Legends of the Gods

The Egyptian Texts, edited with Translations

by E. A. Wallis Budge

London: Kegan Paul, Trench and Trner & Co. Ltd.

[1912]

II

THE LEGEND OF THE DESTRUCTION OF MANKIND

THE text containing the Legend of the Destruction of Mankind is written in
hieroglyphs, and is found on the four walls of a small chamber which is entered
from the “hall of columns” in the tomb of Seti I., which is situated on the west
bank of the Nile at Thebes.

On the wall facing the door of this chamber is painted in red the figure of
the large “Cow of Heaven.” The lower part of her belly is decorated with a series
of thirteen stars, and immediately beneath it are the two Boats of Ra, called
Semketet and Mantchet, or Sektet and Matet. Each of her four legs is held in position
by two gods, and the god Shu, with outstretched uplifted arms, supports her body.

The Cow was published by Champollion, 1 without the
text. This most important mythological text was first published and translated
by Professor E. Naville in 1874. 2 It was republished
by Bergmann 3 and Brugsch, 4 who
gave a transcription of the text, with a German translation. Other German versions
by Lauth, 5 Brugsch, 6 and Wiedemann
7 have appeared, and a part of the text was translated into French
by Lefure. 8

The latest edition of the text was published by Lefure, 9
and text of a second copy, very much mutilated, was published by Professor Naville,
with a French translation in 1885. 10 The text printed in this
volume is that of M. Lefure.

The legend takes us back to the time when the gods of Egypt went about in the
country, and mingled with men and were thoroughly acquainted with their desires
and needs.

The king who reigned over Egypt was Ra, the Sun-god, who was not, however,
the first of the Dynasty of Gods who ruled the land. His predecessor on the throne
was Hephaistos, who, according to Manetho, reigned 9000 years, whilst Ra reigned
only 992 years; Panodorus makes his reign to have lasted less than 100 years.
Be this as it may, it seems that the “self-created and self-begotten” god Ra had
been ruling over mankind for a very long time, for his subjects were murmuring
against him, and they were complaining that he was old, that his bones were like
silver, his body like gold, and his hair like lapis-lazuli.

When Ra heard these murmurings he ordered his bodyguard to summon all the gods
who had been with him in the primeval World-ocean, and to bid them privately to
assemble in the Great House, which can be no other than the famous temple of Heliopolis.
This statement is interesting, for it proves that the legend is of Heliopolitan
origin, like the cult of Ra itself, and that it does not belong, at least in so
far as it applies to Ra, to the Predynastic Period.

When Ra entered the Great Temple, the gods made obeisance to him, and took
up their positions on each side of him, and informed him that they awaited his
words. Addressing Nu, the personification of the World-ocean, Ra bade them to
take notice of the fact that the men and women whom his Eye had created were murmuring
against him.

He then asked them to consider the matter and to devise a plan of action for
him, for he was unwilling to slay the rebels without hearing what his gods had
to say. In reply the gods advised Ra to send forth his Eye to destroy the blasphemers,
for there was no eye on earth that could resist it, especially when it took the
form of the goddess Hathor. Ra accepted their advice and sent forth his Eye in
the form of Hathor to destroy them, and, though the rebels had fled to the mountains
in fear, the Eye pursued them and overtook them and destroyed them. Hathor rejoiced
in her work of destruction, and on her return was praised by Ra, for what she
had done.

The slaughter of men began at Suten-henen (Herakleopolis), and during the night
Hathor waded about in the blood of men. Ra asserted his intention of being master
of the rebels, and this is probably referred to in the Book of the Dead, Chapter
XVII., in which it is said that Ra rose as king for the first time in Suten-henen.
Osiris also was crowned at Suten-henen, and in this city lived the great Bennu
bird, or Phoenix, and the “Crusher of Bones” mentioned in the Negative Confession.

The legend now goes on to describe an act of Ra, the significance of which
it is difficult to explain. The god ordered messengers to be brought to him, and
when they arrived, he commanded them to run like the wind to Abu, or the city
of Elephantine, and to bring him large quantities of the fruit called tataat.

What kind of fruit this was is not clear, but Brugsch thought they were “mandrakes,”
the so-called “love-apples,” and this translation of tataat may be used provisionally.
The mandrakes were given to Sekti, a goddess of Heliopolis, to crush and grind
up, and when this was done they were mixed with human blood, and put in a large
brewing of beer which the women slaves had made from wheat. In all they made 7,000
vessels of beer.

When Ra saw the beer he approved of it, and ordered it to be carried up the
river to where the goddess Hathor was still, it seems, engaged in slaughtering
men. During the night he caused this beer to be poured out into the meadows of
the Four Heavens, and when Hathor came she saw the beer with human blood and mandrakes
in it, and drank of it and became drunk, and paid no further attention to men
and women. In welcoming the goddess, Ra, called her “Amit,” i.e., “beautiful one,”
and from this time onward “beautiful women were found in the city of Amit,” which
was situated in the Western Delta, near Lake Mareotis. 11

Ra also ordered that in future at every one of his festivals vessels of “sleep-producing
beer” should be made, and that their number should be the same as the number of
the handmaidens of Ra. Those who took part in these festivals of Hathor and Ra
drank beer in very large quantities, and under the influence of the “beautiful
women,” i.e., the priestesses, who were supposed to resemble Hathor in their physical
attractions, the festal celebrations degenerated into drunken and licentious orgies.

Soon after this Ra complained that he was smitten with pain, and that he was
weary of the, children of men. He thought them a worthless remnant, and wished
that more of them had been slain. The gods about him begged him to endure, and
reminded him that his power was in proportion to his will. Ra was, however, unconsoled,
and he complained that his limbs were weak for the first time in his life.

Thereupon the god Nu told Shu to help Ra, and he ordered Nut to take the great
god Ra on her back. Nut changed herself into a cow, and with the help of Shu.
Ra got on her back. As soon as men saw that Ra was on the back of the Cow of Heaven,
and was about to leave them, they became filled with fear and repentance, and
cried out to Ra to remain with them and to slay all those who had blasphemed against
him.

But the Cow moved on her way, and carried Ra to Het-Ahet, a town of the nome
of Mareotis, where in later days the right leg of Osiris was said to be preserved.
Meanwhile darkness covered the land. When day broke the men who had repented of
their blasphemies appeared with their bows, and slew the enemies of Ra. At this
result Ra was pleased, and he forgave those who had repented because of their
righteous slaughter of his enemies. From this time onwards human sacrifices were
offered up at the festivals of Ra celebrated in this place, and at Heliopolis
and in other parts of Egypt.

After these things Ra declared to Nut that he intended to leave this world,
and to ascend into heaven, and that all those who would see his face must follow
him thither. Then he went up into heaven and prepared a place to which all might
come. Then he said, “Hetep sekhet aa,” i.e., “Let a great field be produced,”
and straightway “Sekhet-hetep,” or the “Field of peace,” came into being. He next
said, “Let there be reeds (aaru) in it,” and straightway “Sekhet Aaru,” or the
“Field of Reeds,” came into being. Sekhet-hetep was the Elysian Fields of the
Egyptians, and the Field of Reeds was a well-known section of it.

Another command of the god Ra resulted in the creation of the stars, which
the legend compares to flowers. Then the goddess Nut trembled in all her body,
and Ra, fearing that she might fall, caused to come into being the Four Pillars
on which the heavens are supported. Turning to Shu, Ra entreated him to protect
these supports, and to place himself under Nut, and to hold her up in position
with his hands. Thus Shu became the new Sun-god in the place of Ra, and the heavens
in which Ra lived were supported and placed beyond the risk of falling, and mankind
would live and rejoice in the light of the new sun.

At this place in the legend a text is inserted called the “Chapter of the Cow.”
It describes how the Cow of Heaven and the two Boats of the Sun shall be painted,
and gives the positions of the gods who stand by the legs of the Cow, and a number
of short magical names, or formulae, which are inexplicable. The general meaning
of the picture of the Cow is quite clear. The Cow represents the sky in which
the Boats of Ra, sail, and her four legs are the four cardinal points which cannot
be changed. The region above her back is the heaven in which Ra reigns over the
beings who pass thereto from this earth when they die, and here was situated the
home of the gods and the celestial spirits who govern this world.

When Ra had made a heaven for himself, and had arranged for a continuance of
life on the earth, and the welfare of human beings, he remembered that at one
time when reigning on earth he had been bitten by a serpent, and had nearly lost
his life through the bite. Fearing that the same calamity might befall his successor,
he determined to take steps to destroy the power of all noxious reptiles that
dwelt on the earth. With this object in view he told Thoth to summon Keb, the
Earth-god, to his presence, and this god having arrived, Ra told him that war
must be made against the serpents that dwelt in his dominions.

He further commanded him to go to the god Nu, and to tell him to set a watch
over all the reptiles that were in the earth and in water, and to draw up a writing
for every place in which serpents are known to be, containing strict orders that
they are to bite, no one. Though these serpents knew that Ra was retiring from
the earth, they were never to forget that his rays would fall upon them. In his
place their father Keb was to keep watch over them, and he was their father for
ever.

As a further protection against them Ra promised to impart to magicians and
snake-charmers the particular word of power, hekau, with which he guarded himself
against the attacks of serpents, and also to transmit it to his son Osiris. Thus
those who are ready to listen to the formulae of the snake-charmers shall always
be immune from the bites of serpents, and their children also. From this we may
gather that the profession of the snake-charmer is very ancient, and that this
class of magicians were supposed to owe the foundation of their craft to a decree
of Ra himself.

Ra next sent for the god Thoth, and when he came into the presence of Ra, he
invited him to go with him to a distance, to a place called “Tuat,” i.e., hell,
or the Other World, in which region he had determined to make his light to shine.
When they arrived there he told Thoth, the Scribe of Truth, to write down on his
tablets the names of all who were therein, and to punish those among them who
had sinned against him, and he deputed to Thoth the power to deal absolutely as
he pleased with all the beings in the Tuat. Ra loathed the wicked, and wished
them to be kept at a distance from him.

Thoth was to be his vicar, to fill his place, and “Place of Ra,” was to be
his name. He gave him power to send out a messenger (hab), so the Ibis (habi)
came into being. All that Thoth would do would be good (khen), therefore the Tekni
bird of Thoth came into being. He gave Thoth power to embrace (anh) the heavens,
therefore the Moon-god (Aah) came into being. He gave Thoth power to turn back
(anan) the Northern peoples, therefore the dog-headed ape of Thoth came into being:
Finally Ra told Thoth that he would take his place in the sight of all those who
were wont to worship Ra, and that all should praise him as God. Thus the abdication
of Ra was complete.

In the fragmentary texts which follow we are told how a man may benefit by
the recital of this legend. He must proclaim that the soul which animated Ra was
the soul of the Aged One, and that of Shu, Khnemu (?), Heh, , and then he must
proclaim that he is Ra himself, and his word of power Heka. If he recites the
Chapter correctly he shall have life in the Other World, and he will be held in
greater fear there than here. A rubric adds that he must be dressed in new linen
garments, and be well washed with Nile water; he must wear white sandals, and
his body must be anointed with holy oil. He must burn incense in a censer, and
a figure of Maat (Truth) must be painted on his tongue with green paint. These
regulations applied to the laity as well as to the clergy.

Footnotes

1 Monuments, tom. iii., p. 245.
2 Trans. Soc. Bibl. Arch., vol. iv., p. 1 ff.
3 Hieroglyphische Inschriften, Bl. 85 fl.
4 Die neue Weltordnung nach Vernichtung des sdigen
Menschengeschlechtes, Berlin, 1881.
5 Aus Aegyptens Vorzeit, p. 71.
6 Religion der alten Aegypter, p. 436.
7 Die Religion, p. 32.
8 Z., 1883, p. 32.
9 Tombeau de Seti I., Part IV., plates 15-18.
10 Trans. Soc. Bibl. Arch., vol. viii., p. 412 ft.
11 It was also called the “City of Apis,” (Brugsch,
Dict. Geog., p. 491), and is the Apis city of classical writers. It is, perhaps,
represented by the modern Kom al-Hisn.