hear hisvoice when he gives his commands. It is a sandy desert withoutwater, the abode of serpents. The bark of Re must itself changeinto a serpent, and thus it is drawn down through a passage, theroad by which the body of Sokaris entered, through t he mound of sand in which Sokaris is buried, and out of which he still thrustshis head in order to behold the sun.

The sixth hour once more affords water for the bark of thesun ; and it arrives in this field near the body o Osiris. Theseventh brings him danger, for the great storm dragon Apophis,whose place i s in heaven, has established himself here, and lies on

a ridge of land which i s 450 cubits long, and which he f i l l swith hiscoils. But his voice guides the gods to him, and they woundhim: this great god does not pass over him, but diverts his way from him. Yet this secret way on which the god sails in hissplendid bark has yet another difficulty : there is not sufficientwater for it, for the dragon has drunk it up and the magicof Isis and of the Elders is required to bring the ship on its way.These caverns still belong, moreover, to Osiris, whose 3es7z we

here see enthroned as king, while his enemies lie beheaded orbound before him. It is yet more noteworthy that in this hourand the following the sun god arrives at mounds of sand, underwhich various gods are buried. Atum, Re, Khepre, Shu , Tefnut



BELIEFS REGARDING THE DEAD I 1 1

and others : thus he meets himself and, moreover, actually underhis three forms !

In the ninth hour, the rowers of the sun god land and Test in

this city; in the eleventh, where also the torture of the enemiesof Osiris is to be witnessed, the rope by which the ship isdragged is changed into a serpent. I n the twelfth, the greattransformation occurs, which has been prepared during theeleventh hour. In the tenth hour a beetle had alighted close toRe ; nowiin the cavern End of the dawn, the sun bark is draggedthrough a serpent 1,300 cubits long, and when at last he emergesout of the jaws of the serpent, the sun god himself has becomethis beetle. He has now become Khepre, god of the morningsun (see p. l o ) , his former body remains in the under - world,and the god Shu takes the beetle in charge ; the new god comesout from the under -world, and seats himself in the morning bark,and ascends into the bosom of the goddess of heuven. The sun isnew-born and begins his new career.

These are roughly the contents of the book so far as they canbe reproduced. The innumerable quaint details with which theconfused imagination of its compilers has loaded it cannot bereproduced, and yet they give the book its special character.Thus, for instance, in pictures of the third hour, of thekingdom of Osiris, in the ninety-seven figures in the illustra -tion me see nothing, actually nothing, of all we find elsewhereassociated with the god of the Dead. Neither his table of food,nor the fields tilled by the blessed dead, neither the judgment of the dead, nor Isis and Nephthys. Instead we find on one bank three gods standing with sceptres, a hawk, four women who,according to the explanatory text, weep or lament, four mum -mies having horns and wings on their heads, and four men who,it appears, represent the noble dead; then follows the rich in

magic, a papyrus stem on which a piece of meat is lying. Behindis a man who brings the eye and contents the gods, Anubis withhis sceptre before him, and a mummy form provided with hands.The ram with the sword is the slayer of his foes; the male andfemale bringers appear also to be bringing eyeballs, Finally,behind Set and Anubis are two monkeys ; one of which is seatedin a hiding-place, the other, as stated in the inscription, is seated





BELIEFS REGARDING THE DEAD 1 1 3

on his sand. On the other bank we find among others two gods

in long garments, one of whom signifies Orion, a god in a shortskirt, the Western, the goddess who is upon her flame, the god -dess of birth, the Jive, five bird -headed beings with knives, andothers. Between these are two groups of four gods enthronedwearing the crowns of Lower and Upper Egypt, and these eightgods all represent Osiris, to whom this locality belongs, corre -sponding to eight different titles of the god. These are Themightiest of the gods, Jcing of Lower Egypt, We who i s seated uponhis thyone, Bull of the West, Conqueror of Eternity, Representativeof the Xtars, Pirst of Zhe Westerners, Lord of the West. Behind allthese again stands a man praying, and the god Khnum. Whenwe turn to the ships which are conducting the sun bark we findin them the serpents Sparkling of face, P i ~ e in cowntenance,Fire in eye, and also hawks and female hawks, with Xordsof sceptres and H G who i s in the country, with the pilots,FZaming Pace, Xn<fe in the ~ountenanee, and Rowel.of rowers.What in the world is the meaning of all th is ? I n vain

we search in the text for an explanation; here we aretold tha t those in the upper row create the ocean, make theadvances of the Nile, while those below cut up souls, and ensnareshadows, and harry the enemy with fire and sword.

We are also informed that these beings worship Re ; he speakskindly to them, and gives them drink, and when he has passedaway from them they lament. But what help does this give ustowards understanding the individual figures ? And yet the

man who compiled this grand book on the basis of one similarand more ancient, undoubtedly associated ideas with the wholeof this and took delight in all t he allusions concealed in thesepictures. We need not, however, greatly lament our ignorance,for what is incomprehensible to us here does not representpopular ideas, nor does it contain deep speculation. It is thephantasy of a strange people, who have given it the form inwhich we now see it, and who were nothing more than compilersof magic spells. The titles, with which the whole book is per -vaded, point to this. Whoever knows these pictures and names,to him it i s of greatest use. upon earth and of use in the great wnder-world. O r ; who knows them, he possesses food in the

8



r r 4 A HANDBOOK OF EGYPTIAN RELIGION

under-wodd, and i s satisfied witlz the gifts of the follozuers of

Osiris,while his relations upon earth also

makegyts to

him.Or,again: He is a passenger of the Bark of Re in heaven and im

earth. He, however, who does not Know these things, he cannotescape Apophis. Every word, every picture of the book is thusa protection for the fortunate possessor, and without doubt itwas dearly paid for as such, to the man who first supplied it.

A supplementary book has also survived to our times, calledby us the Book of the Gates, according to which lofty fortressesstand between each of the hours, guarded by watchers and byfire -breathing serpents. It retains more of the usual conceptions,and it s magic purpose is not so apparent as in the Amduat; itfollows i t, however, only too closely in its construction andarrangement.

I n the whole of this literature there is only one point that isof interest for us. It is that there was a time when it wasvalued and much in request. During the thirteenth and four I

teenth centuries, when the kings of the nineteenth and twentiethdynasties caused their tombs to be constructed at Thebes, thesetexts were painted on the walls and sarcophagi. As we wanderto-day through the solemn passages of these colossal tombs, thepictured forms of the Amduat gaze down on us from all sides, asthough the ancient Egyptians had no higher ideas concerninglife after death than these absurdities. The next century alsosupplied the dead of other ranks with portions of this book onpapyrus rolls to serve as a sure protection. The book, however,

never became generally popular, and remained, as it deserved, asecret of the magic art.



CHAPTER V

FUNERARY CUSTOMS O F THE EARLY PERIOD AND OF THE

NEW KINGDOM

S I NCE the excavations of the last ten years have acquaintedus with the earliest cemeteries of Egypt, we have known t hateven in that country, where such elaborate provision was madefor its dead, burial was at first a simple matter. A narrowtrench in which the body was laid with th e knees drawn up tothe body on the left side. There the body decayed, and after afew years any one molesting such a grave would merely finda skeleton with the bones detached. A remembrance, moreover,of this oldest form of burial, in which the body decayed and fellto pieces, influenced the later Egyptian, without his being awareof it ; his prayers for the dead still included the wish that thelimbs of the deceased should once more unite themselves, and tha this head might a,gainbe attached to his body.

In th e later period, when the Egyptian knew how to preservethe body from decay, by means of mummifying, he still madeuse of these expressions, employing them as allusions t o thebody of Osiris rent in pieces by his foes, and it is very possiblethat the legend of the dismemberment of the body of Osiris mayearlier have grown out of this ancient ritual, which in its originalform referred to limbs fallen apart from each other.

At this time it was customary t o place something in the handof the deceased, which was considered likely to be of use to him.Thus in one hand we find a flat palette, used during his

lifetime for rubbing the green paint with which he adornedhis body, and in the other hand a leather bottle. Near thebody a large number of objects are laid, jars and bowls withfood and drink, that the deceased may not go hungry ; harpoons

115




and flint knives, that he may hunt for food, and defend himself against his foes ; a chess board, with which he may wile away thetime, hair ornaments and palettes, with which he may perform histoilette as elaborately as in life. I n addition to these there wereothers which could only have been of supernatural service to him.The small clay boat should enable him to cross the lakes which,as we have already seen (pp. 91, 94)) surround the heavenlyregions of the blessed. The clay ox is for him to slay ; the clayhippopotamus will afford him good sport; the clay maid -servant in the great tub will there knead with her feet and makebarley into dough for him, to provide him with his favouritebeverage of beer. And the other crouching figure of a womanis obviously adapted t o provide her lord with the joys of love,and for this reason is she so grandly painted with variouscolours, to appear as though she were decked with garlands anddecorations, and therefore are her thighs so enormously de -veloped, a detail which at the present day is regarded by th eAfrican as the highest feminine beauty.

Other graves of this earliest time already possess elaborationswhich point to an attempt a t improving the disposal of the dead.The bodies were still laid in the crouching position, but they werewrapped in matting or hides, or were buried in two great jars.They would then dry up in the arid soil, and form a kind of natural mummy. Or the grave was dug somewhat deeper, linedwith brick, and covered over with a flat stone to protect thecontents from being crushed. It was yet more secure when a,

short shaft was cut in the rock, which opened below on a smallchamber, whose opening was walled up, and a heap of stonespiled over it, safeguarding the corpse both from robbers and

jackals.Another more elaborate form we find first employed for the

graves of the kings. The great tomb a t Negada, in UpperEgypt, which was probably occupied by Menes, the first king of whom anything was known by the later Egyptians, is a rect -

angular brick building, with strong walls sloping rapidly a t thetop, This was covered with a slight roofing of palm stalks. I nthe centre was the chamber containing the body of the king,surrounded by four other chambers containing the great mass of





118 ,4 HANDBOOK OF EGYPTIAN RELIGION

the rage for pyramid building. The two immediate successorsof Kheops built on the same gigantic scale as their predecessor,but all later monarchs of the Old Kingdom (and among themwere some who reigned long) contented themselves with pyra -

mids of relatively small size. And we must add that thesesmaller pyramids accomplished their objects quite as well, orquite as badly, as their colossal rivals, for neither the one northe other proved able to afford lasting protection to the body.Notwithstanding the masses of granite with which their narrow

F I O . (io. PYRAMIDS AND MORTUARY TEMPLES AT ABUSIR.

Below in the valley the great gateways, from which covered passages led t othe pyramids. (From tire restoration of L. Borchardt.)

passages were blocked, they were all of them pillaged in ancienttimes.

As the interior of the pyramid could not be entered after theburial, it was necessary that the place set apart for the worshipof the dead monarch should be near it on the outside ; a temple

where offerings could be brought, and also storehouses andvarious chambers for preparing the food ; there must also bedwelling-houses and business offices for the priests and officialsof the pyramid. The whole formed with the pyramid a tow%,and bore a name, which signified its eternal permanence and



FUNERARY CUSTOMS OF THE EARLY PERIOD 119

magnificence : Horison of Kheops, or Great o m os Iiephren, orPure places hath Userkaf.

Around the pyramid of the king, according to ancientcustom, were buried those who had surrounded him in life, theprinces and princesses, and all the great nobles of his court.These graves were arranged round the pyramid like a town, withregular streets, varying greatly in size, in material, and indecoration, but in essentials all of one type, that which thefellaheen of the present day prosaically, but most aptly callthe mastaba, i. e. the bench. Externally the mastaba has therectangular form of the earliest royal tomb, but it combines

_---- --

_ z/.

,,,I --F I G . 61. MASTABAS. (Reconstruction by Perrot -Chipies.)

with this all the precautions which had been invented in themeantime for safeguarding the body. A vertical shaft was sunk deep into the rock, and a small lateral chamber chiselled out atthe end, in which the body was placed. Above this shaft arectangular mass of stone blocks was raised, faced with blocksof hewn stone, so that t he mastaba resembled in appearance a

stone building with sloping walls. The shaft was carried right

up to the roof, for on the day of the burial the body had to belet down it ; this having been accomplished, the entrance to theburial chamber was walled up, and the shaft filled to the topwith blocks of stone and rubbish.





FUNERARY CUSTOMS OF THE EARLY PERIOD I Z I

bank, so that the body could be taken to the west for burial ;the place where offerings were made to the dead was on the eastside of the mastaba, in order that any one speaking to the deadshould be facing the west. These places for offerings a t themastabas were marked by the so -called false door, the con -

ventional imitation of a door. It represents the entrance to theinterior of the tomb, the door through which the dead couldemerge to secure the offerings brought by the survivors. I n thelarger tombs these niches were deepened and form a chamber,with the false door on the far wall. At first these chamberswere of small dimensions. The chamber of Meten, now inthe Berlin Museum, and which belongs t o the third dynasty, isactually only a deep narrow niche, widened out crossways at theend in front of the back wall. It just gave room for the twopriests who had to pray and sacrifice at the grave, and alsoallowed persons offering to deposit their offerings on the rightand left sides. The walls of this small chamber are furnishedwith all manner of suitable pictures. His people are bringingto the deceased food and household furniture, and his dogs (hewas a chief huntsman), and supply him with game for hisoffering, while the mortuary priests perform their ceremonieson his behalf. At the entrance two long inscriptions tell howgreatly Meten had succeeded in life, and what a fine houseand large garden he had been able to lay out.

During the reign of Kheops, several years later, we find tha tmore space and more complicated decoration were considerednecessary, and by the fifth and sixth dynasties many of the greatnobles constructed actual mansions for their mastabas. Thusthe tomb of Mereruka, vizier of king Pepi, contains no fewer thanthirty-one chambers, twenty -one of which are devoted to thedeceased, six to his wife, and four to his son. Here there arealso what are not found in all such tombs, representations of agriculture, of cattle-tending, hunting and snaring birds, crafts -

men and sailors, musicians and dancing women, butchers andwine treaders, and whatever would appear interesting andattractive to an Egyptian of the upper classes. No doubt theserepresentations had special reference to the tomb. The cattle,game, fowls, the corn and wine were placed there t o be utilized




as oEerings at the grave, the artisans work for his benefit, theships bring gifts to him, and with music and dancing thedeceased can be amused as in life. But close examinationshows that this purpose becomes increasingly only a matterof secondary importance. If the boatmen were really onlyintended to bring gifts, it would not have been necessary torepresent how they would fall to fighting and cudgelling eachother, and equally unnecessary to perpetuate on the walls of thetombs what the butchers called out to each other, what the sowersang, or what the swaying movements of the dancing girl werecalled. I n all this we recognize an attempt t o render thedecorations of the grave more varied and artistic, even thoughthe pretext for them had to be forcibly adduced. These changes,however, could scarcely have occurred had there not alsobeen some change of ideas. It is probable that by thistime the idea had obtained of celebrating the feast days of the dead as a joyous occasion. For this, the large chambers,with their cheerful and artistic decorations, would be farmore suitable than the narrow rooms with their monotonouspaintings.

But even in the Old Kingdom, everything connected with theofferings and feasts of the dead became more luxnrious duringthe course of centuries. Of what the earliest offering to thedead customarily consisted can now be inferred by the signsemployed in writing the word “offering.” It consisted of amat, on which was placed a dish containing bread. When,

therefore, we find the deceased called upon to come out to thevoice, and to take possession of his offering, the thousand loaves,thousand j u g s o b e e ~ ,housand oxen, thousand geese, u n d ull good,

pure thiags, it is permissible to doubt whether any one ever con -tributed greatly towards the realization of these words. It wasan obsolete form, whose observance cost nothing. Ordinarilythe survivors would deposit some loaves on the table of offeringsin front of t he false door, and pour water over them. At great

festivals they would perhaps bring a haunch of beef in addition,and they would then be considered as having completely fulfilledtheir duty. The long list of food, which it was usual to inscribenear the scene which represented the deceased man feasting,




with its five kinds of wine, fourteen varieties of cakes, and tenkinds of fish, must ha,vebeen merely a pious wish.

FIQ. 63 . TABLE OB OFFERINGS OF THE NEW KINGDOM.At the bottom is the ma t with th e bread pan, on which ar e heaped loaves,

water jars, fruit, a roast goose, etc. (Berlin, 2273.)

The great tombs of the Old Kingdom, which I have justdescribed, were provided for on an entirely different scale. Thisis shown by the number of ordinary, superior, and chief priestswhich were attached to them. When so large a staff (in thetomb of Mereruka there were forty -seven mortuary priests) wasemployed to take charge of the food brought for offerings, theamount of offerings must have been proportionately large. Herealso apparently it was the example of the kings, who employeda large number of important people a t their pyramids, that wasimitated. The old wholesome idea tha t sons and grandsonsshould tend the grave was no longer held; these importantpersonages had too many other duties t o allow them to under -

take the regular charge of a tomb, So there remained no otheralternative but to set filial piety on one side, and to provide forthe deceased by a business arrangement. A bargain was madewith some relatives or employds, or even with those who had noconnection with the family, by which some specified land or




property was made over to them, In return they undertook toprovide the offerings to the deceased, to perform the prescribedceremonies, and to guard the tomb carefully. These mortuarypriests thus formed a colony at the great tombs, with settledorders, of varying ranks, and with regulations of their own.

It can easily be imagined that this custom introduced by thegreat nobles would soon spread among people of more moderatenieans. A man who himself was only a mortuary priest hasleft behind a tablet on which he recounts the various personswhom he has provided for his daughter's grave. If we mayinfer his pecuniary circumstances from the roughness of thisinscription, it would not be possible for him to have made suchample provision. Possibly the king came to his aid in thismatter, as he often did in the Old Kingdom.

This interposition of the king was of so remarkable a charactert 'hat we cannot well pass it over. I n the upper classes of Egyptian society, which principally subsisted on the favour of the Pharaoh, and at Court ate what was excellent, that he gave: it

naturally came t o pass that on application to the king deservingpersons would be assisted in founding and supporting their graves.We frequently hear of such cases; in one instance the kingentirely provides for the construction of the tomb, for another(his physician) he gives at least the false for a third heorders a stone sarcophagus t o be p r ~ v i d e d , ~and yet anotherhopes tha t i n his grave the mortuary ofering will be supplied fromthe granaries, from the treasuries, from the worJcshops of the royaljewellery . . . and from everyplace of the Court f r o m which an ofering to the dead shall be provided: What was done in isolatedcases during the Old Kingdom, must have been almost therule at the primitive t ime when the developed system of burialwas confined to a very small circle of the highest personages,and it was then hoped, in the case of every deceased person,that the king would supply his tomb with food.

As i t was expected of Anubis, the ancient god of the dead,

that he would supply the dead with provisions, so it wasexpected of the king: the ofering that the icing gives! the

Berlin, 14108. 2 Westcar, 7,21. 3 Mariette, Mustabas, I>. 12.

Inscription of Una. 6 Mariette, Mastabas, E. 12.




offering tlzat Anubis gives ! thousands of loaves, beer, oxen, geese,of all good things ! That is the prayer uttered more frequentlythan any other a t the tombs. And this petition must havecome down from a very early time, for its opening words arcalmost meaningless, and it became the recognized prayer for thedead of the Egyptians. T h e ofering that the king gives is, for theEgyptian, the prayer of all prayers. For thousands of years itpersisted, meaningless and distorted, but ever with its ancientwording, and it was even employed for the gods in the temples.As long as the Egyptian belief existed at all, so long was itinscribed on all tombs, and on all objects deposited in them.We, therefore, meet with its hieroglyph signs ’$ A from

the earliest times until we are weary of them, and wouldgladly ignore them. However, if we entertain kindly feelingstowards the ancient Egyptians, we shall not ignore this petition ;

but, on the contrary, read it aloud with emphasis, for this iswhat the occupants of the tombs request from posterity. They

ask us for that breath of the mouth which i s of use to the dead and also not diflcult for him who utters it, and charge us to doso by all that is sacred to an Egyptian: even as we desire that our local gods should love and reward us, and that we should bequeath our oflcial positions to our childyen, or even as we lovelife, and hate death.

I n other respects also the grave inscriptions often address thefuture visitor. One assures us that he has every claim to the

attention of posterity, because he has been a good man who hasdone no evil against m y one. He has also built this tomb of newmaterial, and has taken no man’s pyoperty foi- it? And all menwho enter this tomb and behold what i s in it, and protect itsinswiptions . . . they shall become elders in their city and venerable in their province? Woe, however, to those who injurethe tomb ; the deceased will summon him before a court of justice,for though he can no longer appeal to earthly justice, he can point

out the evildoer t o the great god near whom he dwells in death.4Yet neither these causes nor yet their well -founded revenues1 Berlin, 7311 11.0.

3 Siut, i. 225 et seq..ib. 15126.

*Berlin, 15126 u.0,




could save the Egyptian tombs from the fate that naturallyawaited them; even the most wealthy nation cannot providefor perpetuity a never -ending ceremonial for th e benefit of itsdead. What did it avail that the reigning Pharaoh intendedfaithfully to fulfil his pious duty towards the Toyal ancestors andall the former queens and princesses. A day would inevitably comewhen his advisers would point out to him that it was already diffi-cul t to provide sufficient establishment for the tomb of the Pharaohhimself, and that it was impossible to arrange adequately for all therelations of the king. There would therefore be no alternativebut to confiscate the endowment of some half -forgotten ancestorto supply the necessities of the present time. When KingSahure expressed a wish to reward his old palace official Persenwith a permanent gift, it might well be most just to appropriatethe foundation of the ancient Queen Neferhotpes, and to bestowon this meritorious man the two cakes and the oil which shehad secured for her grave as a daily offering from the templeof Ptah? What could not be avoided even in the prosperouscircumstances of the royal family would necessarily be doublyunavoidable in private families. Even the most wealthy, aftera few generations, must have been forced to employ the revenuesof the older graves for the purposes of graves of their own time.The mortuary priests also would only trouble themselves aboutthe more recent graves, for which they received payment ; theearlier ones were closed and neglected, What would thenhappen we can learn from an instance borrowed from the modernEgyptians. In the fifteenth century of our era the MamelukeSultans at Cairo built burial places for themselves which rivalledin size the tombs of the ancient Egyptians. They were mosques,and contained schools and accommodation for students. Theirmaintenance and the salaries of the large staff employed therewere provided for by rich endowments. These endowments wereconfiscated at the beginning of the nineteenth century, andalready these tomb -mosques have become melancholy ruins,from which everything worth taking has been torn down andstolen. Some have been inhabited by gangs of beggars, thesuccessors of the mosque officials who once lived there, others

1 Berlin, 11406=Mariette, Mastccbas, I>. 45.



FUNERARY CUSTOMS OF THE EARLY PERIOD 1 2 7

have been profitably made use of by the State as magazines.We have no ground for assuming that things were otherwise inancient Egypt, when disused tombs would also quickly fall intoruins. A great number of objects found in later tombs showhow the earlier ones were pillaged ; the name of the dead manin whose grave they were first placed is erased, and that of a

new possessor substituted; coffins, statues, and all the othergrave furniture bear traces of this double usage. The tombsthemselves show this even more clearly: almost all of themwere broken into and plundered in ancient times. We oftenfind that the grave inscriptions have been chiselled out and re-placed by that of a new burial, and even more frequently we finda still rougher usage of the old graves. They were pulled down,and as much of them as could be carried away utilized asbuilding material. There was then nothing to prevent thedesert sand drifting into those ruined tombs, rising higher andhigher until it formed a new level ou which a later generationonce more erected graves. Thus in Sakkara, near the pyramidof King Teti, over the ruined graves of his time there are thoseof the New Kingdom, and above these again graves were oncemore built during the Hellenistic period, and all alike are shat -tered and pillaged. It is a melancholy sight, which recalls thepessimistic verses in which an ancient Egyptian poet lamentedthe uselessness of constructing graves : he who built there in Tedgranite, who constructed a hall (?> in a pyramid ; who supplied there what was beauti& in this fine work . . . his altar shall beas enapty as those of the weary, who die on the canal embankment without leaving any surviv0rs.l

Now and then a pious successor would undertake to restoresome such ruined grave ; thus Entef, prince of Hermonthis,boasts, in the Middle Kingdom : I found the chamber of oferingsof the prince Nelchti-olcer fallen down, i ts walls were old, all i tsstatues were brolcen, there was no one who heeded it. Thus it tuas re - built, i ts site was enlarged, its statues we~erenewed, and its door built of stone, so that his place surpassed those of other noble princes?What Entef did here was regarded altogether as a religious

Speech of a man weary of life, 60 e t sea.2 Berlin, 13272,





FUNERARY CUSTOMS OF THE EARLY PERIOD I Z ~

the mummy is turned, there is painted a pair of large eyes inorder that the dead body may behold the -Cord of the Horizon,when he mils across the heuvens,l and a door is sometimes paintedinside the cofin upon the side, to enable the dead t o comeforth. The form of the cofin is

generally very simple. I t is a pol -ished chest with a flat cover, or ithad in addition (and this must havebeen the appearance of the coffin of Osiris) four corner posts and anarched cover. I n the Middle King -dom, when the coffin was generallybrightly painted, it was customaryto inscribe it on the inside withvarious chapters from the ancientfunerary texts ; the most importantof these were always arranged inrows on the outside, and commended

FIG. 64. THE S O N S OF =ORUS 01

(2:; , i ~ " , i ~ ~ , ~ r ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A FLOWER I N THE LAKE, by the

the deceased to the protection of Naville, I , 136.)

the gods who guard* the dead:to Anubis, Osiris, Keb, and Nut, Isis and Nephthys, and,before all others, to the four sons of Horus (page 94). Thesefour spirits arose from the water in a lotns flower, and thewater god Sobk, by command of Re, had to catch them witha net- she, however, who produced them was Isis? Withoutdoubt they succoured Osiris in his misfortunes, and saved himfrom hunger and thirst, and thus it is their part to do thesame for the dead. This gave rise to a peculiar conception,which had already begun in the Old Kingdom, although it waslater that it was universally accepted. By them the entrailswere prevented from causing the corpse any unpleasant sensa -tions ; they were taken out of the body and placed in specialboxes or jars, each of which were placed under the charge of these spirits (p . 146). The deceased was also protectedagainst hunger and thirst, by the same methods employed inprimitive times; actual bread, meat, and drink were laid in

Steindorff, Grabfiinde ails den Konigl. Museen ZLI Berlin, ii. 5 .

Totenbuch, 113.9




the sepulchral chamber, and further provision was made by

furnishing him with models of a

household, granaries, withlabourers who continually emptied sacks into them; a maid -servant who ground corn for him between two stones ; anotherwho made bread of it and baked it, and again a third who pre-pared beer for him. Other females, either richly dressed orentirely naked, were provided for his personal service. A potteryhouse, with all manner of food in the courtyard, was laid in thegrave for his abode.

The ancient custom of providing ships for the dead, which

F I G . 65. M O D E L ROIVINQ BOAT. Painted wood. (Hilton Price Collection.)

rendered him independent of the favours of the celestial ferry -man, also lasted into the Middle Eingdom. At Dahshur, nearthe pyramid of the third Sesostrjs, real ships were buried in thesand but ordinary mortals contented themselves with smallmodels. As, however, these boats have the dead laid as a




mummy under a canopy, with the mourning women and the

priests, who are reciting the ancient rituals out of their rolls,and as a rowing boat is also provided to tow the ship bearingthe dead, it is quite clear that the original object of these boatshas been lost sight of, and that they now represent the funeralprocession crossing the Nile,

The amulets and sacred symbols which later were placed onthe mummies in such profusion, to protect them against injuryon the journey, play no part a t the earlier period. We needonly mention here the ivory wands on which various strangefigures are engraved, the many amulets which yzbarantee pro - tection. One of these figures is called the Jtghter, and appearsto be intended to protect the dead from snakes and scorpions.How greatly these dangers were feared for the dead is shown bythe endless magic formuke against snakes in the pyramid text,and there is another detail which bears witness to it. S o farwas this fear carried, tha t it even extended t o the ordinary hiero-glyph signs written in the grave. I n many graves the two letters

f and z and 7 re written with the head separate from

the body. The sign of the lion also B rw) is occasionallyrendered harmless in the same manner. I n other graves the birdswere forced to forego their legs in order to carry out this idea, aprecaution which does not commend itself to our modern notions,

The quantity and nature of the outfit and property given to thedead naturally depended on the wealth and affection of thesurvivors ; weapons, staves, seats and boxes, articles of toiletand of jewellery, clothes, and scented oil, these are all foundin one or other of the graves. And with the actual objectsdeposited in the mortuary chamber there were others whichwere only pictorially represented. I n the earliest graves shortlists are found which recount the various kinds of oil or of linenwhich the dead must have, while from the end of the Old King -

dom all that the deceased may require, such as bracelets, neck-laces, sandals, staves, weapons, materials for handicrafts, and manyother objects, are painted or inscribed on the walls of the tombs.

But the most remarkable of these offerings is undoubtedlythe statue of the deceased, I t s meaning can be gathered from




the position it customarily occupies in the mastaba ; i t standsin the so -called serdab, a small walled-in chamber near thechamber of offerings, which generally communicates with it onlyby a narrow slit. Thus the dead abides close to his worshippers,if only in ef%gy,he hears the priests recite, and the fragranceof the incense and the scent of the food can reach him; perhapsit was thought tha t his soul might quit his body in the mortuarychamber, and inhabit this statue as a second body. In graveswhich are not of mastaba form, and which do not possess aserdab, a statue is still introduced in some way; in the rock -cut tombs they are often placed in the farthest chamber, whilein the smaller graves of the Middle Kingdom at least one figureof the dead is laid on the cofjCin.

Of these two forms of graves just mentioned, the second of them, the rock-cut tomb, is scarcely later than the mastaba itself;as early as the fourth dynasty the great nobles occasionally cuttheir tombs in the cliffs at Gizeh, instead of building them.But on the plateau of Memphis, where most of the large tombsof the Old Kingdom are placed, it was so far more convenient tobuild a mastaba, that at all periods a rock-cut tomb was ex -ceptional. I t s especial locality is in the south, where high,steep cliffs enclose the Nile valley ; here it was simplest to cuta tomb horizontally in the cliff. These rock tombs weredecorated, like the mastabas, with inscriptions and pictures,and in them also there was a false door, and a shaft whichterminated at its lower end in the mortuary chamber; but thisarrangement developed in early times in accordance withanother point of view. The rock tomb was looked upon as thehouse of the dead, and, like the abode of the living, it had infront a spacious reception court, behind was the large chamber,and behind this again was the actual dwelling of the dead man,the niche occupied by his statue.

The small brick pyramid, which from the time of the MiddleKingdom was the usual form of grave in provincial towns, wasof course an imitation of the great royal pyramids; but theywere built by people of small means, for notwithstanding theirimportant appearance this form of grave was the simplest andmost convenient. A cavity in the rock served as a sarcophagus ;



FUNERARY CUSTOMS OF THE EARLY PERIOD 13 3

this was covered over with a vaulting, and above it, on a slightsubstructure, there was built a small pyramid of whitewashedbricks. On the east side a gravestone indicated the place forofferings; on it the deceased is shown sitting at meat, with hiswife, and frequently this is followed by lorig rows of childrenand relatives who pay homage to the deceased. I n the sandbefore the grave lies the table of offerings on which the foodwas laid and the water poured.

I n addition t o all the arrangements which we have described,greater security and happiness were ensured for the dead manby means of the many ceremonies performed a t the preparationof the mummy at the funeral, and at the provisioning of thedeceased. They are similar in character to those we havealready (p. 45 et seq.) met with in connection with the worship of the gods. Here also every separate action must be accompaniedby its proper formula which refers to its prototype in the actsof the gods. Endless and wearisome are these texts, and byno means beautified by the number of puns introduced intothem.

The ritual of embalming as a whole has come down to us onlyin a very late form ; we shall not, however, be very much mis -taken if we assume that the embalmer and his assistant, thelearned Kherheb (p. 54), here figured as the gods who anointedthe body of Osiris and wrapped him in linen bandages.

We know far more about the ritual for the ceremonies at thegrave, which on the day of the funeral were first performed onthe mummy itself, and afterwards on feast days on the statue of the deceased. The principal person at these ceremonies was a

priest called the Sem, but the Kherheb and several otherpersonages also took part. When the dead man had beensprinkled with water, and incense had been offered before him,three persons proceeded to the grave, and wakened the Sem,who had swathed himself in wrappings before he laid down.When he had slowly raised himself in the appointed manner,the four together undertook the part of those sons of Horuswho had tarken care of Osiris (p. 129). At a further stageof the performance, where the Sem wore a peculiar decora-tion over the breast, and carried a staff, he represented




Horus, son of Osiris. Some called out : Oh Isis, Horus i scome, that he muy embrace his father, and the Kherheb cried :

hasten that thou mayest see thy father. The Sem then ex -

changed his attire for a panther skin, and while the animalto be sacrificed was being cut up near him, he announced tothe deceased ; I have rescued this my eye out of his mouth. I

have cut of his thigh-thus the Sem presented the thigh of the animal to the deceased, as Horus once presented his owneye, which Set had torn out (p . 34), to his father. But beforethe deceased could devote himself to enjoying this food, the mostimportant of all the ceremonies must be performed on his behalf.The opening of the mouth and of the eyes. Twice with smalloblique axes, and once with a chisel was the face of the deceasedtouched, and when that and all else had been done, and whenthe Sem with his little finger had opened mouth and eyes, thedead man was once more enabled to receive food. The Semraised his staff and assigned to him his food. Finally heanointed the dead man, and burnt incense before him, gave hima headcloth, clothed him in bandages, and gave him a staff andflail, similar to those carried by Osiris.

In addition t o this ceremonial there was also the actualsacrificial ritual, those endless spells, in which the offerings weretermed the eye of Horus in accordance with the performance justquoted : 1 bring thee the eye of Horus, which I have talcen away

from Xet , or I bring thee the eye of Eorus, after thou hast counted it, and so forth. If any statement was made concerning the eye,the names of one of the gifts offered was joined to it , for theadded word must form a pun.

In addition to the tomb, there was another place, in the case of an important personage, where care was bestowed on the pro -

visions of the deceased. During his life-time he had on feastdays been present when the offerings from the altar of the godwere distributed (p. 47), and in death also he wished to sharein this meal. Thus in the Middle Kingdom a statue of thedeceased was placed in the temple, and request was made forhim for all that was furnished for the altar of the god. Thismatter was not entrusted solely t o the prayer, but a perpetualsupply of a fixed number of loaves for the feast was prudently



FUNERARY CUSTOMS OF THE EARLY PERIOD 13 5

purchased from the priesthood. These were laid in front of thestatue, and no doubt became the property of the mortuary

priests. This arrangement often supplied the kings with anopportunity of recognizing faithful service, as on many a statuebearing a priest’s name, we read that it was placed there as areward on the part of the king.

There was also a third place where the Egyptian might hopeto secure his hopes for the future life, in the sacred city of Abydos. Since the kings of the first dynasty had resided atAbydos, and were buried there, the idea had gained ground that

Osiris, first of the dwellers in the West, who was worshipped there,was a peculiarly benevolent and holy god. The most importantof his relics, his head, was there, kept preserved in a box, andat his grave the great festival of the god was celebrated. Luckyindeed were the dead who were buried here, not far from thestairs which led down to the grave of the deity. They werecompanions of the king of the dead, they were the great ones of

Abydos, and his court. They received a place in the ship of the

god, they took a share of his food, and to them “ zueleonw ” wasspoken by tlae great ones of Abydos.

It must therefore have been the supreme wish of every piousEgyptian to be buried in Abydos, and in fact from the end of the Old Kingdom, many people of all classes preferred a gravein this sacred place to one at the Court or at home. He whofound it impossible to build a tomb at Abydos,gained at leastsomething by visiting the god a t Abydos, and erecting a stone

on the staircase of the great god; in this way he secured aplace for himself in the midst of these privileged dead. TheBerlin Museum shows us how universal was this idea. Thegreater number of small gravestones and memorial slabs of theMiddle Kingdom are from Abydos. Many of their owners, asthey themselves inform us, went to the holy place for pro -fessional reasons, others sought it solely as pilgrims, and othersagain undertook the pilgrimage for the first time after their

death. I n the tomb of the priest Khnemhotp, a t Beni Hasan,there is a great pictured scene which, as the inscription accom-panying it informs us, represents a voyage made by him in orderto learn t o h o w the things of Abydos. His mummy lies on a




vessel under a canopy, and the Sem priest and Kherheb remainat his side throughout the voyage. I n the sacred town he was

placed before the god of the dead as a new vassal, and also took part in his festival services. Then, accompanied by wives andchildren, he returned home once more to occupy his magnificenttomb at Beni Hasan.

Most of these fimerary customs, which we have here described,

were even more widely practised in the New Kingdom, andwhere occasionally some practice disappears or falls into abey -ance during this period, it is only to make way for some newerand richer conception, which is intended to be equally beneficialfor the dead.

Wi t h regard t o the arrangement of the tombs, the two formsare retained which were popular during the Middle Kingdom.Simple folk contented themselves with the small brick pyramid,

the more important ones were laid in rock chambers. The kingsalso constructed these rock tombs for themselves, but the formgiven to them was new. A long narrow passage, with which ante-chambers sometimes communicated, led to a chamber, the gold house, in the centre of which stood the stone sarcophagus, with thebody of the monarch. All the walls were covered with religioustexts and scenes, and as these are principally taken from thedescriptions of the realms of the dead (p. 109 e t seq.), it has been

surmised, not without probability, that it was the underworlditself which was in the minds of the constructors of these tombs :

a long passage, which became more and more intensely dark,until the gold house was reached where dwelt Osiris, the king.I n this must have consisted the only connection between thesetombs and the cult of the dead. They are situated in thedesolate western valley of Biban el Moluk. Neither theirspace nor their isolated position are adapted for such ceremonies.Apparently the ceremonies and offerings of the dead kings werecarried on in Der el Bahri, Gurneh, and in all those temples onthe western bank of Thebes, in which the kings were worshippedin company with the Theban deities.



FUNERARY CUSTOMS OF THE NEW KINGDOM 1 3 7

There is also a marked change in the graves of the commonpeople. Up to this time the scenes in the tombs and on thegravestones were confined to the endless subject of supplies forthe dead, and the gifts brought by the survivors or the attend -ants, but these now drop into the background. I n their placewe find scenes of a religious character: pictures and in -scriptions from the Book of the Dead and similar texts adornthe walls, while on the gravestones we find representations of the dead man adoring Osiris or the sun god. Also thosepictures of life on earth, which only appear rarely in themastabas, now multiply so fast in many of the graves, thatthey almost form a record of a noteworthy career. How theoccupant of the tomb conducted his business, how he wasdistinguished and rewarded by the king, is all clearly set forth,and even the scenes of the funeral and funerary worship are of a personal character which they did not possess earlier. As in thereligious poetry of this period individual character is permittedto appear, so also it appears in these tombs : in them the deadis no longer the illuminated one, whom men honour and feedseparately from themselves ; he is the beloved father and hus -band, the friend and man who is taken away from his relatives,and for whom they weep and lament. It is true that the Semcontinues to open his mouth, and the Kherheb utters hisformulze before him in prayer, as these are necessary for hiswelfare. But to these formal inscriptions there is added thecry of the wife as she embraces the mummy, before i t is

deposited €or ever in the tomb : I a m verily thy sister, thou great one, do not forsake me. . . W h y is it that thou art f a r from me,

thou who didst love t o jest with m e ; thou art silent and dost n o tspeak. Behind her, and behind the priests, lament the relativesof the dead, and the poor women and children whom he hasbefriended : Woe, woe , . . alas this loss ! The good shepherd hasgone t o the lund of eternity; he who had so much society i s now i n

the countyy which loves solitude ! he who so willingly opened hisf e e t to going, i s now enclosed, bound and confined. He who had somuch fine linen, and so gladly put it on, sleeps now i n the cast-ofgarments of yesterday. The distinguished persons who followedthe funeral journey of their colleague, while they took no part




in these lamentations, yet expressed pleasure at the universalsympathy. How good i s this which hasbefall& him . . . he loved his god so well that he permitteth h im to arrive at the West aeconzpanied by generation after generation of his servccnts.1

In the meantime tables of food, and stands with jars werebrought, for the funeral feast followed the burial, and was heldeither in the tomb itself, or in bowers constructed of flowers andtwigs. How it was conducted on the day of the funeral (andalso doubtless on feast days when offerings were made to thedead) is frequently shown on the tombs of the New Kingdom.

There sit the relatives and friends, in holiday garb, and deckedwith flowers ; they eat and drink, watch the dancing women,and listen to the song of the harper z 2 How peaceful rests thisrighteous prince, the excellent destiny i s entered upon. Since thetime of thegods the bodiesenter thereon, and their successors stand in their place, so long as Re shows himself in the morning and

A tu m descends on the western hill, so long as nzen beget and womenconceive and all nostrils breathe air. But all those to whom theygive birth, soon go down to the place appointed for them. Andnow the singer addresses the deceased himself, as though hewere seated among the feasters, and exhorts him t o enjoy thisshort life with his wife : Celebrate the good day, provide ointment

for thyself and j n e oil fo r thy nostril and wreaths and lotusjlowersf o r the body of thy beloved sister, who sits at thy side. Let songand music come before thee. Cast all sadness behind thee, thinkon joy unti l that day comes, whenm an arrives in the land where

the people keep silence. Meanwhile the dancing women leap yetmore wildly and shamelessly, and the servants offer the wine jarswith yet more eagerness : drink until thou art drunken ; one ladycalls for more wine, because all within her is straw ; another,alas ! has progressed much further in drunkenness ; dolefullyshe grovels on the ground, her robe slips from her shoulder, herlotus flower hangs drooping over her arm, and the maidservantwho is hurriedly bringing the ominous basin arrives too late !

While the upper classes were thus so lavishly commemorative

Wilkinson, 111. pl. 67.

Paheri, pl. 7.z From the tomb of Neferhotp at Thebes.

The following from Wilkinson, I. 392 -393.



FUNERARY CUSTOMS OF THE NEW KINGDOM 139

of death, li ttle would be done for people of narrow means.Nevertheless an opportunity was afforded them of securing a

tolerably decorous burial. Since the desire for an orthodoxfuneral had penetrated the lower classes, enterprising peoplehad undertaken t o satisfy their demand. They procured anold empty tomb, enlarged it, and let out places in it. Therewould soon be no space left, for coffins were piled up over eachother from the floor to the ceiling, but yet it was a real tombwhich was thus available for the fisherman, the peasant, theartisan, or the dancing girl. They were laid in real coffins,and the survivors could deposit their tomb equipment andother gifts, as was done for wealthy people.

But there were again poorer people who could not hope fora place even in such a public tomb. Where their bodies werelaid in the sand we do not know, but we believe that we candiscern their attempts at participation in the benefits of a tomb.They fashioned small wooden dolls remotely resemblingmummies, had them inscribed with their names, wrapped themin a scrap of linen and laid them in a small coffin; this wasburied in front of the entrance to a large tomb, in the hopesthat by means of his wooden representatives, the deceasedwould have some share in the benefits enjoyed by the occupantof the tomb.

The importance attached to the eternals of the burial, whichis made evident by these expedients, appears also in the form of the coffin. Up to this tiine the coffin had merely been what wasrequired for its purpose - a strong box that secured the bodyfrom injury. But in the New Kingdom a most unnaturalfashion was adopted, and it was made in the form of a mummy,for to the people at this period the form of the mummy wasconsidered something marvellous and sacred ; even where themummy mas laid for greater safety in several coffins, as from thetime of the Middle Kingdom was often done, the form of the outer granite sarcophagus resembled its contents. At thebeginning of this period the mummy-shaped coffin often hasthe appearance of being wrapped in wings; one should bean Egyptian to understand this. As the goddess Isis once

1 AusfLirhl Verz., S. 184.



140 ,4 HANDBOOK OF EGYPTIAN RELIGION

protected the corpse of Osiris by taking him between her wings,so will she do to this new Osiris represented by the mummy.Towards the end of the New Kingdom the at tempt to giveexpression to the sacredness of the mummy was made bypainting the coffin with countless religious illustrations ; gods,sacred animals and sacred symbols must figure there, and it iseasy to see how mechanically and perfunctorily this work wasaccomplished by the manufacturers. I use the word manufac -turers advisedly, for it is characteristic of the funerary customsof the New Kingdom that the things required for them were

manufactured and offered for sale. It is easy to prove that thiswas the case, On objects where the name of the deceased mustappear in the inscriptions the manufacturers left a gap, in whichthe purchaser could insert the name. As a rule this was done,but it is omitted fairly often, and this omission shows us themercenary manner in which the old customs were now observed.To this there is one exception, the portrait statue of thedeceased, the nature of which precluded the possibility of any

such wholesale production.This statue is rendered with great care, down to the most

delicate features of the face, the details of the clothing and alsoof the inscription. All this must have been done in accordancewith the directions of the purchaser. A statue and a woodenfigure in the Berlin museum, however, prove that even thiswas occasionally left unfinished.

By far the most numerous objects found in tombs of the

New Kingdom are the so-called ushebtis, the small figures of mummy form, which to -day crowd our museums. In the MiddleKingdom when they first occasionally appear, they afford noclue as to the object for which they were laid in the graves;they bear only the name of the dead. I n the New Kingdomtheir duty to the dead is clearly indicated by the implementsthey hold in their hands, hoes with which to work in the fieldsand a basket, Oh thou

ushebti, when I am called, and when I am required to do anykind of work, which is done in the underworld . . . and amrequired at any time to cause the fields to Jlozcrish, t o irrigate thebanks, to convey the sand from the east to the west, thou shalt say,

The inscription on them tells us more.



FUNERARY CUSTOMS OF THE NEW KINGDOM 14 1

here am 1.l The meaning of these specified labours mustremain uncertain. One thing, however, is clear, that the deadfeared lest he should be forced t o undortake all kinds of rough

b. C.a.USHEBTIS O F THE N E W KINUDOM.IQ. 6G. (a) TH E SCRIBE HUI in the COStUmE Of a

living man ; b ) A LA D Y, TAMIT (c) A QUEEN . (Berlin, 46b2 ; 4406 ; 8528.)

field work in the realms of the dead. It is a primitive concep-tion which here reappears. Once upon a time, when the nationwas a nation of peasants, they dreamed of a paradise for theirdead in which barley should grow seven cubits high, with ears twocubits in length ; to be a labourer on such land was the happiestfate conceivable. This idea lasted on, and when Osiris began t o

be accepted as king of the dead, it was also considered that hewould deal with his subjects in the same way as the earthlyking did with his vassals. He would draw up lists of them,and from this register he would call first to one, then to another,

of the deceased, to come to work in the fields, to irrigate the landand to construct dams. This prospect contained nothinguncongenial to a peasant; it ensured him a continuance of the

Totenbuch, 6. B $3 109.




life he lived on earth, but it would present a very differentaspect t o a man of higher rank. The officials, priests, artisans,soldiers, ladies, for them the prospect of rough work in the here -after would be most unwelcome. In this perplexity someingenious brain hit on this strange alternative - to supply thedead with these figures as substitutes, and let them undertakethe work in his place. Even the king could not dispense withthem, and any one who has observed the crowd of ushebtis of Sethos I. in our museums, will realize that they must have beenmade for him by the thousand. Among ushebtis of privatepeople we find some single ones of especially careful workman-ship, which are almost treated as portraits of the deceased.These would be laid with special care each in a small coffin,while the usual rougher ones are merely placed together in woodenboxes. As superstition increased, a new terror connected itself with these figures ; what if the dead man met in the hereafterwith an enemy who rendered the ushebtis disloyal to him, ashad once occurred to him with his servants during his life 1 Anespecially cautious man would therefore write on his ushebtiafter the usual formula these words : Obey h im only who madethee, do not obey his enemy.l

As the principal intention in depositing these figures was toenable a man to escape his future destiny, so a similar resultwas aimed at in providing the so -called heart scarabs. We havealready seen how the conception of Osiris as king of the deadled to a demand for the ethical purity of the deceased, and alsohow a judgment of th e dead was believed in, where the heartof the dead was weighed in the scales. That this idea was notuniversally acceptable is easily understood, but the means usedto escape this pressing danger is far more difficult to reconcilewith our ideas. An attempt was made t o get rid of thatinconvenient witness. On the breast of the corpse, over theposition occupied by the heart, was laid a large stone beetle,which was a sacred symbol representing the sun god ; on it was

inscribed these words: Oh heart that I have fr om my mother!Oh heart that belongs to my syiyit, do not appear against nze aswitness, provide n o oyposition ugyainst me before the judges, do not

1 Ausfurhl. Verzeichnitz, S. 183.




contradict me before him who governs the balance, thou. a y t my spirit that i s in my hody . . . do not sufer our name t o stink

. . . tell no lie against me before the god.To the other friend of the dead, the sun god, the small stone

pyramids are addressed, which are found in many graves of theNew Kingdom; they mere intended to enable the dead to gazeo n the sun when he ariseth, and when he setteth. On this accountthis model of the tomb has two doors, in both of which the dead

FIG. 67. PYRAMID, FOR FTAHMOSE, RICH -PRIEST OF YEIIIPHIS. (Berlin, 2276.)

man is kneeling ; on the one side he prays to the morning sun,on the other t o the evening sun. Clearly it was hoped that,thanks to this pyramid, the man would in future be ableactually to walk to the door of his tomb every morning andevening. I n the real entrance passages of the tomb also thereare often found prayers to the sun, or to the sun and moon,which the deceased are expected to recite at that place.

It is doubtful what was the object of the so -called pectoral onthe mummies ; they are small tablets, similar to those usuallyworn by the gods and the kings, but while th e latter bear the





attacked the dead in the tombs. The small cryolite head -restmay secure a quiet sleep for th e dead. But what can be thepurpose of tlie level and square? and what of the stairs orterraces, and of many other objects hung round the neck of themunimy 7 How was it possible, as a late text informs us, that

c.a.

h. i. k . 1.

FIG. 6% AXULETS FOR MUMMIES.a. Rising Son. b. Eye. c. d. e. Crowns. f. Head -rest. g. Square. h. H e a t .

i. Papyrus sceptre of goddess. k. Level. 1. Staircase.

no fewer than 104 amulets should be needed, when the bodywas as well protected by other means as though it were thatof Osiris himself 1

While in the graves of the New Kingdom the dead wereamply supplied with house plenishing and furniture, clothinga.nd adornments, and while, according to the primitive custom,no hesitation was felt in adding a naked woman on a bed, thecare for their provisions which had earlier been the mostimportant consideration, was now greatly overlooked. Woodenvases, in imitation of stone jars, wooden models of roast geese,

1 Brugsch. Thesaurus, p. 1402.

10




and of dates were occasionally laid in the graves, but on thewhole this matter was entirely entrusted to the magic powersof the jars containing the intestines of which we have already(p. 129) spoken, and which at this time have become some of themost important contents of the tombs. As a rule the four vases

are of alabaster, and

F IG . 70. VA S E S TO CONTAIN TH E INTE~TINEB.

With the heads of the four sons of Horus.(Berlin, 7193, 7191, 7189, 7158.)

each of them has thehead of one of the foursons of Horus, so thata man, a monkey, a

jackal, and a hawk share in the charge of the 'dead man.

Considering all thosethings as a whole, weobserve that the burial

customs of the New Kingdom have, to a large extent, losttheir primitive simple character, while their religious andmagical characteristics have greatly developed. This is shownalso in the changes in the funerary literature. We have seenhow the kings at the end of the Old Kingdom secured forthemselves a collection of these writings in the inscriptions intheir pyramids, and again later how private people had similardocuments inscribed on their coffins. I n the New Kingdom notonly the walls of the tombs were in great measure decoratedwith these religious texts, bu t also long rolls of papyrus wereplaced with the dead, containing spells, the knowledge of whichwas considered specially useful for him, as is stated at the end :

he who knotueth this spell he shall enjoy this or that good fortune.These texts form the so-called Book of the Dead, of which wehave quoted so much in the fourth chapter, when describing thelater conceptions regarding the realms of the dead. By the endof the New Kingdom other papyri are added, that Book of Amduat, which was first compiled as a useful protection for theroyal tombs (p. 109).

All these funerary papyri were manufactured in numbers likethe other tomb requirements ; with what result may easily beguessed. The vignettes are artist ic and are often coloured,




while the handwriting appears to be neat and regular, but theyare full of errors and omissions ; frequently the wrong vignettesare placed with the text, or a sleepy scribe has confused thelines of his copy as it lay before him and has written them inwrong order. This did not prevent these Books of the Dead,which contained so many ancient sacred sayings, from beingthemselves for the next few centuries regarded as in someway sacred, and from being treated accordingly. Thusfurther mystifications were continually introduced into thefunerary customs of the Egyptians, until by the time of the NewKingdom we expect to find them stifled ere long in their ownabsurdities. This, however, was not the case, and we shallsee that for almost another thousand years the religion of thecountry continued to develop on its own lines.



CHAPTER VI

MAGIC

MAGI C is a barbarous offshoot of religion, and is an attempt toinfluence the powers that preside over the destiny of mankind.It is not difficult to see how the belief in such a possibilitycould arise. On one occasion it appears that a prayer hasbeen heard by the deity, on another it is apparently ignored ;

thus the idea naturally arises that the words in which theprayer was uttered on the first occasion must have beenspecially acceptable t o the god. This construction is therefore

accepted as the most effective, and becomes a formula which isregarded as certainly successful and able to control destiny.This erroneous conclusion leads further to the adoption of certain actions or prohibitions. To-day we have been lucky insome particulars in which we were unlucky yesterday : obviouslywe offended the deity yesterday in some way, whereas to -daywe have pleased him. Could we only discover how this was,we might in future avoid the misfortune and secure the good

luck. He who ponders over these matters, and understands thenature of the gods, may soon discover this point, and he who ismost intimately acquainted with the gods must necessarily bethe best magician. I n the case of the Egyptians, it was the“chief kherheb” (p. 55) , the priest who knew the sacredwritings from beginning t o end, who was considered to be theman best qualified.

When once the ideas of a nation have struck out in thisdirection- and it is precisely the youthful unsophisticatednations that are most readily attracted by it - there is no check on it, and by the side of the noble plant of religion thereflourishes this fantastic weed of magic, With nations of limited

14%



MAGIC I49

understanding it completely stifles religion and there ensues a

barbarism, where the magical fetish is the supreme object, andwhere the sorcerer with his hocus -pocus takes the place of thepriest,

No one would wish to ascribe a similar condition of affairs tosuch a youthful nation as the ancient Egyptians; it would beas incongruous as it would be to compare the imbecility of achildish old man with the folly of a promising youth. But theEgyptian people shared very fully, and also at an early period,

in this absurdity.It is true that it is d i6cu l t to define the limits; not

every custom that deals with the supernatural must beimmediately stigmatised as magic. To give food to thedead, or to paint pictures for him on the walls of the tombs,of a life of sheltered ease, is not to deal with magic, and torecite the formula of offerings at the grave is to offer up aprayer, lifeless and formal though i t may be. Apart from the

worship of the gods, and the cult of the dead, and also settingaside the Book of the Dead and i t s magical developments of which we have already spoken (p. 147), we shall find enoughremaining.

The simplestand perhaps the most primitive are those in which themagician himself informs the evil principle that he willexorcise it. One of the primitive spells against serpents, which

we find in the Pyramids, runs thus: the serpent sinks whichcomes out of the earth, thejlume sinks which comes forth from thesea. Sink d o w n ! l Or the sorcerer assures the dead, whohave haunted a house and brought illness into it, that he canin turn injure them; he can destroy their graves and deprivethem of their offeringsq2H e explains to one malady that i t wouldbe perilous for it to attack this patient since there is nomember of his body which is not uncanny. The tongue in his

mouth is a serpent in its hole, his anus is theIabhorrenceof thegods, his teeth will crush the malady, his foot will tread it

For the correct meaning I am indebted to

Various are the forms of the magic spells.

1 Pyramid texts.2 Zauberspr. f. M. ti. K., p. 83.

Kap 28. W. 322.

Count Schack.



1 5 0

down, and in his mouth it may disappear-l And where com -

mands, threats and warnings do not avail, the magician makesuse of gentler means, and remarks to the malady, how muchbetter off it would be in its harem, than here with the poorchild : come, go to sleep, and enter where are thy beautiful wives,in whose hair i s myrrh, and on whose shoulders fresh incense i slaid.2

As a rule, however, the magician demands the aid of thegods. He appeals to Re, the all -seeing, that he will keep

watch on the evil spirits? or he accuses the serpent to Re onaccount of i ts evil deeds. It has bitten the earth, it has bittenKeb? or he details to the diseases how such and such a limb of a man is under t he charge of a god. He also frequently speaksas though he himself were a god : FZow forth, poison, come, $owto the growad ! Horus commands thee, he destroys thee, he spits at thee. Thou canst not arise but fallest down, thou art feeble, and art mot strong, thou art afeard and jightest not, thou art blind and seest not, thy head hangs down and thou dost not lq t up thy

face . . . owing to that which i s spoken by Norus powerful of magic? Or : Thou hast n o t the q p e r hand over me, I am Amon.

I anz Onuris the good warrior. I an& the Great One,-Lord of

In such spells if the magician names this or that god, thereason for his doing so is found in episodes that occur in thelegends of the gods; a god who himself once triumphed overserpents must be the best protection against them, and a goddesswho had herself reared an infant would be the best help to adying mother. And as it was only common-sense to alludedirectly t o these prototypes, a form of spell was composed whichconsists of an episode out of the history of the gods, from whichpractical application can be drawn. This is the case with thefollowing spell, which cures those who are stung by a scorpion,by means of the goddess Bast (p. 13) : Oh Re! come to thydaughter, whom a scorpion has bitten on a lonelyroad ! Her cryreaches even to heaven . . . poison oppresses her linzbs, and$ows

ib . p. 19.Pyramid texts, chap. 2 4 = w . 314. Mag. Pap., Harris. 8, 5 .


Might.6

Zauberspr. f. M. 11. K . , p 19 et seg.ib p. 40, et seq.

6 MetteriiichStela, 3 et sep.



MAGIC 1 5 1

in her fesh, and she turns her mouth to it, i. e. she attempts to

suck the injured part. Re answers her: Bo not fear, do not fear, my splendid daughter; behold, I stand behind thee. It i s I

who destroy the poison, that i s in all the limbs of this cat?Naturally, however, those gods were most frequently appealed to

whose lives were more especially the divine prototype of humanlife-Osiris and his family group. The crocodile will retreatin alarm when he is reminded how the body of Osiris lay in thewater, and was guarded by the gods : Osiris lies in the water, the

Horus eye is with him, the great beetlespreads itself oaer him . . .he who lies in the water, comes out of it whole; who draws near tohim in the water, draws near to the Horus eye. Back, beasts of

the water! . . . Lift not u p thy face, ye beasts of the water,when Osiris passes you. . . . Oh ye dwellers in the water, your mouth shall be closed by Be, your throat skull be stopped bySekhmet, your tongue shall 6e c u t o u t by Thoth, your eyes shall beblinded by the god of magic. These are the four gods that guard Osiris, these are they who guard him who lies in the water, allmen and all animals who lie in the water. This day ! 2 It is asafeguard against a scorpion sting to remember the unfortunatemother who was forced to conceal herself with her child inthe swamps of the Delta. I , Isis,gave birth to Horzcs, the sonof Osiris, in the swamps of the Delta, and rejoiced greatlythereat. . . . From fear I hid him and kept hiin secret. . . .There however once 1 found him, the beautgul golden HO~ZCS,lze

fatherless child, as he bedewed the earth with the water of his e:yes,with the moisture of his lips, his body was weary, his heart throbbed. . . . 1 shrieked and called out,"A!y father i s in theunder -world, and my mother in the realms of the dead, my eldest brother lies in his eofim. . . . Iwi l l call to some one of mankind,

haply their hearts will tarn to me." I called to the inhabitantsof the swamps, and their hearts turned at onceto me. The peoplecame tome out of their houses and hastened to me at my call. Theybewailed at the greatness of my misfortune, but none of thesewere able to help me. A woman came to m e , the most experienced of her city. . . . She said to me, Set cannot have done this,

ib. 38 e t seq.*Metternich Stela, Z. 9 et seq.





MAGIC I 5 3

hut in which he lay. Then some one told Isis, (( T h yson Horusi s burning on the grozind. I s there water there Z”-(‘ I’here i s nowater there - There i s water i n my mozhth and there i s a Nilebetween my legs,and I am coming to put out the $re.” At alater period it was thought necessary to give a less un -sophisticated form to this spell against burns, and Isis merelysays : (( Water i s in nLy mouth and nzy lips contain a delz~ge.”

Again another time Horns herded his cattle in the pasture,and he did not wish to wander afar for wild beasts werethere. Isis and Nephthys therefore fashioned amulets forhim : May the mouths of the lions and hyenas be closed and of

all long -tailed creatures who feed on flesh and drinle blood,to c u r s e

them, to rob them of their ears, to give them clnrleness and not togive them light, to give them blindness, and not to give them sight,in every neighbozuhood on this night. Xtay, thou evil woy. . . .go north, south, east, west; the whole land i s thine, and nothingi s withheld from thee. Turn not thy face upon me, turn thy face%yonthe wild animals of the desert. Bo not turn thy face uponmy path, turn thy face upon some other.2 I n this last spell wecannot avoid the suspicion that the magician himself inventedthis pastoral life of Horus, of which we find no other tracerecorded. Horus was now established as the divine child beforeall others, and all things that a mortal boy was obliged to do inEgypt could be ascribed to him. I n other respects also theauthenticity of these references to the legends which occur inthe spells is doubtful.

So far as we have quoted the assistance of the gods appearsas a gift which they grant when the magician addresses themin the correct terms, but other instances show a remarkablereversal of natural relations; in order t o force him to do hiswill, the magician threatens the deity. Even in the ancientfunerary literature we find similar threats. Oh, ye gods of thehorizon! begins a spell which has come down to us from thepyramid texts. Verily, if ye desire that Atum (your lord)should live, that ye may anoint yourselves with oil, that ye may

put on garments, that ye may receive your food; then take his

A.Z. 1898. 129. Mag. Pup., Harris, Rs. A.





MAGIC ‘ 5 5

‘I What is the matter ? )’ and the (other) gods said, What & thematter Z’) His lips quivered, and allhis limbs shook, and the poison penetrated his body, as the Nile

penetrates the country.When he had somewhat calmed himself, he called to his

followers : (( Come, ye who were produced from my body, ye godswho issued forth from me, that I may tell you what hath happened to me. Something unwholesome hath wounded me ; I feel it, but mine eyes do not see it. . . . I have never suffered pain equal tothis. . , . I am the prince, son of a prince, seed of a god, whobecame god; I am the great one,son of a great one. My father and my mother invented my name, I am he of many names and many forms. I am called Adum and Horus.iTehen. My father and my mother spoke my name for me ; since mybirth it has beenhidden in my body, and by means of it no magic

power will be granted to any one who would work magic against me. As I went forth to see what I have made, and to traxerse thetwo lands which I created, something that I do not know injured me. It i s not $re, and it is not water, but my heart is on$re,my body trembles, and all my limbs quiver.”

Thus Re lamented and caused the divine children to becalled, those o j excellent speech and learned tongue, and all drewnear sorrowfully. Also Isis came with her excellence, whose mouthi s full of the breath of l@, whose spells drive away disease, and whose speech is beloved by those who have no breath. She said,(‘ What is it ? what is it, divine father Z Behold a serpent hathwounded thee, one of thy children Iaath lifted up his head against thee, I will overthrow it by means of powerful magic.”

The glorious god opened his mouth: ( ( A s I was on the way, and was talcing my walk in Egypt and the desert, for my heart desired to see what I had created, then was I wounded by a serpent that I

did not see. I t is not fire, it is not water, and yet I am hotter than3re and colder than water. All my limbs are covered withsweat. . . .”

(( Tell me thy name, my divine father ;the man whose name i s spoken remains alive.” The aged godanswered : ( ( 1am he who made heaven and earth, who heaped upthe mountains and formed what i s upon them. I am he who made

But he could not answer.

My form i s in every god.

Then Isis spake to Re.




the water and formed the torrent of henven. . . . I am he whomade the heavens, and made the horiaon secretly ; I have set thesouls of the gods therein. I am Jze who oyens his eyes and it becomes bright, and when he closes lzis eyes it becomes dark; he at whose command the waters of the Nile $ow, but the gods do not know his name. I am he who made the hours and fashioned thedays. I am he who inaugurates the year, and forms the river. I

am Ifiepre in the morning, and Atum, who i s in the evening.”But the poison did not abate, and Isis said : (‘ Thy nunze i s

not among those which thou hast spolcen to me. S’ay it to me, thcctthe poison may depart; the man whose name i s spoken remainsalive.” And the poison burnt worse than fire, so that the godcould no longer withstand it. H e said to Isis : ‘‘ My name shallpass from my body to thy body.” Also, he continued, thou shaltconceal it, but thou mayest impart it to thy son Horus, asmighty magic against every p0ison.l

Here, as we see, the magician finally keeps the mysteriousname to himself, and does not confide it to us. It is probablyotherwise with a primitjivespell which ensures for the dead theuse of the celestial ladder (p. 96): Come ladder (moket), comepoket, thy name, which the gods uttered? may here meanthat the gods do not call the ladder moket, as men do, but polcet,and also the strange words, more especially of the late period,which occur repeatedly in the magic spells, were certainly for themost part considered as the secret names of the gods. Othersin this abracadabra must be considered as foreign spells ; thus

the lion spell, eder edesen edergeh edesen,unites merem edesen, unitesemey edesen,etc., must certainly be Phcenician, as farther on itcontains the name of the god B a d 3

In order to render these spells efficacious all manner of observancesare necessary when reciting them. Any one whowishes to recite for himself a spell to ensure special good fortune,must first “ purify” himself for a period of nine days. He mustthen anoint himself with two kinds of oil, he must fumigate

himself with incense, holding the vase containing the incensebehind his ears, he must purify his mouth with natron, he must

3 Mug. P a p , Harris, Rs. C.LefAbure,A. Z. 1883, 27 et seg. Pyr. 261 = P. 201.



MAGIC 157

wash himself with water from the inundation, he must put onsandals of white leather, and two new skirts, and finally he must

paint the signof truth Then,if I understand rightly, he must step inside a circle which hemust not leave during the duration of t he ceremony. In thecase of another spell, in order to recite i t successfully, a completepicture must be painted on the floor; the figure of a woman,a goddess, placed upon it in the midst of it, a serpent stand -ing on its tail, a sky, etc.l Or a man paints an eye on

his hand containing a picture of the god Onuris, obviouslywith reference to that part of the spell in which the conjurorstyles himself the god #hu, the image of Re, who i s within the eyeof his father.2 And again, in a spell against evil beasts,which is recited on water, and which speaks of the sun god, whoonce rose to the surface of the flood in an egg (p. 26), as the eggof the water, the nzan who sits forward in the boat must hold a

pottery egg in his hand; then the inhabitants of the water will

believe that it is their god himself that they see, and if theyrise to the surface they will fall back affrighted into the water?It is also advisable tha t the spell should be recited not once

only, but four times in succession,4as was the custom from early

on his tongue with green paint.!dl

PIG. '12. MA GI CAL FIGURES, INTENDED TO BE PAINTED ON A LINEN BANDAGE.(Book of the Dead, 164.)

times with many of the prayers, and that this day ! should beadded to show that it should act a t once. Or these words areadded to it : Protection behind, protection that comes, protection !

These spells must of course be uttered in a solemn voice,

Both from the Destruction. deshommes, 1. 74.90.2 Mug. Pap., Harris, 7. 1 et sey.

ib. 6. 10 e t seq. Z. f. M. u. K., p. 52 j Mag. Pap., Harris, 7 . 4 e t seq.

6 ib. . . . 33. 35.




and this was already provided for by their being as a rulecomposed in verse. They must also have been sung; for a

document that contains spells of the New Kingdom refers tothem as spells beautiful to be sung?

The objects for which magic was called upon to serve were asnumerous as the requirements of life. It exorcised storms andbad weather? In the desert it was required as a protectionagainst lions, in the water against crocodiles, and above allagainst the most sinister peril of Egypt, its snakes and scorpions :

were not even the Pyramids of the ancient kings richly storedwith spells against these pests? With magic women wereassisted in child-birth, it was employed while preparing medicine,and by its means all poisons, wounds and diseases were com -bated, these latter as well as the dead, those uncanny beingswho brought them. For it was an ancient belief of the Egyptianpeople that the evil dead would forsake thei r graves and hauntmankind. The gods therefore should shut up the shadow of thedead, and the dead who work evil to us? An anxious mother seesa ghostly woman glide into the house in the dark with avertedface, and try to busy herself about the infant as an attendant.She says : Comest thou to kiss this child ? I will not let thee kiss

him. I will not let thee soothehim. Comest thou to harm this child ? I will n o t let thee harmhim. I will not let thee takehim away from me. And the dead renounces that fo r which shecame.4 This also is spoken by the mother morning and evening

over the amulet which she hangs on her baby : Thou arisest, oh Re, thou arisest. If thou hast seen this dead man, how he comesto N ., and this dead wornan, the wife . . . never shall she takemy child in her arms. I will not givethee up, I will not give my charge to the man and woman, thievesof the realms of the dead.5

The dead man and dead woman would also haunt grown -up people, and if a sick man pondered over the cause of his

illness, the possibility must often have occurred to him that one

Comest thou to soothe this child Z

Comest thoa to take him away ?

Re, my lord, rescues me.

Mag. Pap, Harris, 1. 1.Budge, Nesiamsu, 121 et seq.

3 Totenbuch, edition Naville, 92. 10.4 Z f . M. u. K., p. 12. 6 ib. p. 43 et seq.



MAGIC 159

or other of his deceased relations for some cause was nowrevenging himself on him. H e would then attempt to influencethis malevolent relation by friendly representations and wouldlay a letter in his grave, which he could read. We know of such letters as early a s the Middle Kingdom ; the most remark -able example however is a long document which an ofEcer of high rank, a t the end of the New Kingdom, addressed threeyears after her death to the excellent spirit of the l ady Eri. What have I done wrong against thee, he says, that I am in this evilcase in which I am now? 8ince the day thou wast given me towqe, even to the present day-what did I against thee that I was

forced toconceal ? If t u e r e to specclconcewith thee before the godsof

the West with the words of rr~ymouth, this letter will inform thee inwhich my words and my message are set forth. What have I done against thee ? Thou didst become my wife when 1 was youngand I have 6een together with thee. I$llcd all o$ces and havebee?& together with thee and haw not forsalcen' thee and have not grieved thy heart. And also when Pharaoh advanced me to

higher rank, I did not forsake thee, and shared all gifts andincome with thee. A n d when moreover thou wast ill with theillnesswhich thou didst have, I went to a physician, and he mademedicines for thee and he did all that thou saidst to him. Thenfor eight months I had to follow Pharaoh to the south, andcould neither eat nor drink, and when I returned to MemphisI wept for thee with my people. The unfortunate widowerfastened this letter to the statue of another lady, whom he could

trns t to forward the message to his wife?There are moreover magical books which afford powe?* and strength against the foe, and diffuse terror ; vwaxe?%figtwesof godsand men are made, according to their directions, and smuggledinto the dwelling of the opponent, they cripple then the hand of

men.2 For this last information we are chiefly indebted to theprotocol of a State trial, and these official statements showclearly that such matters were treated with the utmost serious -

ness. For the protection of the king (if we dare trust the state -ment of a later document) a magic ceremony was performed

Maspero, Etudes egyptologiques,I. 145 et seq.Lee, 1. 4 ; Rollin, 1888. 1.




each morning, which safeguarded him against his foes, and theidea prevailed that even the gods had recourse to magic toinfluence their fate. It was known that Thoth read over Rethe magic formula of the celestial cow? I n this way mankindcould aid the sun god, by reciting at certain times the spells of the victory over the dragon Apophis.2 These conceptionspenetrated into the cults of the gods, and their statues in thetemples were protected by magic and excellent words, and all evildriven out of their How exclusively magic was employedfor the protection of the dead we have already sufficiently shown.

The maidservants, the ships, the cakes and granaries, the ivorywands intended to ward off snakes, the ushebti figures, heartscarabs, and discs for the head (pp. 187, ISS),all these objects andmany others belonged to magic or verged on it. Also the tombwritings referring to the dead, as we have seen (p. loo) ,acquiredin course of time more and more a magical character, and in theNew Kingdom their formuleappeared entirely as magic spells,which might be recited to secure good fortune either for the

dead or the living,We find that th is resort to magic was not merely practised by

individuals, but that sorcery had its recognized representatives.These were the Kherheb priests, the scribes of the divine writings,and their highest positions during the Old Kingdom were filledby duly qualified sons of the Pharaohs.

A delightful collection of folk - tales of the New Kingdomshows us that these priests knew how to adapt their art to

secular purposes; how one of thein fashioned a figure of acrocodile in wax, which snapped up an adulterer in the water,while another piled up the water of a lake t o enable a lady torecover her lost hair ornament. Further, the practice of magicwas part of the work of the house of l@,4 the learned school of Egypt, and the magic books were systematically arranged andpreserved in the royal libraries! They evidently were consideredas much a part of literature as the medical prescriptions or the

philosophical writings. Naturally they would all claim to be1 Destruction des hommes, 78.3 Stela Ramses IV., Mariette, Abydosii. 54- 55, 25.4 Mag. Pap., Harris, 6.10.

2 Budge, Nesiamsu, p. 146.

5 Amherst Pap. 1. 3.



MAGIC 16 1

73.AMULET. ISIS SUCKLING HORUS

AMONG THE LOTUS PLANTS.magic was the introductionof figures and small stel a,

Figures of four other deities.(Etilton, Price Collection.)

which were set up in the house or worn on the neck for xlrotection

FIG. 74. SMALL STELA, FORPROTECTION AQAINST SERPEN T S :

HORUS WITH THE HEAD OFBES. (Berlin, 4434.)

11

against evil creatures of all kinds. Cer-tain sacred beings had the reputation of being especially efficacious against suchperils. One of these was the ancientgod Shu, the son of Re, supporter of the sky, and who in Abydos was calledOnur is ;he was now regarded as the .nobbwarrior,4 the delivwer (shed),and wasrepresented as a young prince in hischariot slaying lions.5 A similar rdlewas played by the strange demi-god Bes(p. 76), the deformed child whom wecall Pataikos (p. 77), and, above all,

Destruction des hommes, 58.Griffith, Stories of the Highpriests, p. 20.

&Wag. Pap., Harris,8. 5.

Berlin. Ausf. Yerz., p. 205.

3 Metternich Stela, 87.




by Horus himself, whom, indeed, no evil beast could harm. Forthe sake of greater security several of these gods were oftencombined? To the young Horus would be given the animalhead of Bes; a combined figure would be made of Khnum,Re, Min and H oru s; or of Khepre, Khnuni, Thoth, Min,Anubis, Osiris, Mut and Bast; a combination most gruesomein appearance, but so much the more marvellously effective.One such figure which scarcely contained any characteristicof Re was called Amon - Re. It is possible that the pantheistictheology of the New Kingdom, which jumbled together allthe gods, found expression in this nomenclature.

These figures, a creation, as we have already said, of the NewKingdom, add t o the great number of amulets by which the

F I G. 75. CORD, WITH SEVEN KNOTS, A NDTW O LABELS WITH MAUIC SPELLS.

(Berlin, 10826.)

people from the earliesttimes had attempted tosafeguard themselves. Anexcellent amulet was a

cord, knotted a specifiednumber of times, one in the evening and one in the morning, until there are seven knots.2 Then againseven stone rings andseven gold rings may bethreaded upon seven flaxen

threads, and seven knots may be made in them ; to this any kindof special medicine may be attached, perhaps a small bottle con -taining the bones of a mouse,4or a seal on which a hand and a,

crocodile are r e p r e ~ e n t e d , ~or a plaque with figures of gods, orsome sign ensuring good luck. These last we know well in ourmuseums among the amulets which, as we have seen (p. 145))were placed on the mummies. What powers were ascribed tospecial amulets, and what basis there was for their efficacy, wescarcely know, and it would have been difficult also for the laterEgyptian to give us a clear explanation. H e would only have

1 For the following cf. Berlin. Ausf. Verz., p. 299.2 Z. f. M. 11. K., p. 41.4 46. p. 30.

ib. p. 52.6 Schafer, A. 2. xxxix. 87.



MAGIC 163

said tha t they all contained hike, that supernatural power whichthe gods possess, which lies in their secret names, and by whichalso certain sacred things on earth are in -vested, such as the abounding in magiccrowns of the kings? Some share of thispower was transmitted t o men by meansof the amulets and the magic formuls; andon it was based the art of the magician.

We cannot enter upon the many supersti -tions of various kinds, in addition to magic,which existed in Egypt; we can only cursorilyremark that two forms of these, which sprangup in Egypt at the latest period, alchemyand the horoscope, do not appear at allduring the New Kingdom. The selection of days, the belief tha t certain days of the yearare lucky or unlucky, is, on the contrary,

ancient. There exists a calendar of theMiddle Kingdom for one month which defineseighteen days as good, nine as bad, andthree as half good.2 Of the New Kingdom,

FIG. 76. AMULET.Twenty -second dynasty.

(Hilton Price Collection.)moreover, we have a voluminous papyrus,which gives the same information for a great part of the year, andoften attempts to give reasons for it ; a day is lucky or the reverseaccording to some episode in the lives of the gods that occurred

on that day. For example, we read that the twelfth day of thefirst winter month is very bad, and on that day one should avoidseeing a mouse, for i t is the day when he gave t7ze command toSckhmet, i. e. no doubt when Re permitted mankind t o be slain(p. 30). And the first of the fourth winter months, which is good entirely, and on which there i s a great feast in, heaven and on earth,owes these merits to the fact that on this day the enemies of Xoble felliqon theiyway? These explanations must first have been inventedwhen it was desired to systematize the popular superstitionsconcerning lucky and unlucky days and to make a science of this

1 Brit. Mus. 574.

3 Sallier Papyrua, IV. 14. 2 ; 21. 2.Kahun Papyrus, pl. 25 ; text, p. 62.




distinction of days. It is easy to perceive that it was Iookecluponas a science, for the papyrus from which we gain this informationis actually a boy’s school -book. H e has copied the document,of which he obviously understood little, as practice in hand-writing, but it would surely not have been given him t o copy if its contents had not been considered useful and profitable. Herewe have further proof that at this period of the New Kingdomsuperstition grew and flourished ; it is no wonder that eventuallyeverything in Egypt was overshadowed by its luxuriant growth.



CHAPTER TI1

RELIGION OF THE LATE PERIOD

THE New Eingdom was followed by a period of politicalconfusion in Egypt. During the eleventh and tenth centuriesB.C. Egypt was divided into a number of small and feeble states.The high priests of Amon reigned at Thebes, a king reignedat Tanis in the northern Delta, and there were also otherrulers, most of whom were probably leaders of Libyan soldiery.Finally, about 950 B.c., one of these Libyan rulers, the powerfulSheshonk, whose capital was at Bubastis in the Delta, acquired

the supremacy, and his family continued some time in power.I n consequence of this, the cat-headed Bast, goddess of Bubastis,rose to be the oflicial deity of the kingdom and the other godsof the Delta also profited by the favour of the monarch.

But, on the other hand, the glory of the former capital of Upper Egypt and of its god had by no means disappeared,and the Bubastite rulers gave proof of their devotion for Amon :

they once more resumed work at the colossal buildings of

Karnak and thereby showed that they also were adherents of Amon. I n doing this they must have been influenced bypractical considerations, for Thebes was a site that rewardedany trouble expended on it. It is true tha t none of the royalhouses of the later period took formal possession of Thebes, fora remarkable fiction had arisen during these centuries to whichthey all were forced to submit. Thebes could never againbe the property of any earthly prince, for it had a divine ruler,

Amon ; and his representative in the government on earth wasnot, as we should naturally suppose, his high priest, but hisdiwinewve, the mortal bride of the god (p. 72). Thus Thebes hadbecome a sort of spiritual principality, governed by a lady of high

165




rank, and it was the ambition of every royal house to securethis lofty position for one of its princesses. By rights the divine

wife should bequeath her dignities to her daughter. There wastherefore nothing incongruous in the acknowledged fact thatthe reigning lady was urgently invited to adopt as her successor

one whom political reasons rendered advis-

FIQ. 17.TE E DI VI NE W I F E.

able. This-occurred repeatedly during thiscentury and those that followed, and it is

not without amusement that we read inan inscription of Psammetichus I. how he

accounts for such an event. Owing to hisprofound gratitude to the god Amon, hefeels compelled to present him with hisdaughter Nitokris ; therefore he gives herto the divine wife Shepen-wepet as her great daughter, and in the year 655 sendsher with great ceremony to Thebes, wherethe whole population welcomes her. When

she came to the divine w qe Shepen -wept,she beheld her, was contented with her, and loved her.l

The remarkable influence exercised bythis dominion of Amon shows itself inanother direction, in the oracles given byhim ; we meet with these declarations of the will of Amon as early as the beginning

of the New Kingdom, when, contrary t o allprecedent, he appointed Princess H a t -shepsut successor to the throne. During the following centuriesthis institution appears to have further developed, and we find thegods interfering in the doings of mankind. Under Ramses 11. ahigh official and ambassador of the king erected a memorial toIsis because she had prophesied of him while he was the great oneof the Matoi, that he should rise still higher. If I understand

rightly, he was taking part in a procession among the princes whenthe sacred image in its bark halted before him and bowed to him;and in a letter which must date from the end of the twentieth

A. Z., 35. 24. 2 Petrie, Koptos,PI. XX.



RELIGION OF THE LATE PERIOD I 6 7

dynasty we read that the writings are laid before this great god,that he may judge them with fair justice? But it was in thisdecadent period in Egypt, with which we are now concerned,that the oracle in Thebes became the supreme dispenser of advice and judgment. When it was found necessary to fetchwood from Lebanon to repair the temple barks, Amon said to thehigh-priest, “send me,” and a figure of the god specially adaptedfor such a journey, the Amon of the roads, was dispatched incharge of a temple official? Should a person of high standing wishto arrange for the future disposal of his property, the god wouldgraciously accord him a command : Thus saith Amon - Re, the great god, the great primeval being ; this landed property which belongsto N. is acquired in such a manner, and situated in such a place- it is all carried on actively-1 establish it t o his son . . . and whoever yemoves this decree, which is placed in the temple, hei s a fool and far from altering my word. I will immediately be

furious against him. . . . I will plunge him in misery; hisheritage shall belong t o another, and his eyesshall see it. He shall

fall on his knees bdore his enemy (?), his wife shall be carried of

when he i s by- and all this shall happen to him because he haihtransgressed this command to which I have nodded?

For the recall of exiles, banished during some political up -heaval, the oracle was made use of thus : On a feast day therewas brought out the Majesty of this glorious god, Lord of the gods,

Amon - Re, he came into the great court of the Amon temple and seated himself there. . . . Then offerings were made to himand he wus greeted, and the high-priest laid before him how

those unfortunates were banished from the oasis, and howthat the god might forbid further banishments from the oasis,and how this decree might be inscribed on a memorial tablet,and to each request the great god nodded greatly, greatly:

In another case, Thutmosis, one of the special priests of Amon,lay under strong suspicion of having embezzled from thegranaries of th e god. On the morning of a festival when thegod is to be borne in his bark (p. 50) zcpon the silverjloor of the

Papyrus de Turin, 126. 3.Golenischeff, Reeueil de tyatiaux, xxi.; A. . 38. 1.A. Z., 35 . 12 etseq.

*

Brugsch, Reise nach der yrossen Oase, P1. 22.




house of Amon, two sentences are written up in his vicinity. Onereads thus : “ Amon - Re, Icing of the gods, m y good lord ! it i s said,Thutmosis, this superintendent of property, possesses something thatis missing. The other runs : Oh, Amon - Re, king of the gods, my good lord ! It i s said, Thutmosis, this superintendent of property,

possesses nothing that is missing.” The high-priest then inquiresof the god whether he will judge with fckrjudgment . The great god assents fully and the two documents are read out before Shegreat god. l ’ h e great god selects the one which runs : ‘Oh, Amon - Re, king of the gods, my good lord! it i s said, Thutmosis, thissuperintendeizt of property, possesses nothing that is missing.”This is done once more, and again the god chooses theacquitting sentence. On a subsequent day the high -priest laysbefore th e god orally another mat ter of which Thutmosis isaccused, and at each petition, the god, if I rightly understand,pronounces an acquittal. By this means Thutmosis at lengthobtains a general pardon, and finally the god is pressed t o instalThutmosis in the office of a divine father of Amon, a szqerin-tendent of estates, superintendent of the granaries, chief scribeof the commaiads of Amon and overseer of the archives of thegranaries of the estates of Anton, and to these propositionsalso the great god assented. R e may hope that he never hadoccasion to regret his consent?

We thus find a theocracy in its most absurd form establishedat Thebes; it took the place of a moribund government, andthere is no doubt that the more powerful rulers of later timesput an end to it, although the external forms of the rule

of Amon continued even into the Persian period. When weexamine into the history of the Egyptian religion in foreignlands we shall see how this theocracy struck even deeper root inanother part of the world where it was transplanted.

Before we leave this period of transition, another phenomenonmust be considered which becomes specially apparent at thistime, although its beginnings belong to an early period : themurderer of Osiris was at last overtaken by his punishment.

For thousands of years the Egyptians had quietly accepted thefact that Se t had murdered Osiris, and had unjustly brought an1 Naville, Inscription .EFistoviqw de Piiaodjem, 111.



RELIGION OF THE LATE PERIOD 169

action against him, and, nevertheless, had continued to includehim among the gods. Indeed, during the latter half of the New

Kingdom his cult received new life owing to his being con-sidered th e same as the Hyksos god Sutekh and to the circum-stance of Sethos, who was named after him, obtaining thethrone. But the evil character fastened on him by the legendstill made itself felt, and when King Sethos constructed hisgreat rock tomb, i t did not appear befitting that the name of Se t should appear in those chambers ruled overby Osiris, god of the dead ; the king therefore arranged that in his own grave he

should not be called Sethos, he of Set, but he of Osiris. It wasnot long before the popular dislike of Set rose t o such a pitchthat a man writing his detested name would himself erase it.lFinally, his figure and name were erased from the temple reliefs,for the ancient god had become a devil, the enemy of all thegods : he had taken over the rdle hitherto played by the storm-dragon Apophis.

Any one who had followed the Egyptian religion up to this

point would naturally imagine that it was hastening to finaldecay and a speedy end, and that the nation itself was power -

less and out of date, a prey for foreign aggressors. And yet theancient nation roused itself once more, and the religion wasendued with new life; a renewed youth it cannot be called.

Towards the end of the eighth century we find marked symp -toms of a reaction in the ideas of the people. Unti l then thereign of Ramses 11. had been looked upon as the culminating

period of Egypt’s greatness, and served as a model in externalmatters, but now the Old Kingdom came into vogue as the idealto be followed. Everywhere in Upper Egypt where Ethiopiankings were paramount, as well as with their neighbours, theprinces of Sais, we find this same endeavour ; and when Egyptonce more became a flourishing state under the house of Psam-rnetichus, this tendency was so strong that looking at themonuments produced at this time we might well imagine our-

selves back in the Old Kingdom. It seems as though theancient nation was struggling after its lost youth, when it livedapart undisturbed by any foreign aggression, that time to the

This is seen on the twenty -second dynasty papyrus at Berlin.




magnificence of which the pyramids bore witness. But, how -ever pathetic this search after a dreamed -of ideal may appear, theway in which it asserted itself had an unsound element. Fromthe first the imitation assumed the character of learned anti -

quarianism, men wrote in the language of the Old Kingdomand employed its orthography, which was fully two thousandyears out of date; the modern population was represented inthe antique costume, and the contemporaries of Psammetichuswere given the titles and names of the court of Kheops.

By this reversion to the Old Kingdom, religion received freshimpetus, and it pervaded the entire life of the nation as its solepurpose to a degree it had never done before, so that theEgyptians were termed the most pious of all men and becamethe wonder of their Greek contemporaries. They carefully ob-

F I G. 78. SACRED F I SH . FIO. 79. SACRED SRAKE AND(Berlin, 2750.) ICHNEUMON. (Berlin, 8846.)

served all the ancient customs, which characterized them asexclusive followers of the ancient gods, and distinguished themfrom the foreigners, whom they now looked upon with contempt.With what eagerness all the deities were worshipped by thepeople is shown by the innumerable bronze figures of gods andof temple furniture which at this time were dedicated in thetemples by the poorer people, and of which our museums arefull. It was the strange side of the Egyptian belief, such asthe worship of animals, that developed most strongly during thisphase in the minds of the people. The great time had arrivedfor sacred snakes, birds, rams and cats : they were petted by thepeople, and i t was a meritorious work to provide for their burial.By far the most popular was Apis, the bull of the temple of Ptahof Memphis ; at his death the pious wear mourning garments,

* Herodotus, 11. 37.



RELIGION OF THE LATE PER1011 1 7 1

and nothing hut water and vegetables enter their mouths for fullysixty days, till his burial is accomp1ished.l Pilgrimages were

made to his grave, and gravestones were erected inscribed withthe interesting biography of this bull ; when he was born, whenhe was brought into the temple of Ptah, and what was the entirelength of his 1;Se; we are also told what place it was that had thehonour of being his home, and the name of his mother. Hisburial was conducted with fullest observances, for the State itself provided for it. As Psammetichus I. informs us in the year612 : in the temple of thy Puther Apis . . . age had seized upon

F I G . 80. TH E D E AD APIS ON A B IER , IN A SHIP , M OURN E D BYISIS AND NEPHTHYS. (Berlin, 7494.)

his coflns, therefore his Majesty commanded that his templeshould be repaired, that it should be more beautiful than it had

beenbefom. His Majesty caused all to be done that i s done for a god on the day of burial and all the ofleials performed their parts.The body was embalmed with oil, with wrappings of $nest linenand the garments of every god. His eqfins were of lced wood,mer wood, cedar, and the most choice of all woods.2 I n the year547 King Amasis, the light-hearted patron of the Greeks, sur -passed everything that had been done hitherto for Apis, becausehe loved Apis more than any other king. He made him a great

sarcophagus o j red granite, which his Majesty had found, such asnever has been nzade of stone, by any king o r at any time. And

Receuil de TYavatLx,21. 63 ; 22. 176.ib. 22, 166.




he$tted him out with bandups, and amulets and all adornmentsof gold and all precious stones; they were more beautijid than any

that had ever been made before? This was the first of thosecolossal sarcophagi which we now regard with wonder in theApis graves a t Sakkara, formed of a single block of granite,four metres in length, and over three metres high.

I n other ways also the Sai te kings vied with each other intheir devotion t o the gods ; they commenced lavish buildings,and provided immense revenues for the sanctuaries, especiallyat the new residence of the king a t Sais, where the local goddess

Neith now rose into great prominence. These Pharaohs alsorestored all the monuments of ancient piety, from the pyramidsand temples to the ancient wooden tablet, of the worle of theancestors, which the worms had eaten away, and which was nowreplaced by a basalt tablet.2 Priestly orders tha t had long dis -appeared, were once more reinstated, and to read an inscriptionof this late time with the endless titularies of the priests fills US

with amazement a t the way in which all these details were

revived.The ancient religious literature which had been lying neg -

lected in the libraries of the temples were now sought out, andthus many ideas which had long been forgotten were once morebrought to light. Even if most of this newly-acquired wisdom didnot actually penetrate among the people, yet the jumble whichalready exist,ed in the official religion was increased by it, surelya most unnecessary addition. But the theologians of the late

period hailed with delight this addition to their religious posses -sions, for they could not have enough of these sacred matters.To have them all collected and arranged must have been asource of the greatest pleasure to these scholars. I say, must havebeen, for their own works are lost to us, and it is only from whatwas left behind them, by their successors the priests of theGreek period, that we can gain an idea of the wisdom of thismoribund Egyptian nation. I n the writings and temple inscrip -

tions of the following centuries we find lists which give thenames and titles of all the gods. On the temple walls we findrecords which show us how these sacred affairs were managed in

1 ReciteJ de Tmvaitx, 22. 20. 2 A. z., 39, PI. 1-2.




each province. Notwithstanding its very different form, Lower

Egypt was divided into the same number of nomes as UpperEgypt, and in some respects there was a remarkable similaritybetween all these nomes: a god and a relic of Osiris, a high -priest and high -priestess, a sacred ship, a sacred tree, and asacred snake, an inundated land and a swamp. And all of thesehad special ancient names which a man must know, and also hemust know the dates of the great festivals, and what was for -bidden in them. What pleasure there was in ascertaining allthese details and grouping them together, and what usefulknowledge it was !

It was not only details from the actual ancientreligion, and the actual ancient cults, which were thuv col-lected and revived; but it is evident that anything wasaccepted that was old and strange, no inquiry of any lengthwas made into its origin, or whether it had ever been reallyaccepted. Offshoots of magic such as strange compound formsof different gods were admitted into the religion: and alsodeliberate jests were not disdained. Because the gods areoften represented as birds - Horus as a hawk, Nekhbet asa vulture, Thoth as an ibis- a bird form can be given t o thegreat gods of each nome. Therefore Khnum is a hawk withthe head of a ram, Wepwawet a jackal-headedsparrow. Bast is a cat-headed hawk, and soforth, while in addition each of these headshas its own proper crown.

These examples show sufficiently how thislater Egyptian theology was constituted. Hereeverything that was old was worthy of honour FIa. 81. I(HNUI

and of resuscitation, while it can itself have Telu;;e;y;ie,,.produced little that was new.

Out of this esteem for the ancient wisdom there arose theveneration manifested at this late time for those who had beenleaders of the nation in the primitive period. They had prevj-

ously been looked upon as people of renown, now some of themwere regarded as demigods, or even as gods.

Among them is Imhotep, a man who belonged to the court of

In El Khargeh : Hoskins, Yisit to the Great Oasis, pl. viii.




Zoser, one of the earliest of the kings of Egypt, and who

was remembered by the people as the celebrated royal architectand as the author of ancient literature. But now it becameknown that he was no son of man, but a son of Ptah of Memphis,born to him by one Khroti-onkh. He was the patron of allwho like himself dealt with learning and the secret arts. Beforethe scribe dipped his pen in the water - jar he poured out a fewdrops as a libation to Imhotep? the physician venerated him aspatron of their science, and the people finally accepted him

wholly as a god of medicine, Asklepios as the Grzco-Egyptianscalled him. For a long time after this the new deity boreobvious signs of his human origin; he was represented clothedin the ancient garments of man, of antique fashion, withoutcrown or sceptre, or the beard worn by the gods ; and his cultstill retained the forms of the worship of the dead, as they mereperformed in the tombs of people of rank.

I n the same way there also developed divine honours paid

t o an exalted personage of the New Kingdom. At theculminating period of Egypt's glory the highest place at thebrilliant court of Amenophis 111. washeld by the vizier Amenuphis, son of Hapu. H e tells us himself in hisinscription that he was a learned man :

he was shown all the sacred books and beheld the excellencies of Thoth; he

undertook their secrets, and on theiraccount men came to him for counsel.2And he was not only learned, but healso achieved great things in his highoffice and earned the gratitude of hislord. The king set up his statue inthe temple at Karnak, and when histomb on the west bank of Thebes was

completed his Majesty appeared inperson and issued a decree intendedto maintain the mortuary revenues of We do not know the exact reason why

Fro. 82 . TH E WISE IMAoTEP.

his vizier to all time,

(Hilton Price Collection.)

Schafer, A. Z., 36. 147. Mariette, Knrnu7~, 36. 28.



RELIGION OF THE LATE PERIOD = 7s

the name of this official survived through many thousands

of years, but he was regarded in late times as one of thewise men of the past, a man, as we learn from a Greek source,lwho o n account of his wisdom appeared to shure in the divinenatum. A book of magic was ascribed to him, and his gravebecame a sacred place. Finally Ptolemy IV. completed it asa temple to the gods of the dead, the well -known small templeof Deir el Medineh, which, owing to its good preservation, evennow affords pleasure to the modern visitor to Thebes. I n it the

old sage whose sayings do not pass away, and Imhotep wereworshipped in company with the gods; in Karnak also heenjoyed divine honours.

We have given here a very scanty sketch of the later religion,and, had we only Egyptian sources to rely on, it would bedifficult t o follow it farther. While there is so much in theinscriptions and papyri of this epoch relating to the gods and theircults, we nevertheless learn little from them regarding the

actual belief of this time. They are reproductions of extremelyancient ideas, and it would be a hazardous enterprise to attemptto discover which of them all were actually believed at thisperiod.

But here, where our Egyptian sources fail us, we receive forthe first time help from outside: about 450 B. C. Herodotus,an indefatigable and careful observer, travelled in Egypt. H eobserved exactly those things which are of special interest to us,

for he was convinced that these Egyptian gods were no otherthan his own. Osiris and Isis are in his eyes Dionysos andDemeter, Horus is Apollo, Set, the enemy of the gods, is thegigantic Typhon, Neith of Sais is Athene, Min is Pan, andAmon Zeus, while even the cat -headed Bast must reconcile her -self to being Artemis. As may be expected at that time, Isisand Osiris form in his eyes the central points of the religion ;

they are the gods worshipped by all Egyptians? He is proudly

conscious that a glimpse into the mysteries of the priestswas afforded him, even while he is faithful to his vow to divulgenone of them.3

1 Manetho, in Josephus c. Apionem, I. 232.2 Herodotus, 11. 42. 3 ib. 61.




The sacred animals struck him very greatly ; the immenseconsideration paid to them is well conveyed to us in his de -scription. He saw Apis in a court in front of the southerngateway of the temple of Ptah, and knows that he was en -

gendered by means of a ray of light from heaven; that he isblack, and has a square mark on the forehead : on his back is afigure of an eagle, and other signs by which he is recognized.When a new Apis is discovered, the whole of Egypt celebratesthe event with holiday garb and festiva1s.l The Phcenix, thesacred bird in the temple at Heliopolis, he did not see, for, ashe was informed by the priests there, i t makes its appearanceonly once in 500 years to bring the body of its father to thetemple in an egg made of myrrh? At the Lake of Moeris and inUpper Egypt he was shown a sacred crocodile, whose ears andfore - feet were ornamented with gold and precious stone^.^

But it was not only these single examples who inhabited thetemples, served by attendants and petted by the pious, who werelooked upon as gods ; their sacred character had long extendedto their relatives, to cows and goats, to cats and dogs, hippo -potami and crocodiles, ra ts and mice, hawks and ibis, perch andeels. In a conflagration the rescue of the cats is of more import -

ance than putting out the fire? He who is eaten by a crocodileis considered to be supremely fortunate in his death ; 5 he, how-ever, who intentionally kills a sacred animal has forfeited hisown life, and in the case of an ibis or a hawk, even accidentalmurder is looked upon as a capital offence!

For each of these creatures there is a locality to which itsbody must be conveyed when it chances to die ; the skeleton of the cat is brought t o Bubastis, the bodies of the mouse andsparrow -hawk to Buto, and that of the ibis to E ~ h m u n e n . ~If a bull dies, he is buried outside the town, leaving his hornsprojecting above ground to mark the place ; for there are piouspeople from Atarbekhis in the Delta, who travel about thecountry t o collect the bones of bulls, and bury them at home.

1 Herodotiis, 153 ; II., 27. 28. ib. II., 73.ib. 69. ib. 66.ib. 90. ib. 65.

7 ib. 67.




The cows, however, which are considered the most sacred of allanimals, are not buried thus; they are thrown into the Nile?I n these facts, where he might very well be suspected as exagger -ating, Herodotus is certainlycorrect, for everywhere inEgypt we find such late ceme -teries of sacred animals, pitsinto which the cats are thrownby hundreds of thousands,vaults where full -grown croco -diles, their eggs, and evenyoung ones recently hatchedare buried, and graves for ibisand hawks, for serpents andfishes. These animals are notalways buried off -hand, inmany cases they have beenmost carefully mummified and

placed in coffins, jars, or bronzefigures. They are laid in suchimmense numbers in these FQW----

has discovered a profane usefor their bodies: the bodies of the cats at Beni Hasan havebeen utilized t o afford excellent manure.

Herodotus also attended festivals in the great temples of the

Delta, which have now vanished, though the fame of theirmagnificence and beauty still survives. His descriptions showthat at this time also they consisted principally of representa -tions from the legends of the gods. At Sais, within the precinctsof the temple of Neith, there was a grave of Osiris, surroundedby a grove with obelisks. Near it was a round lake, and herethe passion of Osiris was represented.2 At another feast apriest with his eyes bound, and wearing a garment specially

woven, is brought to the road leading to the Isis temple. T W Owolves - obviously the Wepwawet gods - lead him there, andaccompany him back again? Here and elsewhere, where Isis

graves, that modern industry FIQ. b 3 . B R O N Z E COFXIN OF A C A T .

(Berlin, 2055.)

1 Herodotus, 11. 41.12

2 ib. 170. 171. a ib. 122.




and Osiris are in question, Herodotus does not give the reasonfor such performances, possibly from a feeling of awe. But of other gods he speaks more freely. When the god whom he callsHerakles once desired greatly to behold Amon, he only showedhimself to him wearing the ram’s head. At the festival of Amon, therefore, the Thebans slaughter a ram, clothe the statueof Amon with the skin of the creature, and place the statue of Herakles in front of i t ; they then beat themselves and forth -with bury the ram.l At Papremis in the Delta the god whomHerodotus calls Ares once forced his way with violence into hismother’s sanctuary in order to gain possession of her as his wife.Therefore the statue of the god is taken out of the temple on

P I G. 84. W OO D EN COBFIN O F AN I B I S .Before him, the man who provided for his burial is offering incense.

(Berlin, 6938.)

the evening before the festival. At sundown the priests bring it

back on a four-wheeled cart, but find more than a thousand menarmed with clubs stationed a t the door, to prevent the entranceof the god into the temple. The votaries of the god fight hardand obtain an entrance for him.2 I n other cases besides this wefind that the people took a greater part in the festivals thanwe should imagine judging merely from the temple inscriptions.There was one night in Sais, indeed throughout Egypt, whenthere was a general illumination, when lamps were placed roundthe outside of the houses? At the festival of Osiris the womenwander about singing songs to the god to the accompanimentof a flute, and carrying statues of him which have movablephalli.4 And at the great festival at Bubastis 700,000 people

* Herodotus, 11. 42.ib . 6 3 . 3 ib. 62. ib . 42.



RELIGION OF THE LATE PERIOD = 75

stream into the town from all parts: men and women sail

together, and on every ship there i s a great crowd of them. Manyof the women hcwe castanets whichthey play, many of the men play the$ d e throughout the whole voyage, and the remainder of the men and womensing and clcvp their hands. Whenthey arrive at a town they moor theship. Xomepart of the women continue

t o act as I have said, and others shout instclts t o the women of the place, and others dance, and others raise their d~esses high. Eo they do at every townwhich lies on the banks. When theyarriw at Bibbastis, they celebrate the

feast with large offerings, and morewine i s consumed at this feast than in

all the rest of the year?I n the ceremonial of the sacrificesalso the people took part, althoughperhaps under the superintendenceof the priests. One of these-

FIG. 85. B A S T recognizable byher cats and’basket ; monkeysare scrambling on her shoulders.Il y her side another is playingthe flute. (Berlin, 12424.)

surely th e ancient we’b (p. 54)- first examined the bull tobe sacrificed; if he had no black hair, if the hair of thetail was properly grown, and the tongue showed nothing thatwas proscribed, he would affix a seal to his horns anddeclare him to be pure.2 The animal thus marked i s led to thealtar, where the saer.;fice i s to be ofered, und a fire i s lighted.Wine i s then p o w e d upon it, and the god invoked, the bull i s slainand the Jzead cut o$ The men then flay t h e body, but they heapcurses zpon the head . , . and hope that any ill i s about tobty5all themselves or Egypt, it muy fall upon this head.3 On thisaccount the Egyptians will not eat of any head ; in towns whereGreeks are living, they are sold to them; in other places thehead is thrown into the river.

I n this avoidance of the head of the sacrificial animal, thereis surely something foreign to the Egyptian ideas, for in early

Herodotus, 11. 60. 2 ib. 38. 8 i b . 39.




times the head and haunch of young bulls were the joints

selected t o lay upon all tables of offerings. Also the partialburning of the offering was certainly an innovation, broughtinto Egypt by foreigners. It is true that the earlier Egyptianssought to supply the deity with provisions by means of burning,but this was only in exceptional cases, perhaps for a god whotarried far off, but now the burnt-offering had become a regularpart of the temple ceremonial. Whence the later Egyptianshad acquired this custom is shown by its name-glil-which is

Canaanitish.It must have been due to foreign influence that the oracle,that played so important a part in the Greek world a t this time,was also thoroughly established on the banks of the Nile.Herodotus knew of no fewer than seven gods in Egypt whospake by oracles. Of these, the most reliable was considered tobe that of But0 in the town of the same name.2 The gods alsogive an intimation of their intentions by means of remarkable

events. These are carefully observed by the Egyptians, whowrite down what follows upon these prodigies? They aIsoconsider that the fate of a person is fixed by the day of hisbirth, for every day belongs to a special god? I n every waythey are more religious than other nations: to whom, however,they imparted many of their customs and ideas. This is thecase with circumcision, which they were the first to introduce,from motives of cleanliness: and again with their abhorrence of swine: which must have been connected with the wounding of Horus by Set in the form of a bZacl%pig,sand finally and chieflyin their reverence for the cow, which was never eaten or sacrificed,because thus Isis of the cow’s horns would be injured. On thisaccount no Egyptian man o r woman would kiss a Greek o r use hisknife,his spit for roasting, nor his cauldron, nor would he eat theJtesh of a (otherwise) pure ox, wl~ieh had been cut with a Greek knife.9

The priests naturally are even more stringently exclusivethan the laity, and have to observe the countless usages.

1 Herodotus, 11. 40. ib.83. 133.153. ib. 82.

* Totenbuch, ch. 112.ib. 82 ; see also page 163. 5 ib. 37.

9 Herodotus, 41.6 ib. 36. 37. 7 ib. 47.




They inherit their offices from their fathers: and receivedaily a generous supply of bread, beef, geese and wine. Fishis prohibited and they may not even see b e a m 2 They mustwash themselves twice during the night and twice in the day,they must shave their heads every day, and the whole bodyevery third day. According to ancient custom they wear sandalsof papyrus and linen clothes - woollen ones are abhorrent to thegods.3

In reading these descriptions a t the present day it is obviousthat the Greek traveller entertained that feeling of respect forthe Egyptians which was necessarily aroused by their extremelyancient civilization, but that he regarded this religious nationvery much as we to -day consider the Chinese or the natives of India. To him the Egyptians appeared as the survivors of abygone phase of humanity. They regarded other nationsround them with narrow -minded contempt as unclean, andnot so intimate with the gods as they themselves. In the newlife pulsating in the world around them they neither could norwould take their share, but they still desired to pursue theirlife in the service and under the care of their gods. So long asthis was permitted them, they cared little for anything else.

All the various rulers, who followed upon the downfall of the Saite rulers in Egypt, endeavoured therefore to maintain agood footing with the priests as the special representatives of the nation. Even Kambyses, whose madness had at first so

deeply injured the Egyptians (he had actually slain the Apisbull with added insults), had not been able entirely t o ignorethis religious faction; and they possessed a remarkably ablerepresentative who was close to his person, in the body-physician Uza-hor-res-net, H e knew at any rate how to gainhis interest for Sais; he had shown his Majesty how great isSais . . . and how gyeat i s the temple of Neith, and hadinstructed him in all the sanctuaries of Sais. He contrived

that the Persian king in Sais himself entered iato the temple of Neith and threw hinzself down before his mistress, as every kinghad done ; he 6rought also a great ofering of all good things to thegreat Neith, mother of the gods, and of the great gods of Sais, as

1 Herodotus, 11. 37. ib 37. 3 ib. 81.




every glorious king had done. And when Uza-hor-res-netinformed Kambyses that all manner of foreigners lived uponthe ground and pavement of the temple, and that their presencewas an abomination to the pious Egyptians, the Persian kingdid what the native kings had not done, he commanded thatthe houses of the foreigners should be destroyed, and orderedthem to settle outside the boundary walls of the temple area.

Under Darius also the body -physician played his part success -fully : as a physician he proved to him how excellent i s this art of Egyptian medicine 4% order to keep every suferer in l i fe ; theking sent him to Egypt tha t he might once more establish inSais the House o L+%,as the school of the priests was called, theformer seat of medical learning. This he did, and fitted outthe school with all the books and appliances which, according toancient writings, they had once possessed. Thus Uza-hor-res-net,in the midst of the very great misfortwae which had overtaken thewhole land, forwarded the interests of Egypt, and if he also con-trived to restore his kindred to their priestly offices, and toenrich them with landed property by the favour of the Persianking, he would be readily forgiven by his fellow-countrymen?

TheEgyptiandynasts, contemporaries of thePersianconquerors,did all they could to secure assistance for the religion of thecountry. The piety of the two Pharaohs of the fourth century,whom we, in common with the Greeks, call Nektanebus, is mani-fest in all parts of the country. However uncertain theirpolitical status might be - the Persians had, in fact, subjugatedthem- the building of temples was carried on by them, asthough the ancient supremacy of the Pharaohs were as unques -tioned as it had been in the time of Amenophis and Ramses.2The hardest and most costly material was employed for thesebuildings, and to build a temple entirely of the red graniteof Assuan, as was done by Nektanebus I. in his native townof Behbet, was a feat unparalleled even among the Egyptians,skilled architects as they were.

I n the inscriptions of this king also we find the same anxietyto continue in favour with the priesthood. At Abydos the

Statue in Vatican; for the latter part see Schafer, A. Z., 37. 7 2 .Berlin, 14399.




faithful had taken offence, because stone had been taken fromthe hills surrounding the sacred town, for some building. As a

result of that complaint Nektanebus I. issued a decree in theyear 378 that any malefactor guilty of further insult to the hillsshould be hewn to pieces. Also when Nektanebus 11. came to thethrone in 361 B.C. he immediately showed his great love for thegods of his country, and hatred of foreigners. His predecessorhad of necessity levied a tax of ten per cent. on all imports andmanufactures, and Nektanebus himself was in no position toforego it. But two important items of this he assigned toNeith for her offerings : the tax on the imports from the Greek seas and that obtained from the artisans of the Greek townof Naukratis? If a Pharaoh of the fourth century found it

impossible to dispense with these active, industrious and skilfulforeigners, if he could not prevent their settling on the sacredsoil of Egypt, they should at least pay a penalty to the gods.What hatred to the foreigners on the part of the pious Egyptianis shown here ! But it was a powerless, senile hatred, fated soonto perish. A few more years, and these same priests bowedthemselves humbly before the Greek rulers of the country.

A. Z., 38. 133.



CHAPTER VI11

BELIEFS REGARDING THE DEAD, AT THE LATE PERIOD

As the Egyptians of the decadent period clung to theirancient religious traditions, as though by them only couldprosperity be secured, so also in their funerary practices theyendeavoured to imitate and retain all that previous centurieshad contrived for the welfare of the departed. All kinds of funerary literature that had ever existed was sought out andplaced with the dead, either on papyri or in the endless inscrip -

tions on the coffins and tombs. The pyramid texts (p. 88) whichhad almost fallen into oblivion since the Old Kingdom, oncemore re-appeared; the texts of the Book of the Dead wereembodied in a codex, for which a papyrus roll, very nearlytwenty metres in length, was required ; the chapters of theVoyage of the Sun were introduced with their usual illustrationson the great stone sarcophagi. And t o all this ancient literaturesmaller books were now added, which claimed to be ancient,although many of them were certainly of recent fabrication,Among them was the lament of Isis and Nephthys over theirbrother Osiris, which we have already quoted in part (p. 33) ;there was the Book of Breathings, which was specially popularin Thebes; there was the lament over Sokaris, the ritual of embalming, the Book of the conquest of Apophis, and manyothers. There must have been much of the early literaturewhich was incomprehensible at this time, for most of the textswere distorted to the verge of meaninglessness; but it wasprecisely this that made them appear so mysterious, and at thisperiod mystery and incomprehensibility were considered to bethe distinguishing marks of what was sacred and venerable.

The royal tombs of the late period are lost to us, but the184



THE DEAD AT THE LATE PERIOD 185

graves of rich private personages afford abundant proof of theway in which obligations to the dead were fulfilled at this time.They exceed in grandeur all earlier graves. Not one of theroyal tombs of Thebes can vie with the tomb of a certain Peta-menope, who lived in Thebes during the Saitic period, and,according to old custom, called himself a chief Kherheb. Weenter this tomb through two forecourts, with large gateways,behind which are two chambers supported by columns cut outof the cliffs, and we then reach a double line of passages, hallsand chambers. At the end of one of these we come upon a

mass of rock fifteen metres in length and ten metres wide, andin the form of an immense sarcophagus. This indicates theplace beneath which the dead man lay. To reach the place it isnecessary to descend a shaft leading from one of the earlierchambers, to cross three rooms, and then to descend anothershaft. This opens into a chamber behind which is situated thegreat hall, where the sarcophagus once stood.

The graves of this period which survive at Gizeh and Sakkaraare contrived with equal skill. Their superstructure has nowdisappeared, but the most important part is still there, the deep,wide shaft, at the bottom of which the sarcophagus stands likean independent edifice. No doubt the arrangements of thesegraves contain weighty mysteries ; some may be models of theunder -world, while others represent the grave of Osiris in theshaft of Ro -Setau.

The decoration of these tombs is, of course, of a religiouscharacter, and is borrowed from the mortuary literature. Inmany graves, also, there are series of scenes of daily life, whichwe hail with joy, as we possess elsewhere nothing of any sort toillustrate the daily life and occupations of the late period. Butour delight is of short duration, for these pictures of theslaughter of sacrificial animals, or the offering of birds, withtheir accompanying inscriptions, are copied from some grave of the Old Kingdom; in the case of the remarkable series of handicrafts in the grave of Aba at Thebes, we can actuallyrecognize the original source from which they were copied bythe later artist. He copied them from a tomb in Middle Egyptof a man of the same name, Aba, of the seventh dynasty.




Possibly the later Aba believed tha t he had discovered anancestor in the namesake of ancient days, and therefore had his

tomb copied from the early one. It was the antiquarianism of the period that painted these pictures, the same tendency thatalso dominated religion and art.

The magnificence of th e Saite tombs corresponds with that of their coffins. For people of rank, dark granite or black basaltwas considered necessary, and frequently they are positivemarvels of technical skill. Some are of mummy form, as wascustomary from the time of the New Kingdom, while others are

made in imitation of the box -like coffins of the earlier times,but all are distinguished by a characteristic peculiarity. On theancient stone coffins there is little to read, but on the later

F I G . 86. COFFIN, WITH POSTS, OB T B K LATE PERIOD.(Berlin, 8497.)

ones the Egyptians considered it indispensable to inscribe wholechapters of the mortuary books with their illustrations. Theymust have been aware that by doing this they damaged the

appearance of these costly monuments, but i t was of supremeimportance that the dead shall have the sacred texts providedfor them in imperishable materials. How great was the demandfor such stone sarcophagi is shown by the fact that means werefound for securing them for people who could not themselves payfor them. For them some early grave was plundered of itscoffin, the inscription erased, and another substituted in keepingwith the demand of the time. For this purpose even broken

and damaged fragments were used, andif

a coffin was fittedwith a cover which did not belong to it, it was considered of noimportance.

The men who could not aspire to a stone coffin would



THE DEAD AT THE LATE PERIOD 187

frequently have one made in the form of a box, and, moreover,of the special form which the coffin of Osiris must once have

been made: a boxwith four corner -postswhich stood up abovethe curved cover. Onthese posts wereplaced four sparrow-hawks of the ancientform, and on the cover

itself a jackal waslaid with its tail Flu. 87. HAWK, FROM A COFFIN.

(Berlin, 4G87.)

hanging down overthe coffin : these coloured wooden figures represented the godswho succoured Osiris. At the head and foot of the coffin werefigures of Isis and Nephthyslamenting the dead husband ;

while Anubis stands by, holding

the symbol of Osiris, or weeping,and wiping his jackal eyes.

In the inner coffin, on themummy, figures were laid of aflying scarab, of the four sons of Horus (p. 129), of the goddess of heaven, and all the small amulets which had ever beeninvented in Egypt. The greater the number of these

things the dead possessed, the better it was for him, andthey were made as dainty and costly as possible. Underthe head of the mummy was laid a linen disc, painted withweird figures ( fig. 89) ; this ensured to the deceased a sight of thesun. An Osiris figure was occasionally laid between the legs of the mummy; it was made of mud, and was filled with grains of corn, whose sprouting would typify the resurrection of the god.Also two fingers, carved in some dark stone, were provided for

the deceased, a large model of a right eye in wax or in metal,a heron or ibis, and a variety of other things. As, however, itmight befall the dead t o be insufficiently supplied with suchthings, some provident people were also provided with stone

F I G. 88.JADKAL, FROM A COFFIN.




moulds, so that in caseof need they could make

more for themselves. Theintestines were placed ina box, or more frequently,as in the New Kingdorn,in four stone vases, thecovers of which bore theheads of the four sons of Horus, and which, more-

over, were placed underthe protection of Isis,

Fro. 69. D I S C FO R H E A D . British Muqeum. Nephthys, Neith 'lid(By permission of the Society of Biblical

Archaology.) 1 Selkis.Of the other tomb furni-

ture nothing was forgotten, or, more accurately,the amount was greatly increased. Thus manytombs at this time were supplied with a set of

steps, which may probably have been intendedto facilitate the passage of the soul up the shaftof the tomb, unless, in accordance with theancient texts of the heavenly ladder (p. 96), it

+were intended for the climbing up into thefirmament. I n other tombs we find woodenstandards surmounted by figures of sacredanimals, as they were carried at the head of

processions, in order to prepare the road.2 Thepapyrus which was laid with the body was at

this time enclosed in the pedestal at the footof a wooden figure of Osiris, andthe cover that closed the aperturewas an imitation of the c o 6 n of

the god. Thus, as its sacredcharacter demanded, the book

was deposited in the very coffinof the god of death.

FIQ. 0. PAPYRUS CASE.1 Published S. B. A. Proceedings, vi. 52. with of Pta,i~sokaris~Osiris.2 Mariette, Denderuk, i. 9 ; iv. 16. (Hilton Price Collection.)



THE DEAD AT THE LATE PERIOD 1 8 9

The most remarkable, however, of all these tomb requisites

were the ushebti figures which, as we have already seen (p.140))

relieved the dead from all compulsory labour. Their sanctity isshown by an external feature : at this time they wear the specialbeard of the gods. The ordinary ones, made of bright bluefaience, were placed by hundreds in the graves, and in suchnumbers have they been found that there can be scarcely anysmall collection which does not in -clude some of these late figures. Thebetter kind also, carved with finisheddetail in limestone, in which theEgyptian workman of this period wasspecially adept, were provided inimmense numbers ; they were placedin niches in the walls of the tombchamber, as the best possible assist -

ants for its lord. I n some cases thedeceased had 365 ushebtis, so thateach of these little men served him forone day in each year?

It was only natural that what was

welfare of their souls should be copiedas far as possible by lesser folk, andin the great burial places of this time burials and coffins of allkinds are to be found. The process of mummifying variedaccording to the price t o be paid, and Herodotus states frompersonal observation that before undertaking the treatment of abody, the embalmers submitted to their customers woodenmodels of mummies, showing the three methods employed bythem, with a corresponding scale of prices.2

The same business-like system prevailed among the people onwhom devolved the guardianship of the graves, the successors of the old mortuary priests, whoin we are accustomed to call bytheir Greek appellation of choachytE. We have abundantremains, dating from the centuries of Greek dominion, referring

1 A t Abusir el Melek, from information supplied by Dr. Rubensohn.2 Herodotus, 11. 86.

FIG. 91. SEPULCaRAL BOX.

8 ~;;~;$,~;$ge~~;~~.done by the great and wealthy for the Wood, painted. Islt. and Nepl l thv

protecting a mummy, a figure of



rg o A HANDBOOK OF EGYPTIAN RELIGION

to the business transactions in the families of these people. We

find from them that every dead body was actual capital forthese guardians of the dead, and brought them a specifiedincome. One of them had undertaken to perform certainspecified prayers and offerings for Psenasychis, his wife andchildren, and in virtue of this drew a perpetual emolument;this occupation and salary were personal property, which hebequeathed to his children or sold to another member of thegui1d.l They could also borrow money on it, and it is possiblethat this gave rise to the extraordinary idea mentioned byHerodotus,2 the oft-told tale that the Egyptians would pawn thevery mummies of their fathers. However this may have been,we must be on our guard against drawing any conclusions fromthis statement, and from the business -like attitude of thechoachyts, as to the real sentiments entertained by the peoplewith regard to their dead. We who look back at these thingsafter an interval of two thousand years are constantly in dangerof judging by such external evidence as survives to us fromthat far distant time. We see the tombs and their equipments,we see their professional guardians at their duties and theirbusiness, but if we wish to judge correctly of all this, we musttake into account a side of which no inscriptions and no picturestell us anything - that which Herodotus met with in Egypt, theloud wailing on the day of death, when the women cast earth ontheir heads, and ran through the town howling and smitingthemselves; the quiet time of mourning, when the beard andhair were allowed to grow: as though the mourners wishedto distinguish themselves from the joyous world around them,and also the long, sad remembrance of which Herodotus saysnothing.

On another point also we find that we must not form our judgment solely on the evidence afforded us by the graves. Wehave already seen that the Egyptians of this period held theancient mortuary literature and customs in the highest esteemand observance. But while doing this, did they accept all the

An instance of such a document is published in the handbook Ausden Papyrus der Khiq l , Museum, p. 103 e t seq .

2 Herodotus, 11. 136. i b . 85 ; 36.



1 9 1

ideas involved in these customs T In the many hundreds of years since the Book of the Dead or the Am Duat werecompiled, had their conceptions regarding the destiny of the soulremained entirely unchanged ? Certainly not, but owing to theirdetermination to adhere strictly to tradition, we cannot trace thechanges in the beliefs of the people. Also we cannot judgewhether Herodotus was rightly informed when he asserts1 thatthe Egyptians, who first of all mankind realized the immortalityof the soul, also believed in a migration of the soul; that atdeath it entered upon another existence, which commencedimmediately. After three thousand years, during which it hadexperienced all the various forms of life that exist on land, inthe water and in thea i r, i t would once morere-enter a human being.Had the ancient con -ception, according towhich the soul couldmanifest itself as a birdor a flower, or in. every

form that it desimd,finally developed intothis form in thenational faith ? Thisidea must certainlyhave differed in someway from the accountgiven of it by Hero-dotus, for had thepeople believed in suchan unending successionof changes for the soul,they must have aban -doned the belief inOsiris and his kingdom,

souls was committed to

THE DEAD AT THE LATE PERIOD

and yet the care Of F I G 92. ORAYESTONE OF A SYRIAN WOMAN, AKHET-ABU,O B M E MP H I S , 482 B.O.

(Berlin, 7707 )

Herodotus, 11. 123.





CHAPTER IX

THZ EGYPTIAN RELIGION I N ADJACENT COUNTRIES

BEFORE

we pass on to consider the last phase of Egyptianreligion we must pause for a moment to glance at its spreadinto neighbouring countries during the long period of its prime,and the influence it exercised on those countries.

The earliest trace of such influence has lately become knownto us in Crete. On a stone vase, which dates from about thebeginning of the twentieth century B.c., there is the representa-tion of a festival celebrated in honour of a local god of harvest.

The Cretan singers who are marching in this procession are led

F IG

. 93 .B R O M A N ANCIENT CRETAN S l O N E VASE.

by a man who, as shown by his attire and his sistrum, is anEgyptian priest. Evidently he is officiating aniong thebarbarians as a skilled musician.

Another trace is less certain. As we have seen, the ancientfunerary cults of the Egyptians were based, primarily, on theidea that the dead must be fed by the survivors. This idea

finds expression in the principal scene in all the tombs, wherethe deceased is represented eating his meals, either alone or withhis wife. It can scarcely be a coincidence that in the tombreliefs of northern Syria, which certainly date back t o the

13 I 9 3




twentieth century, we find the same representation, and that thefigure of the deceased eating his repast occurs also on G r E k

tomb reliefs. Again, the idea of burying the body in a coffin, or

F IG. 94. GRAVESTONE OP A

(Berlin.)SYRIAN QUEEN, FROM SENJIBLI.

even in -a double co%n for extrasecurity, had a meaning for onenation only, who held that beforea,ll things it was necessary to pre-serve the body of the dead; thiscustom, wherever it is found inEurope, must consequently have

been transplanted to the north fromEgypt. The elaborate arrangementsprovided by the Egyptians for theirdead would necessarily impress andinfluence other nations who hadintercourse with them. Of course it

remains very doubtful whether itresulted in anything more than a

superficial acceptance of a

foreignidea. It is quite possible that the northern nations modelled theirgravestones and cofins according to Egyptian ideas ivithoutknowing anything of the kingdom of Osiris ; and this remark applies to all that is found in Etruria, in Northern Africa, oreven in Western Asia, that is Egyptian in character. When theEgyptian sign of life, the jackal -headed god, the winged sun, orthe crowns of the gods are employed on monuments, it does not

follow tha t the people who uied them had any other reason fordoing so than the supposition that symbols that satisfied thepious Egyptians would surely prove pleasing to their own gods.

We will turn first to Palestine and Phcenicia, where we areon firm ground, for we know for certain that Egyptian cultsexisted there in certain localities up to the end of th e NewKingdom. There the Pharaohs built temples to Amon, and for atime Egypt dominated everything ; there Egyptian gods are

figured on the seals, and even the tombs are painted after thefashion of Egypt.l But with these nations the foreign religion1 There is a fragment of such a tomb scene in the Kennard collection,

London.



RELIGION IN ADJACENT COUNTRIES I95

can never have really gained the supremacy over their nationalbeliefs, nor over those which had previously reached them fromBabylon; not even at the port of Byblos, which from primitivetimes onward had especiallyclose intercourse with Egypt.As early as 1100 B.C. or there -abouts, when the Thebantemple official, Wenamun,travelled to Byblos, to bringwood for a new ship for the

temple, the fact that hehad come as anibassador of Amon, and had brought aStatue Of him, m a d e b u t FIa. 95. J E w n w h i E L m , K i N a O F BYBLOS ,

BEFORE THE GODDESS OF BYBLOS.small impression there. I nvain did he announce that the father and grandfather of theprince of Byblos had regarded Amon as their lord, and thatthey bought their lives to offer t o him, and that the prince

himself was a servant of the god. The prince acknowledged allthis without hesitation, and also added tha t Phcenicia hadacquired art and learning from Egypt, but it did not concernhim any longer, and as Amon had omitted to send any money,th e desire of the god was nothing to him? Undoubtedlymuch survived in Ph_cenicia for a long period that in externalswas borrowed from the Egyptian religion, and even in 400 B.C .

the people of Byblos represented the ancient goddess of their

city as a Hatlior.I n the oases of tlie Sahara the Egyptian religion was supremeduring the New Kingdom, for Amon, the god of this epoch, wasthe supreme god of their temples, and when in Egypt itself Amon gradually decreased in importance, the Libyans of theoases remained faithful to him, and from the fifth century hiscult once more revived here to a remarkable degree. Underthe Persian kings the building of a great temple in Khargeh

was commenced and the temples of other oases also date fromA. ., 38. 1.

2 Known t o the Egyptians as early as tlie Middle Kingdom. Cf. Louvre,c. 43.




the latest times. But as the population of these oases hadscarcely sufficient wealth t o undertake such buildings on theirown resources, we must suppose that the money for them was sup -plied from Egypt. It is possible that these mysterious templeshidden away in the desert were considered by the Egyptians tobe especially sacred, and that therefore in late times they mayhave been employed in connection with the belief in oracles.It is certain that it was the case with the oasis of Jupiter Amon,the oasis that lies farthest from Egypt, and which is now calledSiwa. The oracle of Amon which was situated there had an

appreciative public in the Greek colonists of Cyrenaika wholived only a few days’ journey from it, and who spread its famethroughout the Mediterranean world. From Asia Minor, Greeceand Cnrthage his advice was sought, and a special stroke of goodfortune must have rendered his fame yet more lofty.

When Alexander came to Egypt in the year 332, he wasanxious to see the place, and he undertook that journey intothe desert, which so greatly impressed the Greeks. When th e

high-priest greeted Alexander on his arrival according toEgyptian ideas as the son of the god, the king chose to regard it

as more than a conventional phrase : to him it was an utteranceof the god, which bestowed on him the dominion of the world.From this time forth the oracle of Jupiter Amon formed one of the great marvels of the ancient world, with its temple and itsblazing sun, and while Amon in consequence was regarded moreand more by the Greeks as Zeus - already the ancient coins of

Cyrene represent him thus-

the natives theinselves adheredfirmly to the Egyptian conception of him, the statue of Anionimparted his decisions exactly as it was done at Thebes, thetemples were Egyptian temples, and in their graves the Am-monians depicted the scenes and texts of the Book of the Dead,

But by far the most appreciative soil and the richest develop -

ment was found by the Egyptian religion where once it hadbeen forced upon races of lowest culture and meanest endow -

ments, the land of the Nubians and negroes.When the Pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom conquered Nubiathey left the people their god Dedwen, and associated with himthe Egyptian cataract god Khnum. I n the New Kingdom,




when conquest extended greatly to the south and Nubia was

organized asa

province under the rule of a

vizier, the religionof Nubia was Egyptianized. The great gods of the Empire,Amon, Ptah, and Re Har -akhte, were introduced into the coun -try with Isis and Hathor, and in addition to these the Nubianswere given the Pharaohs themselves to worship as deities of thecountry. At Semneh the people were forced to worship Sesos-tris III., the first conqueror of their country, and also Thothmes111. who had recently conquered them.

At Soleb, Amenophis 111. established himself as a god ; atAbu Simbel, Ramses 11. was enthroned with the gods in theholy of holies in the great temple, while in like manner hiswife is worshipped in the smaller temple with Hathor.

Magnificently did the government maintain the dignity of their gods before the eyes of the Nubians. I n this sparselypopulated, poverty-stricken country, they bnilt temples whichcould bear comparison with the celebrated marvels of architec -

ture of Egyptian towns, and when the narrow valley could notprovide sufficient space, the cliffs themselves were hollowed out,and thus formed the marvellous rock temples of Abu Simbel,Gerf H u s h , or D6r. Quite in the south, however, somewherenear the place where the Soudan railway leaves the desert andstrikes once more into the Nile valley, at the town of Nepatain the pure mountain, a temple was founded which received thesame name, throne of the two lands, which was borne by the great

temple of Karnak. It was obvious that it was intended to bethe southern counterpart of Karnak, the official temple of Nubia.It was a matter of course that the priesthood of this templeshould receive a corresponding endowment of land and revenues,however little such a provision might be in accordance with thepoverty of the country.

It is conceivable that these magnificent developments of theEgyptian religion made a lasting impression on the circum -

scribed inhabitants of the southern lands. When a t the end of the nineteenth dynasty the bond was broken that united themwith Egypt, the Egyptian language was speedily replaced bytheir native tongue ; the Egyptian religion on the contraryremained, and attained greatcr power among tlie negroes and



198

Nubians than it had ever possessed in its own country. Among

these barbariansit

attained completely to that theocracy whichthe Theban priests in their own country were only able toachieve temporarily (p. 165 et scq.). The special lord of Nubiawas Amon of Napata ; whose oracle nominated the king, and de-posed him or commanded his death: and at its command he

journeyed out to rescue the sacred places of Egypt from impurehands. For the Ethiopian at this time looked on himself as th esole orthodox representative of the Egyptian religion. Most of

those who called themselves Egyptians were in his eyes impureapostates; when the defeated nobles of Egypt came to theEthiopian king to do homage, this barbarian only allowed one of them all to enter his tent, for the others were uncircumcised and eatus of fish, which i s an abhomnce in the Palace: and in everytown overrun by his wild hordes the king visited his gods andmade offerings to them, for the gods of Egypt were also his.Thebes above a l l enjoyed the doubtful privilege of being con -

sidered by the Ethiopians as the most sacred spot; long it re -mained in their possession, and Ethiopian princesses officiatedthere as divine wives (p. 165).

I n the seventh century, during the glorious days of Psamme-chus I., however, the Ethiopians were finally driven out of Egypt, and the valley of the Upper Nile speedily sank intostill deeper barbarism. When we read the great inscriptionnow in the Berlin Museum which recounts the deeds of acertain king Nastesen, who apparently lived at Neroe in thetime of Karnbyses, it is difficult to decide which is mostamazing, the barbarism of the language or the barbarism of the contents ; but this marauding, cow -stealing negro is beforeall things a pious worshipper of the Egyptian gods, and what hetakes back to the desert tribes from his raids he devotes in largepart to the gods. Above all is he indebted to Amon of Nepata,who called hini out of Meroe and proclaimed him as king ;

but the other gods had also confirmed this decree of thesupreme god, when he visited them in their towns after hisaccession to the throne.

This kingdom of Amon which was established among Nubians


1 Diodorus, iii. 6 . Pianchy Stela, 150.




and negroes, came to an end in the third century B.c., when a

kingwho had enjoyed

aGreek educatiom forced his way with

hissoldiem into the holy of holies, where stood the golden chapel, and murclered the priests; but little change occurred in the religious

PIG. 96. ETHIOPIAN DEITY, PROM TH E TEMPLE AT N A O A .

He is clasping the arms of two kings who are praying t o him.

character of Ethiopia, and of the Greek cultivation of the

monarch nothing reached his people.Meroe, the principal town, now became the sacred city in placeof Napata ; t lay yet further south not far north of Khartoum,and the gods henceforth became more and more African and

1 Diodorns, iii. 6.




barbaric. The paintings in the temples of Begerawiyeh andBennaga,

in which savages laden with ornamentsas

Pharaohspray to uncouth gods in semi-Egyptian attire, show us howlow this survival of the Egyptian religion had sunk, and even if we could succeed in deciphering these late Ethiopian inscriptions,which are written in the native language and hieroglyphs, weshould hardly gain a favourable impression from them.

These barbarians also buried the dead according to Egyptiantraditions ; they gave them gravestones, and tables of oflerings,and built pyramids of the special recognized form for theirkiugs. And here also, as is shown by their statues, Osiris andAnubis, Isis and Nephthys watched over the dead.

The Grwo-Roman world was roused to interest in this re-

Pia. 07. ETI~IOPIAN GRAVESTONE .The deceased prayiug before Osiris

and Isis. (Berlin, 2255.)

ligious nation of the far South, andwhen they announced themselves asthe t rue Egyptians, believed readilythat it was from them that the in-habitants of Egypt had acquiredtheir religion, their art, and theirwritings? And when the Romansatirist makes his great lady go onpilgrimage to the boundaries of Egypt,in order to bring from thence thewater from the temple of Isis, heplaces the whirlpools of Elephantinewithout ado at bright Meroe, whichwas more interesting to his p u b l k 2

How long this Ethiopian religionlasted we do not know, but we canwell imagine that paganism would

survive longer in that remote p a r t of the world than in theRoman Empire, although a eunuch of the Ethiopian QueenCandace is known to have been one of the first adherents of our own religion. Certainly its national religion would survive

longest in Northern Nubia, which was under Roman rule, andwhich had played an important part in the religious life of thelater Egyptians.

1 Uiodorus, iii. 3. 2 Juvenal, vi. 527.



RELIGION IN ADJACENT COUNTRIES 2 0 1

At the boundary between Egypt and Nubia, the district

above the first cataract, the great god Khnum, guardian of thesoiirces of the Bile at Elephantine, was originally worshipped.By the advice of the learned Imhotep (p. 174) Zoser had oncepresented this god with twelve tracts of land on both sides of the river, with all their revenues and taxes, in order that heshould once more send a rich Nile into the country whichwas suffering from its seventh year of scarcity. But later,when Isis and Osiris had won the hearts of the people, they

also attained the highest rank among the Nubians, and thetemple of Isis, on the small island of Phil=, which lies at theother end of the cataract, threw the neighbouring temple of Elephantine into the shade. Under Ptolemy Philadelphus thebuilding of a new temple was begun a t Philae, which, owing toits complete state of preservation and its position in mostglorious scenery, formed one of the most beautiful objects of thepresent day, only to be drowned by European barbarians in

a reservoir.This temple on the boundaries of Egypt occupied a uniqueposition at this time, for it served simultaneously the religiousrequirements of two nations. I t s lords were the Greek kingsand the Roman emperors, but the Ethiopians also were per -mitted to make use of it. The Ethiopian king Ergamenesbuilt there, in conjunction with Ptolemy Philopator, a chapelfor his god Arsnuphis, and numerous inscriptions in the Nubian

writing show how indefatigably the people of the South madepilgrimages to Phil=. The gods of the barbarians also foundacceptance in this temple ; Arsnuphis, and the sun god Man-dulis, whose sacred place, Talmis, was situated within theboundary, the flash-darti.ng lord as the Greek songs of his localworshippers call him.

The Bleminyes also, the Bedouin of the Nubian deserts, madepilgrimages t o Isis of Phil=, and the Roman government, who

did much to civilize these nomads, could not but allow themthe exercise of their religious worship in P h i l a When theChristian religion had long triumphed in Egypt, the Nubiansand Blemmyes of Philae preferred to continue the worship of Isis, and when the general Maximinus made a treaty with both




nations in the year 452 A.D ., the pious Byzantine permitted

these pagans to make pilgrimages to the templeat

Phil=, andannually a t the festival to take out its statue of Isis.Fully a century later, when this treaty had expired, Justinian

had the temple destroyed, its priests imprisoned, and thestatues of th e gods carried to Constantinople. Thus Phil= wasthe last outpost of the Egyptian religion, and it is here that wefind its latest monuments, Greek and demotic inscriptions, andthe latest hieroglyphs ever written by the Egyptians. Thepeople who inscribed these short devotions were obscure folk,but we cannot withhold our sympathy and interest from theProphet &net and the Protostolist Xmetchem, for they are the lastpriests of the Egyptian gods of whom we have any knowledge.



CHAPTER X

THE HELLENISTIC PERIOD IN EGYPT

DUR I NG the period when the Saite kings, the Persians, and

the dynasts opposed to them, reigned os7er Egypt, a newelement, which found its way into the East, penetrated alsointo Egypt - the Greeks. They took service in the East assoldiers, they settled down in its cities as merchants andmanufacturers, and prospered everywhere by their skill andindustry. They settled down quietly, exactly as they do at thepresent day, working, bargaining, and advancing money onusury, hated by the Orientals, and yet bound to them by athousand ties of business relationship. As early as the time of

Amasis it proved necessary to found a special Greek town inEgypt, Naukratis, the wealthy city frequented by all nation -alities, and when Herodotus travelled in Egypt he found thepeople completely accustomed to their foreign guests. Thuswhen Alexander’s campaign in 332 B.C. made the Greeksmasters of the country, it only brought to a political conclusionwhat their enterprising commercial spirit had prepared longbefore. From this time the Greeks were the dominant peoplein Egypt, and the government, and part of the population of the towns were Greek. The greater part of the Egyptiansremained true to their nationality and above all to theirinherited belief. They remained, as they had ever been, thepious Egyptians; indeed they clung more closely to theirreligion than before, and when in the course of centuriesthese beliefs became remodelled by contact with Greece, inessentials they remained what they had always been, andinstead of losing ground they actually made some advance:the Egyptian gods even gained some adherents among theGreek population.,

2 0 3

. -”.”-----=-. _ _ * - I..




Owing to this position of affairs there was for the Greek

kings and the Roman emperors only one possible method of governing the country : by maintaining a good understandingwith the religious leaders of the people. As the State took thespiritual power under its protection and assisted it in everyway, so it in turn was bound to support the secular power.This mutual support, which lasted for more than five hundredyears, secured to the Egyptian church a peaceful evening of life; up to the last it dwelt in its temples in glory and

splendour, protected by the State even when its own peoplebegan to forsake it.An opportunity of befriending the temples presented itself

to the earlier Ptolemaic kings. I n their expeditions into Asia,the three first Ptolemies found statues, temple furniture andbooks, which had been taken away froin the temples during thePersian times, and they gladly took the opportunity OJ return-

ing them t o the temyles fyom which they had been talceqt. Then

the temples had ancient claims to estates, and these they nowpresented to them. Thus Khabbash, one of the opposing dynastsof the Persian time, at one time made a grant to thetemple a t Buto of a district in the immediate vicinity, but whenhe was overthrown by Xerxes this gift was annulled by thePersian king, It is true that the gods of But0 took theirrevenge on Xerxes and ordained a disgraceful end both for himand for his son - but this did not restore the property, The lossinflicted on them by the withdrawal of the gift of Khabbashhad never been made good, The priests of But0 representedthis to Ptolemy I., and the artful Greek thought well to grantthem their request. Other undertakings of the same naturehad been left behind them by the native dynasts of' thePersian time in the partly finished temple buildings. Theyhad provided the temples with means to begin some mag-nificent buildings, and it now devolved on their Greek suc-cessors, as a point of honour, to finish what they had begun.But when they had thus provided the building for one temple,they had to consider the claims of some neighbouring god, whoseambition was no less lofty and whose sanctuary was equally inneed of new buildings. Thus early in the Ptolemaic period



THE HELLENISTIC PERIOD IN EGYPT 20 5

there began a great epoch of temple building which lasted intoRoman times; and which resulted in those mighty creations whicha t the present day meet us everywhere in Egypt. Denderah,Edfu, K.om Ombo, Phil=, to name only a few of these, werebuilt under the Ptolemaic and Roman rulers, and cover a longperiod of time. At Edfu building continued with interruptionsfrom 23’7 to 57 BE. At Denderah and Kom Ombo it continuedfor about a hundred years. Phil= was begun under Ptolemy IT.,and in the time of Tiberius it was still unfinished. Naturallythe money for all this building came only in part out of the

royal purse, and it certainly happened very frequently that

PIG. 98. PTOLEMY PHILADELPHUS, ARSINOE, AN D A PRINCE WORSHIPPINQTHE EENDES R AM . (Mendes Stela.)

what was begun as the gift of t he king was carried out bymeans of the temple funds. But if the revenues of the godswere so great as to enable them to carry out such undertakings,it must be remembered that they owed their wealth to thekings, who provided carefully for the gods of Egypt as theearlier Pharaohs had done. And therefore it is no mere emptyform that is employed when the Greek kings and Romanemperors are directly specified as the builders of the templesand when they are represented in them as pious worshipperspraying. and offering sacrifices. Although to them personallythe crocodile god of Ombos, or the cow -horned goddess of Denderah, might appear absurd or objects of indifference, yetit was they who, as rulers of the country, maintained thesedeities in their grandeur and power. We gain a good insight




into this relation between the kings and the priests by meansof a great memorial tablet which the priests of Mendes, a townin the Delta, set up in their temple in honour of Ptolemy 11.They state that soon after coming to the throne, he visitedtheir temple, and thus their ram was the first sacred animalworshipped by his Majesty. He had sailed in the bark of thegod on the waters belonging to the temple as tlze Icing lzacl clonewho came before him, and had fid$lled all the ceremonies of thevisit as they are written down. He then observed that theywere employed at the temple in repairing the damage which

the feeble barbarians had done to it, and forthwith he gave coin-mand to rebuild the temple. Then his Majesty returned to his

place of residence, ful l of joy concerning tlzat which he had done

for his fathers, the very great living r a m of Meiades. Whenlater in the fifteenth year Queen Arsinoe died, who had beenpriestess of the sacred ram, a funerary feast in her honour washeld a t Mendes, at which them was rejoicing and her sozd awokenear the living Tam, as hcippens to the souls of all the gods and

goddesses, f r o m the beginning of the present day, for Mendes isverily their city where they renew their youth. And his Mkjestycaused her statue to be set up in all temples, which was very

pleasing to theirpriests. In Mendes the statue was carried inprocession with the sacred ram, and it received the name ‘(shewho i s beloved by the ram, Awinoe Philadelphus.” ThisMendes temple also received marks of favour of a substantialkind. When a tax on shipping was imposed on the whole

country, the province of Mendes was exempt, for the priestssaid to his Majesty that hitherto they had never paid a tax, and all that came in and out of their city belonged to their god, andth at Re had formed the land for that purpose. And, moreover,when a part of the revenues of all the nomes had to be paid intothe exchequer, the king arranged that for the future Mendesshould not be required to pay its share. Then the priestsinformed him that Thoth himself had given an injunction to

the kings of all future time that they should make provisionfor the offerings to the Livin#g ram. flhould they diminish theseoferings an endless qnultitude of misfortunes would arise amongmen.



THE HELLENISTIC PERIOD I N EGYPT 2 0 7

I n the twenty - first year the temple was completed ; the cere -mony of consecration, at which the king was represented by hisson, was celebrated throughout the country. After the festivalthe priests followed the court to the royal residence withbouquets of flowers and unguents, to give pleasure t o the king ;

his ,Wajesty anointed himself with myrrh, his garments also werescented, and his Mujestycaused some of them to be brought to him i i z

the palace, and all the princes did the same as he. Finally, duringthe reign, an event of great good fortune occurred for Mendes :

a new sacred ram was discovered. The king was informed of

this, in order that he might have it tested by the college of thelearned. H e announced it therefore in all the temples. Theyexamined the ram and found that its form corresponded to therequirements of the ancient writings. They gave it the title:(‘living soul of Re, living soul of Shzc, livingsoul of Ke6, and livingsozd of Osi~is,”as had been done since the time of the ancestors.When this was reported t o the king, he commanded that thenew ram should be set on his throne, and he celebrated this

king of the animals of Zgypt with a great feast, at which thestatue of Arsinoe had the honour of being placed next to that of the ram in the procession.

While memorial tablets of this description tell us what thekings did for the gods, others show us in what manner thepriests testified their gratitude. On special occasions the entirebody of priests assembled at one temple, and decided in cere -monious conclave what extraordinary honours they could bestowon the king. Apart from this high honours had already beenaccorded to him. Even during their lifetime the kings wererecognized as gods, as the gods who love as brethmn, or thebeneJicent gods as was demanded by the ideas of the Hellenisticcourt. Thus for instance the priests assembled in the templeof Canopus in the year 238 B.c., and recounted what the bene -

ficent gods, i. e. Ptolemy 111. and his consort, had done for thetemples. They huve beneJited the temples i n the land and greatlyincreased the dignity of the gods. They have prwided in everyway for Apis, Illnevis, and the other esteemed sacred animals(there must therefore have been some which were not heldin esteem) with great sumptuousness and cost. The king in




his wars acquired the sacred statues which had Been carried awayby the Persians, and restored them to the temples. Finally he

secured peace for the inhabitants of the land, and in faminesecured them from hunger. In recognition of all this the honourof the king should be even more exalted in the temples andthe priests of all the temples in the land slzall be called (( I>riests of

the benejcent gods,” and this shall therefore be written in allwritings, and upon the seal rings worn by them shall there beengraved the priesthood of the benejicent gods. Thus, in additionto the four classes into which, according to ancient custom, the

priesthood was divided (p. 54), a fifth had now to be added of allwho had become priests under these kings, and of all their suc-cessors, and this class was to be called after the benejcent gods.I n addition to the three monthly festivals already established forthe beneficent gods, a great yearly festival was now to be cele -brated in the temples and throughout the country, and this wasto be on the new year’s day of the ancient year. But in orderthat this day may always coincide in the calendar with other

festivals as it did in this year of its appointment, the calendarshall be reformed and rendered permanent. Also because thelittle Princess Berenike died during this conference, a statue of this goddess shall be set up in the sanctuary of Kanopus near thestatue of Osiris ; and, as she died in that month of Tybi, in whichthe daughter of Re (p. 28)- he called her lzis seqyent, and his eyeotht of low-once departed from life, an event which was cele -brated in most of the temples with a great procession, so, inTybi Berenike was to be honoured with a similar procession inall the temples. And a golden statue inlaid with precious stonesmust be deposited in the greater temples, and carried round withthe other divine statues, and she must have a crown of two earsof corn and a serpent and a papyrus staff round which a serpentshall be entwined. Another statue shall have offerings made toit by the daughters of the priests and other maidens at theOsiris festival in the month Khoiakh, hymns also shall bewritten in her honour and inscribed in the sacred books. Andall this and much more must be perpetuated by being set forththree times, in the ancient language, in the language of thepeople and in Greek. What must have been the feelings of the



THE HELLENISTIC PERIOD IN EGYPT 209

Greek king when he received such a resolution with due grati -tude from the hands of the priests, and what must have beenthe sensations of the faithful members of the clerical party whenthey recollected that these bem$cent gods and all their nobleswere none other than what were formerly termed the miserablenorthern barbarians. I t was in fact unnatural and disproportionatethat the most accomplished and educated monarchs of tha t timeshould appear as the friends of sacred sheep and cattle, and thatthe most ancient priesthood in the world should pay greaterhonour to kings of a foreign nationality than they had accordedto their own dynasts. Both sides went very much too far, andyet both sides gained thereby.

As the priests held firmly to the antiquated forms of theircults, so in their buildings they would make no concessions tomodern times. On the contrary, they wished tha t thesebuildings should conform with the regulations laid down a t theearliest times ; their height must be good, their width correct, thewhole well reckoned, squared according t o the wisdom of Thoth,

and therefore as set forth i.n the sacred writings.l Denderah wasbuilt according to a design of the time of Kheops, and the groixnd-plan of Edfu was actually designed by the divine Imhotep(p. 174). These later buildings differ from the ancient templesonly, in that they are carried out according to one scheme, whilewith the others the projected plan varied with the developmentsand changes of the centuries, the same difference which we findbetween a modern cathedral and one of the middle ages. Simi -

larly in the later work in Egyptian temples we observe dete -rioration in artistic feeling, exaggeration of form, and excess of ornamentation.

Another point in which these later temples differ from theearly ones is the subject of their inscriptions. If we readthrough the whole of the inscriptions in a temple of the NewKingdom at Abydos, for instance, and examine all the scenesdepicted there, we gain very few facts: the names of the gods

worshipped there and of special ceremonies, a list of the offerings,and, in the best instances, the text of the ritual employed.

141 Dumichen, Resultate, 38 - 41.




What besides took place in the temple (and in such an immenseinstitution much must have occurred) is concealed from us, orrather it is omitted as self-evident, or as a matter of no import -ance. The method of makingincense for the gods was no longer obvious, for outside the sacredprecincts there would now be no merchants of spices who knewhow to prepare it. Also when the enemies of the nine bows arementioned in the temple an explanation must first be given of what this meant, for in ordinary life at this time they arereferred to merely as Greeks, Romans, Syrians, and Persians.People must be told what books the library contains and whatstatues the temple possesses, what are the names of the days andhours according t o ancient tradition, and what episodes in thelife of the god have given their names to the transactions in thetemple and its vicinity. Now for the first t ime the ceremonialof the great feast is described and all the details of the cult,when these steps are to be mounted and that door entered, a twhat places a halt is to be made during the processions, all thesongs that are to be sung, and the formulae to be used inpraying. However unimportant these may have been originally,they are hallowed by the course of centuries, and future genera -tions of priests niust not deviate from them in the smallest detail.It is not sufficient to commit them to the perishable papyri,they must also be engraved in stone. Thus the walls of thePtolemaic temples are covered with inscriptions, which convey tous the knowledge possessed by the priests, sacred and profane,important or the reverse, an inscribed library of temple habitsand customs. The priests had little reason to fear that greatmysteries would be read by the profane, for they had replacedthe old hieroglyphs by a new form of writing, which was highlyconvenient, as it could only be read by the initiated. Thelanguage also in which they wrote could only properly be under-stood by themselves, for with immense erudition they polishedup the ancient written language of their forefathers. From theliterature of three thousand years they made a collection ofphrases, and now pleased themselves by making use of theseexpressions, of which no one now knew anything, in their owninscriptions. Real delight it must have afforded them to write

I n this later time it is different.



THE HELLENISTIC PERIOD IN EGYPT 2 1 1

one and the same inscription ten times over in succession, and

each time to employ different expressions.From the temple of Hathor at Denderah we may learn howsuch a sanctuary was organized ; the great one, mistress of Den-deruh, ege of the sun, lady of Iaeaven, mistress of all the qods,daughtei- of Re, who hath n o equal. She was a cheerful goddess,lady of Yejoicingand mistress of the duneiny, lad!/ of nausie and "

mistyess of song, ludy of leuping and misZress of wreathing yarlunds? Hersanctuary, the places of

drunlcenness, the place withpleasant lve and its otherinnumerable names, re -mained unfinished. Thegateway and great courtwere never built; insteadof them there is an openspace laid out in front of the temple, where thecrowds assembled for thegreat festivals. The privi-leged guests wonld haveplaces assigned them inthe great front hall (A inthe accompanying plan)

with which the templebegins at the present day,and from whose four-and-twenty columns the kindly

FIQ. 99.

countenance O f Hathor QROUND-PLAN OF THE TEMPLE OF DENDERAH.

smiles down upon us?This hall was partly public, but with the next large hall (B),

the Hull of ApTeurings, we enter on the precincts exclusively set

apart for the religious ceremonies. I n it the processions took place at the beuut@d feasts, while the next apartment served asDumichen, Resultate, 45,4.*

The following is from information kindly given by H. Junker




the hall of oferi9zg.s on those days when they carried the god to

hisrqust.

The next doorway leads us into the central Elall (D).The inscriptions and pictures on the walls show that i t served asante-chamber for the point of exit of the processions. Here wesee the standard-bearers, who precede the deities, when onfestivals they leave their dwelling-place. This sanctuary of thefestivals (E ),the greatplace,isa dark enclosed chamber of sufficientsize to accommodate the shrines and the barks used to carry thevarious gods, and also for the priests who here perform thevarious ceremonies of the ritual as is represented by the sceneson the walls, Behind this chamber there lies the actual holy of holies (m) that contained the principal statue of Hathor, whichreceived daily veneration ; this bears the name of the great house,and is one of the long line of chambers that surround the innercompartments on all sides. Of these, near the Hull of A i j p e a ~ings on the left, is the place for preparing ointments and incense(a), another chamber for flowers (b), and another to whichofferingswere taken after Hathor had delighted herself with them (c) ; a

door leading from this may have communicated with ware -houses behind. To the right were placed, among others, thetreasury of the temple (w), and a chamber for the supply of water (v), the outer door of which must have led to the well.The chamber (d) was used in some way in connection with theadjoining chamber of ofel-ings, while (e) contained the garmentsand ointments of the goddess used at her toilet. The chambersa t the back of the temple are principally hoIy places. Thus (g)

is the place where her mother gave birth to the goddess : thescenes upon the walls represent the king bringing milk and linento Hathor, gifts befitting a divine infant. The chambers (h) and(i) are chapels of Osiris Sokaris and of Horus, the uniter of theTwo Lands, while (0 ) is the abode of Re. The rooms next to thesecond holy of holies are ante-chambers to it, in (1) the statueof the god was purified with water, the Jire house (n) served forburning incense and for burnt offerings. Near to this aretwo

chambers (k and p) for themusical instruments of the cult,for the sistra and the great neck-chains which rattled with themovements of the dancers, Finally, three chambers (n, s, t)form a spot of peculiar sanctity ; they are the places where the



THE HELLENISTIC PERIOD IN EGYPT’ 21 3

great feasts of the turn of the year are celebrated, the day of the

child in

the nest, the day on which Hathor was born, the NewYear, and others. They consist of a small raised temple, wherethe goddess must have been enshrined, and where she wasclothed and anointed; a court where offerings were made toher, and an ante -chamber which probably contained the valuablesused at this festival.

Of the stairways leading to the roof the long one was usedfor the processions at festivals. Here the statue of the goddess

was carried with great ceremony on to the roof, and deposited ina small open temple in order that the sun might behold her, andthat Hathor might meet with her father.

On another part of the roof lay the small sanctuary of Osiris,at this time an essential part of every large temple, for it wasthis god who for a long period stood first in the confidence of theEgyptians. Here in the month of Khoiakh, according to anancient and widely diffused custom, ceremonies were observed,

representing the resurrection of Osiris. A mummy figure wasmade of earth and grains of barley; this was moistened, andbefore long the grain germinated and sprouted, and the inani -mate figure became green and living.

There is no doubt that this place on the temple roof, which wenow invade with profane footsteps, was a spot of the deepestmystery, but there were others even more secret which are nowopen to us. I n the thickness of the massive walls of the temple

narrow secret passages were concealed, whose existence no onecould surmise from the outside. I n these secret places, whosecontents no stranyer knows, and whose doors are colzcealed,l werekept the statues and sacred vessels when they were not requiredfor the ceremonies.

Thus these temples with their rich adornments towered overthe teeming streets of the Egyptian towns, and served as witnessto the crowds that centuries might come and go as they would,

but within these sacred precincts all remained unchanged ; thepriests daily performed their functions in the holy of holies,as had been done for thousands of years, and on the same daysand in the same way as of old the people would see the great

1 Dnmichen, Resultate, P1. 36.




deity carried out of the temple to go to some sacred spot, or topay a friendly visit to the divine majesty of some neighbouringtemple. Thus, for instance, Horus of Edfu 1 left his temple on

the day before his great festival at his temple, accom-panied by his companion god Khonsu, and by the fourspears with which the god fought with Set, and

journeyed to meet the two deities who were on theirway from other cities to visit him, Horus of El Kab,and Hathor of Denderah. These gods were to com -memorate in company, during a festival lasting manydays, the triumph over Set or Set's confederates andthe enthronement of Horus. But i t is by no meansclear that they were concerned merely with thesematters, for it was a sheer unending round of ceredmonies that was ordained by custom for these days.Thus when the gods of Edfu wished to embark on the

ship with the new arrivals in order to enter the city with dueceremony there had first to be read the spells which protect the sJbip,sacrifices were offered, distributions of wine and distributions of land were made, geese were sent flying as messengers, bunchesof flowers were bought, and there were many other details to beobserved. At last the voyage began, but only to be promptly in -terrupted. For the place of Keb was reached, and here they hadto moor and prepare a great burnt offering f o r this glorious god.Once more the ceremony f o T cmbcwrking o n the shiy was performed,and the ceremony whereby the ship i s protected was performed and the ships wem launched, and a t last they sailed away to Edfu. It

is further carefully chronicled which of the high officials of UpperEgypt took part as representatives of the king, and what was thecorrect sailing order of the ships. The musicians were on theship of the princes of Edfu ; on landing a t the temple it fell tothe prince of El Kab t o grasp the forepart of the ship containingthe gods, while the prince of another town mas responsible for the

stern. The prince of Denderah had with lais peopleto

bring gvts.Two of the princes brought a bull for sacrifice, another suppliedfive hundred loaves, one hundred jugs of beer, the haunch of an ox and thirty goats for the supplies of the people of other

1 The following is taken from the festival calendar of Edfu

FIG. 100.

O F ~ R U S .

13erlin,

TIIE SPEAR

(Amulett.

15125.)




cities who had accompanied their god to the feast. Whenthese had arrived, they sat down and drank, and celebrated a

festival for these honoured gods; they drank and anointed themselves and shouted very loud, together with the inhabitants of the town.

On the first day of this festival the group of gods with theirfollowers, who had passed the night near the temple, were ledto the upper temple, which must have been situated somewhereon the desert level. Here a11 settled down on the groundand performed offerings and ceremonies. The gods were set upand the scribes of the sacred booles performed the victory of Horus.Four times they called out, “Horus has come in triumph, and everything that was commanded him has been done. His mother I s i s rejoices because he has undertaken this his charge with a glad heart. The gods of Edfu, the living souls, sit on their throne andgaze upon the lord o j the gods and joy pervades Edfu.” Thepriests also say in answer very often, “Rejoice, ye living souls !

Horzcs i s triumphant. All that was eommarded him i s aceom-plished.” Thus calling, the procession breaks up and goes to thehalls of the school. First there i s brought an unclean goat and anunclean ox ; the intestines are taJcen out and a great burnt sacri-$ce ofered, when the belly i s &led with all manner of szueet-

smelling herbs, and must and wineJow out of it. Then there isread the veneration of Horzcs, whose inheritance i s made sure, andfour other books. . . . Offerings are made t o Re, while he iscalled upon in all his names, and there are brought to him onehundred loaves, one hundred white loaves, five jugs of beer,flat loaves, dates, milk, geese, and wine. Then the priestssay, 1( Praise to thee, Re; praise to thee, Khepre, in all thesethy beautiful names. Thou eomest hither strong and mightya?ad hast ascended beautiful, and hast slain the dragon. Inclinethy beccut$ul countenance to the Icing!” Then again fourgeese are set free to fly to the four winds, to inform thegods that King Horus of .Edfu, the great god, the lord of hecwen, has taken the white crown and has added the red erowia thereto. A man who figures at the festival as the beloved son shoots with a bow to the four quarters of heaven, and thusslays the enemies of the gods. Nosegays are brought to the god,




an ox is slain, and his right leg is thrown among the crowd,where a man who i s called Rorus receives it. Thereupon theretinue of Horus beat the drums. Further ceremonies are per -formed with a wax hippopotamus on which the names of theenemies of all the nomes are written, and with pottery crocodiles ;

fish are thrown upon the ground and all the priests hack andhew at them with knives, saying : ‘‘Cut ye wounds o n your boclies,kill ye one another ; Re triump1Ls over his enemies, Horus of Edfutriumphs over all evil ones.” They then explain the meaning of this last custom ; it is the destruction of the enemies of the gods

and of the king which they have accomplished. This ends theceremonies at the school for this day : those taking part can nowrest. The people drink in the evening before this god and spend thenight gaily in tlzis place. Thus thirteen days are spent until atlast the strange gods depart to their homes, and those of Edfureturn to their temple and peace once more reigns in the city.In all these proceedings there must have been much which thecrowd that took part in the festival could not understand,

notwithstanding the accompanying meaning ; and the ancientlanguage employed by the priests in the singing and prayingmust have been entirely incomprehensible to them. But i tmust have been precisely this incomprehensibility that greatlyenhanced the general impression produced. The contrastbetween the ancient piety and reverence and the profanemodern world, between the priests with their antique garband the Greek police and Roman officials, could only strengthen

the people in their veneration for the ancient faith. Neverthe -less, as time went on the Egyptians were unable to preservetheir religion altogether free from the influence of the foreignerswho ruled them.

The first influence that made itself felt appears to us to-dayto have been the work of an able man who acted as a connect -ing link between the king and the clerics. At the court of the first two Ptolemies lived Manetho, a priest of Sebennytus

in the Delta; one of those people whose education was con -ducted on two entirely different lines, very similar to the up-bringing of the modern effendi, who has studied in Paris. I norder t o acquaint his employers with the history of their new



THE HELLENISTIC PERIOD IN EGYPT 2 17

country, Manetho compiled a Greek history of Egypt, a melan -choly piece of bungling which, however, he contrived to investwith an air of authority by his attitude of criticism towardsHerodotiis.

When the king beheld in a dream the dark god of Sinope,who bade him convey his statue to Egypt, it was Manetho whowith the Greek Timotheus knew how to interpret this marvelcorrectly. The god who thus hankered after Egypt was at homethere, even though his appearance was entirely different on theNile and on the Black Sea. The bearded, wavy -haired godof Sinope was no other than Wser -hap, the deceased sacredApis bi l l , whosegrave was so greatlyvenerated by allpeople, and Wser-hap,oras he is calledin Greek, Serapis,was thus a godequally sacred bothto Greeks and Egyp -tians, the true godfor the empire of thePtolemies. There isno doubt that theother priests ac-cepted this explana-

tion, for the OsirisApis from this timeranked among thegreatest gods of Egypt. Thathe wasoriginally only adead sacred bull wasforgotten and he was

confused with Osirisuntil finally Serapisbecame nothingmore than the Greek

1

1ZIQ. 101. QRAVESTONE OF A MAN NAMED IYHOTEP.Above he is praying before Osiris ; below before Osiris-Apis.

(Berlin, 7304.)

name for the Egyptian god of the dead.




His sanctuary near the Apis tombs was eventually decorated withstatues of fabulous beings and of Greek philosophers ; perhapsthese last had now come to be regarded as having derived theirwisdom from Osiris.

At this time other members of the Osiriangroup also receivedspecial forms which arose among the people. They were of Greek origin but were diffused throughout the whole of thenation. Thus Isis is represented as semi-Greek, in a dresswhich may be seen on the statues of women of the NewKingdom.

F I G. 02 . ISIS, W IT H R U D D E R

(Berlin, 7502.)AND CORNUCOPBIA.

F I G. 103.ISIS-HATHOR-APIIRODITE.

(Berlin, 13791.)

Or, as goddess of the port of Alexandria, she appears as thepatroness of sea-faring ; in this case she holds a rudder inher hand, or is wearing the Greek travelling hat. Or, as Isis-Hathor she is compounded with Aphrodite, and then she appearsentirely unclothed. Her child, moreover, Har -pe -khrot, “ Horus

the child,” as a plump sucking infant, becomes the universalfavourite Harpokrates. These compound forms were neveraccepted in the ancient Egyptian temples, but with the peoplethey took the place of the gods more and more during the course



THE HELLENISTIC PERIOD IN EGYPT 219

of centuries. I n the temple, the Osiris-Serapiswas known as amummy figure with a high crown and plaitedbeard, but the small figures in the housesrepresent him in Grecian style with curlyhair and beard, and with the modirxs on hishead, and as this was the more beautifulfigure, the Egyptian must also have picturedhim under this form when he prayed tohim. I t was Greek ar t that made thisbreach in ancient Egyptian ideas.

For this period we also possess the evidenceof a Greek traveller, Strabo, who visitedEgypt about the time of Angustus. Thecountry had then become for the Romanworld what it has now become for us, a landof great sights, where the Pyramids, the $ ~ r . $ $ i ~ ~colossi of Memnon, and the royal graves of (Hilton

Thebes were to be seen, and where the tourist inscribed his name

FIG. 105. S E R A P I S , W I T I I T H E RAM ’S

(Berlin, 11479.)HORNS 08 ANON , AS ZEUS -SERAPIS.

FIa. 10F.SERAPIS AND EAGLE.


on the monuments of antiquity. What Strabo found to wonderat in these sights does not interest us here, but we must not pass




over other matters in his report. First there is his account of the worship of animals. According to him they play a moreimportant part than we should gather from Herodotus, and heprofesses to know that in the Egyptian temples, taken on thewhole, there are no statues of gods, but only of sacred animals?The reason for this statement may possibly be that the foreignerwould naturally observe the most peculiar features of theEgyptian faith, and also it cannot be doubted that the venerationof animals had actually increased and become more prominentsince the time of Herodotus. For this is the time when aninscription - full of feeling- was composed in verse for thegravestone of a poisonous serpent that had been slain: in whicha Roman who had inadvertently killed a cat was put to death bythe mob, and in which the people of two neighbonring provincescarried on a death feud because one worshipped a fish and theother a dog? In this veneration there was much that was nolonger entirely unworldly. If the people of Denderah were ableto tame crocodiles, it was good so long as it was done in accord -

ance with religious traditions ; but they were well aware thatmoney might be made of this, and that in Rome a man couldexhibit as a crocodile tamer.5 It is clear also that the sacredanimals in the temples were regarded as sights to be exhibited.Apis and his mother lived in small sanctuaries opening on t o

a court, and people were permitted to look at Apis through thedoor. For strangers, however, he was allowed to go free for atime in the court : no doubt for substantial payment? How the

sacred crocodile was treated at Arsinoe we will leave Strabohimself to tell. He was fed witlz bread, meat and wine, which are

perpetually brought hinz by strangers when they come to see Jzinz.Our host, who belonged to the upper classes, and who accompanied u sthen went with u s to the lake, and had taken j?om our nzeccla smallcake, and roast meat and a small pig with a drink prepc~reclwithhoney. ?Ve went up to the animal who lay on the margin of thetouter. The priests went up to hinz ; one opened his mozbth, and the

other tlwust in t J ~ ecake ccnd the mcnt, and poured the drink intoStrabo, 17. 28.Diodorns, 1.) 84.

Strabo, 17. 44.

2 Ausf. Verz., p. 339.

' b. 17. 31.Plutarch, Isis and O s i ~ i s ,72.



THE HELLENISTIC PERIOD I N EGYPT 2 2 I

his mouthj. I€e iheiz 2dunged i n f o theI d e a and s z u c m io the otlzeyside. As another siranger cante, who had also brouglbt c ~ n fering,the priest ran quickly round Zlze lake with it, and presented it i nthe same manner.1

An additional object of interest to educated Greeks was tosee the learned priests from whom the Greeks must have learntso much. Strabo had their houses a t Heliopolis pointed ou t tohim, but the pldosophers and astronomers themselves were nolonger there ; all he met were merely sacri$eers and expoundemt o stYungers.2 The Theban priests on the contrary were regardedas sages who were a t the head of every branch of knowledge.3He also mentions priestesses in Thebes, and what he relates of them is too remarkable to be ~ m i t t e d . ~The most beautiful anddistinguished of the maidens there must be nominally conse -crated to the god Amon; for a whole month she may thenbestow her favours on any one she choses,after that mourning ismade for her and she is given in marriage. Instinctively weare reminded here of the divine wives, the chief concubines,and the singing women who formed the household of Amonduring the New Kingdom, and we question whether this strangeaccount may not have had a somewhat similar basis. But whocan tell whether Strabo had not merely misunderstood theancient custom, for no other of our sources tells anything of thisstrange institution ; and of the priesthood of this latest periodwe have abundant knowledge, such as we scarcely possess forany other period ; for, in addition to all the inscriptions whichthese priests themselves left behind, we have the remarkableconfirmation of the Greek papyri which also illustrate this sideof Egyptian life. On their gravestones, their coffins and dedi -catory inscriptions we read how they served numerous gods of such and such a temple, and others in the vicinity, that theywere priests to this king, and tha t queen, and how they attendedon the divine children of the temple, and provided for the sacredanimals. And all these priesthoods connected themselves withthe highest titles of the ancient Pharaonic times and proudlystate that father, grandfather, and all relations both on the

1 Strabo, 17. 38.3 ib . 17. 46.

2 ib. 17. 29.4 ib. 17. 46.




paternal and maternal side were also priests of high rank. Andthis distinguished and esteemed position, .whoseburden cannothave been altogether overpowering, was doubtless combinedwith a good income, for a great temple of this period was in aposition richly to remunerate its staff. This is shown, forinstance, on an inscription a t Edfu, which enumerates with greatdetail lands possessed by the temple in the first century B.C.

There is much here which is incomprehensible to us ; but wefind that they consisted of at least thirty-three square miles inland, distributed in large or small portions over various parts of

Upper Egypt. We have also to remember that it is only thelanded estates that are here recorded ; we do not know to whatthe rest of the property may have amounted, in actual gold, inrents and tribute. I n any case in the Greek period it was nobad fortune to belong to the priestly body of a great temple.

But if we examine the papyri1we shallfind that there were other templeswhere the priests had not such a

brilliant lot, On the western borderof the Fayum, on the lake of Moeris,was the temple of Sobk of the Island,Xoknop ios as it is called by theGreeks. It had a high-priest whoreceived a small stipend of 344drachm=, and all the other prieststogether received daily about one

bushel of wheat as remuneration fortheir trouble. They were not evenimmune from the statute labour onthe embankments, and if these werelessened for them, it was owing to the

5 good offices of their fellow-citizens.The revenues of t he temple both inregular incomes and what was givenin offerings, was used for the require-

ments of the ceremonies, for at every festival fine linen must

FIQ. 107. PRIESTS CARRYING ASTATUE OF HARPOKRATES.

(Berlin, 12417.)

1 For the following see Erman and Krebs, A'LLSden P a p y ~ a sder KgZ.Museen, p. 178 - 186.




be provided for the clothing of th e three statues of the gods,and each time that cost 100 drachmae ; 20 drachme were paidon each occasion for the unguents and oil of myrrh eniployedin anointing the statues, 500 drachmae were for incense, while40 drachnm were required to supply sacrifices and incensefor the birthdays of the emperor. And yet these priests, whowere in the position of the peasantry and of the lower classesof townspeople, maintained that their position in no waydiminished their ancient sanctity, Their children at an earlyage were enrolled as recruits by the various classes of priests,and after marriage their daughters retained the rank of their fathers. If any of them transgressed the traditional cus-

F I G . 108. HARPOKRATESO B A GOOSE.


PIG. 109. HARPOKRATBS ON A RAM.

(Berlin, 8794.)

toms and wore woollen garments, or allowed his hair to grow,the assistance of the authorities was appealed to, for had notlinen garments and a shaven head (p. 72) been for long thedistinguishing mark of the priests 1 Also the practice of circum-cision, which at one time had been universal among the Egyptians,although without any great importance being attached to it, hadnow become a custom of the priests; only by permission of thehigh-priest might it now be performed on the children belong -ing to their families, and only after the elders of the classes of priests had testified that the child had no defect that woulddisqualify him as a priest. This high-priest was moreover the




highest religious official for a large district ; in reality he wasmerely the representative of the distinguished Roman official,

who as high - priest of Alexander uncl of ull Egypt exercisedpolitical supervision over the temples of the Nile Valley.

Whether this supervision by a Roman or a Greek was at firstill received by the nation we do not know; certainly such a

feeling cannot have continued long, for in the centuries follow -ing the birth of Christ, Greece obtained increasing ascendencyover the native Egyptian ideas, and thus religion finally became

F I G . 110. HARPOKRATES

CARRYINO A JAR.(Aslimolean Museum.)

F I G .111.

I s i s AS A

(Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.)SERPENT.

a complete admixture of Greek and Egyptian elements. It nolonger struck any one as incongruous that there should be atemple of Jupiter Capitolinus in the ancient city of Sobk, andthat the feast of Sobk should be celebrated there in connectionwith the birthday of Dea Roma. If the great temples of theland could receive such combination without hesitation, thepeople themselves would naturally not hold back, Unfortun -ately this latest national belief is a sealed book to us, and onlytoo often we are ignorant which of the gods it is who is con -cealed under all the. new names and forms WQ meet with



T E E HELLENISTIC PERIOD I N EGYPT 2 2 5

Who for instance is Thripis ? who is the god Phemnoer in the

Fayum?

and who is the great god Antaios, after whom a townis named ?

We gain some knowledge of this religion of the people, of which the ancient temples knew nothing, from the snzall potteryfigures of gods that we find in houses of the third century A .D .

They were the sacred images of the common people, and theyare often found with a lamp, which was lighted on feast-days inhonour of the god. No god was closer t o the heart of the peoplethan the young Harpokrates, and the figures which represent himas a child show why the people took such special delight in him.

F I G . 112. ISIS -SOTHIS ON A DOG.

(Berlin, 9956.)

FIQ. 113. OSIRIS AS AMUYXY.

(Berlin, 9368.)

But he also appears in his character as a god. He is enthronedas a follower of the sun god, in the ship, or in the flower (p. ZS),and rides armed upon the ram, which was an attribute of Amon.The goose also, which had been venerated in Thebes since theNew Kingdom as a sacred bird of Amon? was now assigned tohim- he rides upon it or feeds it kindly with a turnip. When

the little god is represented as ithyphallic, he is probably inthis respect following Min ; but why he should also masqueradeas an old m an and carry a basket on his arm we cannot fathom.

Berlin Griech. Urk,, No. 471. Ausfuhrl, Verz, p. 231.15




Occasionally, in Greek fashion, Harpokrates carries the cornu-copeia, from which he distributes his gifts. This vessel of romance, however, is generally replaced by a jar, which doubtlesscontains the food supplied by the god for mankind.

In the case of his mother Isis also the human side of hercharacter is emphasized. She is represented with her infant attimes in an attitude which inevitably suggests our Madonna.From the earliest times the star Sothis, whose appearance in theeastern sky betokens inundation, had been regarded as Isis. Asthe Greeks called this star the dog-star, the goddess as Isis-Sothis

FIQ. 114. ISIS AN D OSIRIS IN A SHRINE,(Berlin, 8164.)

now rides a dog, on whose head this star sparkles. Isis is alsorepresented as a serpent, the ancient guardian of Re (p. 10, ZO),and to accommodate himself to her Osiris also takes a serpentform. The distinguishing marks of Isis are here the sistrum, the

ancient musical instrument of women (p.4S),

and the vase outof which water is poured to her in the temple ; for Osiris gs godof the dead a suitable symbol is a poppy-head, which causesmen to sleep. Or, again, Osiris appears as a crowned mummy,




which we must acknowledge acquires more and more the ap -

pearance of a vase as time goes on."

He is yet more frequentlyrepresented as Serapis, reigning as lord of the under-world, withCerberus near him.

The popularity of these three great deities is shared by afourth, Bes, who earlier had played avery insignificant part (p. 75). Hisappearance is as grotesque as ever,but he frequently appears as a warrior,

with shield and sword. Other godsof the old mythology also make theirappearance as soldiers, Anubis, andthe jackal-god Wepwawet, who i n afigure in the Berlin Museum is re-presented as a bearded soldier onhorseback ; with his lance he attackshis foe, who in some cases is lying

beneath him in the form of a crocodile,exactly sim=ilar ' to theSt. Georgeof Christian

WARRIOR. art. TheApis also,

and the sacred cows, monkeys, cats,

crocodiles, and hawks are not yet for-

gotten.To these native deities we must now

add Zeus and Helios, Artemis andAphrodite, Dionysus, Heracles andPriapus; they also are frequentlyEgyptianized, and even Helios is madeto hold a crocodile in his hand. Who

is the winged sphinx, with pawsresting on a wheel? Who is the naked woman with thehuge garland ? Who is her rival beauty with crippled arms 1

and who is the third in the group, the €at monster with wide-

F I G. 115. B E S AS A PROTECTINQ

(Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.)

WARRIOR.oRUS AS A(Berlin, 9685.)




FIQ. 117. THEQOOD SHEPHERD.

Found amongsimilar pagan

figures a t Ehmas1899.

(Berlin, 14852an d 14866.)

spread legs grovelling on the ground ? It is possible that thislast strange disguise conceals a divinity who is of neither Greek nor Egyptian origin. For here, as everywhere in the Romanempire, various religious propaganda had imposed their ideas,and followers of Mithras, and other votaries of secret cults, hadpenetrated into the Nile valley, as they had to the banks of theRhine and elsewhere in Europe. Among these rival propaganda,it was Christianity that eventually triumphed, and as early as

the third century it had already gained a greathold upon the population. Among the potteryfigures of the gods of which we have been speak-ing, we are already greeted by the beloved formof the Good Shepherd.

These mixed beliefs appear in their most acuteforms in the magical texts of this period, wherein the same breath Osiris is mentioned withSabaoth, the archangel, and the Greek gods.Even now the sorcerer, to whom God is to appearin a dream, appeals to Moses, to whom thou didstnmwiyest thyself upon the mountain, and at thesame time assures him that he will glorvy hiin in Abydos,and in heaven before Re.l Whether thespells are written in Greek for the educated, orin Egyptian for the people, their form is alwaysthe same, and they are always full of phrases

of foreign origin which are only derived in small measurefrom the ancient Egyptian magic. He who wishes to renderan enemy powerless will take an ass’s head, smear his feetwith clay, and seat himself opposite the sun, with the ass’shead between his feet, and anoint his hands and mouth withass’s blood, and place his right hand in front, and the otherbehind, and speak, saying ; I iiivoke thee, who art in the void air,terrible, iwuisible, almighty, god of gods, dealiny destmcction, and making desolate, oh thou who hatest a well-ordered house. Whenthou wast cast out of Eyypt and o u t of this country thou wast entitled ( ( H e that destroyeth all, and i s wneonpcred.” I invokethee, Typhon Set! I perform thy exorcism, for I invoke thee 6y

I Griffith and Thompson, Demotic Magicccl Papyrus, p. 47.



THE HELLENISTIC PERIOD IN EGYPT z z g

thy powerful name, by which thou canst not refuse to lzear: I oerbeth, Io pakerbeth, Iobolkoseth, Iopatathnax, Iosoro, o-neb-ozdoso-naleth, Aktiophi, Ereslchigal, Neb -oposoaleth, Aberanzenthou,Lerthex-anax, Ethrelyoth, Nemereba, Aemina ! Come to meand approach, and strike down such a man, or, such a woman,with cold and fever. He lzus wronged m e , and has shed theblood of Typhon . . . therefore I do these thi7ags.l Here thegigantic Typhon, whose form was assumed by Set when hewas driven out of the country, is Greek; a m x has a Greek sound. Among the Egyptian names is io, for io means an ass,the figure by which the terrible Set was represented, andwhose head the magician had placed in fsont of him. Butfrom what a distance others of these names may have comeis shown by eres-chigal, for this is nothing else than the

FIQ. 118. AMULETS : INSCRIBED STONE.(Berlin, 9865, 9799, Ir865, 9858.)

ancienb Sumerian name of the goddess of the under-world;which the Babylonian magicians must have brought into Egypt.Similar phrases are also used on the inscribed stones which were

wosnas

amulets.For

theseit

was necessary to have godsrepresented, Egyptian, Greek, or strange compounds, and thesemust be connected with inscriptions such as Iao Abrnsax or ICLO

Sabaoth, or Xernes ilam, (( the young sun,” or Bai n khookh, ‘(thesouls of darkness.”

I n addition to the foreign names and formulz there were alsoduring this epoch new forms of superstition introduced intoEgypt, there t o flourish luxuriantly. Among these were the

horoscope, alchemy, prophesying by means of dreams, andothers which appear to have had no place in the earlier magic

1 Griffith and Thompson, Demotic Magical Papyrus, p. 145.

3 Ausfiirh. V e x , S. 378 et seq.ib . p. 61.




of the Egyptians. The principal matters dealt with are thesame as those of the ancient art, cures of diseases andwounds, love spells, magic to secure power and importance, andall the foreign spells which cause madness and disease. Amagician of this time could also understand the language of birds and reptiles, he could open earth and the under-world, andsummon the dead from the under-wor1d.l According to thebelief of this time the dead could by other means return to theworld and to life ; and a story explicitly tells us how Osiris,when he was prayed to by the Prince Khamoes for a son, senthim a dead man skilled in magic, who was born to him as hisson Si-usire. Si-usire aided his father by means of his magic,and on one occasion took him down to the under -world. Whatthe prince saw there is too remarkable to be passed over.

Before the father and son entered the under-world in thenecropolis of Memphis, they saw two funerals being carried outthere; one was of a rich man, with a large following of mourners richly bedecked, the other was of a poor man beingcarried t o his grave merely wrapped in a mat, and with nofollower to mourn him. As they went through the various hallsof the under -world, they saw in the fifth the gloriousjtcsti$edones. I n the sixth sat Osiris himself, on his golden throne, withAnubis and Thoth standing by his side with his counsellors.Before him stood the balance on which the deeds of mankind areweighed ; he whose evil deeds are more in number than the good,i s given lo the Devourer of the under -world; hissod and his bodyare destroyed and he shall live no longer. He whose good deeds aremore in number than the evil, he i s received among the divinecounsellors of the Lord of the under -world, while his sozcl goes withthe glorious just$ed ones to heuven. And Khamoes saw also anumber of damned ; some were standing in the fourth hall, andover them hung bread and water, and they reached out for them,but men dag away the ground under their feet, and they couldnot reach the food. And in the door of the fifth hall there wasa man whose right eye was pierced through by the pin of thedoor socket, so tha t he prayed and lamented. And Xi-usire said

1 Grifi th, 8tories of the High - priests, p. 20.ib. p. 42 et seq.



THE HELLENISTIC PERIOD I N EGYPT 231

to his father that this condemned wretch was the rich manwhose grand funeral they had witnessed ; his evil deeds had

been more numerous than the good; at the throneof

Osiris,however, stood a distinguished man, royally clad in finest linen ;this was the poor man who had been carried t o the grave in a mat ;his good deeds had exceeded his evil deeds : therefore the outfitof the rich man had been given to him, and he had been setamong the gloriozcsjtcstiified ones as a man of god who accompaniesSokharis, for he who i s good upon earth, to him good isdone in theunder -world; but he who i s evil to him evil i s done. Si -usire

explained yet more to his father, but unfortunately our know-ledge is not sufficient to make us certain of the meaning of what

FIQ. 11s. GRAVESTONE O F TEE ROMAN PERIOD ; THE DEAD PRAYINOBEFORE OSIRIS IN TEE GREEK ATTITUDE.

(Berlin, 2132.)

he says. But it is enough to show us that the under -world atthis time is very different from the under-world of the earlierperiods. Osiris still dwells there with his gods and spirits, butnow it is only the deeds of inen which can decide their fate ; fora sinner, all the coffins and amulets and ushebtis cannot avail.The monster who devours souls still figures in the under-world,and it is still said that it destroys them, but at the same timethe imagination of the people has devised punishments for thewicked, which they must undergo, notwithstanding theirdestruction.




To this change in the kingdom of the Dead, which of itself was only a natural development, was added the transformation

caused by the influx of Greek conceptions: Osiris Serapis wastransformed into Pluto, Thoth, who weighed the heart, appearsas Hernies who carried the souls of men to Hades and carried akey? Others who were changed in this way are incompre -

hensible to us. Thus Hathor now figures as a goddess of thedead, and a dead woman is no longer called an Osiris, but aHathor. Bes now protects the dead, and a god who, accordingto a figure in the Berlin Museum, lets down a chaldron, possibly

provides the deceased with the"

cool water"

which a t this timeis regarded as the most essential gift of Osiris. Every burial -

place shows that during the Roman period the funerary customswere still considered of great importance. It is true thatlarge tombs built in the new Grzco-Egyptian compound stylehave only rarely been found - by far the most important inAlexandria itself - but in the simple pits and shafts of cemeterieswe find mummies of great splendour. At no time were they so

F I G . 120. M U M M Y , w n s i P A I N T E D

P OR T R AI T OF T E E D E C E A S E D .~

elaborately wrapped up in bandages, andnever had the outer cases been so richlydecorated as in the Roman period.

The mask covering the face of thedead was gilded, or else it representedthe face of the dead painted in Greek style and with the natural colours.Occasionally the headpiece is worked inthe round, and raised a little from theneck, as though the dead were awakingas Osiris once did. Also the features of the deceased are painted on a panel, oron a piece of linen, and laid over theface. At the foot of the coffin there aresandals, on the soles of which are por -trayed manacled prisoners, for likeOsiris the dead man must tread on hisenemies. Or the foot of the coffin

ij represented as a temple in which the soles of the feet are1 Ausfiirhl. Verz., p. 356. Petrie, Hawnm, pl. ix. 4.



THE HELLENISTIC PERIOD I N EGYPT 233

Heaven knows on what idea this isOccasionally also the body is represented clothed, the

depicted as sacred objects.based !

hands and armsrichly adorned, orholding a wreathof roses. Figuresof the gods are -frequently intro -duced in suchmummies, either

upon the coveritself, or upon a

shroud in which thebody is wrapped ;

F l G . 121. END OB A M U X I Y CASE.Painted to represent a temple.

(Berlin, 13463.)

they show how Isis suckles the dead, or how Anubis embalmshim. However atrociously they are depicted, or however littleconception the man who manufactured them had of them, yetdoubtless they would secure much happiness for the dead.

This gorgeous outfit of the Roman mummies is probablyconnected with another peculiar custom, which may safely beattributed to this period? The mummies of relatives were kepta t home for some time, as though the mourners were unwillingto part with them. For this purpose they were placed in coffinsprovided with a door that opened like that of a cupboard, or

they were laid onthose magnificent

biers with open -work sides which wefind in graves of this period.

Naturally burialson this scale wereonly for the rich, butprovision was also

made by the govern-(Berlin, 505.) ment authorities for

This was not

FIQ. 122. COFFIN OF THE CHILDREN , SENSA& AX D TKAUTHI ,

with a Greek inscription. Second century A.D.

the poor, that they should have befitting burial.1 Carl Schmidt, A. Z., xxxii. 56.




a very simple matter, for each one must be laid in the burial-

PIG. 123. MUMMY CASE OF THE LATEST

PERIO

D.(Berlin, llF59.)

that he is gone for th into the

ground of his home. Thus

mummies were treated as cargo,and addressed: To be zcnladedin the harbour of Emmau, orsimply in Eompae, and so givento the master of a ship to belanded at the necropolis of Emmau or Bompae. He wouldlay him in the sand, where

already hundreds of othermummies were deposited, care -fully arranged, and hung withsmall wooden labels. It wasa motley company which wasthus assembled in one of thesemassed gra-ves of the Romanperiod. Near the priest Sansnos

and Matrona, wifeof

the physician Appollonios, lay thecarpenter, Psenthaesis andXpaphrys the slave of thephilosopheT, Julius Isidorzcs?And here again another pointstrikes us when we read thelabels of such a burial-place

and observe the variety of theshort sentences which here andthere accompany the names.Here is the Egyptian formula,lives thy soul, and there theGreek, grieve %ot, no one i simmortal, or to everlasting re -

membrance. But what does it

mean when we find it said of one that he is gone to T e s t ? orbrightness ? This question we

1 Krebs. A. Z., xxxii. 36 et seq. Cf. Carl Schmidt, A. Z., xxxii. 56.




could not have answered had not the Christian monogramoccurred with another name, and if we had not known fromother sources that such phrases were used by the Christiansof the first century. These people, mummified according topagan rites, and buried among pagans, were yet Christians !

The customs of paganism were still scarcely relinquished bythe adherents of the new faith. When a change occurred inthis respect we do not know. I n any case mummifying con -tinued for a long time in Egypt. Any one who observes themummy case represented here will be inclined t o place it in

the fourth century, and therefore in a period when the greaterpart of the Egyptians mere Christians. Ye t these gildeddesigns with which it is adorned show nothing that is Christian,but all manner of paganism, the bark of Osiris, the ship of thesun, and the three graces, and we must therefore consider thisto be the mummy of a pagan. It is not improbable, foralthough from th e end of the third century the nation as a

whole was Christian, yet paganism lingered even after that

time, Among the higher classes and the people of Greek education it might even yet preponderate, and in the fourthand fifth centuries we must not imagine even the people of thelower classes to have been all Christians. As a matter of fact,very little that is distinct has come down to us concerning theirfaith. I n Alexandria the sanctuary of Serapis was the principaltemple. In Memphis the god chiefly worshipped was Asklepios,the god who had once been the sage Imhotep (p. 174) ; I but

who had now almost taken the place of Ptah at Memphis. AtAbydofi the little god Bes had almost superseded Osiris, andimparted oracles which were highly prized? In the neighbour-hood of Akhmin in Middle Egypt, a god named Petbe wasworshipped, whom his Christian opponent compared to Kronos,and to whom he ascribed all the evil that he knew of theGreek god. I n this last phase of Egyptian religion, the Greek element appears almost to have had the supremacy, for the

same monk of the fifth century in his explanation mentions, inaddition to Petbe and Ptah, the goddess Rhea, whose priestscastrate themselves ; Apollo, the unclean, obscene performer on

Ammonins Marcell., xxxii. 14. 7. 2 ib. xviii. 12. 3.




the lyre, Zeus and his son Ares, as though they were the godsordinarily worshipped by his pagan fellow-countrymen. Otherthings against which he declaims are entirely Egyptian, such asthe custom of lighting a lamp at a town festival, or a howefestival, and that people call out greeting t o the sun and victory to the m0on.l

It was such preaching as this that brought about the clown -fall of paganism. Notwithstanding all official prohibition it hadactually continued supreme for a length of time, its adherentswere peaceable folk, who were quite contented to be left alone

to worship their ancient gods. But the fanatical followers of the Christian religion stirred up the populace, and the templehistories of four thousand years came to an end among dis -orderly tumults. The horrible scenes that brought theancient religion to a close in Alexandria are well known, thestreet fights and the storming of the temple of Serapis. Butthe events in the provinces of which we have any knowledgewere of the same character. There Shenute? the holy man

famous among the Copts, boasted that he himself had destroyedthe temple of Atripe, in the neighbourhood of his cloister, andthat this deed had proved an example to other people. I nanother case the pagans implored his forbearance with regardto their temple. He however drove them out and completelyransacked the temple ; it was a rich booty of utensils, statuesand books that he brought back to his cloister. When thepriests summoned courage, and brought an action against him

on account of his pillaging raids, such an overwhelming crowdof Christians assembled in the town on the day of the trial thatit was impossible t o proceed with the case. I n other places alsowe find the same state of affairs,which is universal wherever a

minority is hated by a majority. Of the priests of a certain godKothos the Christians set abroad a report that they stole theirchildren and dew them, that they sprinkled the altar with theirblood, and made of their guts strings for their lutes. The holy

Makarios of Tkou thereupon destroyed their temple, and burnton the same funeral pyre the god Kothos and his high -priest,whose name was Homeros. At that time many of the heathen

Leipoldt, Sccheizute, p. 176. 2 ib. p. 178 et seq.




allowed themselves to be baptized, but some fled, and theChristians entered into their houses.’ Thus paganism cameto a melancholy end; terror for their life and property ledthe last of its adherents to abandon i t ; from this time theirtemples were forsaken and were either transformed into churchesor allowed to fall into ruins. Naturally it came about tha t theseruins were haunted; thus we hear of one temple where therewas cm evil demon by name Bes. Many saw him as he movedabout the temple, assuming all manner of forms, and many a

time he issued forth and struck at passers by, and then theywould become blind or lame or deaf or dumb, but the holyMoses knew how to exorcise him.2 Thus the gods of t8heancientfaith had become the ghosts of the new, and the very word enter,which once meant a god, in the language of the Christiansactually signified an evil spirit. And even now, when theyhad become abhorred of their own nation, they yet retaineda place of refuge in Egypt, albeit a melancholy one - magic.We have seen that the magicians dealt as they chose withthe names and legends of the ancient gods, and that laterthey added to them the ar ts of the Jews and Greeks. Nowthat they ve re Christians, they eagerly employed the namesand forms of the new faith, but they did not abandon every -thing of the old, of which they had so long availed themselves.If a child had stomach -ache, the man who undertook to exorcisei t still referred to the child H O ~ U S ,who had to undergo so manyhardships in his forsaken condition. He began his magic witha long story of how the little god ‘caught a bird and devoured it

raw, and how he thus got a pain in his stomach. He thereforesent the third spirit Agr@pccs,the one eyed unci? one handed, to hismother Isis, who was vpon the hill of Heliopolis, and he told herof her son’s misfortune, She said to the spirit : I f thou hadst not

found me, and ty thou hudst not discovered my name, the true ncme,that wJhh draws the suiz to the west and the m o o n to the east, and thut draws the six stars of atonement ihat Jmve their place belowthe sun, then ty thou hudst conjured the three thousand vesselsthat surround the navel, every disease and every ache and every

1 Meinoire de la Mission Arche’ologique, iv. 112 e t sey.2 Zoega. Cntal. Codd. Copt. p. 533.



238 A HANDBOOK OF EGYSIPTIAN RELIGION

pain which i s ii.t the body of so and so would imnzediatcly huvecome forth. I who speak am he, the Lord Jesus, who bestowshecdiny. With the last sentence, which does not fit in with whatprecedes.it, the Christian sorcerer made assurance doubly sure.I n another spell, intended as a cure for sleeplessness, Isis andNephthys are alluded to, these two sisters who are troubled aizdsad.1

I n the eighth century, the people who made use of this magicbelonged apparently to the lowest classes. It was part of theirart to bewitch dogs and loosen fetters, and if it were possiblefor any one t o feel an interest in such matters as these, it mcsthave been the man who unfortunately found himself withmanacled ankles under the care of the police.

Thus it was among quacks and thieves that the ancient godsof Egypt found a final place of refuge ; the same gods for whomthe temples of Karnak and Memphis had once been built, andwho for thousands of years had formed the spiritual influenceand guiding genius of a great nation.

1 A. ., xxxiii. 48 et sey.



CHAPTER XI

THE EGYPTIAN RELIGION I N EUROPE

I N its decay, the aged tree of the Egyptian Religion put fortha sapling which was destined to overshadow foreign lauds to aremarkable degree; throughout the wide Roman empire theworship of Isis and Osiris obtained zealous adherents.

Some knowledge of these gods had long before been introducedby Egyptian sailors and merchants who had settled in the portsand great towns of the Mediterranean. Here they formed

Egyptian communities, and their fellow citizens must have feltthe contagious attraction of their mysterious festivals. Butthis would have had no further development had not the atten -tion of the educated classes been arrested. They would inthe first place be drawn t o the Egyptian beliefs by the vaguefeeling of veneration which in those countries was accorded toancient culture and remarkable monuments : in the Romanworld there was scarcely any landscape so often represented asthat of Egypt with its temples, reed huts and crocodiles. Itwould, moreover, be supposed that the Egyptians possessedancient and profound learning; and it was believed that theleaders of the religious world, the Greek philosophers, hadacquired the best of their learning from the Egyptian priests.Finally - and for thoughtful minds this was the principal at -traction - it was surely among this devout people that the some -thing was to be found, the lack of which was vaguely felt by SO

many. Religion itself had almost perished among the educatedclasses, but in many individuals there was a quiet seeking afterthe supernatural, and anything that could gratify this would bewelcome. At the present time we can observe a similar feelingamong many of our contemporaries. They have lost the repose

239




of traditional beliefs, and they are looking for a substitute. The

weak-minded fall into Spiritualism, the more powerful cling toBuddhism. Here, again, in both cases the circumstances aresimilar: the educated classes do not simply accept the foreignreligion as it is, for it cannot adapt itself to their critical sense;the ‘ I esoteric Buddhism ” of the educated woman of the presentday is in fact only a garbled philosophy in Buddhist attire, and

FIG. 124. SCENE O N TH E NILE, FROM A ROMAN RELIEF(Berlin Antiquariunr.)

IN TERRA COTTA.

over the Isis belief of Plutarch the priests of Memphis andThebes would certainly have shaken their heads.

The respect manifested by the educated classes secured greater

prominence for the poor priests of Isis of the Greek and Italiancities, and for their marvellous teaching, than was enjoyed byother Eastern priesthoods who also celebrated their rites onRoman soil.

A further attraction was attached to the enjoyment of the



THE EGYPTIAN RELIGION IN EUROPE 241

Egyptian faith. For a long time the official religion opposed it,and senate and emperor tried to stamp out this ‘‘superstition ”

by means of prohibitions and restraints. It was unavailing, forif the people could not sacrifice openly to Isis, they did so allthe more eagerly in secret, and they certainly had not long towait before the prohibition was withdrawn. Finally there wasno objection made when some one built a temple to Isis andSerapis, and what had been mere tolerance became open recog -nition. By the end of the first century A .D . no obloquy attacheditself to the Egyptian gods, and by the close of another centurythey were styled those deities once E gypt ian, now also Roman?

The reign of Hadrian must have contributed much to thisdevelopment, for he himself had travelled inEgypt, and had an enthusiastic admiration forthat country and its gods. His villa on theTiber contained an Egyptian pleasure -groundwhich was called Canopus. Statues of thegods in black stone in semi-Egyptian style,and subterranean halls and a sanctuary of Serapis were intended to remind the visitorof the valley of the Nile. During this

journey, Antinous, the favourite of the Em -peror, was drowned in the Nile, and he con -sidered it the highest possible honour to raisethe poor lad to be throne companion of thegods of Egypt? I n the Greek towns the newdemi -god might be represented as a melan-choly-looking youth, but in his temple inEgypt he appears as an Egyptian god; andthe mausoleum in Rome, which was dedicatedt o him by the Emperor, was Egyptian andbore hieroglyphic inscriptions. To this daythe graceful obelisk of Monte Pincio3 informs us that Osiris

Antinous, the deceased, who restsin th is place, which i s situated within the boundaries of fortunate Rome, i s recognized as a god in the sacred places of Egypt. Temples are built to him, and

F ~ t ~ & i ~ ~ ~ ; T s *

1 Minuc. Felix, 22. 2 . C. I. G., 6007.Mitt. d. Deutsch. Archaol. Inst. Rom., Abtritt. xi. 113.

16




he i s worshipped by the superior and inferior priests of Upper and Lower Zgypt and also by all Egyptians. A city has beeneallecl after his name, Greeks and Egyptians come to it, and lands ccnd pe lds have been given to thena to provide him i o i t 7 ~a

prosperous liye there. The temple of this god, which i s called Antinous, i s therein, and i s built of good limestone, with stataces of the gods around i t am? statues and very many columns such aswere made ecdier by the ancestors and such CL S were made by theGreeks. And in this temple food i s laic1 fo r him upon his altars,and he is extolled by the priests and all men make pilgrimageto him because he hears the requests of those who c ~ yto him and the sick man i s healed by means of a dream that he smds to him.It is the founding of the Graxo-Egyptian town of Antinoe whichis thus described. This worship of the Greek youth at theirfestivals struck root, and even in the third century Antinouswas still highly revered as one who healed the sick and workedmiracles.1 Thus Europe, for its part, had given a god to Egypt,and who could now call the Egyptian belief a foreign one. Andyet even now there were many who could not entirely overcometheir horror of the animal-headed gods. This is shown by the

jeers of Lucian. There sit the gods in council upon Olympus,but there is uneasiness among them, for the ancient gods of Greece cannot restrain their vexation with the individualsof doubtful standing who have obtruded themselves into theirbrilliant company, the unmannerly companies of Dionysos, thedeities from barbarous countries, and the abstract ideas, such as“virtue” and ((fate,” invented by the philosophers. At thebanquet a noisy crowd is assembled, little in accordance withthe tastes of the ancient gods: ambrosia runs short, nectarbecomes more and more dear ; and Momus, who makes himself spokesman for the discontented party, sets out all this grievancein a long speech, reviling especially the barbarian horde, Attis,Sabazios, Mithras, and all this company who knew no Greek anddid not even understand when their healths were drunk. But he says all this may be passed over. But thou, thou dog -headed one, thou, Ebyptian wrapped in linen, who art thou Z and howcanst thou, howling dog, wish to be a god ? A n d whergore doth the

1 Origen c. Celsus, 111. 36.



THE EGYPTIAN RELIGION I N EUROPE 243

motley bull of Memphis allow himself to be worshipped, why dothhe speak in orctcles, and have priests? Of ibises, monkegs, and Jt.ids 1 prefer m ot to speak at ull, nor yet of the other absurd rubbishwhich somehow o r other has been smuggled otbt of Rgypt into heuven.How caiz ye, oh yocls,pe.r.mit them to be worshipped equally with

yourself, or better And thou, Zezcs, how casst thouendure having ram’s horns afixed by them? Zeus admits thatthese Egyptian creatures are detestable, but he adds cautiously :

Many of these ure enigmas, and he who i s not initiated i n thenzshall no t laugh at them?

The reply of Zeus to Momus is evidently the answer given toscoffers by the educated adherents of Isis: You see only theexternal, strange features of our belief, and cannot guess whatlies hidden behind them. Plutarch also says that he who takesthese matters literally, and does not attempt to understand theirhigher meaning, must spit and purify his mouth. Then who isOsiris ? Osiris is the principle of moisture and the fructifyingpower of generation. H e is the reasoning power of the souland law and order in the world. Yea, he is Good itself.But Typhon is aridity, drought, sterility ; he is the lack of sense,the indiscretion of the soul, and disease and disorder in theworld : he is Evil. Isis has the fruitful earth as her body, sheis the feminine, the receptive half of generation in nature ; theelements for good and evil, which, in accordance with theirnature, however, incline to good? All goodness and order arethe work of Isis and a figure of Osiris.3 Nothing, however, is sopleasing to this goddess as inquiry into truth and right know -ledge of the divine ; she assists divine learning while Typhonwars against it. H e who lives a disciplined, temperate, andchaste life devoted to the service of her temple, can attain to theknowledge of the first and highest spiritual ideas, and to thisshe invites us by means of her ~ h r i n e . ~It is not the linen gar-ment and shaven head that make the Isis worshipper, althoughthese contain profound meanings ; bu t the true Isis worshipperis he who ponders over sacred matters, and seeks therein forhidden truthse5 For in these matters there is nothing which is

3 ib. 64. 4 ib. 2. 6 ib. 3.

possible !

Lucian, Decorum Concilium, 10.

Plutarch, Isis et Osiris, 33, 38,39, 49, 53.




not of importance. Because the sistrum which is shaken beforethe goddess (p. 40) is rounded at the top and has four transversebars, it is to the wise a symbol of the orbit of the moon, whichembraces everything, and of the four elements which are con -tained within it. Also because the sistrum is frequentlydecorated a t the top with a cat, the profane imagine it is onaccount of the cat -headed, joyous Bast (p. 13). Plutarch, how -ever, knows the true reason : the cat also has a significanceconnected with the moon, because it is a fickle, nocturnal,prolific animal, or because it widens its eyes at the full moon.Also the two female heads on the handle are Isis and Nephthys,and signify here birth and death. Thus when the sistrum isshaken it is a sign that all beings must move in a settled0rder.l

If the belief in Isis had consisted only of such hair -splittingideas, it would never have attained to any degree of power, butit was only a small minority who considered it necessary toattempt to combine their religious feelings and their philosophi -cal views. The ideas of simple-minded worshippers of Isis areshown in two inscriptions from the Greek islands. Both expressthe same ideas, but one copiously sets forth in Homeric versewhat the other expresses in prose: I am Isis, ntistress of thewhole land: I was instructed by Hermes, and with Eermes I

invented the writings of the nations, in order that not all should write with the same letters. I gave mankind their laws, and ordained what no one can alter. 1 am the eldest daughter of Kronos. I am the wife and sister of the king Osiris . I am shewho rises in the dog star. I am she who i s called the goddess of women. The town of Bubastis was built in my honour. I am shewho separated the heaven from the earth. I huve pointed out their paths t o the stars. I have invented seamanship. . . . I

have brozcg;hut together men and women. . . . I have ordained that the elders shall be beloved by the children. With mybrother Osi r i s 1 made an end of cannibalism. I have instructed mankind in the mysteries. I have taught reverence of the divinestatues. I have established the temple precincts. I have overthrownthe dominion of the tyrants. I have caused men to love women.

1 Plutarch, Isis et Osiris, 63.



THE EGYPTIAN RELIGION IN EUROPE 245

I have made justice more powerful than silver and gold. I hcLve

cc6used truth to be considered beautificl? . . . An inscription whichis said to have been placed over a grave of Isis at Nysa inArabia must probably have been similar, and one on a grave of Osiris at the same place is said to have run thus : My father i sI<ronos, the youngest of al l the gods, and I am the King Osiris,who has conducted war over the whole world,even to Zhe uninhabited

parts of I nd i a and to the regions of the North, even to the sourcesof the Danube, and again even to the ocean. I am the eldest sonof

Kronos, and asa germ

out of CL

beautiful nobleegg . . .

was1T

Born. There i s no part of the world where I have not been, and I gave all that I discovered?

All the ideas that centred round these gods were collected ina short hymn, which has been preserved on an inscription a tCius, in Bithynia.3

Thee, king of all the heavens, I greet thee, eternal AwbisWith Osiris thy fcither, sacred one crowned with gold,

He is Zeus, son of Kromos, he i s the mighty Amom,The immortal king, highly revered as Serapis.Thee also, blessed goddess and mother, Isis of the many names,T o whom the heavens gave birth on the glittering waves of the sea,

And whom the darkness begat as the light for all manlcind,Who as the eldest dost wield the sceptre in Olympus,

And as mistress and goddess dost rule over earth, and the sea,Of which thou seest the whole . . . much good has thou given munlcind.

It will be seen how greatly simplified is the Egyptian religionhere : of all the deities besides Isis, there are actually only tworemaining: Osiris Serapis, who is a t the same time Amon, andHorus, who is also Anubis. Isis is the regulator of nature, and ithas become she who has associated manwith man. Osiris has falleninto the background. Notwithstanding his triumphs, in whichhis European friends acquiesced, he is in reality no more thanthe deceased husband whom Isis laments. In addition to this,the human side of his character, which this god possessedin earlier days, has once more gained the ascendency to such adegree that non -believers make objection to the man Osiris.4

C. I. G., xii. 5. I. p. 217.C. I. G., 3724.

Diodorus, I . 27.Lucian, Phursul,

...v111. 832.



246 A IIANDBOOK OF EGYPTIAN RELIGION

To the adoration accorded to Isis for her benevolence tomankind was now added the gratitude that was her due fromindividuals, As goddess of the port of Alexandria, she aided inthe first place the seafarers, and he who returned safely in spiteof storms would cause a votive picture to be painted for hertemple, and thus Isis provides for the pa4nters.l When her loveris about to sail, the maiden worships Isis with redoubledfervour, she shakes the sistrum before her, she purifies herself,and sleeps alone; if he returns home in safety, she will goapparelled in linen and with loosened hair to sit among thecrowd in front of the temple, and sing the praise of the goddesstwice daily.2

But Isis also punishes sinners; the embezzler fears lest sheshould strike him over the eyes with the angry sistrum andblind him.3 Or the lady who o n the holy days which must beobserved, has not practised continence, feels uneasy, for in thetemple it appeared to her as though the silver serpent moued hishead; it is true that the priest reassures her, for it is to behoped that Osiris will pardon her if she presents him with agoose and a cake.4 But it was not always that the gods couldbe so easily appeased, and votive inscriptions tell of real gifts of the precious metals, of jewelled serpents, silver sistrums anddishes ; a Spanish lady consecrates to Isis a snake with manyprecious stones, and besides other jewellery, more than seventypounds of silver vessels?

It was naturally still more pleasing to the goddess to haveher temple rebuilt by some devout worshipper. Thus a tMalcesina, on the Lake of Garda, one G. Menatius restored her

temple and built a porch to it at his own charges.B At Beneventoone Lucilius built GI magni$cent palace for the great Isis, themisihss of Benevento, and to her companion gods, and erected toher two obelisks of red granite, which are still in existence, withhieroglyphic inscriptions, from which we gain this information.For this the gods give him a ong lye of gladness, and as he alsotimed his dedication of the temple in order to combine with itthe celebration of the happy retuyn home of Domitian, who

C. I. L., 11. 3386.Jiivenal, 12, 28.ib 6. 526 et seq

2 Tibnll. 1, 3, 23. 3 Juvenal, 13. 92.C. I. L. V., I. 4007.




returned f r o m the couiztyy and from the conqueyed foreign lands to his cupital, Borne, tlze conqueror of coicntries, no doubt he

was well rewarded by the Emperor for his building: so muchthe more that Domitian himself was a patron of Isis and of Serapis, to whom he had recently built a temple in Rome. I nPompeii? where the temple of Isis had been destroyed by anearthquake in the year 63 A.D., the family of the Popidii rebuiltit, and actually did so in the name of a six -year -old boy, N.Popidius Celsinus. Here the pious act was not free from worldlyconsiderations, for the temple community were compelled by

gratitude to receive the youthful founder among their number.Such a temple of Isis had little in common with those of

.I... . . , / , " I . . . ,,,, . .. ..,/,,. .1.1..1.. ,,.,.. ... .,., .I . ..,I I

- ,,.., /, 11 ( / (I .,(. , , ~, , , ~ ~ , ~

BIG, 126. SERAPEUM.In th e centre is seen the figure of the god ; to th e left, in the oonrt, a statue of an Apis.

(Berlin, 1G777.)

Egpyt, as is shown by this temple at Pompeii; it is possible that

it was modelled on that of Alexandria. I n a court, surroundedby a colonnade, stood the actual temple, to which a flight of steps led. It consisted of a porch, supported on six columns,and of a chamber which was the holy of holies. A smallerbuilding stood in one corner of the courtyard, and near this wasa large altar. On two sides the court was surrounded bychambers which served as dwelling-places for the priests, forstorehouses, and similar uses. The decoration of this temple

and its surrounding buildings was a mixture of Egyptian andA. Z., 34. 149 e t seq.For the following cf. Lafaye, Histoire du culte des dieux d'rllexundrie,

p. 173 et seq.




Greek, sacred and profane. By the side of Isis, Osiris, Harpo-krates, Anubis, the sacred animals and the priests, there were to

be seen Dionysos and Narcissus, Chiron with Achilles, and repre-sentations of the delightful stories of Ares and Aphrodite. Twopictures which represent the history of Io effect a compro -mise ; this unfortunate favourite of Zeus, who fled to Egypt inthe form of a cow, had long been recognized as the cow-goddessof Egypt, and had by a strange development been credited withgiving birth to the Apis bull. The landscapes show Egyptianscenes with shrines and sphinxes or sea pieces with ships, of

which Isis was the patroness. Among the marble statues of thetemple, besides Isis we find Dionysos, Aphrodite, and Priapus.Five other statues have only the faces, hands, and feet of stone,the bodies being made of wood; obviously these were thestatues which were arrayed in linen and carried in procession a tthe feasts. The largest of these wore gold earrings and carrieda sistrum.

While th e buildings of the temple and the paintings on itwere thus half or entirely Greek, great importance, on the otherhand, was laid on the importation of works of actual Egyptianart. Therefore in Benevento, Pompeii, Rome, and, in fact,wherever a temple of Isis was built, ancient tables of offerings,sphinxes, statues, and other sculptures were by some means pro-cured from the inexhaustible stores of the Egyptian temples andtombs, and set up for the gratification of Isis. It was of noconsequence tha t the old inscriptions on these monuments boreno reference to their new surroundings, for none of the peoplewere able to read these hieroglyphs. Thus monuments of allperiods of Egyptian history were brought across the sea; theEgyptian priests converted what they considered the superfluouspossessions of their gods into money, and thus proved themselvesto possess as few scruples as the Italian priests of the eighteenthcentury, who sold the altars of their churches t o foreign coun -tries. From this traffic we can now discern what style of sculp -ture was most valued. If possible, the pieces must be of black

or dark stone, colouring which, while it differed from that of their own statuary, appeared best to express the mysterious ideasthat were ascribed to the Egyptian religion.




The daily rites consisted principally of simple offerings andincense burning. According to ancient custom it fell to thewomen who were in attendance on Isis to play the sistruni beforethe goddess, and sprinkling with water must also have been partof their duties, for they are represented with sistrum and water

jug.Two of the great festivals connected with the worship of Isis

enjoyed special fame. One was the three days’ feast in Novem -ber, when a performance was given representing the death of Osiris, the search for his body, and its discovery.What an impression was made on distantcountries by these feasts is shown by theallusion to them in literature. Thus Ovidspeaks of Osiris who is never szcfleiently sought for.’ Juvenal mentions the shout of thepeople when Osiris is ound,2 and Lucan intro -duces us to th e dogs who are demi-gods and thegrief - compelling s i ~ t r u m s . ~ Also from themarose the remarkable idea that the Egyptiangods found their pleasures in songs of lament-ation and not in joyous dances as did the Greek deities? It is clear that these festivals wereperformed in the sight of all, although theirmore secret ceremonies may have been confinedto the restricted circle of the (( Isiaci,” thosetrue believers who formed a religious brother-hood, and had their “school” close to thetemple.

Of the great feast that occurred in March, when Isis inaugur -ated navigation for the year, we have a clear account datingfrom the second century. It describes the festival as it washeld a t Kenchrea, the eastern port of K ~ r i n t h . ~The feast wasopened by a group of mummers, soldiers and huntsmen, gladi-ators and philosophers, an ass as Pegasus, a she-bear as a lady,and a monkey as Ganymede. When the crowd had been

“ ~ ! , t ~ ” , ’ . & ~ ~ ~’ y l \ ~ ~ ~ , ~ ~ & . a l l d

F’o;:~g;;;tone

Ovid, Metamorphoses, IX . 693.Lucan, Phui-sal., V I I I . 832.Apuleius, Meturnorphoses, XI. 8-17.

Juvenal, VIII. 29.Apuleius, de deo Socrutis, XIV.




entertained with these burlesque performances they next behelda procession of women, wearing white garments and crowned

with spring flowers ; these strewed flowers on the road and be -sprinkled i t with sweet scents, or they carried combs and mirrors,and made as though they were dressing the hair of the goddess.Men and women followed with lamps and torches, and these again

I I 1

---__-.I_.____

Pia. 125. TEHPLE F E S T I VAL .Wall painting from the Isis teruple at Poinyeii.

were followed by the musicians with syrinxes and flutes and a

choir of youthful choristers in white garments, singing a songspecially composed for the feast. This modern music was followedby the ancient sacred music : first came the flautists of Serapis,who played an air only used in the temple on a flute of



THE EGYPTIAN RELIGION IN EUROPE 2 5 1

special form; then came the votaries who performed on thesistrum, men and women of every age, the men shaven, thewomen with a white cloth round the hair. After six officialscarrying a lamp, an altar, and other sacred objects, therefollowed the gods themselves. As was befitting, the dog-headedAnubis came first, black with a golden head, and with caduceusand palms as his symbols. An attendant who followed withblissful steps bore a standing cow, the statue of the all-productivefruitful goddess. The casket, borne by a second attendant, con -tained the mysteries of the gloriozcs religion, and the third held tohis fortunate bosom the revered image of the supreme deity: it isthe model of a very sacred relic, a small gold vase, decorated withwonderful Egyptian figures, Behind, a t the rear of the wholeprocession, came the priest with a sistrum and a wreath of rosesin his hand.

Thus they make their way to the sea, where a beautiful ship,adorned with Egyptian figures, awaits them. The high-priestwith chaste mouth utters a pious prayer, purifies the ship, and de-dicates it to the goddess. I t s mast is trimmed and the sail, andall the people sprinkle it with sweet scents. The cables whichhold it are then cut, and as it sails away the people gaze after ittill it has disappeared. The procession then returns t o thetemple, and the priests and votaries enter the chamber of thegoddess, while the crowd waits in expectation. After a time thescribe of the temple comes out and proclaims the health of theemperor, the senate, the Roman nation, ships and seamen. Thecrowds shout as these are proclaimed, the people decorate them-selves with flowers, they kiss the feet of one of th e statues of thegoddess and then disperse.

If this description sounds somewhat extravagant there is suffi -cient reason for it ; Lucius, the man who describes i t in a romance,was one of the fortunate people who was especially intimate withthe goddess; he had been accepted into the innermost circle of the faithful. Isis, to whom he owed gratitude for deliverancefrom a long period of distress, had previously admonished him ina dream to become one of her followers, but Mithras, the agedhigh -priest of Kenchrea, would not agree to receive him, as hehimself had received no command from the goddess. When this




at length occurred he received the lucky novice the followingday into the temple. There he took from the holy of holiesseveral books which were inscribed with animals and wonderfulscrolls : from these he learned all that was necessary for consecra-tion. When Lucius had purchased all that was necessary hewas led' in the company of the religious to the bath, and purifiedby means of lustrations. I n the afternoon, at the feet of thegoddess, he was instructed in the mysteries, and he was enjoinedt o abstain for ten days from animal food and from wine. Whenthis time had elapsed the faithful assembled towards evening ; heput on a thin linen garment and was taken by the priests into theholy of holies. What took place there he can only indicate tous : he went into the realms of the dead and returned throughall the elements. I n the middle of the night he had seen thesun shining, and he had gazed upon the greater and lesser godsand had prayed to them. When he came out in the morning he

had to stand on a pedestal placedin the middle of the temple beforethe statue of Isis; he was clothedin bright-coloured garments decor -ated with figures of animals, in hishand he held a torch, a garland of palm leaves adorned his head, andsurrounded it like rays of light.Then the hangings were drawnback, and the people saw him, ashe stood there, adorned like thesun.

Later Lucius received a second.consecration in Rome, which alsowas arranged by means of dreams,After a ten days' fast he wasadmitted by the priest AsiniusMarcellus in the Isis temple of the

supreme things of the great god and f a t l m of the gods, the invincible Osiris. And aga.in a thirdtime he received an injunction from the gods, who graciously

FIQ. 2% ISIS ST A TUE FOUND AT Campus Martius i?&to the holyCOLOQXE.



THE EGYPTIAN RELIGION I N EUROPE 25 3

proposed to give him a third consecration, whereas otherpeople barely received the first. Most willingly did he ex-tend the preliminary fast greatly beyond the requisite time,and also ’no expenditure was too great for him. Osiris thenappeared to him in his actual form, and received him into thecollege of the pastophori, the bearers of the divine statue,”and also into their council. This was an ancient college, foundedin the time of Sulla, and Lucius was fortunate i a belonging to it.Henceforth, wherever he went, he prided himself on his shornhead, which he wore without concealment, as a sign that he wasa priest of the Egyptian gods?

It can only have been very rarely that Isis was worshippedwith such intense enthusiasm as by th is devotee, but whileothers worshipped her with merely superficial devotion they addeda t any rate t o the number of her adherents. There can havebeen no province in the wide Roman empire where the Egyptiangods were not worshipped, and Tertullian could assert the wholeworld now SWKWS by Xerapis.2 We meet with them in every partof Asia Minor. In sacred Delos,which was devoted to the serviceof other gods, there were yet some who worshipped Isis -Astarte-Aphrodite and Eros-Harpokrates-Apollo? In Athenswe find gravestones of’ female worshippers of Isis. I n NorthernAfrica, in Spain, in the land of the Danube, in France, and evenin England we meet with inscriptions relating to Isis andSerapis. Among the Alps and in Germany they obtained foot -hold in various places. The Nonsberg, close to Botzen, as welearn in terms of reproach from a Christian source: was ful l of the nzndness of Isis and the extravagance of Xerupis. At Prelst, inthe Corinthian Glantal, there was a shrine of the Norican Isis.5At Marienhausen, in the Rhine Province, there stood an altar of Serapis, erected by a Roman officer: while small bronze imagesof Egyptian gods are repeatedly found on the banks of theRhine. The most remarkable example, however, has been pre-

1 Apuleius, Metamorphoses, XI. 19 et seq.2 Tertnllian, A d Nat., 2, 8.9 Bulletin de correspondence Helldnique, VI. 1882, p. 473.4 Acta SS., XX. Mai, p. 44.

C. I. L., 111. 4806 et sep.6 Brambach, C. I. Rhen., 1541.




served to us by the Church of St. Ursula at Cologne, and is asmall statue of the unconquered Isis, which was adapted in themiddle ages for one of the capitals of the pillars? And when wefind not far from this church the grave of an Egyptian, Horus,the son of Pabek, we naturally wonder whether this man, whohad wandered from the Nile to the Rhine, may not have been apriest of the great goddess.

Thus Isis worship flourished in Europe so long as the worshipof other pagan deities continued. And also in the last attemptto revive expiring paganism Isis worship played its part.Julian acknowledged the Egyptian gods, and when, in the year392 A.D., Arbogast the Frank placed Eugenius on the throne,and thus secured a short triumph for the pagan aristocracy, Isiswas not forgotten. I n the year 394 Nicoinachus Flavianus, asconsul, celebrated the last official festival in Rome of the MagnaMater, and of Isis. I n the same year, however, Theodosiustriumphed and all was over.

Even then a quiet company of adherents to the Egyptianbelief existed in the Roman world. This was the circle of the

mystic philosophers, who, even aslate as the sixth century, taughtin the chief places of culture. They8 delighted in everything that was

_ , mystic, ecstatic and marvellous,and how could they fail to be inraptures with Egypt ? For was not

Egypt agod ly land, where the altars were supplied with all things,where there were innumerable priests, who observed all theceremonies, and where the altars burnt continually ? TheEgyptians had taught the worship of the gods to almost all theworld, and we know, says the naive author of the fourth century,who supplies us with this information, that there the gods huvedwelt.and still dwell? Thus this sacred land formed the ideal of these mystics. One of them, Asklepiades, who lived in the fifthcentury, stayed for a long time in Egypt, in order to study this

1 Bonn, Jakrb. lxxvi. 38.2 Descr. t o t ius mzcndi (ed. Lumbroso, Accad. clei Lincei, 1898), p. 144

F IG . BO. COINS OF JULIAY WITHA P I S AND ANUBIS.

et seq.



THE EGYPTIAN RELIGION I N EUROPE 2 5 5

sacred knowledge at the fountain -head. He composed hymns tothe Egyptian gods, and wrote a work on the Egyptian religion.But however studiously he might carry on investigations, therewas one thing to which he could not attain, which his more for-tunate friend Heraiskus possessed by nature. It is true thatHeraiskus did not know so much of the Egyptian wisdom, but hisessence was more clivine. It was given to him to feel, when he sawa statue of a god, zuhcther or not it lives. If the statue wasaniinated by the god (p. 43) then his heart was roused by thesight, and body and soul were seized with ecstasy CLS though he wereinspired by the god. And when he died and was being buried hisbody suddenly shone through the linen wrappings, as a sign thathe was united with the gods. Like an ancient Egyptian of former days he was illunzinated (pp. 89, 91).i

But even the mystics could not deceive themselves intothinking that any power in the world could re -establish thesupremacy of these gods. They knew that they were the last of the pagans, and also that sacred Egypt itself, the copy of theheavens . . . the temple of the assembled universe, henceforthbelonged to the Christians. It is not without sympathy thatwe read the mournful prophecy which echoes down to us fromamong their company. A time zuill come when it will appear asthough it w e r e for naught that the Egyptians piously and sedulouslyztiorshipped the godhead . . . for the godhead will return fromearth to heaven, and Egypt will be left desolute, and the land whichwas the abode of religion will n o longer shelter the gods. . . . Oh

Egypt, Egypt, of thy religion only fables will siwuive, zuhich willappea,r incredible to later races, and words only will remain tigonthe stones tuhieh record thy pious deeds.2

Xuidas, s. 9 . Heraiskus. 2 Pseudo Apuleius, Asclepius, xxiii.



INDEX

AB ODE of the blessed, 91, 141Abrasax, 229

Abydos, 27, 75

Alchemy, 229Altar, 42, 247 Amaunet, 57, 81Amduat, 109, 146, 184, 191Aimnophis I., 78

pilgrimage to, 135

III., 62, 79IV., the heretic, 61, 62 et aep., 72son of Hapu, 174

Amon, 19, 57, 63, 69, 72, 79, 81, 82,162, 163, 178, 195, 221, 245 popularity of, 60i n N u b i a , 197, 198

Atnon -Re, 57, 83.Amulets, 131, 144, 158, 162, 187, 188,

231

See also Amon

moulds for, 188Anat, 73Animal heads of gods, 8

worship, 24, 205, 220Animals, incarnations of deities, 2, 23

sacred, 17, 20, 22, 79, 170, 176,

graves of, 79, 176, 177205, 220, 248

Antaios, 225Antinous, 241, 242 Annbis, 15, 16, 33, 102, 111,187, 192,

227, 230, 242, 245, 249, 251, 255

in Nubia, 200Aphrodite, 218, 227, 248 Apis, 22, 24, 79, 170, 172, 176, 207,

217, 227, 243, 248, 254 tomb, 171

dpol lo , 175, 235

I 7 2 5 7

Apophis, 10, 59, 110, 160, 169, 184Ares, 178, 236, 248

Arsnuphis, 201Artemis, 175, 227Art of Amenophis IV., 68Asklepiades, 254 Asklepios, 174, 235Astarte, 73Athene, 175Aton, 63, 64Atum, 9, 10, 59, 61

BAAL

, 73, 74Balance of Osiris, 102, 230Bark of sun. See SunBast, 3, 13, 56,150, 165,173,179, 244 Bebon, 102, 231Beetle as sun, 7, 111

on mummies, 142, 144, 187Benben stone, 27Bes, 75, 76, 161, 227, 232, 235, 237Birds, 2, 88, 100, 101, 170Bubastis, 16, 244. For goddess, see

Burial in Nubia, 200Buto, 20, 204

Byblos, 195

CAT , 13, 79, 170, 176, 220Chapel, 44Choachyte , 189, 190Christ as good shepherd, 228

Circumcision, 181, 198, 223Coffins, 127, 128, 139, 186, 232, 233

outside Egypt, 195Cow, 12, 26, 180

celestial, 6, 7, 26, 31

Bast

(goddess), 20, 34, 180



2 5 8 INDEX

Crete, 193Crocodile, 9, 176, 220Crowns, 5, 38, 145, 163

DAYS , lucky and unlucky, 163, 180Dead, as ghosts, 158

as Osiris, 97 ; as gods, 90coming out by day of, 101, 128,

gods of, 15, 16, 94 judgment of, 101, 142, 230offerings to, 113, 121, 122, 145realms of, 7, 87, 109, 136, 230;

the Book of, 85, 99, 147. 184, 191their anxieties, 99, 131, 142their fate, 11, 88 et seq., 99,105

19 1

in heaven, 88

Ded column, 16 , 51, 144Dedwen, Nubian god, 196Demeter, 175Desdes, water of, 81Destiny, 80Dionysos, 175, 248 Disc for the head, 187, 188Divine fathers, 54

wife, 72, 165, 198, 221Donkey, 20, 228, 229

EAIW, Field of, 92Egg of sun, 26, 81, 157Embalming, ritual of, 133Ennead, 27, 79Ereschigal (Babylonian word), 229Ethics, 94, 101, 104 ; of New King -

Eye, amulet, 144, 187dom, 83

sun and moon as eyes, 7, 8Soe eye of Horus, eye of sun

F ALSE door, 120, 121Fcrrynian (celestial), 94Festival, 49, 50, 178, 213, 214, 249

of the king, 51Field of Earu, 92

Food, 92Fingers, amulets, 187Fish, 216, 220

forbidden as food, 181, 198Food, forbidden, 180, 181, 198

Foreigners, hatred of, 181, 183Frog, 26Funerary feasts, 122, 138

literature, 85, 86, 99, 109, 114,

priests, 133, 136, 189statues, 127, 131, 140temples, 118, 136

172, 184, 190

GODS , as kings, 36coinpound forms, 162, 173confiision between, 80, 82families of, 39, 41

foreign, 73legends of, 24, 37. See Isis,Osiris, etc.

local, 2, 21, 27statues of, 43, 178, 202, 208, 212,

214, 217, 223, 248, 251, 255 Goose, 225, 246 Goshen, 18Granaries, as funerary offerings, 130Graves, ceremonies at, 133 ; earliest,

115 ; Old Kingdom, 1 21 ;Middle Kingdom, 132; NewKingdom, 136 ; Late, 184 ;Roman, 232

repair of, 127ru inof , 126substitute for, 139

Gravestones, 133, 135 ; Syrian, 192 ;Nubian, 200

H ADRIAN , 241

Har -akhte (sun god), 9, 10, 70Hareem, of the god, 72, 221Harmachis. See Har-alrhteHarpokrates, 218, 235Harsaphes, 82Har-Sopd, 18Hathor, 12, 28, 30

as goddess of dead, 232in Nubia, 1 9 7of Byblos, 195of

Denderah, 211, 214on the coffins, 187sacred, 22

Heart , amulet, 142

Hawk, 7, 10, 22



INDEX 2 5 9

Heaven, ideas concerning, 6subterranean, 7supporters of, 7

Hekt, 27Helios, 227Heraiskus, 255 Herakles, 178Hermes, 232, 244 Herodotus, 175, 178, 190, 220Heron, 23Horoscope, 229Horns, 9, 10, 20, 56, 96,150, 151,153,

155, 216, 227, 237, 245 of Edfu, 10, 214of El Kab, 214eye of, 34, 45, 134legend of, 34servants of, 36, 105, 106sons of, 49, 102, 129, 187

House, model in tomb, 130House of Life (school), 80, 160, 182Hyksos, 74

IBI S , 9, 176, 243 Ikh -en -aton. See Amenophis IV .Illnminated, the, 89 et seq., 225, 256 Illumination at festivals, 49, 178, 236Imhotep, 76, 173, 201, 209, 235Incarnations of gods, 23Io, 248 Isiaci, 249 Isis, 21, 26, 31, 151, 175, 187, 188

Greek period, 218, 226, 237, 241,

242, 243 et seq.in Nubia, 197, 201festivals of, 202, 249, 254 kno t of, 16, 144lament of, 33legends of, 35,151, 154, 237, 244 of Philse, 201, 202

Isis-Hathor, 218Isis -Sothis, 226Ivory wand, amulet, 131

J ACKAL , 16Jubilee of king, 51Judgment of the dead, 101, 111, 230Jupiter Amon, 196

Capitolinus, 224

Justification of the dead, 101

E A, 86, 96, 108Kambyses, 181, 182Keb, 12, 26, 32Kedesh, 73Khonsu, 12, 214Khepre, 9, 10, 26, 59, 110Kherheb, 54, 133, 148, 160Khnum, 17, 79, 201

in Nubia, 196, 201Rhnum -Re, 57

King, as a deity, 36, 37 ; worshipped,78, 197, 208 ; relation with thegods, 52, 68

as priest, 52, 53as temple builder, 52, 205

Knot of Isis, amulet, 16, 144Knots in magic, 162Koptos, 18Kothos, 236Kronos, 235

LADDERS , or steps, to heaven, 96, 145,

Laity, share in cults, 53, 55, 72, 179Lament of Isis and Nephthys, 33,

L i t t e r for carrying statues, 50Lotus flower, 27

MAAT,21Magic, 148, 228, 237

figures, 159 ; in tonib, 116pictures, 157protection for gods and the king,

159, 160; for the dead, 100,114, 160

spells, 149 ; manner of recitation,156, 157, 158

189

184

Mandulis, 201Manetho, 216Mankind, origin of, 28 ; destruction

of, 29Mastaba, 119Mendes, 206, 207Merit -seger, 78Migration of soul, 191Min, 18, 56, 58, 59, 82, 225



2 6 0 INDEX

Mithms, 228Mnevis, 22, 79

Monkey (apes), 9, 24, 111, 243 Mont, 19, 82Moon, 7, 31, 81 ; as an eye, 7

god, 11. See ThothMoses, 237Mummy, 116, 128, 139, 189, 190

Roman, 233, 235 ; Christian, 234k e p t in the house, 233

Music, 47, 48, 193, 212, 250 Mnt, 20, 57, 64

Myths.See

Gods, legendsof

NAME , 28 ; of gods, 154, 156Nefer-tem, 39, 76Nefret -ere, 78Neith, 13, 14 , 172, 181, 188Nekhbet, 20, 21Nephthys, 21, 27, 32, 188, 238

in Nnbia, 200Neshmet bark, 75Nile, 7, 80, 81

god, 14, 82Nomes, 173Nun, 25, 31, 82Nut, 12, 26, 29, 32, 89, 98

OASI S, 166, 195, 196Obelisk, 43Offerings, 46, 47, 49, 179

burnt, 47, 180formulse of, 122, 124, 146funerary, 122, 145

Onuris, 14, 76, 161Oracle, 166, 180, 196, 198, 237Origin of the universe, 25, 28, 31Osiris, 16, 26, 27, 31, 70, 81, 82, 83,

95, 175,177, 192, 226, 230, 243, 245, 246, 253 ; in Ethiopia, 200

beliefs, 1, 36, 45, 98festivals, 213, 249 figures, 187

legende of, 31 ,36 , 56,115,151,245pillar of, 16, 51, 144

Osiris-Serapis, 219, 232Osiris-Solcaris, 212 ; Ptah.Sokaris-

Osiris, 188

P AN , 175Pataikos, 76, 77, 160

Pectoral, 143, 144Performances, dramatic, 50, 51, 177,

Phcenix, 23, 176Plaque for head, 187, 188Plutarch, 25, 244 Pluto, 232Popular deities, 73, 75 ; of Roman

Prayers of New Kingdom, 83, 84

Priest, 39, 45, 54, 72, 172, 181, 206,

attire of, 54, 72, 181, 223, 253 divine servants, 54 ; hoar ly, 54 ;

Sem, 133 ; We’b, 54, 71high, 53, 54, 71, 79, 222Kherheb, 54, 133, 148, 160mortuary, 123, 126

of Amon, 221.

249

period, 225

for the dead, 125

230, 221, 222

Piiestess, 48

Primeval beings, 26Processions, 40, 49, 50, 188, 213Ptah, 17, 70, 74, 76, 82Ptah-Tenen, 82 ; Ptah -Sokaris -Osiris,

See Divine wife.

188in Nubia, 197

in Nnbia, 200model, from a grave, 67, 143texts, 85, 88 et seq., 184

RAY , 17, 82, 178, 206, 207, 223Bamses II., 70Re, 7, 9, 57, 59, 74, 96, 113

Pyramid, 117, 118, 132, 136

popularity of, 60combined with other deities, 57See Amon -Re

Re -Harakte, 60,63,70; in Ethiopia, 197Reform, Amenophis IV., 62 et seg.Religion, product of Egypt, 1Resurrection of dead, 95, 97

Rhea, 235Ritual, daily, 45 ; of embalming, 133Rock tombs, 132, 136Royal tombs, 114, 136 ; earliest, 116Ro-Setau, 15, 109, 185



INDEX 261

SABAOTH,229Sarcophagus, 132, 172, 184, 185

Scarabs, 67, 142, 144, 187Sceptres of deities, 5, 145Schools, 80, 160, 182Sculptures, temple, in Europe, 248 Sekhmet, 13, 56Selkis, 188Sem priest, 133, 134Serapis, 217, 219, 227, 235, 247 Serdab, 132Serpent, of the sun, 10, 28, 37, 208,

226

- king, 20, 37as deities, 20, 28, 220Isis and Osiris as, 226

Set, 19, 26, 32, 168, 169, 175, 214Shed, 76, 161Sheep, 24Shenute, 236Shadow, 108Ship, in graves, 116, 130

form of litter, 50of the temples, 50, 75of the sun, moon, a n d stars, 7. See

Sun, bark of Shrine, 49, 50Shu, 14, 26, 28, 29, 76, 81, 111,

Sinfulness, 83, 231 ; denial of, 103Singing women, 48, 72, 73, 221Sistrum, 48, 244, 246, 251 Sky goddess, 6, 7, 12Sobk, 17, 22, 82, 129, 222

161

-Re, 57Sokaris, 15, 56, 110, 185, 212,

231Soknopaios, 222Songs, in the cults, 47, 81, 250

of Ainenophis IV., 64of New Kingdom, 82

Sothis star, 226Souls, of men, 86, 108

of gods, 24, 43, 207, 255 migration of, 191

Spear of Horus, 214Sphinx, winged, 227Standards, 188Stars, 2, 7, 88 ; imperishable, 91

Statue, of the dead, 131 ; in thetemples, 134, 208 ; of the gods.

See GodsStela, for protection, 161Strabo, 219Sun god, 7, 8, 26, 29, 60, 63, 86

bark of, 7, 9, 11, 59, 89, 110,

egg of, 26, 81, 157eye of, 8, 12, 28, 29, 59, 81, 208forms of, 7, 8night journey of, 11, 109

of AmenophisIT.

(Ikh-en

-aton),63, 64

origin of, 26Temple, 42, 43

152

Sutekh, 73Swine, 181

TABLEof offerings, 133Tefnet, 26, 27Temple, 38, 41, 18 2; primitive, 6 ;

in Nnbia, 197at Pompeii, 247 building, 70, 172, 182, 205, 209 ;

in Europe, 246 inscriptions, 41, 43, 172 ; Hellen -

istic period, 209of Denderah, 211property, 70, 71, 222

Theocracy, 168 ; in Nnbia, 198Theology of New Kingdom, 80 ; Late,

Thoth, 11, 31, 35, 80, 83, 90, 102Thoueris, 76Threats, employed in magic, 153Thripis, 225Tomb oi'€erings,115, 116,122, 129,145

Tombs.Trees, sacred, 78, 79Truth, as a goddess, 21, 157Typhon, 175, 228, 229

172

Greek, 194 ; Syrian, 193See Graves ; Royal tombs

UNDER -WORLD , 7, 87, 109, 136, 230Universe, 6, 82Ushebtis, 68, 79, 141, 189Uto, 20



2 6 2 INDEX

VASES for entrails, 129, 146, 188Votive offerings, 170, 246

130, 145WE’B,54, 71Weneg, 90 YUSAS,27Wennofre (Osiris), 36Wepwawet, 15, 173, 177, 227

West, dwellers in the, 87, 12?> 13 6Women, attendants for the dead, 116,

ZEUS, 175, 196, 236, 243, 245

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