Fairman, The Myth of Horus I, JEA 21, 1935

November 25, 2017 | Author: Ousermontou | Category: Horus, Isis, Mythology, Religion And Belief
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Studies & translations of hieroglyphic text about myth of Horus at Edfu....

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THE MYTH OF HORUS AT EDFU-I BYH. W. FAIRMAN THE Myth of Horus is justly one of the most celebrated of Egyptian myths, yet hitherto no complete translation of the various texts which compose it has appeared in any language, though the actual texts and reliefs have been published long since by Naville, Textes relatifs au Mzjthe d'Horus recueillis dans le Temple d'Edfou, Geneva, 1870. Kow that the magnificent new edition of Chassinat has appeared, it seems an opportune moment to attempt to remedy this deficiency by giving a complete translation of all these texts, accompanied, however, by the minimum of notes. This and the following articles aim solely at providing a connected translation, and do not offer or pretend to offer a detailed commentary. The translations are based on the texts published by Chassinat, Le Temple d'Edfou, VI, 60-90, 108-36, 213-23, and have been controlled by reference to the photographs published by Chassinat, op. cit., XIII, Pls. ccccxciv-dxiv, dxviii-dxxxv ;XIV, Pls. dlxxvi-dlxxxiv. I have also utilized the Berlin series of photographs which were placed at my disposal by Dr. A. H. Gardiner. Unfortunately, pressure of work while I was in Egypt during the past winter prevented me from checking one or two minor points on the walls of Edfu itself. I t is, however, a pleasure to pay a tribute to the remarkable accuracy of Chassinat's edition, which is a vast improvement on previous copies, and which may be trusted absolutely. In quotations in this paper, reference is made to volumes, pages, or plates of Chassinat's edition. Thus VI, followed by a page number, refers to Chassinat, Le Temnple d'Edfou, tome VI. Where a reference is given to individual lines, the reference is to the lines of Chassinst's text, and not to the lines of the original. The &Iythof Horus as preserved in the Temple of Edfu is inscribed on the inner faces of the east and west enclosure walls. Though it is habitual to refer to the "Myth of Horus", the myth is not a simple story, but comprises five tex.ts (cf. the analysis in Boeder's article Set in Roscher's Lexikon). These five texts are: A. The Legend of the Winged Disk. The chief actors are Horus of Behdet and Seth. RBr and Thoth provide a running commentary and numerous, somewhat tedious puns which detract from the flow and interest of the narrative. The language is stilted and formal, and somewhat restricted in vocabulary and forms of expression. (Naville, op. cit., Pls. xii-xix; Chassinat, op. cit., VI, 108-32; XIII, Pls. dxviii-dxxxiii.) B. The story of a fight between Horus, son of Isis (who is assisted by Horus of Behdet), and Seth. This portion of the myth follows immediately after the Legend of the Winged Disk, and is entitled hnk hrw-r. (Naville, op. cit., Pls. xx-xxi; Chassinat, op. cit., VI, 132-6; XIII, PIS. dxxxiv-dxxxv.) C. This section is not worded in the form of a connected story, but is perhaps rather the text of a dramatized version of the exploits of Horus which was enacted at his festival. After texts referring to the ten harpoons with which Horus attacked his enemy, come songs by the Royal Children and by the princesses of Upper and Lower Egypt together with the women of Mendes, Pe, and Dep, and finally two versions of the dismemberment of Seth and the distribution of the parts of his body among various gods and cities. (Naville, op. cit., Pls. i-xi; Chassinat, op. cit., VI, 60-90; XIII, Pls. ccccxciv-dxiv.)

THE MYTH OF HORUS AT EDFU-I

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D. Seth, son of Nut, assumes the form of a red hippopotamus and goes to Elephantine. Horus, son of Isis, pursues him and overtakes him near Edfu, and after the ensuing fight Seth flees northwards and Horus assumes the office of his father. (Xaville, op. cit., xxii-xxiii ; Chassinat, op. cit., vr, 213-19; x ~ v Pls. , dlxxvi-dlxxxi; Brugsch, Thesaurus, 608-9.) E. A very battered text. Horus is mentioned as lord of Lower Egypt, living at Memphis, and Seth as lord of Upper Egypt, living in Shas-hetep. Horus and Seth fight, the one in the form of a youth, the other as a red donkey. Horus finally triumphs and cuts off the leg of Seth. This story is written in a pronounced Late-Egyptian idiom. (Naville, op. cit., xxiv; Chassinat, op. cit., VI, 219-223; XIV, Pls. dlxxxii-dlxxxiv; Brugsch, Thes., 609-10.) -4. THE LEGEND OF THE WINGED DISK

The text of this portion of the myth is inscribed on the second register of the inner face of the west enclosure mall of the temple. This part of the wall is divided into sixteen scenes, of mhich those referring to the Myth of Horus (Nos. 5-13 in Chassinat's numbering) run from north to south, whereas the scenes which precede and mhich follow them run from south to north. Thus it would appear that some attempt has been made to keep the scenes of the myth separate from the others. The same state of affairs obtains on the lower register of this wall, where the greater part of the remaining portion of the myth is inscribed (cf. Chassinat's remarks on the order of the scenes, VI, 54, 104). The individual scenes of the legend bear no titles, but the first scene (Chassinat's No. 5) bears the title Lqting heaven. The texts read: Lifting heaven. Utterance. Thy heaven belongs for o) therein as [the N'inged to thee, 0 Bhdti, brightly coloured one. Thou$yest (emend Disk], thou alightest on the prow of the barque of Rbr-Harakhte, thy two uraei . . . . After the name of the king, and epithets of the Winged Disk: The King of Cpper and Lower Egypt C lis on his seat, lifting up heaven, supporting the god of Belldet. is introduced to the barque of REr-Harakhte as a divine winged disk of gold (litm). He is like Shu who lifts up ) zuko holds (?) the head of . . . . . . . . . . For pa, for (emend for o in k ~ t heaven, r d"king" ? which I can offer no certain transliteration, cf. 11, 8. Is it a ~ ~ o for Of the scenes mhich precede the myth, the title of the first is lost, the second is called hnk sbmty, and the third and fourth fii ibt. The Legend of the f inged Disk occupies Kos. 5-12, and No. 13, which, as noted above, is included in the myth series, is concerned with the offering of ?zrza-r and grapes, and vith a fight between Horus, son of Isis, and Seth (Story B). The succession of Scenes 14-16 from south to north ~ o u l seem d to indicate that they are to be treated apart from the other scenes concerning the myth. Nevertheless they are closely connected with it in content. No. 14 is divided into tn-o parts, ir(t) sntr and slzr(t) Skr, and has been published by Naville, op. cit., xxv. No. 15 is entitled srn3 Smr, and No. 16, which has no title, concerns the slaughter of the wild animals of the desert. The text of the Legend of the Winged Disk is published by Chassinat, op. cit., VI, 108-32; line plates cxlvi-cxlviii (in the unpublished portion of vol. x), and photographic plates dxviii-dxxxiii in vol. XIII. X complete copy of the texts and reliefs was originally made by Naville, op. cit., xii-xix. The hieroglyphic text and some of the reliefs were published, together with an English translation, by Budge, Legends of the Gods (London, 1912), 52 ff. ; he gave a more recent translation in English in his From Fetish to God in Ancient Egypt (Oxford, 1934), 467-80. German translations have been published by Brugsch, Die Sage con der gejiiigelten Sonnenscheibe (in Abh. kgl. Ges. Wiss. zuGottingen, x ~ v173 , ff., Gijttingen, 1869) ; by Wiedemann, Die Religion der Alten k ' ~ y ~ t (Munster, er 1890), 38 ff., an English version

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o f which is published i n his Religion of the Ancient Egyptians (London, 1897), 69 ff. ; and b y Roeder, Urkunden xur Religion des Alten k'gypten (Jena, 1915), 120 ff. I had the a d ~ a n t a ~ gduring e, the early part o f the past minter, o f reading this portion o f the Myth o f Horus with Dr. A. H. Gardiner, Dr. J. Gernf, and Mr. R. 0. Faulliner, and t o t h e m I owe many fruitful suggestions. Translation [ti, 511 Year 3632 of the Ifing of Upper and Lower Egypt, REr-Harakhte, may he live for ever , his army was uith him without number, and ever. Now his nzajesty was in Xubia ( T ~ s t i )and [and there was no?I3plotting against their lord (among them).3 I t is called Ta[setiI4to this day. [ 5 , 61 R B sailed in his barque, and his followers were with him. He landed in the nome of W t s - H r , to the east of this nonze, and east of the canal which i s called " The royal [canalJ" to this day. And Horus of Behdet was (also) [5, 71 i n the barque of Rgr, and he said to his father RB-Harakhte: " 1 see enemies who plot against their mighty lord. lllay the . . . . of thy uraeus prevail against them". [6, zlj The majesty of RB-Harakhte said: " As thou desirest, 0 Horus of Behdet, thou son of Rbr, exalted one who camest forth from me. Overthrow ( m y ) enemy before thee in a n instant." Horus of Behdet Jlew u p (rpi) to heaven as the Great E7inged Disk (rpi wr), and therefore he i s called "great god, lord of heaven" to this day. When he saw the enemies i?z heaven he approached them as the great Winged Disk. He stormed against them before him, [6, 316 and they neither saw with their eyes nor heard with their ears, but (each) one slew his fellow i n the tuinkling of a n eye, and not a soul lived. Then Horus of Behdet came as inbti, the many-coloured, as the great Winged Disk, to the barque of R6r-Harakhte. Thoth said to REr, the lord of the gods: " The god of Behdet is conze as Enbti, the great Winged Disk,who destroys(?) the rebels andfoes". [6, 41 Therefore is he called Horus of Behdet to this day. Then REr-Harakhte said: " 1 see [Horusl]. Edfu (Db) shall be called (the city o f ) Horus of Behdet from this day." Then R b enzbraced him c l ~ s e l ya, ~d said to Horus of Behdet: " T h o u hast put grapes into the water which comes from it that thy heart may be pleased thereby". Therefore do men offer

Inner face, west wall, 2nd register, scene 5 : Chassinat, op. cit., \T, 109-110; sm,Pls. dxviii, dxix; Naville, op. cit., SII. Cf. Xewberry, The Set Rebellim of the IInd Dynasty in Ancient Egypt, 7 (1922), 40-6. Newberry sees in this date and in this story an echo of the Seth rebellion and re-conquest of Egypt by Peribsen. Year 363 of RBr-Harakhte according to him mould be 363 years after the accession of Menes. Kees, however (Kultlegende und Urgeschichte in Nachr. Ges. Wiss. zu Gottingen, Phil.-Hist. Klasse, 1930, 346 ff.), claims that these legends have no historical value. Newberry's theory, whether true or not, is certainly an attractive and plausible one, and it must be admitted that my own reading of these myths has convinced me that, while one must of necessity treat all statements with the utmost caution and reserve, there seems to be a certain substratum of historical fact on which they are based. But this is obviously a subject for a separate paper, and further discussion would be out of place here. Reading [n]niw (0 = iw) w3w1 r nbesn . 4 , = a

; the most likely emendation is TJ-sti. There seems to be a corruption of the text here, for the pun is on w3w1, and one would have expected the country to be called W I W I ~cf.: for instance p. 35 = VI, 128.8, where Horus of Behdet spies the enemy in t~ w j w ~ br t wwlwl r nbvsn. The error, if error it be, seems to be corrected in the epitome of the myth published in vr, 8-9 ( = Diimichen, Altagyptische Tempelimchriften, I, cii; Brugsch, Thes., 1340; J. de Rough, Inscr. et Not. rec. a Edfou, n, lxxxv), where we read: "when REf came to Ht-ms-nht.f when the enemies plotted (mu:?) against him in W3w1t". The text then proceeds to enumerate the various stages of the campaign. Scene 6: Chassinat, op. cit., IT, 111-13; xm, Pls. dxx, dxxi; Naville, op. cit., xiii. A duplicate of this passage, from this point to the end of the sentence, in I, 357, without, however, any important variants. H'n.ln Rr &pt.f pr &bt.f.

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THE MYTH OF HORUS AT EDFU-I

hrw-r1 to Horus of Behdet to this day. The . . . . . . ... i s called h b t i , many-coloured, to this day. [s, 51 Then Horus of Behdet said: "Come, 0 R b , that thou mayest see how thy foes arefallen before thee i n this land". And his majesty zcent, Astarte being with hinz. He saw that the enemies were fallen to the ground with broken heads. Then R B said to Horus of Behdet: [s, s] " This i s a place of pleasant life"(ndm rnh pw) and therefore men call the palace of Horus of Behdet Kdm-rnb to this day. And Rbsaid to Thoth: " This means that m y enemies are punished" (db;), and therefore this nome i s called Dbw to this day. Then Thoth said to Horus of Behdet: " T h y protection i s great" ( m k t - k o)[s, 71 and the barque of Horus of Behdet i s called " Greatof-protection" (r3-mkt)to this day. Then Rt?f said to the gods who were i n his train: " X o w let us row i n our barque on the water, and let us rejoice over our foes tcho are fallen to the ground". The great god [sailed] (kn?) i n it ( ? the canal) [s, s] and it is called P-hn (" The canal ") to this day. Wozo the foes descended into the water and became crocodiles and hippopotami. And Horus of Behdet i n his barque coyaged on the u:ater. Then the crocodiles and hippopotami came and opened their nzouths i n order to attack (?) the barque of R8r-Harakhte. [s, 91 Then Horus of Behdet came zcith his follozcers who were in his train as h a r p o ~ n e r sziith , ~ harpoons and ropes i n their hands, each one at his name. They smote the crocodiles and hippopotami and brought azoay at once 651 enenzies. [6, lo] They were slaughtered before this city. Then RZr-Harakhte said to Horus of Behdet: " T h i s is m y image i n T ~ - i i m rthis ; ~ is one whose palace is mighty (nbt r h PIT)", and the palace of Horus of Be?~detis called Nht-rh to this day. [;, 514 Thoth said after he had seen that the foes were fallen to the ground: "Rejoice, 0 ye gods of heatien! Rejoice, 0 ye gods of the earth! The divine youth i s returned in peace. He has performed wonders i n his j0urney.j He has acted according to the book of repulsing the hippopotanzus (i.e. Seth)." Thus the harpooners of Horus of Behdet came into existence to this day. Then Horus of Betzdet assumed the form of the Tq7inged Disk on the prow of the barque of REr [7, s] and he took A-ekhbet and Uto with hinz as two uraei who terrify the enemies i n their linzbs,6 both crocodiles and hippopotami, i n ezlery place cisited i n Upper and Lozcer Egypt. Then those foes jed before him, their faces being turned to Lipper E g y ~ t their , ~ hearts being faint through fear of hint. Horus of Behdet f01lou;ed after them i n this barque of RZr, with harpoon

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Hrw-r: a drink made of grapes and water ( F b . d. aeg. Spr., m, 134). = klrrt, ehoohe. For the offering of grapes cf. I, 460 ;%T,133 ;w, 122. For the offering of hrw-r see I, 462 ;n, 70. 183 ;IV, 256 ; v, I62 ; n,132. 346; 1-11, 199. 283; Chassinat, Le Temple de Dendara, I , 14; 11, 198; rn, 175. The most interesting instance is YI, 132, a translation of which will be given with Section B of the myth. The precise nature of the msntyw has long been a matter of dispute. Naspero, Les forgerons d'Horus et la l4gende de 1'Horz~scE'Edfou in Bibl. ~ g ~ ~ tII,o313 ~ .ff.,, called them "les forgerons". The latest treatment is by Sethe, Die angeblichen Schmiede des Horus colt Edfu in Z.A.S., 54, 5 0 4 , whose view is adopted here. For Horus of Behdet as the image of R6r-Harakhte in TJ-imr,cf, the Beischrift to this scene (VI, 113. 5) and also I, 10.358, and compare Junker's remarks on the same subject in his Die Onurislegende, 20. Scene 5 : Chassinat, op. cit., VI, 114-17 ; XIII, Pls. dxxii, dxxiii; Xarille, op. cit., xiv. di.fh,ul hr nmt.f: lit. "he has lengthened (or added to) his stride". Cf. also 11, 34, 17-35, 1. "his phrase again in I, 358. ' It is interesting to note that though the preceding actions took place in or near Edfu, they were not considered to hare taken place in Egypt. When the enemy fled (northwards) from Horus they turned to Cpper Egypt, hence Edfu is outside T J - h r . There can be no question here of a pursuit to the south, for the next episode in the fight takes place near Thebes, and all the present portion of the myth telh of the steady driving of Seth and his confederates from R'ubia to the sea. Bot until the see has been reached does Horus retrace his steps to Bubia (p. 35) to deal with a rebellion which had apparently broken out in his absence.

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and rope in his hands and (inthose of) hisfollowers, they being armed [7, 71 with arrows and ropes, and the harpooners were prepared for them. [Then] he saw them to the south-east of Thebes at a distance of l(?) two schoenoi. Then said REr to Thoth : " Those foes, nzay he destroy (ddb) them!". And Thoth said to RGf: "Therefore shall this town be called D d m from this day". Then Horus of Behdet injicted great slaughter upon them. And RB said: "Stop, Horus of Behdet, that ( I ) may see thee". Therefore is this town called Ht-Rr to this day, and the god who i s in it i s Horus-of-Behdet-REr-Min. [7, 81 Then those foes jed before him, their faces being turned to Lower Egypt, their hearts being faint through fear of him. Horus of Behdet followed after them in this barque of RCr, with harpoon and rope in his hands and ( i n those of) his followers. [7, 91 He was equipped with arrows and ropes, and the harpooners were prepared for them. Then he spent a whole day prepared for them, and he saw them on the north-east of Dendera. Then said REr to Thoth: " T h e foes are here, do thou [slaughter?] them". [7, lo] And the majesty of RE?-Harakhte said to Horus of Behdet: " Thou art m y son, the exalted one who came forth from me. Do thou make the enemy weak in thy own (good) time". Then Horus of Behdet injlicted great slaughter (b3yt) upon them. And Thoth said: " The name of this town shall be called $3-di-ntr, [7, 111 and men shall say of Horus of Behdet: ' H e . . . .. . to (?) her majesty, with his face turned to the south' as the name of this god. Snd and nbs are the names of (his) sacred tree(s)." Then those foes jled before him, their faces being turned to Lower Egypt, from LahCn [7, 121 to the edge of the ~ e a , ~ f otheir r hearts were faint [throughfear of him]. Horus of Behdetfollowed after them in the barque of R B , with harpoon in his hands, and ( i n those of) his followers. He was equipped with arrows, and the harpooners were prepared for them. [7,13] He spentfour days and four nights sailing after them and they saw not one of those foes, xhether crocodile or hippopotamus, in the water before him. And then (at last) he saw them. Then Rt? said .. . . .. .3 Hebenu, Winged Disk, great god, lord of heacen: [7, 141 "Repulse (hnb) them from the bank of Hebenu".* And he hurled his lance at them and overthrew them. He injicted great slaughter upon them and brought 142 of the enemy before the barque [of REr] .. . . . . male hippopotamus [7, 151 who was i n the nzidst of those foes. He killed them with his knife, and gave their intestines to those who were in his train, and their jlesh to eaery god and goddess zoho was in this barque of REr by the bank of Hebenu. R B said to Thoth: " 0 see5 [7, 161 Horus of Behdet in his image on those foes. Lo! he has smitten them. He has opened his [mouth] against the male hippopotamus u;hich is i n their midst, and has smitten him6 while (standing) on his back." Thoth said to REr: "Therefore shall Horus be called 'Winged Disk, great god, [7, 171 who slays the enemy, pre-eminent in Hebenu' from this day. And the name of

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I can offer no certain transliteration for this sign. I n some other places, e.g., vr, 124. 1, the sign closely resembles A.The rendering given here, which seems to be demanded by the context, is a pure guess. For ff as btrw, ef. such writings as A (IVb. d. aeg. Spr., I , 147). Roeder (Rel. Urk., 125) substitutes "canal" for Lahfin and takes phw wjd-UT to be some marshes called Wid-wr situated near Dendera (cf. Wb. d , aeg. Spr., I , 269). The same phrase, however, is repeated in almost identical terms in vr, 118. 1 (see p. 31 below) after the fighting a t Hebenu, and since in this latter case there can be no possible question of Dendera it seems better to take the present instance in the same way. For 6nt "canal" cf. vr, 123. 1 = p. 33. I n the lacuna one would expect some such phrase as ["to Horus of Behdet, lord of] Hebenu", but the very damaged traces do not agree with such a restoration. Read Fr wdb n Hbnw. For the particle see Gardiner, Eg. Gramm., § 250; Erman, Xeuagyptische Grammatik (2nd ed.), 8 361 ; Junker, Grammatik der Denderatezte, § 246. ir-n'fiht v f . This usage of ir i&t does not occur in the Wbi.terbuch, but the general sense of the passage is quite clear. i r r in the sense of "to do evil against some one" is, of course, well established. In vr, 127. 12(seebelow p. 34) ir iht followed by n has the general sense of " to make a meal for some one" :cf. alsom, 125.14.

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THE MTTH OF HORUS AT EDFU-I

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the priest of this god shall be called Hri-s3l because of this from this day." Now all these ecents took place i n the district of Hebenu i n (an area of) 342 rods to the south, north, zcest, and east. [s, 1oI2 Then those foes swam before him, with their faces turned tolcards LahGn in order to reach the sea by going northwards, for [Horus?] . . . . in their hearts. And theyJEed, and turned back from the xater and betook themselres to the waters of the western MrL3 They reached the waters of the nome of N r t , and that company of Seth which is i n this tozun. And Horus of Behdet suiam after them equipped with all his weapons for jighting them. [s, 111 Horus of Behdet sailed downstreanz i n this barque of RB together zcith the great god who i s in his barque and the gods who zcere i n his train. He sailed after them (the enemies) very rapidly. Then he spent a day and a night sailing downstream seeking for them, but without seeing them, for 72e did not know the place i n which they were. He reached P r - r h h ~ y . ~ Then the majesty of REr said to Horus of Bet~det:"Lo! those enemies, they haze reached the western waters of the nome of X r t , to that comnpumzy of Seth [s, 121 which is in this town, to the place in uhich (?) . . . . . . . . ."j Then Thoth said to RB: "Therefore shall the nome of bIrt be called JT3b-w3st from this day, and the water that is *init shall be called Dmit". Then Horus of Behdet said to his father RB: "Let this thy barque be sent against thewz that 1 may do what R 8 desires among them". And all was done as he ~cished. Then he reached them i n the western waters i n this t0zc.n. Then he s a them ~ o?z the southern bank of the nome of Jfrt at a distance of (!) a schoenus. [s, 131 Horus of Behdet together with his follozcers, equipped with all weapons of warfare, went i n against them, and he injicted great slaughter upon them. He brought away 381 captives and slew them before the barque of RB. [s, 141 He gaoe each one of them to each one of his followers. Then Seth emitted a fearsonze roar, uttering a cry at this ztihich Horus of Behdet had [done] i n slaughteri~zgthe enenzy. Rb said to Tlzoth: " W h a t mean these cries of Sh3-hr who protests loudly at this ztihich [s, 151 Horus of Be?zdet has done against hinz!" Thoth [said] to RCr: " I t shall be called from this day 'The place of savage (nh3h3) cries' because of this". Thereupon Horus of Behdet waged warfare with the enemy for a (corzsiderable)time. He threlo his spear at hinz, and overthrezc him on the ground6 i n this toz~rz,[s, 161 and it is called Pr-rhhwy to this day. Then came Horus of Behdet bringing the enenzy, his collar7 (!) being at his throat and his rope Hri-SI:written with the figure of a man standing on the back of a bull and stabbing downwards with a spear. I n view of the context hri-s? is probably the correct transliteration (cf. Brugsch, Dict.Ghg., 1376). Another possibility, but hardly so likely in the present instance, is dzcxti:cf. Junker, Die Onurislegende, 37 for this reading, and for further information about Hebenu. Scene 8: Chassinat, op. cit., IT, 118-20; xm,Pls. dxxiv, dxxv; Naville, op. cit., xv. X r t : capital of the nineteenth (Oxj~hynchite)nome of Upper Egipt: cf. Gauthier, Dict.des noms gdog., Pr-rhhuiy: cf. Gauthier, op. cit., II, 167. m, 53. Rrugsch translates, "an der Stelle wo die Spitze unseres Szepterstockes ist". The passage is obviously intended as an explanation of the name of Wjb-w~st(cf. Gauthier, op. cit., I, 175), but I have failed to grasp its exact meaning. Brugsch's rendering, in any case, does not entirely agree with the hieroglyphic text. here. The original is badly damaged (cf. the photograph m, Chassinat (w, 119. 8) gives PI. dxxiv) and one wonders whether the original reading could not have b e e n s -, a writing of s~_tu*, (cf. the variants givenin Wb. d. aeg. Spr., m, 423). I n the photograph the sign behind the bird's head does not suit very well. Sdw seems an obvious emendation, and I have translated accordingly. d9, kh: the Ptolemaic form of the Late Egyptian According to Wb. d. ag. Spr., V, 66 i t is a "holzerne Klammer 0. a. am Halse des Gofangenen". The word occurs in Harris 500, vs., 2, 5 ; 2, 13; 3, 4, and has been translated by Goodwin (Trans. S.B.A., 3, 347) as "collar"; and by Peet (Journal, 11, 226) as "handcuffs" (Harris 500, vs., 2 , 5 ; 2, 13), and "stocks" (Harris 500, vs., 3, 4). I n Pap. Ch. Beatty I, rt., 15, 12, Isis is tuld to bring Seth bound fast, rn k&u,,and as a prisoner, and Gardiner (The Chester Beatty Papyri, h'o. I , p. 26) translates "bonds". The determinative in all these cases is --, and the kh must clearly

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H. W. FAIRMAN

(binding) both his hands, and the staff of Horus fell to close his mouth. He brought him before [his] father. Then said REr: " 0 Horus, Winged Disk, [a, 171 how great i s this fury (dndn) which thou hast manifested, thou hast puri$ed this town". And R B said to Thoth: " Therefore shall the palace of Horus of Behdet be cabled ' The pure place' from this day, and therefore shall the name of the priest be called 'Great of fury' (wr dndn) from this day". [8, 181 Then said RB to Thoth: "Let the company of Seth be given to Isis and her son Horus that they may do zchatever their hearts desire with them, for she stood fast with her son Horus, and their spears were (turned) against him in the strife i n this town". And the sacred lake is called " The Lake of Combat" [a, 191 to this day. Then Horus son of Isis cut off the heads of his enemy and his confederates before his father RQ and the whole great Ennead. He dragged him by his feet in his district and thrust his spear into his head and back. And REr said to Thoth: [a, 201 "Behold the son of Osiris has dragged out (ith) the Ragerfrom his districts". And Thoth said: " Therefore shall the name of his district be called ' I t h f r o m this day". And Isis the divine said to her father REr: "Let the T'inged Disk be given as a protection for m y son Horus,for he has cut off the heads of the enemy and his confederates". [9, 711 Then Horus of Behdet and Horus son of Isis slew that craven foe and his confederates and those enemies when he reached them (in) the western waters of this town. Horus of Behdet was like a man of proved ~ a l o u rwith , ~ the head of afalcon, crowned with the white crown, the red crown and the double plumes, with the two uraei on his head, his back being that of afabon, and his spear and rope being i n his hands. Horus son of Isis transformed himsev after the same manner that Horus of Behdet had assumed [g, 81 before him. They slew the enemy together on the west of Pr-rhhwy on the edge of the water. And this god sails on this his lake to this day, (this day) on which those foes reached (dmi) it. ATozu all these things took place on Tobi 7 . Then Thoth said: " Therefore shall this town be called 'The town of slaughter' from this day, and the water that is in it shall be called Dmit [g, 91, and Tobi 7 shall be called 'The feast of rowing' from this day". Then Seth turned himself into a roaring serpent and entered the ground in this town, and was seen no more. REr said: " Be3 has turned himself into a roaring serpent. Put Horus son of lsis as a staff in its upper end4 to precent himfrom ever coming forth". [9, lo] Then said Thoth: " The name of the serpent5 i n this town shall be called ' The roarer' from this day, and Horus son of Isis is the falcon-headed spear in its upper end, and he i s here in this place with his mother Isis". And all these things came to pass. The barque of REr moored at the town of Pr-rh;. [9, 111 Its prow was of i3m and its stern of i n d , and they are sacred trees to this day. Horus of Behdet went to the barque of RE^ after the completion of thejourney, and RE7 said to Thoth: "Lo! thou art . . . rouing. The barque of Horus of Behdet shall be called 'Lord of rowing' from this day." [g, 121 Therefore all these things are done i n this place to this day. be a wooden object used in securing prisoners. The instance in the Horus Myth shows that it was used a t the neck, and hence "bonds", "handcuffs", or "stocks" seem hardly suitable translations. I t is difficult to escape the conclusion that the kh was some sort of collar or cangue such as is used on prisoners in China. On the other hand, it has to be admitted that no such appliance seems to be found on the monuments, and Dr. Nelson informs me that he has observed nothing of the sort in the representations of prisoners a t Medinet Habu or Karnak. Scene 9 : Chassinat, op. cit., VI, 121-2; ~II, Pls. dxxvi, dxxvii; Naville, op. cit., xvi. ) 0 : krnl phti ? This phrase does not occur in the Worterbuch. Possibly it is derived from krnj "to beat metal',, Be, a name of Seth: cf. Wb. d. aeg. Spr., I, 410; Mariette, Dendera, m, 7 2 ; Diimichen, Geog. Inschr., Read m mdw m g8.f hri. I, lxxxi; m, xcii; W, cxvii. , 83-t~.

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THE MYTH OF HORUS AT EDFU-I

33

T h e n said R?r to Horus of Behdet: " L o ! Ice hare fought with the conzpapzy (of Seth) and i t i s exhausted1 (?) and i t s strength likewise, and the collzparly of Seth (note) sioims (azcay). W o u l d that zite nzight go northwards after [them] . . . ." T h e n the TITinged Disk said: " 9 1 1 that thou comnzandest shall come to pass, [9, 131 0 R b , Lord of the gods. Let this thy barque be sent against them to zchatsoerer place they m a y go, and I zcill do zchat REr desires ztiith thenz". A n d i t zias done according to all that he had said. T h e n the TTinged Disk boarded the barque of REr qchiclz zcas o n the stream. . . . .. . his . . . , his spear (?) and all ropesforJig7~ting.[9, l i ] T h e n he sazo one of the enemy with hinz i n the same plctce, and he threw his lance at h i m inzmediately, nnd brought hinz at once and slezc hinz before RPr. (Tlzus) he brought i t (the fight) to a n end: there toere n o . . . . . B e , there were no . . . . . i n this place at that time.2 [lo, 113 Thoth said: " T h i s place which Horus qf Behdet has made because of them shall be called S t - i ? b ~ i " .T~h e n he spent six days and s i x nights ~tzooredo n its waters icithout seeing one of thenz. T h e n he sazu them orerthrozin in the canal, and he prepareci! this place as St-i3b.i) i t being by the icater's edge, atzd i t faced south. [in, Z] ,411 rites are performed for Horus of Be!ldet o n Thoth 1, Tobi 7 and Jlechir 2 1 and 24:-these are thefestirals i n St-i>b.i on the southern side of ^ 1 - e ~ f f . ~ H e moored his barque ( i n order to act) against them as one icho icntches as a king orer the great god lcho i s in S e r e f , i n this place, dricing oSf the Enenzy and his co??zpan?jzchen he comes b!y night from the district of JIr on the west of tllis place. [lo, 31 Horus of Behdet 1c'a.s as a nzniz of prored m l o u r , with the face of a falcon, crozcned zcith the 71.7zite croion, the red crozcn, the double plumes and the double crozcn. the t u o urcrri being on his head, aizd his ar?ns Icere strong (chile bearing his spear, ?chile slaying the hippopotanzus of red jasper6 zchich leas i l l tlze desert with him. And R@rsaid to Thoth: " L o ! Horus of Betzdet i s the lord of combat u.1~0slays his foreign (foes) daily". A n d Thotlz said to R i r : "Therefore the priest of this god shall be called ' Lorcl of combat' fronz this day". [lo, 41 Thereupon I s i s perfort?ied all the nzagic spells jor rlri?,ilzg back 13e from Xcrqf irl this place, and Thoth said: " Therqfore shall thc so~icjstressof this god be called '3listress of Magic'". A n d Thoth said to R 8 : "Hozc; l?appg i s this place lox that thou restc.st z~itlzitz i t as one zcho ~catckesas king ocer the great god zcho i s i n S e r e f , at a distance of (?) four sdtoenoi". [lo, 51 A n d Thoth said: "Therefore the ) ~ a m eof the palace i n this place shall be called ' T h e happ!g place' from this day. I t i s o n the south-li*estof Krr7 at a distnnce of ( ? ) f o u r schoetzoi". Tlzen RPr said to Horus of Behdet: " Hast thozi senrched (hh)these waters for tlze enemies?". 4 n d Thoth said: [lo, F] '' T h e nanle of the sacretl lnke i n this plnce shall be called ' ll'aters of ,
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