The Human TriadGhostsSpirits of the LivingWhy the Dead were given FoodSouls as BirdsThe
Shadow and the NameBeliefs of Divergent OriginBurial CustomsThe Crouched BurialSecondary
IntermentExtended BurialsMummiesLife after DeathTwo ConceptionsSouls in the Sun BoatThe
Osirian Paradisejourney to the Other World Perils on the WayConflicts with DemonsThe River of
DeathThe judgment HallWeighing the HeartThe Happy Fields.
IN the maze of Egyptian beliefs there were divergent views regarding the elements which constitute the
human personality. One triad was a unity of the Ka, spirit; the Khu, soul; and Khat, the body. Another
grouped Khaybet, the shadow, with Ba, the soul, and Sahu, the mummy. The physical heart was called Hati;
it was supposed to be the seat of the intelligence, and its "spirit" was named Ab, which signified the will and
desires. The "vital spark", or controlling force, was symbolized as the Sekhem, and the Ran was the personal
name.
The Ka of the first triad is the most concrete conception of all. It was probably, too, the oldest. The early
people appear to have believed that the human personality combined simply the body and the spirit. In those
tomb scenes which depict the birth of kings the royal babe is represented by two figures−the visible body and
the invisible "double". The Ka began to be at birth; it continued to live on after death.
But a human being was not alone in possessing aKa. Everything that existed was believed to have its
"double". A fish or other animal had a Ka; so also had a tree; and there were spirits in water, in metals, in stone, and even in weapons and other articles manufactured by man. These spirits were invisible to all save
the seers, who were able to exercise on occasion the "faculty" which Scottish Highlanders call "second sight".
It was conceived that the Ka could leave the human body during sleep, or while the subject lay in a trance. It
then wandered forth and visited people and places, and its experience survived in memory. Dreams were
accounted for in this way as actual happenings. When a man dreamt of a deceased friend, he believed that his
Ka had met with the Ka of the dead, held converse with it, and engaged in the performance of some
Other−World duty. Sometimes the wandering Ka could be observed at a distance from where the sleeper
reposed. It had all the appearance of the individual, because it was attired in the "doubles" of his clothing and
might carry the "double" of his staff. Ghosts, therefore, included "the spirits of the living", which were not
recognized to be spirits until they vanished mysteriously. They might also be simply heard and not seen.
In the story of Anpu and Bata is contained the belief that the Ka could exist apart from the body. Its
habitation was a blossom, and when the petals were scattered the younger brother fell dead. He revived,
however., when the seed was placed n a vessel of water. This conception was associated with belief in the
transmigration of souls. Bata entered a new state of existence after he left his brother.
During normal life the Ka existed in the human body. It was sustained by the "doubles" of everythingthat was
partaken of. After death it required food and drink) and offerings were made to it at the grave. The practice of
feeding the dead continues in Egypt even in our own day.
In ancient times a cult believed that the Ka could be fed by magic. Mourners or ancestor worshippers who
visited the tomb simply named the articles of food required, and these were immediately given existence for
the spirit. The "good wishes" were thus considered to be potent and practical.
It was essential that the dead should receive the service of the living, and those who performed the necessary
ceremonies and made the offerings were called the "servants". Thus the Egyptian word for "priest" signified a
"servant". But the motive which prompted the mourners to serve the departed was not necessarily sorrow or
undying affection, but rather genuine fear. If the Ka or ghost were neglected, and allowed to starve, it could
leave the grave and haunt the offenders. Primitive man had a genuine dread of spirits, and his chief concern
was ever to propitiate them, no matter how great might be the personal sacrifice involved.
Sometimes a small "soul house" was provided by the wayside for the wandering Ka, but oftener an image of
wood or stone was placed for its use in the grave. The statues of kings which have been found in their tombs
were constructed so that their disembodied spirits might be given material bodies, and those which they
caused to be erected in various parts of the kingdom were primarily intended for a similar purpose and not
merely to perpetuate their fame, although the note of vanity is rarely absent in the inscriptions.
The Khu, or "soul", was a vague conception. It was really another form of the Ka, but it was the"double" of
the intellect. will, and intentions, rather than the "double" of the physical body. The Khu was depicted as a
bird, and was called "the bright one" or "the glorious one".
The Ba of the second triad was a conception uniting both the Ka and the Khu. It is represented in bird form
with a human head, hovering over the Sahu, or mummy, on which it gazes wistfully, always seeking to
re−enter the bandaged form. Like the Ka, it required nourishment, which was provided, however, by the
goddess of the consecrated burial ground.
The Khaybet, or shadow, is evidently the survival of an early belief. It is really another manifestation of the
Ka. Like all primitive peoples, the archaic Egyptians believed that their shadows were their souls. Higher
conceptions evolved in time, but their cultured descendants clung to the old belief, which was perpetuated by
folk customs associated with magical practices. Spells were wrought by casting shadows upon a man., and he might be insulted or injured if an offence were committed against his shadow.
The Ran, or name, was also a manifestation of the Ka. Power could be exercised by uttering the name,
because there was magical influence in those words which were believed to have spiritual "doubles". A
personal name was the spirit identified; its service was secured when the name was uttered. The spirit was the
name and the name was the spirit. If a magician desired to work evil against an individual, he made use of the
name when uttering potent magical formulæ. The dead were similarly conjured up when their names were
spoken
in invocations; evil spirits were cast out by those who knew their names. To guard himself against wizards
who uttered "words of power", or verbal spells, the Egyptian therefore considered it necessary to have two
namesthe big name and the little name, or the true name and the good name. He kept his "big, true name"
secret, because it was the Ran; his "good little name" was his nickname, and was not a part of his living being.
The naming ceremony was conducted in secret. The child's fate was bound up in the true name and his
character was influenced by it. After it was conferred, a nickname was used, but the true name was the grave
name and was uttered when the welfare of the spirit was secured by the utterance of magical spells which
"opened the way" in the land of the dead. The gods had Rans also. When Isis obtained the secret name of Ra,
she became his equal.
The divergent conceptions regarding the soul in Egyptian religion arose from the mingling of beliefs caused
by the mingling of peoples, and also the Egyptian tendency to cling to every belief, or form of belief, which
evolved in the course of time in Egypt. A people who believed in the existence of "doubles" and in the
transmigration of souls had many vague and complex conceptions. Incoherencies were a feature of their
religious beliefs. It must be borne in mind, at the same time, that our review covers a vast period of time,
during which various religious cults exercised supreme influence in moulding Egyptian thought. One cult
predominated at one period; another cult arose in turn to teach its own peculiar tenets, with the result that all
beliefs were ultimately accepted. This process is clearly indicated by the
various burial customs and the complex religious ceremonies which prevailed in different ages.
As we have seen, the early people buried their dead crouched up in shallow graves with due provision of
nourishment and implements. They appear to have believed that the Ka remained beside the body until the
flesh decayed. Then it either ceased to be, or it haunted the cemetery. Among primitive peoples at the present
day much concern is evinced regarding the ghosts of the newly dead. When a negro, for instance, is
questioned about his remote ancestors, he is unable to express an opinion as to whether or not their spirits
continue to exercise any influence upon the living, but he trembles if asked about his dead father.
The Egyptian tree worshippers conceived of a tree goddess which gave food cakes and poured out drink to
disembodied Kas. The influence of this ancient cult is traced in the Osiris and Bata folk tales. In late Dynastic
times tree worship was revived when the persisting beliefs of the common people gained ascendancy, and it
has not yet wholly disappeared in the Delta region. The sacred tree and the holy well are still regarded with
reverence.
The. Horites, or Dynastic Egyptians, who pressed northward on their gradual campaign of conquest,
introduced a new burial custom. Instead of digging shallow graves they erected brick−lined tombs, in which
the dead were laid upon their backs, fully extended, clad in state, and adorned with articles of jewellery. In
the inscriptions the Ka and Khu are referred to. But no attempt was made, even in the First and Second
Dynasties, to preserve the body from decay, and sumptuous offerings were placed in the tombs,
Another burial custom involved secondary interment, as was the case in those European districts where early graves have been found to contain disconnected skeletons. In Egypt attempts were sometimes made to
arrange the bones in proper position, but they were often heaped in confusion. It appears that temporary
interment was a ceremony of riddance, the object being probably to hasten the departure of the Ka.
Dismemberment was also practised, and many graves show that decapitation was effected after death.
In one of the sacred books of ancient Egypt the mutilation of dead bodies is referred to with horror. "I shall
not be destroyed," we read, "my head will not be cut off, nor my tongue taken out, nor will the hair of my
head or my eyebrows be shaved off. My body will endure for all time."
The revolt against dismemberment took place at the beginning of the Third Dynasty, about 3000 B.C.
Massive stone tombs were then constructed and the bodies of the dead were mummified. The idea was either
that the Ka would ultimately return and cause the dead to live again, or that the existence of the soul in the
Nether World depended upon the existence of the body upon earth. The embalming of the dead ultimately
became general throughout Egypt, but the belief in dismemberment survived in the practise of disjointing one
of the mummy's feet. During the Middle Kingdom period the dead were laid on their left sides, as if to peer
through the Osiris or Horus eyes depicted outside the mummy cases.
Herodotus, who visited Egypt in the fifth century before Christ, found the people "adhering contentedly to the
customs of their ancestors, and averse to foreign manners". He related that when an influential man died, the
females of the household smeared their handsand faces with dirt, and ran through the streets with their clothes
in disorder, beating their bodies and lamenting aloud. The men behaved in similar manner after the corpse
was removed from the house.
Embalmers were licensed to practise their profession, and they displayed much ingenuity and surgical skill.
When a body was carried to them, they produced models of mummies and arranged a price. The quality of
their work depended on the amount of money expended by the dead man's friends.
The costliest method of embalming was as follows. The brain was extracted through the nostrils with the aid
of instruments and after the infusion of a chemical preparation. Then a stone knife was used to make an
incision on one side of the body. The liver, heart, lungs, and intestines were immediately drawn out, and,
after being cleansed, they were steeped in palm wine and sprinkled with rich perfume. The body was dried,
and stuffed with powdered myrrh, cassia, &c., and sewn up. It was afterwards covered with nitre for seventy
days. Then it was washed all over and carefully wrapped in bandages which had been dipped in a strong gum.
As soon as it was carried back to the home it was placed in a large coffin, shaped like a human form, which
was inscribed with magical charms and decorated with sacred symbols and figures of gods and goddesses.
The face of the dead was carved upon the lid; in the Roman period it was painted.
A cheaper method of embalmment was to inject a chemical preparation before the body was covered with
nitre. At the end of seventy days the intestines were drawn out. Nothing then remained except the skin and
bones; the flesh had been eaten away by the nitre. Poor people could only afford to have a cheap
preservativeinjected into the veins, after which the body was left in nitre for the usual period.
The intestines were placed in four canopic jars, on the lids of which were often shaped the heads of the four
protecting gods, who were the sons of Horus, and represented the north, south, east, and west. These were
Amset, with human face, who guarded the stomach and large intestines; Hapi, with dog's head, who guarded
the small intestines; Dûamûtef, with jackal's head, who guarded lungs and heart, and Kebeh−senuf, the
hawk−headed, who guarded the liver and gall bladder. These jars were placed in a chest and deposited in the
tomb. The organs they contained were those which were believed to have caused the various sins to be
committed.
The funeral procession was a solemn and touching spectacle. All the family were present, and women mourners wailed aloud on the way to the cemetery on the western bank of the Nile. The mummy was drawn
upon a sledge. When the tomb was reached, the coffin was set up on end, facing the south, and an elaborate
ceremony was gone through. It was conducted by the chief mourner, who recited the ritual from a papyrus
roll, while responses were made by the relatives. Two females represented Isis and Nepthys, for a part of the
ceremony was a reproduction of the scene enacted around the body of Osiris when it was restored and
prepared for burial. The dead had also to be instructed how to reach the Egyptian heaven. The journey could
not be accomplished in safety without the aid of magical formulæ. So these were spoken into the ears of the
corpse, as was probably the custom in the days of crouched burials. But the danger was ever present that the
dead would fail to remember all the priestly instructions which were repeated over them. The formulæ were
therefore inscribedon the coffin and on the walls of the tomb, and as time went on it became customary to
prepare rolls of papyrus, which were ultimately collected into The Book of the Dead. This papyrus might be
wrapped under the mummy bandages, or else laid within the coffin. A bull was slaughtered to provide food
for the sustenance of the Ka and as a sacrifice to the gods.
The coffin was afterwards lowered down the grave shaft to the secret chamber in which had been placed the
image of the dead, his weapons and clothing, his ornaments and perfumes and, perhaps, several articles of
furniture. Then the entrance was closed up with stonework. A funeral feast in the antechamber concluded a
ceremony which grew more and more elaborate as time went on. Food offerings were afterwards brought at
intervals by faithful mourners.
There were two distinct conceptions of the after−life and these became confused in the ages that followed.
The sun worshippers believed that the souls of the dead passed to the first division of night, where those who
were privileged to utter the magical spells, which could compel the obedience of the gods, were permitted to
enter the bark of Ra. In their tombs were placed models of the sun boat.
The Other−World conception of the Osirian cult made more permanent appeal to the Egyptian mind. Heaven
is pictured as the "double" of the Delta region, where apparently the conception had its origin. But, before it
can be reached, the soul must needs travel a long and weary way which is beset with many perils. The
Paradise of Aalu is situated in the west. Bleak and waterless deserts have to be crossed, and these are infested
by fierce reptiles; boiling streams also intercept the pilgrim, who is ever in danger of being compelled to turn
back.When the soul sets forth, he takes with him his staff and his weapons, and food for nourishment. He
climbs the western mountains and then enters the Kingdom of the Dead. An immense sycamore tree towers
before him with great clusters of fruit amidst its luxuriant foliage. As he approaches it a goddess leans out
from the trunk as from a window, displaying the upper part of her body. In her hands she holds a tray heaped
with cakes and fruit; she has also a pot of clear fresh water. The soul must needs eat of the magic food and
drink of the magic water, and thus become a servant of the gods, if he is to proceed farther. If he rejects the
hospitality of the tree goddess, he will have to return again to the dark and narrow tomb whence he came, and
lead forever there a solitary and joyless existence.
The soul of him who is faithful eats and drinks as desired, and then proceeds on the journey, facing many
perils and enduring great trials. Evil spirits and fierce demons compass him about, desiring that he should die
a second death and cease to be. A gigantic tortoise rises against him; he must fight against it with his lance;
serpents are poised to strike, and they must be overcome. The very insects have venomous stings and must be
driven away. But his most formidable enemy is the fierce god Set, the murderer of Osiris, the terror of the
good gods and of men, who appears as an enormous red monster, with a head like a camel and the body of a
hound, his long and forked tail erect and venomous. Fain would that wrathful demon devour the pilgrim on
his way.
When the evil god is overcome and driven back, the soul goes forward until he reaches the bank of a wide
river There a magic boat awaits him. The crew consist of silent divinities who give him no aid. But ere hecan
embark he must needs answer each question which the boat addresses to him. He must know and tell how it is constructed in every part, and if the papyrus roll which was laid beside his mummy contains the secrets of the
boat. and the magical formulæ which must also be repeated, he will be ferried over the river and taken to the
Osirian kingdom. The sulky "ferryman" is called "Turnface": his face is always turned away from the dead
who call to him.
After entering the boat the soul's journey is not near to an end. He desires greatly to join those happy beings
who have their dwellings in the blessed fields of Aalu but he must first be tried before Osiris the King of the
Dead and Judge of All. The only approach to Paradise is through the Hall of justice, which rises before him
stupendous and dark and full of mystery. The gate is shut fast; no man can draw the bolts or enter without
permission of the king.
Alone, and trembling with fear, the pilgrim soul stands before the gate with both hands uplifted in adoration.
He is beheld by the shining god who is within. Then in a clear, full voice the soul cries out in the deep silence:
Hail, unto thee, O thou great god, thou who art lord of truth!
Lo! I draw nigh to thee now, O my lord, and mine eyes behold thy beauty.
Thee I know, and I know also the two−and−forty gods assembled with thee in the Hall of justice;
They observe all the deeds of the wicked; They devour those who seek to do evil;
They drink the blood of those who are condemned before thee, O just and good king.
Hail! Lord of justice; Thee I know,
I come before thee even now to speak what is true,
I will not utter what is false, O Lord of All.
The soul then recites the ritual confession in which he claims to be guiltless of the offences which are
punishable.
I have done no evil against any man.
I have never caused my kinsfolk to be put to death,
I have not caused false witnesses to speak in the Hall of justice.
I have not done that which is hated by the gods.
I am not a worker of wickedness.
I have never oppressed a servant with too much work.
I have not caused men to hunger nor to weep.
I have not been devoid of good works, nor have I acted weakly or with meanness.
I am not a murderer.
I have not conspired to have another put to death.
I have not plotted to make another grieve.
I have not taken away temple offerings.
I have not stinted the food offered to the gods.
I have not despoiled the dead.
I have never committed adultery.
I have not failed to keep myself pure as a priest.
I have not lessened the corn measure.
I have not shortened the hand measure.
I have not tampered with the balance.
I have not deprived children of milk.
I have not stolen cattle from the meadows.
I have not snared the birds consecrated to the gods.
I have not taken fish from holy lakes.
I have not prevented (Nile) water from running (in channels).
I have not stolen water from a channel.
I have not put out the fire when it should burn.
I have never kept from the Nine Gods what was their due.
I have not prevented the temple cattle from grazing on my land.
I have not obstructed a god (his image) when he came forth (in a festival procession).
The soul concludes by declaring that he is sinless,and expresses the hope that no ill will befall him in the Hall
of Judgment.
The jackal−headed god Anubis, "Opener of the Ways", then strides from the hall and leads the soul by the
hand before Osiris, who had heard the confession in silence. No word is uttered as the dead man enters. The
King of the Dead sits in his high throne within a dim pavilion. His crown is upon his head. In one hand he
holds the crook and in the other the flail. He is the supreme judge of the Dead.. Before him stands the sure
balance on which the heart of the dead man will be weighed. Thoth, the recording god, is beside it, and Horus
and Maat, goddess of truth and justice, are there also. The guardian of the balance is a monster which is ready
to fall upon sinners who are condemned before the great god. Around the dread hall crouch the
two−and−forty animal gods who tear the wicked to pieces.
In the tingling silence which prevails, the pilgrim again recites the confession. Osiris makes no comment.
Then, quivering with fear, the soul watches the gods deliberately weighing his heart in the balance, while
Maat, the goddess of truth and justice, or her symbol, an ostrich feather, occupies the opposite scale.
The trembling soul cries out to his heart not to witness against him. "O heart that was mine," he says, "do not
say 'Behold the things he hath done'. Permit me not to be wronged in presence of the great god."
If the heart is found to be neither too heavy nor too light, the dead man is acquitted. Thoth makes known the
result of the weighing to Osiris, who then orders the heart to be restored to the man on trial. "He hath won the
victory," the King of the Dead exclaims. "Now let him dwell with the spirits and the gods in the fields of
Aalu."
Released and rejoicing, the dead man goes forth to gaze upon the wonders of the Nether World. The divine
kingdom is a greater and more glorious Egypt, in which the souls work and hunt and combat against their
enemies as in other days. To each man is allotted his task. He must till the soil and reap the grain which
grows in abundance and to a great height. The harvest never fails, and famine and sorrow are unknown.
When the soul desires to return to visit familiar scenes upon earth it enters the body of a bird or an animal, or
perhaps it blossoms as a flower. It may also visit the tomb as the Ba, and reanimate the mummy and go forth
to gaze on scenes which were familiar and dear in other days.
The souls of dead men whom Osiris condemns, because of sins committed upon earth, are subjected to
terrible tortures ere they are devoured by the animal gods which crouch, waiting, in the silent and awful Hall
of Judgment.

The London of Ancient EgyptPtah Chief of Nine Earth SpiritsGod of a Military AristocracyPalestine
Cavedwellers and Alpine "Broad Heads"Creation Artificers of Egyptians, Europeans, Indians, and
ChineseSun Egg and Moon EggThe Later PtahNeith as a BansheeSokar, God of the DeadEarliest
Memphite DeityPtah and OsirisManetho's Folk TalesA Famous QueenThe First Pyramid.
Now, when there was corn in Egypt "as the sand of the sea", traders from foreign countries crossed the
parched deserts and the perilous deep, instructed, like the sons of Jacob, to "get you down thither and buy for
us from thence". So wealth and commerce increased in the Nile valley. A high civilization was fostered, and
the growing needs of the age caused many industries to flourish.
The business of the country was controlled by the cities which were nursed into prosperity by the wise policy of the Pharaohs. Among these Memphis looms prominently in the history of the early Dynasties. Its ruling
deity was, appropriately enough, the artificer god Ptah, for it was not only a commercial but also an important
industrial centre; indeed it was the home of the great architects and stone builders whose activities culminated
in the erection of the Pyramids, the most sublime achievements in masonry ever accomplished by man.
To−day the ruins of Old Memphis lie buried deep in the sand. The fellah tills the soil and reaps the harvest in
season above its once busy streets and stately temples,its clinking workshops and noisy markets. "I have
heard the words of its teachers whose sayings are on the lips of men. But where are their dwelling places?
Their walls have been cast down and their homes are not, even as though they had never been." Yet the area
of this ancient city was equal to that of modern London from Bow to Chelsea and the Thames to Hampstead,
and it had a teeming population.
O mighty Memphis, city of "White Walls",
The habitation of eternal Ptah,
Cradle of kings . . . on thee the awful hand
Of Vengeance hath descended. . . . Nevermore
Can bard acclaim thy glory; nevermore
Shall harp, nor flute, nor timbrel, nor the song
Of maids resound within thy ruined halls,
Nor shouts of merriment in thee be heard,
Nor hum of traffic, nor the eager cries
Of merchants in thy markets murmurous;
The silence of the tomb hath fallen on thee,
And thou art faded like a lovely queen,
Whom loveless death hath stricken in the night,
Whose robe is rent, whose beauty is decayed
And nevermore shall princes from afar
Pay homage to thy greatness, and proclaim
Thy wonders, nor in reverence behold
Thy sanctuary glories . . .
Are thy halls
All empty, and thy streets laid bare
And silent as the soundless wilderness?
O Memphis, mighty Memphis, hath the morn
Broken to find thee not?
Memphis was named after King Pepi, and is called Noph in the Old Testament. Its early Dynastic name
was "White Walls", the reference being probably to the fortress erected there soon after the Conquest. Of its
royal builder we know little, but his mother, Queen Shesh, enjoyed considerable repute for many centuries
afterwards as the inventor of a popular hair wash which is referred to in a surviving medical papyrus.
After Egypt was united under the double crown of the Upper and the Lower Kingdoms, and the Pharaoh
became "Lord of the Two Lands", the seat of government remained for a long period at Thinis, in the south.
The various nomes, like the present−day states of North America, had each their centres of local
administration. Pharaoh's deputies were nobles who owed him allegiance, collected the Imperial taxes,
supplied workmen or warriors as desired, and carried out the orders of the Court officials regarding the
construction and control of canals. The temple of the nome god adorned the provincial capital.
Ptah, the deity of Memphis, is presented in sharp contrast to the sun god Ra, who was of Asiatic origin, and the deified King Osiris, whose worship was associated with agricultural rites. He was an earth spirit,
resembling closely the European elf. The conception was evidently not indigenous, because the god had also
a giant form, like the hilltop deities of the mountain peoples (see Chapter XII). He was probably imported by
the invaders who constituted the military aristocracy at Memphis in pre−Dynastic times. These may have
been the cave−dwellers of Southern Palestine, or tall and muscular "broad heads" of Alpine or Armenoid type
who prior to the Conquest appear to have pressed southward from Asia Minor through the highlands of
Palestine, and, after settlement, altered somewhat the physical character of the "long heads" of the eastern
Delta.Allowance has to be made for such an infusion in accounting for the new Dynastic type as well as for
the influence exercised by the displacement of a great proportion of the mingled tribes of Libyans. The
Palestine cave−dwellers may have been partly of Alpine origin.
A people seldom remember their early history, but they rarely forget their tribal beliefs. That being so, the
god Ptah is of special interest in dealing with the tribal aspect of mythology. Among all the gods of Egypt his
individuality is perhaps the most pronounced. Others became shadowy and vague, as beliefs were fused and
new and greater conceptions evolved in the process of time. But Ptah never lost his elfin character, even after
he was merged with deities of divergent origin. He was the chief of nine earth spirits (that is, eight and
himself added) called Khnûmû, the modellers. Statuettes of these represent them as dwarfs, with muscular
bodies, bent legs, long arms, big broad heads, and faces of intelligent and even benign expression. Some wear
long moustaches, so unlike the shaven or glabrous Egyptians.
At the beginning, according to Memphite belief, Ptah shaped the world and the heavens, assisted by his eight
workmen, the dwarfish Khnûmû. He was also the creator of mankind, and in Egyptian tombs are found
numerous earthenware models of these "elves". who were believed to have had power to reconstruct the
decaying bodies of the dead. As their dwellings were underground, they may have also been "artisans of
vegetation", like the spirits associated with Tvashtar, the "master workman" of the Rig−Veda hymns and the
"black dwarfs" of Teutonic mythology. A particular statuette of Ptah, wearing a tight−fitting cap, suggests the
familiar "wonder smith" of the Alpine "broad heads" who were distributed along Asiatic and European
mountain ranges from Hindu Kush to Brittany and the British isles and mingled with the archaic Hittites in
Asia Minor. The Phoenician sailors carried figures of dwarfs in their ships, and worshipped them. They were
called "pataikoi". In the Far East a creation artificer who resembles Ptah is Pan Ku, the first Chinese deity,
who emerged from a cosmic egg.
Like Ra, Ptah was also believed to have first appeared as an egg, which, according to one of the many folk
beliefs of Egypt, was laid by the chaos goose which came to be identified with Seb, the earth god, and
afterwards with the combined deities Amon−Ra. Ptah, as the primeval "artificer god", was credited with
making "the sun egg" and also "the moon egg", and a bas−relief at Philæ shows him actively engaged at the
work, using his potter's wheel.
A higher and later conception of Ptah represents him as a sublime creator god who has power to call into
existence each thing he names. He is the embodiment of mind from which all things emerge, and his ideas
take material shape when he gives them expression. In a philosophic poem a Memphite priest eulogizes the
great deity as "the mind and tongue of the gods", and even as the creator of other gods as well as of "all
people, cattle, and reptiles", the sun, and the habitable world.
Thoth is also credited with similar power, and it is possible that in this connection both these deities were
imparted with the attributes of Ra, the sun god.
According to the tradition perpetuated by Manetho, the first temple in Egypt was erected at Memphis, that
city of great builders, to the god Ptah at the command of King Mena. It is thus suggested that the town and
the god of the ruling caste existed when the Horite sun worshippers moved northward on their campaign of conquest. As has been shown, Mena also gave diplomatic recognition to Neith, the earth goddess of the
Libyans, "the green lady" of Egypt, who resembles somewhat the fairy, and especially the banshee, of the
Iberians and their Celtic conquerors.
The Ptah worshippers were probably not the founders of Memphis. An earlier deity associated with the city is
the dreaded Sokar (Seker). He was a god of the dead, and in the complex mythology of later times his
habitation was located in the fifth hour−division of night. When sun worship became general in the Nile
valley Sokar was identified with the small winter sun, as Horus was with the large sun of summer. But the
winged and three−headed monster god, with serpent body, suffers complete loss of physical identity when
merged with the elfin deity of Memphis. Ptah−Sokar is depicted as a dwarf and one of the Khnûmû. Another
form of Sokar is a hawk, of different aspect to the Horus hawk, which appears perched on the Ra boat at night
with a sun disk upon its head.
Ptah−Sokar was in time merged with the agricultural
Osiris whose spirit passed from Pharaoh to Pharaoh. Ptah−Osiris was depicted as a human−sized mummy,
swathed and mute, holding firmly in his hands before him the Osirian dadu (pillar) symbol. The triad,
Ptah−Sokar−Osiris, gives us a combined deity who is a creator, a judge of the dead, and a traditional king of
Egypt. The influence of the sun cult prevailed when Sokar and Osiris were associated with the worship of Ra.
Memphis, the city of Ptah, ultimately became the capital of United Egypt. It was then at the height of its
glory; a great civilization had evolved. Unfortunately, however, we are unable to trace its progress, because
the records are exceedingly scanty. Fine workmanship in stone, exquisite pottery, &c., indicate the advanced
character of the times, but it is impossible to construct from these alone an orderly historical narrative. We
have also the traditions preserved by Manetho. Much of what he tells us, however, belongs to the domain of
folklore. We learn, for instance, that for nearly a fortnight the Nile ran with honey, and that one of the
Pharaohs, who was a giant about 9 feet high, was "a most dangerous man". It is impossible to confirm
whether a great earthquake occurred in the Delta region, where the ground is said to have yawned and
swallowed many of the people, or whether a famine occurred in the reign of one pharaoh and a great plague
in that of another, and if King Aha really engaged his leisure moments compiling works on anatomy. The
story of a Libyan revolt at a later period may have had foundation in fact, but the explanation that the rebels
broke into flight because the moon suddenly attained enormous dimensions shows how myth and history
were inextricably intertwined.
Yet Manetho's history contains important material.His list of early kings is not imaginative, as was once
supposed, although there may be occasional inaccuracies. The Palermo Stone, so called because it was
carried to the Sicilian town of that name by some unknown curio collector, has inscribed upon it in
hieroglyphics the names of several of the early kings and references to notable events which occurred during
their reigns. It is one of the little registers which were kept in temples. Many of these, no doubt, existed, and
some may yet he brought to light.
Four centuries elapsed after the Conquest ere Memphis became the royal city. We know little, however,
regarding the first three hundred years. Two dynasties of Thinite kings ruled over the land. There was a royal
residence at Memphis, which was the commercial capital of the countrythe marketplace of the northern and
southern peoples. Trade flourished and brought the city into contact with foreign commercial centres. It had a
growing and cosmopolitan population, and its arts and industries attained a high level of excellence.
The Third Dynasty opens with King Zoser, who reigned at Memphis. He was the monarch for whom the first
pyramid was erected. It is situated at Sakkara, in the vicinity of his capital. The kings who reigned prior to
him had been entombed at Abydos, and the new departure indicates that the supremacy of Memphis was
made complete. The administrative, industrial, and religious life of the country was for the time centred there.
Zoser's preference for Memphis had, perhaps, a political bearing. His mother, the wife of Khasekhemui,' the
last of the Thinite kings, was probably a daughter of
the ruling noble of "White Walls". It was the custom of monarchs to marry the daughters of nome governors,
and to give their sons his daughters in marriage also. The aristocracy was thus closely connected with the
royal house; indeed the relations between the Pharaoh and his noblemen appear to have been intimate and
cordial.
The political marriages, however, were the cause of much jealous rivalry. As the Pharaoh had more than one
wife, and princes were numerous, the choice of an heir to the crown was a matter of great political
importance. The king named his successor, and in the royal harem there were occasionally plots and
counterplots to secure the precedence of one particular prince or another. Sometimes methods of coercion
were adopted with the aid of interested noblemen whose prestige would be increased by the selection of a
near relativethe son, perhaps, of the princess of their nome. In one interesting papyrus roll which survives
there is a record of an abortive plot to secure the succession of a rival to the Pharaoh's favourite son. The
ambitious prince was afterwards disposed of. In all probability he was executed along with those concerned
in the household rebellion. Addressing his chosen heir, the monarch remarks that "he fought the one he knew,
because it was unwise that he should be beside thy majesty".
It may be that these revolts explain the divisions of the lines of early kings into Dynasties. Zoser's personality
stands out so strongly that it is evident he was a prince who would brook no rival to the throne. His
transference of the seat of power to the city of Ptah suggests, too, that he found his chief support there.
With the political ascendancy of Memphis begins the great Pyramid Age; but ere we make acquaintance
withthe industrial and commercial life in the city, and survey the great achievements of its architects and
builders, we shall deal with the religious conceptions of the people, so that it may be understood why the
activities of the age were directed to make such elaborate provision for the protection of the bodies of dead
monarchs.

Worship of AnimalsPossessed by Spirits of Good and EvilReptiles as Destroyers and ProtectorsPigs of
Set and OsirisThe Moon EaterHorus Solar and Storm MythThe Devil Pig in Egypt and
ScotlandContrast with Gaulish, Irish, and Norse BeliefsAnimal Conflicts for Mastery of HerdLove God a
PigWhy Eels were not eatenThe Sacred BullIrish and Egyptian MythsCorn SpiritsThe Goose Festival
in EuropeThe Chaos EggGiant's Soul MythNilotic and other VersionsWild Ass as Symbol of Good and
Evil.
ONE of the most interesting phases of Nilotic religion was the worship of animals. Juvenal ridiculed the
Egyptians for this particular practice in one of his satires, and the early fathers of the Church regarded it as
proof of the folly of pagan religious ideas. Some modern−day apologists, on the other hand, have leapt to the
other extreme by suggesting that the ancient philosophers were imbued with a religious respect for life in
every form, and professed a pantheistic creed. Our task here, however, is to investigate rather than to justify
or condemn ancient Egyptian beliefs. We desire to get, if possible, at the Egyptian point of view. That being
so, we must recognize at the outset that we are dealing with a confused mass of religious practices and
conceptions of Egyptian and non−Egyptian origin, which accumulated during a vast period of time and were
perpetuated as much by custom as by conviction. The average Egyptian of the later Dynasties might have
been as little able to account for his superstitious regard for the crocodile or the serpentas is the society lady
of to−day to explain her dread of being one of a dinner party of thirteen, or of spilling salt at table; he
worshipped animals because they had always been worshipped, and, although originally only certain
representatives of a species were held to be sacred, he was not unwilling to show reverence for the species as
a whole.
We obtain a clue which helps to explain the origin of animal worship in Egypt in an interesting
Nineteenth−Dynasty papyrus preserved in the British Museum. This document contains a calendar in which
lucky and unlucky days are detailed in accordance with the ideas of ancient seers. Good luck, we gather,
comes from the beneficent deities, and bad luck is caused by the operations of evil spirits. On a particular
date demons are let loose, and the peasant is warned not to lead an ox with a rope at any time during the day,
lest one of them should enter the animal and cause it to gore him. An animal, therefore, was not feared or
worshipped for its own sake, but because it was liable to be possessed by a good or evil spirit.
The difference between good and evil spirits was that the former could be propitiated or bargained with, so
that benefits might be obtained, while the latter ever remained insatiable and unwilling to be reconciled. This
primitive conception is clearly set forth by Isocrates, the Greek orator, who said: "Those of the gods who are
the sources to us of good things have the title of Olympians; those whose department is that of calamities and
punishments have harsher titles. To the first class both private persons and states erect altars and temples; the
second is not worshipped either with prayers or burnt sacrifices, but in their case we perform ceremonies of
riddance".
"Ceremonies" of riddance are, of course, magicalceremonies. It was by magic that the Egyptians warded off
the attacks of evil spirits. Ra's journey in the sun bark through the perilous hour−divisions of night was
accomplished by the aid of spells which thwarted the demons of evil and darkness in animal or reptile form.
In Egypt both gods and demons might possess the same species of animals or reptiles. The ox might be an
incarnation of the friendly Isis, or of the demon which gored the peasant. Serpents and crocodiles were at
once the protectors and the enemies of mankind. The dreaded Apep serpent symbolized everything that was
evil and antagonistic to human welfare; but the beneficent mother goddess Uazit of Buto, who shielded
Horus, was also a serpent, and serpents were worshipped as defenders of households; images of them were
hung up for "luck" or protection, as horseshoes are in our own country even at the present day; the serpent
amulet was likewise a protective agency., like the serpent stone of the Gauls and the familiar "lucky pig" which is still worn as a charm.
In certain parts of Egypt the crocodile was also worshipped, and was immune from attack; in others it was
ruthlessly hunted down. As late as Roman times the people of one nome waged war against those of another
because their sacred animals were being slain by the rival religious organization.
Here we touch upon the tribal aspect of animal worship. Certain animals or reptiles were regarded as the
protectors of certain districts. A particular animal might be looked upon by one tribe as an incarnation of their
deity, and by another as the incarnation of their Satan. The black pig, for instance, was associated by the
Egyptians with Set, who was the god of a people who conquered
and oppressed them in pre−Dynastic times. Horus is depicted standing on the back of the pig and piercing its
head with a lance; its legs and jaws are fettered with chains. But the pig was also a form of Osiris, "the good
god".
Set was identified with the Apep serpent of night and storm, and in certain myths the pig takes the place of
the serpent. It was the Set pig, for instance, that fed upon the waning moon, which was the left eye of Horus.
How his right eye, the sun, was once blinded is related in a Heliopolitan myth. Horus sought, it appears, to
equal Ra, and desired to see all things that had been created. Ra delivered him a salutory lesson by saying:
"Behold the black pig". Horus looked, and immediately one of his eyes (the sun) was destroyed by a
whirlwind of fire. Ra said to the other gods: "The pig will be abominable to Horus". For that reason pigs were
never sacrificed to him. Ra restored the injured eye, and created for Horus two horizon brethren who would
guard him against thunderstorms and rain.
The Egyptians regarded the pig as an unclean animal. Herodotus relates that if they touched it casually, they
at once plunged into water to purify themselves. Swineherds lost caste, and were not admitted to the
temples. Pork was never included among the meat offerings to the dead. In Syria the pig was also "taboo". In
the Highlands, even in our own day, there survives a strong prejudice against pork, and the black pig is
identified with the devil.
On the other hand, the Gauls, who regarded the pig
as sacred, did not abstain from pork. Like their kinsmen, the Achæans, too, they regarded swineherds as
important personages; these could even become kings. The Scandinavian heroes in Valhal feast upon swine's
flesh, and the boar was identified with Frey, the corn god. In the Celtic (Irish) Elysium presided over by
Dagda, the corn god, as the Egyptian Paradise was presided over by Osiris, there was always "one pig alive
and another ready roasted". Dagda's son, Angus, the love god, the Celtic Khonsu, had a herd of swine, and
their chief was the inevitable black pig.
In The Golden Bough, Professor Frazer shows that the pig was tabooed because it was at one time a sacred
animal identified with Osiris. Once a year, according to Herodotus, pigs were sacrificed in Egypt to the moon
and to Osiris. The moon pig was eaten, but the pigs offered to Osiris were slain in front of house doors and
given back to the swineherds from whom they were purchased.
Like the serpent and the crocodile, the pig might be either the friend or the enemy of the corn god. At sowing
time it rendered service by clearing the soil of obnoxious roots and weeds which retard the growth of crops.
When, however, the agriculturists found the
Snouted wild boar routing tender corn,
they apparently identified it with the enemy of Osirisit slew the corn god. The boar hunt then ensued as a matter of course. We can understand, therefore, why the Egyptians sacrificed swine to Osiris because, as
Plutarch says, "not that which is dear to the gods but that which
is contrary is fit to be sacrificed". The solution of the problem may be that at sowing time the spirit of Osiris
entered the boar, and that at harvest the animal was possessed by the spirit of Set.
This conclusion leads us back to the primitive conception of the Great Mother Deity. In the archaic Scottish
folk tale, which is summarized in our Introduction, she is the enemy of mankind. But her son, the lover of
the spirit of summerhe is evidently the prototype of the later love godis a beneficent giant; he fights
against his mother, who separated him from his bride and sought to destroy all life. Ra similarly desired to
slay "his enemies", because he created evil as well as good. Seb, the Egyptian earth god, was the father of
Osiris, "the good god", and of Set, the devil; they were "brothers". Osiris was a boar, and Set was a boar. The
original "battle of the gods" may, therefore, have been the conflict between the two boars for the mastery of
the herda conflict which also symbolized the warfare between evil and good, winter and summer. Were not
the rival forces of Nature created together at the beginning? The progeny of the Great Father, or the Great
Mother, included evil demons as well as good gods.
The Greek Adonis was slain by a boar; Osiris was slain by Set, the black boar; the Celtic Diarmid was slain
by a boar which was protected by a Hag who appears to be identical with the vengeful and stormy Scottish
Earth Mother. The boar was "taboo" to the worshippers of Adonis and Osiris; in Celtic folklore "bonds" are
put upon Diarmid not to hunt the boar. Evidently Adonis, Osiris, and Diarmid represented the "good" boars.
These three deities were love gods; the love god was identified with the moon, and the primitive moon spirit
was the son of the Great Mother; the Theban Khonsu was the son of Mut; the Nubian Thoth was the son of
Tefnut. Now Set, the black boar of evil, devoured the waning moon, and in doing so he devoured his brother
Osiris. When the Egyptians, therefore, sacrificed a pig to the moon, and feasted upon it like Set, they ate the
god. They did not eat the pig sacrificed to Osiris, because apparently it represented the enemy of the god;
they simply slew it, and thus slew Set.
It would appear that there were originally two moon pigsthe "lucky pig" of the waxing moon and the black
pig of the waning moon. These were the animal forms of the moon god and of the demon who devoured the
moonthe animal form of the love god and the thwarted rebel god; they also symbolized growth and
decayOsiris was growth, and Set symbolized the slaughter of growth: he killed the corn god.
The primitive lunar myth is symbolized in the legend which tells that Set hunted the boar in the Delta
marshes. He set out at full moon, just when the conflict between the demon and the lunar deity might be
expected to begin, and he found the body of Osiris, which he broke up into fourteen partsa suggestion of the
fourteen phases of lunar decline. We know that Set was the moon−eating pig. The black boar of night
therefore hunts, slays, and devours the white boar of the moon. But the generative organ of Osiris is thrown
into the river, and is swallowed by a fish: similarly Set flings the wrenched−out "eye" of Horus into the Nile.
Now the fish was sacred in Egypt. It had a symbolic significance; it was a phallic symbol. The Great Mother
of Mendes, another form of Isis, is depicted with a fishupon her head. Priests were not permitted to eat fish,
and the food which was "taboo" to the priests was originally "taboo" to all the Egyptians. In fact, certain fish
were not eaten during the Eighteenth Dynasty and later, and fish were embalmed. Those fish which were
included among articles of dietary were brought to the table with fins and tails removed. The pig which was
eaten sacrificially once a year had similarly its tall cut off. Once a year, on the ninth day of the month of
Thoth, the Egyptians ate fried fish at their house doors: the priests offered up their share by burning them.
Certain fish were not eaten by the ancient Britons. The eel is still abhorred in Scotland: it was sacred and
tabooed in Egypt also.'
Osiris was worshipped at Memphis in the form of the bull Apis, Egyptian Hapi, which was known to the
Greeks as "Serapis", their rendering of Asar−Hapi (Osiris−Apis). This sacred animal was reputed to be of
miraculous birth, like the son of the Great Mother deity. "It was begotten", Plutarch was informed, "by a ray
of generative light flowing from the moon." "Apis", said Herodotus, "was a young black bull whose mother
can have no other offspring." It was known by its marks; it had "on its forehead a white triangular spot, on its
back an eagle, a beetle lump under its tongue, while the hair of its tail was double". Plutarch said that "on
account of the great resemblance which the Egyptians imagine between Osiris and the moon, its more bright
and shining parts being shadowed and obscured by those that are of darker hue, they call the Apis the living
image of Osiris". The bull, Herodotus says, was "a fair and beautiful image of the soul of Osiris". Diodorus
similarly states that Osiris manifested
himself to men through successive ages as Apis. "The soul of Osiris migrated into this animal", he explains.
That this bull represented the animal which obtained mastery of the herd is suggested by the popularity of
bull fights at the ancient sports; there are several representations on the ancient tombs of Egyptian peasants,
carrying staves, urging bulls to battle one against another. Worshippers appear to have perpetuated the
observance of the conflict between the male animals in the mock fights at temples. Herodotus relates that
when the votaries of the deity presented themselves at the temple entrance they were armed with staves. Men
with staves endeavoured to prevent their admission, and a combat ensued between the two parties, "in which
many heads were broken, and, I should suppose," adds Herodotus, "many lives lost, although this the
Egyptians positively deny". Apparently Set was the thwarted male animalthat is, the demon with whom the
Egyptianized Set (Sutekh) was identified.
The sacred Apis bull might either be allowed to die a natural death, or it was drowned when its age was
twenty−eight yearsa suggestion of the twenty−eight phases of the moon and the violent death of Osiris. The
whole nation mourned for the sacred animal; its body was mummified and laid in a tomb with much
ceremony. Mariette, the French archæologist, discovered the Eighteenth−Dynasty tombs of the Memphite
bulls in 1851. The sarcophagi which enclosed the bodies weighed about 58 tons each. One tomb which he
opened had been undisturbed since the time of the burial, and the footprints of the mourners were
discoverable after a lapse of 3000 years.
After the burial the priests set out to search for the successor of the old bull, and there was great rejoicing
when one was found; its owner was compensated with generous gifts of gold. In the Anpu−Bata story, which
is evidently a version of the Osiris myth, the elder brother is honoured and becomes rich after he delivers the
Bata bull to the Pharaoh. It will be noted that the Osiris soul was believed to be in the animal's liver, which
was eatenhere we have again the ceremony of eating the god. Before the bull was transferred to its temple it
was isolated for forty days, and was seen during that period by women only.
At Heliopolis the soul of Osiris entered the Mnevis bull. This sacred animal was evidently a rival to Apis.
Ammianus Marcellinus says that Apis was dedicated to the moon and Mnevis to the sun.
In Upper Egypt the sacred bull was Bakh (Bacis) a form of Mentu; it was ultimately identified with Ra.
The worship of Apis ultimately triumphed, and in Roman times became general all over Egypt.
Like the Osiris boar, the Osiris bull was identified with the corn spirit. But its significance in this regard is
not emphasized in the Egyptian texts. That may have been because different tribes regarded different animals
as harvest deities. The association of Apis with Ptah is therefore of interest. We have suggested that Ptah was
originally worshipped by a people of mountain origin. In the great caves of southern Palestine there survive
rude scratchings of cows and bulls, suggesting that this pastoral people venerated their domesticated animals.
In Europe the corn spirit was identified with the bull and cow principally by the Hungarians, the Swiss, and the Prussians, and by some of the French, for the "corn bull" was slain at Bordeaux. On theother hand, it may
be that in the Irish legend regarding the conflict between the Brown Bull of Ulster and the White−horned Bull
of Connaught we have a version of a very ancient myth which was connected with Osiris in Egypt. Both Irish
animals were of miraculous birth; their mothers were fairy cows.
Like the Egyptian Anpu−Bata story, the Irish legend is characterized by belief in the transmigration of souls.
It relates that the rival bulls were originally swineherds. One served Bodb, the fairy king of Munster, who
was a son of Dagda, the Danann corn god; the other served Ochall Ochne, the fairy king of Connaught, the
province occupied by the enemies of the beneficent Danann deities. The two herds fought one against
another. "Then, the better to carry on their quarrel, they changed themselves into two ravens and fought for a
year; next they turned into water monsters, which tore one another for a year in the Suir and a year in the
Shannon; then they became human again, and fought as champions; and ended by changing into eels. One of
these eels went into the River Cruind in Cualgne in Ulster, where it was swallowed by a cow belonging to
Daire of Cualgne; and the other into the spring of Uaran Garad, in Connaught, where it passed into the belly
of a cow of Queen Medb's. Thus were born those two famous beasts, the Brown Bull of Ulster and the
White−horned Bull of Connaught." The brown bull was victorious in the final conflict; it afterwards went
mad, burst its heart with bellowing, and fell dead. In this myth we have the conflict between rival males,
suggested in the Osiris−Set boar legend and the mock fights at the Egyptian bull temple.
The sacred cow was identified with Isis, Nepthys, Hathor, and Nut. Isis was also fused with Taurt, the
female hippopotamus, who was goddess of maternity and was reputed to be the mother of Osiris. Even the
crocodile was associated with the worship of the corn god; in one of the myths this reptile recovers the body
of Osiris from the Nile.
Bast, another Great Mother who was regarded as a form of Isis, was identified with the cat, an animal which
was extremely popular as a household pet in Egypt. Herodotus relates that when a house went on fire the
Egyptians appeared to be occupied with no thought but that of preserving their cats. These animals were
prone to leap into the flames, and when a family lost a cat in such circumstances there was universal sorrow.
A Roman soldier was once mobbed and slain because he killed a household cat. The cat was identified in
France with the corn spirit: the last portion of grain which was reaped was called "the cat's tail".
We have referred in the Introduction to the goose which laid the sun egg. Apparently this bird was at one time
sacred. Although it was a popular article of diet in ancient Egypt, and was favoured especially by the priests,
it was probably eaten chiefly in the winter season. The goose and the duck were sacred in Abyssinia, where
the Mediterranean type has been identified in fusion with Semitic, Negroid, and other types. In the Highlands
of Scotland the goose was eaten, until recently, on Christmas Day only. Throughout England it was
associated with Michaelmas. "If you eat goose at Michaelmas", runs an old saying, "you will never want
money all the year round." The bird was evidently identified with the corn spirit. In Shropshire the shearing
of the last portion of
grain was referred to as "cutting the gander's neck". When all the corn was gathered into a stackyard in
Yorkshire an entertainment was given which was called "The Inning Goose". During the reign of Henry IV
the French subjects of the English king called the harvest festival the "Harvest Gosling". The Danes had also
a goose for supper after harvest.
The sun god Ra, of Egypt, was supposed to have been hatched from the egg which rose from the primordial
deep. This belief is reminiscent of the folk tale of the European giant who hid his soul in an egg, as Anpu hid
his soul in the blossom of the acacia.
In one Scottish version of the ancient mythical story the giant's soul is in a stump of a tree, a hare, a salmon, a duck, and an egg; in another it is in a bull, a ram, a goose, and an egg. Ptah was credited with making the sun
egg which concealed his own soul, or the soul of Ra. So was Khnûmû. These artisan gods appear to be of
common origin (see Chapter XIV); they became giants in their fusion with the primitive earth god, who was
symbolized as a gander, while they were also identified with the ram and the bull. Khnûmû received offerings
of fish, so that a sacred fish may be added. Anpu's soul passed from the blossom to a bull, and then to a tree.
It may be that in these folk tales we have renderings of the primitive myth of a pastoral people which gave
origin to the Egyptian belief in the egg associated with Ra, Ptah, and Khnûmû. In the Book of the
Dead reference is made to the enemies of Ra, "who have cursed that which is in the egg". The pious were
wont to declare: "I keep watch over the egg of the Great Cackler" (the chaos goose), or, according to another
reading: "I am the egg which is in the Great Cackler" (Budge). Set, the earth deity, was believed to have
flown through the air at thebeginning in the form of the chaos goose. The Celtic deities likewise appeared to
mankind as birds.
The hare was identified with a god of the underworld. Doves and pigeons were sacred; the ibis was an
incarnation of Thoth, the hawk of Horus, and the swallow of Isis. The mythical phoenix, with wings partly of
gold and partly of crimson, was supposed to fly from Arabia to Heliopolis once every five hundred years. It
was reputed to spring from the ashes of the parent bird, which thus renewed its youth.
The frog was sacred, and the frog goddess Hekt was a goddess of maternity. Among the gods identified with
the ram were Amon and Min and the group of deities resembling Ptah. Anubis was the jackal. Mut, the
Theban Great Mother, and the primitive goddess Nekhebat were represented by the vulture. The shrew mouse
was sacred to Uazit, who escaped from Set in this form when she was the protector of Horus, son of Isis. The
dog−faced ape was a form of Thoth; the lion was a form of Aker, an old, or imported, earth god.
There were two wild asses in Egyptian mythology, and they represented the good and evil principles. One
was Set, and the other the sun ass, which was chased by the night serpent. Although the souls of the departed,
according to the Book of the Dead, boasted that they drove back the "Eater of the Ass" (the serpent which
devoured the sun); they also prayed that they would "smite the ass" (the devil ass) "and crush the serpent".
When Set was driven out of Egypt he took flight on the back of the night ass, which was another form of the
night serpent. Set was also the Apep serpent and the "roaring serpent", which symbolized the tempest.
Herodotus has recorded that although the number of beasts in ancient Egypt was comparatively small,
boththose which were wild and those which were tame were regarded as sacred. They were fed upon fish, and
ministered to by hereditary lay priests and priestesses. "In the presence of the animals", the Greek historian
wrote, "the inhabitants of the cities perform their vows. They address themselves as supplicants to the deity
who is believed to be manifested by the animal in whose presence they are. . . . It is a capital offence to kill
one of these animals."

The Two BrothersPeasant LifeThe TemptressWrath of AnpuAttempt to slay his BrotherFlight of
BataElder Brother undeceivedKills his WifeBata hides his SoulHis WifeSought by the KingBata's
Soul Blossom destroyedWife becomes a QueenRecovery of Lost SoulBata as a BullSlaughtered for the
QueenBata a TreeBata reborn as Son of his WifeThe King who slew his WifemotherBelief in
Transmigration of Souls.
THERE were once two brothers, and they were sons of the same father and of the same mother. Anpu was
the name of the elder, and the younger was called Bata. Now Anpu had a house of his own, and he had a
wife. His brother lived with him as if he were his son, and made garments for him. It was Bata who drove the
oxen to the field, it was he who ploughed the land, and it was he who harvested the grain. He laboured
continually upon his brother's farm, and his equal was not to be found in the land of Egypt; he was imbued
with the spirit of a god.
In this manner the brothers lived together, and many days went past. Each morning the younger brother went
forth with the oxen, and when evening came on he drove them again to the byre, carrying upon his back a
heavy burden of fodder which he gave to the animals to eat, and he brought with him also milk and herbs for
Anpu and his wife. While these two ate and drank together in the house, Bata rested in the byre with the cattle
and he slept beside them.When day dawned, and the land grew bright again, the younger brother was first to
rise up, and he baked bread for Anpu and carried his own portion to the field and ate it there. As he followed
the oxen he heard and he understood their speech. They would say: "Yonder is sweet herbage", and he would
drive them to the place of their choice, whereat they were well pleased. They were indeed noble animals, and
they increased greatly.
The time of ploughing came on, and Anpu spake unto Bata, saying: "Now get ready the team of oxen, for the
Nile flood is past and the land may be broken up. We shall begin to plough on the morrow; so carry seed to
the field that we may sow it."
As Anpu desired, so did Bata do. When the next day dawned, and the land grew bright, the two brothers
laboured in the field together, and they were well pleased with the work which they accomplished. Several
days went past in this manner, and it chanced that on an afternoon the seed was finished ere they had
completed their day's task.
Anpu thereupon spake to his younger brother saying: "Hasten to the granary and procure more seed."
Bata ran towards the house, and entered it. He beheld his brother's wife sitting upon a mat, languidly pleating
her hair.
"Arise," he said, "and procure corn for me, so that I may hasten back to the field with it. Delay me not."
The woman sat still and said: "Go thou thyself and open the storeroom. Take whatsoever thou dost desire. If I
were to rise for thee, my hair would fall in disorder."
Bata opened the storeroom and went within. He took a large basket and poured into it a great quantity of
seed. Then he came forth carrying the, basket through the house.The woman looked up and said: "What is the
weight of that great burden of thine?"
Bata answered: "There are two measures of barley and three of wheat. I carry in all upon my shoulders five measures of seed."
"Great indeed is thy strength," sighed the woman. "Ah, thee do I contemplate and admire each day!"
Her heart was moved towards him, and she stood up saying: "Tarry here with me. I will clothe thee in fine
raiment."
The lad was made angry as the panther, and said: "I regard thee as a mother, and my brother is like a father
unto me. Thou hast spoken evil words and I desire not to hear them again, nor will I repeat unto any man
what thou hast just spoken."
He departed abruptly with his burden and hastened to the field, where he resumed his labour.
At eventide Anpu returned home and Bata prepared to follow after him. The elder brother entered his house
and found his wife lying there, and it seemed as if she had suffered violence from an evildoer. She did not
give him water to wash his hands, as was her custom. Nor did she light the lamp. The house was in darkness.
She moaned where she lay, as if she were in sickness, and her garment was beside her.
"Who hath been here?" asked Anpu, her husband.
The woman answered him: "No one came nigh me save thy younger brother. He spoke evil words unto me,
and I said: 'Am I not as a mother, and is not thine elder brother as a father unto thee?' Then was he angry, and
he struck me until I promised that I would not inform thee. . . . Oh I if thou wilt allow him to live now, I shall
surely die."
The elder brother became like an angry panther. Hesharpened his dagger and went out and stood behind the
door of the byre with purpose to slay young Bata when he came nigh.
The sun had gone down when the lad drove the oxen into the byre, carrying on his back fodder and herbs, and
in one hand a vessel of milk, as was his custom each evening.
The first ox entered the byre, and then it spoke to Bata, saying: "Beware I for thine elder brother is standing
behind the door. In his hand is a dagger, and he desires to slay thee. Draw not nigh unto him."
The lad heard with understanding what the animal had said. Then the second ox entered and went to its stall,
and spake likewise words of warning, saying: "Take speedy flight."
Bata peered below the byre door, and he saw the legs of his brother, who stood there with a dagger in his
hand. He at once threw down his burden and made hurried escape. Anpu rushed after him furiously with the
sharp dagger.
In his sore distress the younger brother cried unto the sun god Ra−Harmachis, saying: "O blessed lord! thou
art he who distinguisheth between falsehood and truth."
The god heard his cry with compassion, and turned round. He caused a wide stream to flow between the two
brothers, and, behold! it was full of crocodiles. Then it came that Anpu and Bata stood confronting one
another, one upon the right bank and the other upon the left. The elder brother twice smote his hands with
anguish because that he could not slay the youth.
Bata called out to Anpu, saying: "Tarry where thou art until the earth is made bright once again. Lo! when Ra, the sun god, riseth up, I shall reveal in his presence all that I know, and he shall judge between us,
discerning what is false and what is true. . . . Know thou that I may not dwell with thee any longer, for I must
depart unto the fair region of the flowering acacia."
When day dawned, and the sun god Ra appeared in his glory, the two brothers stood gazing one upon the
other across the stream of crocodiles. Then the lad spake to his elder brother, saying: "Why didst thou come
against me, desiring to slay me with treachery ere yet I had spoken for myself? Am I not thy younger brother,
and hast thou not been as a father and thy wife as a mother unto me? Hear and know now that when I
hastened to procure seed thy wife spoke, saying: 'Tarry thou with me.' But this happening hath been related
unto thee in another manner."
So spake Bata, and he told his brother what was true regarding the woman. Then he called to witness the sun
god, and said: "Great was thy wickedness in desiring to murder me by treachery." As he spoke he cut off a
piece of his flesh and flung it into the stream, where it was devoured by a fish. He sank fainting upon the
bank.
Anpu was stricken with anguish; tears ran from his eyes. He desired greatly to be beside his brother on the
opposite bank of the stream of crocodiles.
Bata spake again, saying: "Verily, thou didst desire an evil thing, but if thy desire now is to do good, I shall
instruct thee what thou shouldst do. Return unto thy home and tend thine oxen, for know now that I may not
dwell with thee any longer, but must depart unto the fair region of the flowering acacia. What thou shalt do is
to come to seek for me when I need thine aid, for my soul
shall leave my body and have its dwelling in the highest blossom of the acacia. When the tree is cut down,
my soul will fall upon the ground. There thou mayest seek it, even if thy quest be for seven years, for, verily,
thou shalt find it if such is thy desire. Thou must then place it in a vessel of water, and I shall come to life
again and reveal all that hath befallen and what shall happen thereafter. When the hour cometh to set forth on
the quest, behold! the beer given to thee will bubble, and the wine will have a foul smell. These shall be as
signs unto thee."
Then Bata took his departure, and he went into the valley of the flowering acacia, which was across the
ocean. His elder brother returned home. He lamented, throwing dust upon his head. He slew his wife and
cast her to the dogs, and abandoned himself to mourning for his younger brother.
Many days went past, and Bata reached at length the valley of the flowering acacia. He dwelt there alone and
hunted wild beasts. At eventide he lay down to rest below the acacia, in whose highest blossom his soul was
concealed. In time he built a dwelling place and he filled it with everything that he desired.
Now it chanced that on a day when he went forth he met the nine gods, who were surveying the whole land.
They spoke one to another and then asked of Bata why he had forsaken his home because of his brother's
wife, for she had since been slain. "Return again," they said, "for thou didst reveal unto thine elder brother the
truth of what happened unto thee."
They took pity on the youth, and Ra spoke, saying: "Fashion now a bride for Bata, so that he may not be
alone."
Then the god Khnumu fashioned a wife whose body was more beautiful than any other woman's in the land,
because that she was imbued with divinity.
Then came the seven Hathors and gazed upon her. In one voice they spoke, saying: "She shall surely die a speedy death."
Bata loved her dearly. Each day she remained in his house while he hunted wild beasts, and he carried them
home and laid them at her feet. He warned her each day, saying: "Walk not outside, lest the sea may come up
and carry thee away. I could not rescue thee from the sea spirit, against whom I am as weak as thou art,
because my soul is concealed in the highest blossom of the flowering acacia. If another should find my soul I
must needs fight for it."
Thus he opened unto her his whole heart and revealed its secrets.
Many days went past. Then on a morning when Bata had gone forth to hunt, as was his custom, his girl wife
went out to walk below the acacia) which was nigh to the house.
Lo! the sea spirit beheld her in all her beauty and caused his billows to pursue her. Hastily she fled away and
returned to the house, whereat the sea spirit sang to the acacia: "Oh, would she were mine!"
The acacia heard and cast to the sea spirit a lock of the girl wife's hair. The sea bore it away towards the land
of Egypt and unto the place where the washers of the king cleansed the royal garments.
Sweet was the fragrance of the lock of hair, and it perfumed the linen of the king. There were disputes among
the washers because that the royal garments smelt
of ointment, nor could anyone discover the secret thereof. The king rebuked them.
Then was the heart of the chief washer in sore distress, because of the words which were spoken daily to him
regarding this matter. He went down to the seashore; he stood at the place which was opposite the floating
lock of hair, and he beheld it at length and caused it to be carried unto him. Sweet was its fragrance, and he
hastened with it to the king.
Then the king summoned before him his scribes, and they spake, saying: "Lo! this is a lock from the hair of
the divine daughter of Ra, and it is gifted unto thee from a distant land. Command now that messengers be
sent abroad to seek for her. Let many men go with the one who is sent to the valley of the flowering acacia so
that they may bring the woman unto thee".
The king answered and said: "Wise are your words, and they are pleasant unto me."
So messengers were sent abroad unto all lands. But those who journeyed to the valley of the flowering acacia
returned not, because that Bata slew them all; the king had no knowledge of what befel them.
Then the king sent forth more messengers and many soldiers also, so that the girl might be brought unto him.
He sent also a woman, and she was laden with rare ornaments . . . and the wife of Bata came back with her.
Then was there great rejoicing in the land of Egypt. Dearly did the king love the divine girl, and he exalted
her because of her beauty. He prevailed upon her to reveal the secrets of her husband, and the king then said:
"Let the acacia be cut down and splintered in pieces."
Workmen and warriors were sent abroad, and they reached the acacia. They severed from it the highest
blossom, in which the soul of Bata was concealed. The petals were scattered, and Bata dropped down dead.
A new day dawned, and the land grew bright. The acacia was then cut down.
Meanwhile Anpu, the elder brother of Bata., went into his house, and he sat down and washed his hands. He
was given beer to drink, and it bubbled, and the wine had a foul smell.
He seized his staff, put on his shoes and his garment, and armed himself for his journey, and departed unto
the valley of the flowering acacia.
When he reached the house of Bata he found the young man lying dead upon a mat. Bitterly he wept because
of that. But he went out to search for the soul of his brother at the place where, below the flowering acacia)
Bata was wont to lie down to rest at eventide. For three years he continued his search, and when the fourth
year came his heart yearned greatly to return to the land of Egypt. At length he said: "I shall depart at dawn
to−morrow."
A new day came, and the land grew bright. He looked over the ground again at the place of the acacia for his
brother's soul. The time was spent thus. In the evening he continued his quest also, and he found a seed,
which he carried to the house, and, lo! the soul of his brother was in it. He dropped the seed into a vessel
filled with cold water, and sat down as was his custom at evening.
Night came on, and then the soul absorbed the water.
The limbs of Bata quivered and his eyes opened and gazed upon his elder brother, but his heart was without
feeling. Then Anpu raised the vessel which contained the soul to the lips of Bata, and he drank the water.
Thus did his soul return to its place, and Bata was as he had been before.
The brothers embraced and spoke one to the other. Bata said: "Now I must become a mighty bull with every
sacred mark. None will know my secret. Ride thou upon my back, and when the day breaks I shall be at the
place where my wife is. Unto her must I speak. Lead me before the king, and thou shalt find favour in his
eyes. The people will wonder when they behold me, and shout welcome. But thou must return unto thine own
home."
A new day dawned, and the land grew bright. Bata was a bull, and Anpu sat upon his back and they drew
nigh to the royal dwelling. The king was made glad, and he said: "This is indeed a miracle." There was much
rejoicing throughout the land. Silver and gold were given to the elder brother, and he went away to his own
home and waited there.
In time the sacred bull stood in a holy place, and the beautiful girl wife was there. Bata spoke unto her,
saying: "Look thou upon me where I stand, for, lo! I am still alive."
Then said the woman: "And who art thou?"
The bull made answer: "Verily, I am Bata. It was thou who didst cause the acacia to be cut down; it was thou
who didst reveal unto Pharaoh that my soul had dwelling in the highest blossom, so that it might be destroyed
and I might cease to be. But, lo! I live on, and I am become a sacred bull."
The woman trembled; fear possessed her heart whenBata spoke unto her in this manner. She at once went out
of the holy place.
It chanced that the king sat by her side at the feast, and made merry, for he loved her dearly. She spoke,
saying: "Promise before the god that thou wilt do what I ask of thee."
His Majesty took a vow to grant her the wish of her heart, and she said: "It is my desire to eat of the liver of
the sacred bull, for he is naught to thee."
Sorrowful was the king then, and his heart was troubled, because of the words which she spake. . . .
A new day dawned, and the land grew bright. Then the king commanded that the bull should be offered in
sacrifice.
One of the king's chief servants went out, and when the bull was held high upon the shoulders of the people
he smote its neck and it cast two drops of blood towards the gate of the palace, and one drop fell upon the
right side and one upon the left. There grew up in the night two stately Persea trees from where the drops of
blood fell down.
This great miracle was told unto the king, and the people rejoiced and made offerings of water and fruit to the
sacred trees.
A day came when his majesty rode forth in his golden chariot. He wore his collar of lapis lazuli, and round
his neck was a garland of flowers. The girl wife was with him, and he caused her to stand below one of the
trees, and it whispered unto her:
"Thou false woman, I am still alive. Lo! I am even Bata, whom thou didst wrong. It was thou who didst cause
the acacia to be cut down. It was thou who
didst cause the sacred bull to be slain, so that I might cease to be."
Many days went past, and the woman sat with the king at the feast, and he loved her dearly. She spake,
saying: "Promise now before the god that thou wilt do what I ask of thee."
His Majesty made a vow of promise, and she said: "It is my desire that the Persea trees be cut down so that
two fair seats may be made of them."
As she desired, so was it done. The king commanded that the trees should be cut down by skilled workmen,
and the fair woman went out to watch them. As she stood there, a small chip of wood entered her mouth, and
she swallowed it.
After many days a son was born to her, and he was brought before the king, and one said: "Unto thee a son is
given."
A nurse and servants were appointed to watch over the babe.
There was great rejoicing throughout the land when the time came to name the girl wife's son. The king made
merry, and from that hour he loved the child, and he appointed him Prince of Ethiopia.
Many days went past, and then the king chose him to be heir to the kingdom.
In time His Majesty fulfilled his years, and he died, and his soul flew to the heavens.
The new king (Bata) then said: "Summon before me the great men of my Court, so that I may now reveal
unto them all that hath befallen me and the truth concerning the queen."
His wife was then brought before him. He revealed
himself unto her, and she was judged before the great men, and they confirmed the sentence.
Then Anpu was summoned before His Majesty, and he was chosen to be the royal heir.
When Bata had reigned for thirty years, he came to his death, and on the day of his burial his elder brother
stood in his place.
Egyptian Love Songs
(Collected by Scribes over 3000 years ago, and laid in tombs so that they might be sung by departed souls in
Paradise.)
THE WINE OF LOVE
Oh! when my lady cometh,
And I with love behold her,
I take her to my beating heart
And in mine arms enfold her;
My heart is filled with joy divine
For I am hers and she is mine.
Oh! when her soft embraces
Do give my love completeness,
The perfumes of Arabia
Anoint me with their sweetness;
And when her lips are pressed to mine
I am made drunk and need not wine.
THE SNARE OF LOVE
(Sung by a girl snarer to one she loves.)
With snare in hand I hide me,
I wait and will not stir;
The beauteous birds of Araby
Are perfumed all with myrrh
Oh, all the birds of Araby,
That down to Egypt come,
Have wings that waft the fragrance
Of sweetly smelling gum!
I would that, when I snare them, Together we could be,
I would that when I hear them
Alone I were with thee.
If thou wilt come, my dear one,
When birds are snared above,
I'll take thee and I'll keep thee
Within the snare of love.
THE SYCAMORE SONG
A sycamore sang to a lady fair,
And its words were dropping like honey dew.
"Now ruby red is the fruit I bear
All in my bower for you.
"Papyri green are my leaves arrayed,
And branch and stem like to opal gleam;
Now come and rest in my cooling shade
The dream of your heart to dream.
"A letter of love will my lady fair
Send to the one who will happy be,
Saying: 'Oh, come to my garden rare
And sit in the shade with me!
"'Fruit I will gather for your delight,
Bread I will break and pour out wine,
I'll bring you the perfumed flow'rs and bright
On this festal day divine.'
"My lady alone with her lover will be,
His voice is sweet and his words are dear−
Oh, I am silent of all I see,
Nor tell of the things I hear!"
THE DOVE SONG
I hear thy voice, O turtle dove
The dawn is all aglow
Weary am I with love, with love,
Oh, whither shall I go?
Not so, O beauteous bird above,
Is joy to me denied. . . .
For I have found my dear, my love,
And I am by his side.
We wander forth, and hand in hand
Through flow'ry ways we go
I am the fairest in the land,
For he hath called me so.
JEALOUSY
My face towards the door I'll keep
Till I my love behold,
With watching eyes and list'ning ears
I wait . . . and I turn cold,
I sigh and sigh;
He comes not nigh.
My sole possession is his love
All sweet and dear to me;
And ever may my lips confess
My heart, nor silent be.
I sigh and sigh;
He comes not nigh.
But now . . . a messenger in haste
My watching eyes behold . . .
He went as swiftly as he came.
"I am delayed", he told.
I sigh and sigh;
He comes not nigh.
Alas! confess that thou hast found
One fairer far than me.
O thou so false, why break my heart
With infidelity?
I sigh and sigh;
He'll ne'er come nigh.
THE GARDEN OF LOVE
Oh! fair are the flowers, my beloved,
And fairest of any I wait.
A garden art thou, all fragrant and dear,
Thy heart, O mine own, is the gate.
The canal of my love I have fashioned,
And through thee, my garden, it flows
Dip in its waters refreshing and sweet,
When cool from the north the wind blows.
In our beauteous haunt we will linger,
Thy strong hand reposing in mine
Then deep be my thoughts and deeper my joy,
Because, O my love, I am thine.
Oh! thy voice is bewitching, beloved,
This wound of my heart it makes whole
Ah! when thou art coming, and thee I behold,
Thou'rt bread and thou'rt wine to my soul.
LOVE'S PRETENCE
With sickness faint and weary
All day in bed I'll lie;
My friends will gather near me
And she'll with them come nigh.
She'll put to shame the doctors
Who'll ponder over me,
For she alone, my loved one,
Knows well my malady.