the myth of horus at edfu - i

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Egypt Exploration Society

The Myth of Horus at Edfu: IAuthor(s): H. W. FairmanSource: The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Sep., 1935), pp. 26-36Published by: Egypt Exploration Society

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THE MYTH OF HORUS AT EDFU-I

BY H. W. FAIRMAN

THEMyth of Horus is justly one of the most celebrated of Egyptian myths, yet hithertono complete translation of the various texts which compose it has appearedin any language,thoughthe actual texts andreliefshave beenpublishedongsinceby Naville,Textes elatifsauMythed'Horus ecueillisdans eTempled'Edfou,Geneva,1870. Nowthat themagnificentneweditionof Chassinat asappeared,t seemsanopportunemoment o attemptto remedythis deficiencyby givinga complete ranslationof all thesetexts, accompanied, owever,bythe minimumof notes. This and the followingarticlesaimsolelyat providinga connected

translation,anddonot offeror pretend o offera detailedcommentary.The translationsare based on the texts publishedby Chassinat,Le Templed'Edfou,vi, 60-90, 108-36, 213-23, and have beencontrolledby reference o the photographspub-lishedby Chassinat, p.cit.,xIII,Pls.ccccxciv-dxiv,dxviii-dxxxv; xiv, Pls.dlxxvi-dlxxxiv.I have also utilized the Berlinseries of photographswhichwereplacedat my disposalbyDr. A. H. Gardiner.Unfortunately,pressureof workwhileI was in Egypt during he pastwinterpreventedme fromcheckingoneor two minorpointson the wallsof Edfu itself. It

is, however,a pleasure o pay a tributeto the remarkableaccuracyof Chassinat's dition,which is a vast improvement n previouscopies,andwhichmay be trustedabsolutely. In

quotationsn thispaper,references made o volumes,pages,orplatesof Chassinat's dition.Thus vi, followedby a page number,refersto Chassinat,Le Templed'Edfou,tome vi.

Wherea references given to individual ines, the references to the lines of Chassinat'stext, andnot to the lines of the original.

TheMythof Horusas preservedn the Templeof Edfu is inscribedon the innerfacesofthe east and west enclosurewalls. Though t is habitualto referto the "Mythof Horus",the myth is not a simplestory,but comprisesive texts (cf.the analysis n Roeder'sarticleSet in Roscher'sLexikon).Thesefive texts are:

A. TheLegendof the WingedDisk. Thechiefactorsare Horus of Behdet and Seth.R5e and Thoth providea runningcommentaryand numerous,somewhat tedious punswhichdetract rom he flowandinterestof thenarrative. The anguages stilted andformal,and somewhat restricted in vocabularyand forms of expression. (Naville, op. cit., Pls.

xii-xix; Chassinat, p.cit., vi, 108-32; xIII,Pls. dxviii-dxxxiii.)B. Thestoryof a fightbetweenHorus,sonof Isis (who s assistedby Horusof Behdet),and Seth. This portionof the myth followsimmediatelyafter the Legendof the WingedDisk,and is entitledhnk hrw-r. Naville,op.cit.,Pls. xx-xxi; Chassinat, p.cit., vi, 132-6;xIII,Pls. dxxxiv-dxxxv.)

C. This section s not worded n the formof a connected tory,but is perhaps ather hetext of a dramatizedversion of the exploitsof Horus which was enactedat his festival.After texts referringo the ten harpoonswithwhichHorusattackedhis enemy,comesongsby the Royal Children ndby the princesses f Upperand LowerEgypt togetherwith thewomenof Mendes,Pe, and Dep,andfinally woversionsof the dismembermentf Sethandthe distributionof the partsof his body amongvariousgods and cities. (Naville,op. cit.,

Pls. i-xi; Chassinat, p. cit., vi, 60-90; xIII,Pls. ccccxciv-dxiv.)

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D. Seth,sonof Nut, assumes he form of a redhippopotamusand goes to Elephantine.Horus, son of Isis, pursues him and overtakes him near Edfu, and after the ensuing fightSeth flees northwards and Horus assumes the officeof his father. (Naville, op. cit., xxii-xxiii;

Chassinat,op. cit., vi, 213-19; xiv, Pls. dlxxvi-dlxxxi; Brugsch,Thesaurus, 08-9.)E. A verybattered ext. Horus s mentionedas lordof LowerEgypt, livingat 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 legof Seth. This story is written in a pronouncedLate-Egyptian diom. (Naville, op. cit.,xxiv; Chassinat,op. cit., vi, 219-223; xiv, Pls. dlxxxii-dlxxxiv; Brugsch,Thes.,609-10.)

A. THE LEGEND OF THE WINGED DISK

Thetext of this portionof the myth is inscribedon the secondregisterof the innerface

of the west enclosurewall of the temple. This part of the wall is divided into sixteen scenes,

of which those referringto the Myth of Horus (Nos. 5-13 in Chassinat'snumbering)run fromnorth to south, whereas the scenes which precede and which follow them run from south to

north. Thus it would appear that some attempt has been made to keep the scenes of the

myth separatefromthe others. The same state of affairsobtainson the lowerregisterof

this wall, where the greater part of the remainingportionof the myth is inscribed(cf.Chassinat's emarkson the orderof the scenes, vi, 54, 104).

The individualscenes of the legendbearno titles, but the first scene(Chassinat'sNo. 5)bears he title Liftingheaven.The texts read:Liftingheaven. Utterance.Thyheavenbelongstothee,0 Bhdti,brightly olouredne. Thou yest (emend = for ) therein s [theWinged

Disk], thoualighteston theprowof thebarque f Rer-Harakhte,hy twouraei .......Afterthe name of the king,andepithetsof the WingedDisk: TheKingof UpperandLower

EgyptC) is onhis seat, iftingup heaven, upportinghegodof Behdet. ? is introducedothebarque f Rer-Harakhtes a divinewingeddiskof gold(ktm). He is likeShuwho ifts up

(emend > or ,7 in k3wt)heaven,who holds (?) the head of .......... For ^i, for

which I canofferno certain ransliteration,f. ii, 8. Is it a wordfor"king"?

Of the sceneswhichprecedethe myth, the title of the firstis lost, the secondis called

hnkshmty,and the third and fourth 4i tht. TheLegendof the WingedDisk occupiesNos.5-12, and No. 13, which,as noted above,is included n the myth series, s concernedwith

the offering of hrw-r and grapes, and with a fight between Horus, son of Isis, and Seth

(StoryB).Thesuccession f Scenes14-16 fromsouthto northwouldseemto indicatethat theyare

to be treatedapart

from the other scenesconcerning

hemyth.

Neverthelessthey

are

closelyconnectedwithit in content. No.14 is divided nto twoparts, r(t)sntrandshr(t)Skr,and has beenpublishedby Naville,op. cit., xxv. No. 15 is entitledsm. Smn,and No. 16,whichhasno title, concerns he slaughterof the wild animalsof the desert.

Thetext of theLegendof the WingedDisk is publishedby Chassinat, p.cit.,vi, 108-32;line plates cxlvi-cxlviii (in the unpublishedportionof vol. x), and photographicplatesdxviii-dxxxiii in vol. xiIn. A completecopyof the texts and reliefswas originallymadeby

Naville, op. cit., xii-xix. The hieroglyphic ext and some of the reliefs were published,

togetherwith an Englishtranslation,by Budge,Legends f the Gods London,1912),52 ff.;he gave a morerecenttranslation n Englishin his From Fetish to Godin AncientEgypt

(Oxford,1934),467-80. Germanranslationshavebeenpublishedby Brugsch,DieSagevon

dergefiigelten onnenscheibeinAbh.kgl.Ges.Wiss.zuGottingen,iv, 173 f.,G6ttingen, 869);by Wiedemann,Die ReligionderAltenAgypter Miinster,1890),38 ff., an Englishversion

27







H. .. FAIRMAN

of which s publishedn his Religionof theAncientEgyptians London,1897),69 ff.; andbyRoeder,UrkundenurReligiondes AltenAgypten Jena,1915),120ff.

I had the advantage,during he earlypartof the pastwinter,of reading his portionofthe Mythof Horuswith Dr. A. H. Gardiner,Dr. J. Oerny,andMr.R. 0. Faulkner,andto

them I owemanyfruitfulsuggestions.

Translation

[5, 5]1Year 3632of theKing of Upper and LowerEgypt, er-.Harakhte,may he livefor everandever. Nowhismajestywas in Nubia(T3-stl), nd his armywaswithhimwithout umber,[andtherewasno?]3 lotting gainst heir ord among hem>.3 t is calledTa[seti]4tothisday.[5, 6] RBrsailed in his barque,and his followers were with him. He landed in the nome ofWts-Hr,to theeastof thisnome,and eastof the canalwhich s called" Theroyal [canal]"tothis day. AndHorusof Behdetwas (also)[5, 7] in thebarque f Rer,and he said to hisfatherRer-Harakhte:I seeenemieswhoplot against heirmighty ord. May the ... of thyuraeus

prevail against them". [6, 2]5 The majestyof Rer-Harakhte aid: "As thoudesirest,0 Horus ofBehdet, housonof Rer,exaltedonewhocamestorth romme. Overthrowmy) enemybeforethee n aninstant."HorusofBehdetlewup (rpi) oheaven s theGreatWingedDisk (rplwr),andthereforeeis called"greatgod, ordof heaven" o this day. Whenhesawthe enemies nheavenhe approachedhemas thegreatWingedDisk. He stormed gainstthembeforehim,[6, 3]6 and theyneither saw with their eyes nor heard with their ears, but (each) one slew his

fellow n thetwinkling f an eye,andnot a soullived. ThenHorusofBehdet ameas snbti,the

many-coloured,s thegreatWingedDisk, to thebarque f Rer-Harakhte.Thothsaid to Rer,the ordof thegods:"Thegodof Behdets comeas snbti,thegreatWingedDisk,whodestroys(?)therebels ndfoes". [6,4] Therefores hecalledHorusofBehdet o thisday. ThenRer-Harakhtesaid: "I see[Horus?]. Edfu (Db)shallbecalled(thecityof) HorusofBehdetromthisday."ThenRerembracedimclosely,7ndsaid to Horusof Behdet:"Thouhastput grapes ntothewaterwhichcomes rom it thatthy heartmay bepleased hereby".Therefore o men offer

1 Inner face, west wall, 2nd register, scene 5: Chassinat,op. cit., vi, 109-110; xm, Pls. dxviii, dxix;Naville, op. cit., xn.

2Cf. Newberry,The Set Rebellionof theIlnd Dynastyin AncientEgypt,7 (1922),40-6. Newberrysees

in this date and in this story an echo of the Seth rebellionand re-conquestof Egypt by Peribsen. Year 363of ier-Harakhteaccordingto himwould be 363 years after the accessionof Menes. Kees, however(Kult-legendeund Urgeschichten Nachr.Ges.Wiss.zu G6ttingen, hil.-Hist. Klasse, 1930, 346ff.), claims that these

legends have no historicalvalue. Newberry'stheory, whether true or not, is certainly an attractive and

plausibleone, and it must be admitted that my own readingof these myths has convincedme that, whileone must of necessity treat all statementswith the utmost cautionand reserve,there seems to be a certainsubstratumof historicalfact on whichthey are based. But this is obviouslya subjectfor a separatepaper,and furtherdiscussionwouldbe out of place here.

3Reading [n]n Zw=_ = iw) w;zwr nb-sn<im>.4

1; the most likely emendation s Tt-stZ.Thereseems to be a corruptionof the text here,forthe

pun is on w;w;, and one would have expectedthe country to be called W;wwt:f. for instance p. 35 = vi,128. 8, whereHorusof Behdet spies the enemy in ti w;wWtr wJw; r nb.sn. The error, f error t be, seems tobe corrected n the epitomeof the myth published n vi, 8-9 (= Diimichen,AltagyptischeTempelinschriften,I, cii; Brugsch,Thes.,1340; J. de Rouge,Inscr. et Not. rec.d Edfou,ir, lxxxv), where we read: "when Rercame to Ht-ms-nht-fwhen the enemiesplotted (w;w?)against him in W;wtt". The text then proceedstoenumeratethe variousstages of the campaign.

5 Scene 6: Chassinat,op. cit., vi, 111-13; xm, Pls. dxx, dxxi; Naville, op. cit., xiii.6 A duplicate of this passage,from this point to the end of the sentence, in I, 357, without, however,

any importantvariants. 7 Wn.inRchpt.f br nbt.f.

28








hrw-r1to Horus of Behdetto this day. The ......... is called snbti, many-coloured, o this

day. [6, 5] Then Horusof Behdetsaid: "Come,0 Rer,that thoumayestsee howthyfoes arefallen

beforethee in this land". And his majesty went, Astarte being with him. He saw that the

enemies werefallen to the groundwith brokenheads. Then Rersaid to Horus of Behdet: [6, 6]

"This is a placeof pleasant life" (ndm rnh pw) and thereforemen call thepalace of Horus ofBehdetNdm-rnh tothis day. AndRersaid to Thoth:"This means thatmyenemiesarepunished"

(db3),and thereforehisnome s calledDbw to thisday. ThenThoth aid toHorusof Behdet:" Thy protection s great" (mkt.k r3) [6, 7] and the barqueof Horus of Behdetis called "Great-

of-protection"(r3-mkt) o this day.Then RBrsaid to the gods who were in his train: "Now let us row in our barqueon the

water,and let us rejoiceoverourfoes who arefallen to theground". Thegreatgod[sailed] (hn ?)in it (? the canal) [6, 8] and it is calledP-hn ("The canal") to this day.

Now thefoes descendednto the waterand becamecrocodilesand hippopotami. And Horus

of Behdetin his barquevoyagedon the water. Then the crocodilesand hippopotami came and

opened their mouths in orderto attack (?) the barqueof RBr-Harakhte.[6, 9] Then Horus of

Behdetcame with his followers who werein his train as harpooners,2with harpoonsand ropesin their hands, each one at his name. They smote the crocodilesand hippopotamiand brought

away at once 651 enemies. [6, 10] They were slaughteredbeforethis city. Then Rer-Harakhte

said to Horus of Behdet: "This is my image in T3-smr;3this is one whose palace is mighty

(nht rh pw)", and thepalace of Horus of Behdetis called Nht-rh to this day.

[7, 5]4Thoth said after he had seen that thefoes werefallen to the ground: "Rejoice, 0 ye

gods of heaven! Rejoice, 0 ye godsof the earth! The divine youthis returned n peace. He has

performed wonders in his journey.5 He has acted according to the book of repulsing the

hippopotamus(i.e. Seth)." Thus the harpoonersof Horus of Behdet came into existence to

this day.

Then Horus of Behdetassumedthe

form ofthe

WingedDisk on the

prow ofthe

barque ofRer [7, 6] and he took Nekhbet and Uto with him as two uraei who terrify the enemies in

their limbs,6 both crocodiles and hippopotami, in every place visited in Upper and Lower

Egypt.Then thosefoes fled beforehim, theirfaces being turnedto Upper Egypt,7their heartsbeing

faint throughear of him. Horusof Behdetfollowedafterthem n this barqueof Rrc,withharpoon1 Hrw-r: a drink made of grapes and water (Wb. d. aeg. Spr., m, 134). =iOrrt, eXoohe. For the

offering of grapes cf. I, 460; vi, 133; vu, 122. For the offering of hrw-r see I, 462; I, 70. 183; iv, 256; v, 162;

vi, 132. 345; vii, 199. 283; Chassinat,Le Temple de Dendara, i, 14; ii, 198; m, 175. The most interestinginstance is vi, 132, a translationof which will be given with Section B of the myth.

2 The precisenatureof the msntywhas long beena matter of dispute. Maspero,Lesforgeronsd'Horuset

la le'gende e l'Horusd'Edfou n Bibl. Egyptol.,n, 313 ff., calledthem "les forgerons". The latest treatmentis by Sethe, Die angeblichen chmiededes Horusvon Edfu in Z.A.S., 54, 50-4, whoseview is adopted here.

3 For Horus of Behdet as the imageof Rer-Harakhten T.-smr,cf. the Beischrift o this scene (vi, 113. 5)and alsoI, 10.358, andcompareJunker'sremarksonthe samesubjectin hisDie Onurislegende,0.

4 Scene 7: Chassinat,op. cit., vi, 114-17; xm, Pls. dxxii, dxxiii; Naville, op. cit., xiv.5

di-fhwhr nmt.f:lit. "he has lengthened(oraddedto) his stride". Cf. also ni, 34, 17-35, 1.

6 This phrase again in i, 358.

7 It is interestingto note that thoughthe precedingactions took place in or near Edfu, they were not

consideredto have taken place in Egypt. When the enemy fled (northwards) rom Horus they turned to

Upper Egypt, hence Edfu is outside T;-smc. Therecan be no question here of a pursuit to the south, for

the next episodein the fight takes place near Thebes, and all the present portionof the myth tells of the

steady drivingof Seth and his confederates rom Nubia to the sea. Not until the sea has been reacheddoes

Horus retrace his steps to Nubia (p. 35) to dealwith a rebellionwhich had

apparentlybroken out in his

absence.

29







H. W. FAIRMAN

andropein his handsand (in thoseof) hisfollowers, theybeingarmed[7, 7]witharrowsand ropes,and the harpoonerswereprepared or them. [Then] he saw themto the south-eastof Thebes at a

distanceofl(?) two schoenoi. Thensaid Rerto Thoth: "Those oes, may he destroy (ddb)them!". And Thothsaid to Rer: "Thereforehall this townbe calledDdmfrom this day".

ThenHorusof Behdet nflictedgreatslaughter pon them. And Rersaid: "Stop,HorusofBehdet, hat<I>may see thee". Therefores this town called Ht-Rrto this day,and thegodwhois in it is Horus-of-Behdet-Rer-Min.

[7,8] Then thoseoes fled beforehim, their aces being urned o LowerEgypt,theirhearts

being faint through ear of him. Horus of Behdetfollowed after them in this barque of Rer,with harpoonand rope in his hands and (in thoseof) his followers. [7, 9] He was equippedwith

arrowsand ropes, and the harpoonerswereprepared or them. Then he spent a wholeday pre-pared or them,and hesaw themon the north-eastf Dendera.Thensaid RBro Thoth:"The

foes arehere,do thou[slaughter?]hem". [7, 10] And the majestyof Rer-Harakhteaid toHorusof Behdet:"Thou artmy son, theexaltedone whocame orth romme. Do thoumakethe enemyweak in thyown (good)time". Then Horus of Behdetinflicted great slaughter(h3yt)uponthem. AndThoth aid: "Thenameof thistown hallbecalledH3-di-ntr,7, 11]and menshallsay of Horusof Behdet: He ...... to (?)hermajesty,withhisface turned o the south'as thenameofthisgod. Sndand nbsarethenamesof (his)sacredree(s)."

Thenthoseoesfled before im,theiraces being urned oLowerEgypt, romLahun[7, 12]totheedgeof thesea,2or theirheartswereaint [throughear of him]. HorusofBehdetollowedafter themin the barqueof Rer, with harpoonin his hands, and (in thoseof) his followers. He

was equippedwith arrows,and theharpoonerswereprepared or them. [7, 13]He spentfour daysandfour nights sailing afterthem and theysaw not one of thosefoes, whethercrocodileor hippo-

potamus,n thewaterbefore im. And then atlast)hesaw them.ThenRBr aid .......s3 Hebenu,WingedDisk,greatgod,lordof heaven:[7, 14]"Repulse

(hnb) themfrom the bank of Hebenu".4 And he hurled his lance at them and overthrew hem.He inflicted great slaughter upon them and brought142 of the enemybeforethe barque of Re7]....... male hippopotamus [7, 15]whowas in the midst of thosefoes. He killed themwith his

knife,andgavetheir ntestines o thosewhowere n his train,andtheir leshto everygodand

goddesswhowas in this barque f RBrby the bankof Hebenu.Rersaid to Thoth:"0 see5

[7, 16] Horus of Behdetin his image on thosefoes. Lo! he has smitten them. He has openedhis

[mouth] against the male hippopotamuswhich is in their midst, and has smitten him6 while

(standing)on his back." Thoth aidto RJr:"ThereforehallHorus be called WingedDisk,greatgod, [7, 17]who slays theenemy,pre-eminentin Hebenu'from this day. And thename of

1 rs: I can offerno certaintransliteration or this sign. In some other places,e.g.,vi, 124. 1, the sign

closelyresembles

=-=.The

rendering givenhere, which seems to be demanded

bythe

context,is a

pureguess. For J as itrw, cf. suchwritingsas qo n (Wb.d. aeg. Spr., I, 147).2 Roeder(Rel. Urk.,125)substitutes "canal" forLahin andtakesphww;d-wr o be somemarshescalled

WMd-writuated near Dendera(cf. Wb.d. aeg.Spr., I, 269). The samephrase,however, s repeated n almostidentical termsin vi, 118. 1 (seep. 31 below)after the fightingat Hebenu,and sincein this latter case therecan be no possiblequestionof Dendera it seems better to take the presentinstance in the same way. For

Ant"canal" cf. vi, 123. 1 = p. 33.

3 In the lacunaone wouldexpect some such phraseas ["to Horus of Behdet, lordof] Iebenu", but the

very damaged tracesdo not agreewith such a restoration. 4 Read br wdbn Hbnw.5 For the particle i seeGardiner,Eg.Gramm., 250; Erman,NeuagyptischeGrammatik2nd ed.),§361;

Junker,Grammatik erDenderatexte,245.6 ir.n.f ihtr.f. This usageof tr iht doesnot occur n the Worterbuch,ut the generalsense of the passage

is quite clear. Ir r in the sense of "to do evil against some one" is, of course,well established. In vi, 127.12(seebelowp.34) r ht followedbyn has thegeneralsenseof "to makeamealforsomeone": cf.alsom, 125.14.

30







THlEMYTH OF HORUS AT EDFU-I

thepriestof thisgodshallbecalledHri-s3lbecause f thisfromthisday." Now all theseeventstookplace in the districtof .Hebenun (an areaof) 342 rodsto thesouth,north,west,and east.

[8, 10]2Then thosefoes swam beforehim, with theirfaces turnedtowardsLahun in order to

reach the sea by going northwards,or [Horus?] .... in theirhearts. And they led, and turned

backfrom the water and betook hemselves o thewatersof the westernMrt.3 They reachedthewaters of the nome of Mrt, and that company of Seth which is in this town. And Horus ofBehdet swamafterthemequippedwith all his weapons for fighting them. [8, 1i] Horus of Behdet

sailed downstreamn this barqueof Rer togetherwith the great god who is in his barqueand the

gods who were in his train. He sailed after them (the enemies) very rapidly. Then he spenta day and a night sailing downstreamseeking for them,but withoutseeing them, or he did not

know theplace in which theywere. He reachedPr-rhhwy.4Then themajesty of Rer said to Horus of Behdet: "Lo! thoseenemies, theyhavereachedthe

western waters of the nome of Mrt, to that companyof Seth [8, 12]which is in this town, to the

place in which (?) ........ 5 Then Thoth said to Rer: "Thereforeshall the nome of Mrt

be calledW3b-w3st rom this day, and the waterthat is in it shall be calledDmit".

Then Horus of Behdetsaid to his father RBr:"Let this thy barquebe sent against them thatI may do what RJc desiresamongthem". And all was doneas he wished. Then he reached hem

in thewesternwatersin this town. Then he saw themon thesouthernbankof the nomeof Mrt at

a distance of (?) a schoenus.

[8, 13] Horus of Behdet togetherwith his followers, equipped with all weapons of warfare,wentin against them,and he inflicted greatslaughterupon them. He broughtaway 381 captivesand slew them beforethe barqueof Rec. [8, 14] He gave each one of them to each one of his

followers. Then Seth emitteda fearsomeroar, utteringa cry at this which Horus of Behdet had

[done] in slaughteringthe enemy. Rersaid to Thoth: "What mean these cries of Nh3-hr who

protests loudly at this which [8, 15] Horus of Behdet has done against him?" Thoth[said] to

Rer: "It shall be calledfrom

thisday

'Theplace of savage (nh3h3)

cries' becauseof

this".

ThereuponHorusof Behdetwagedwarfarewiththeenemy or a (considerable)ime. He threw

his spear at him, and overthrew im on theground6n this town, [8, 16]and it is calledPr-rhhwyto this day.

Then cameHorus of Behdetbringingtheenemy,his collar7 ?) beingat his throatand his rope

1 Hri-s;: written with the figureof a man standing on the back of a bull and stabbingdownwardswith

a spear. In view of the context hrl-s;is probablythe correct transliteration(cf. Brugsch,Diet. G'og., 1376).

Anotherpossibility, but hardly so likely in the presentinstance,is dwnti:cf. Junker, Die Onurislegende,7

for this reading,and for furtherinformationabout HIebenu.2 Scene8: Chassinat,op.cit., vi, 118-20; xm, Pls. dxxiv, dxxv; Naville, op.cit., xv.

3 Mrt:capitalof the nineteenth (Oxyrhynchite)nome of UpperEgypt: cf. Gauthier,Diet. des nomsgeog.,

m, 53.4

Pr-rAhwy: f. Gauthier,op. cit., ri, 167.

5 Brugschtranslates,"an der Stelle wo die Spitze unseresSzepterstockes st". The passageis obviouslyintendedas an explanationof the name of Wib-wrstcf. Gauthier,op. cit., I, 175),but I have failed to grasp

its exact meaning. Brugsch'srendering, n any case, does not entirely agreewith the hieroglyphictext.

6 Chassinat(vi, 119. 8) gives ~ here. The original is badly damaged (cf. the photographxm,

P1. dxxiv) and one wonderswhether the original reading could not have been~ ::, a writing of sitw,

(cf.the variantsgivenin Wb.d.aeg.Spr.,m, 423). In the photograph he signbehindthe bird's head does not

suit Avery well. S;twseemsan obviousemendation,andI have translatedaccordingly.

7 A, ch:the Ptolemaic form of the Late Egyptian A ; ' &-. According o Wb.d. ag.Spr.,v, 66it

is a "holzerneKlammer6. a. am Halse des Gefangenen". The wordoccursin Harris500, 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"(Harris500, vs., 2, 5; 2, 13),and "stocks" (Harris500, vs., 3, 4). In Pap. Ch. Beatty I,

rt., 15,12, Isis is told to

bringSeth boundfast, m .kcw,and as a prisoner,and Gardiner TheChesterBeatty

Papyri, No. I, p. 26) translates"bonds". The determinative n all these casesis --, andthe k.hmust clearly

31







H. W. FAIRMAN

(binding) bothhis hands, and the staff of Horusfell to closehis mouth. He broughthim before

[his] father. Then said RBr: "0 Horus, Winged Disk, [8, 17] how great is this fury (dndn)which thou hast manifested,thou hast purified this town". And Rer said to Thoth: "Thereforeshall thepalace of Horus of Behdetbecalled 'The pure place' from this day, and therefore hall

the name of the priest be called 'Great of fury' (wr dndn) from this day". [8, 18] Then saidRer to Thoth: "Let the company of Seth be given to Isis and her son Horus that they may do

whatevertheir hearts desire with them,for she stoodfast with her son Horus, and their spearswere(turned)against him in thestrife in this town". And the sacred lake is called" The LakeofCombat"[8, 19]to this day.

Then Horus son of Isis cut off the headsof his enemyand his confederatesbeforehis fatherRBrand thewholegreatEnnead. He draggedhim byhisfeet in his districtand thrusthis spearinto

his head and back. And RBr aid to Thoth:[8, 20]" Behold the son of Osiris has draggedout (ith)theRagerfromhis districts". And Thothsaid: "Therefore hall thename of his district be called

'Ith from this day". And Isis the divine said toherfatherRBr:"Let theWingedDisk be givenas a protection or my son Horus,for he has cut off the headsof theenemyand his confederates".

[9, 7]1 Then Horus of Behdet and Horus son of Isis slew that cravenfoe and his confederatesand those enemies when he reachedthem<in> the western watersof this town. Horus of Behdetwas like a man of provedvalour,2with the head of a falcon, crownedwith the white crown,thered crownand the doubleplumes, with the twouraei on his head,his backbeingthatof a falcon,and his spear and ropebeingin his hands. Horus son of Isis transformedhimself afterthesamemanner that Horus of Behdet had assumed [9, 8] beforehim. They slew the enemy togetheronthe 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 thosefoes reached (dmi) it. Now all these things took place on Tobi 7.Then Thothsaid: "Therefore hall this town becalled'The townof slaughter'rom this day, andthe waterthat is in it shall becalledDmit [9, 9], and Tobi 7 shall becalled 'Thefeast of rowing'

fromthis

day".Then Seth turned himself into a roaring serpent and enteredthe ground in this town, andwas seen no more. RBrsaid: "Be3 has turnedhimself into a roaringserpent. Put Horus son ofIsis as a staff in its upper end4topreventhimfrom evercoming orth". [9, 10] Then said Thoth:

"The name of theserpent5 n this town shall be called 'The roarer'from this day, and Horusson of Isis is thefalcon-headedspearin its upperend, and he is here n thisplace withhis motherIsis". And all thesethings cametopass.

The barqueof Rer moored at the town of Pr-rh3. [9, 11] Its prowwas of i3m and its stern

of snd, and theyare sacred trees to this day. Horus of Behdetwentto thebarqueof Rerafterthe

completionof thejourney, and REr aid to Thoth:"Lo! thouart... rowing. Thebarqueof Horus

of Behdet shall be called 'Lord of rowing' from this day." [9, 12]Thereforeall thesethings are

done in this place to this day.

be a wooden object used in securing prisoners. The instance in the HorusMyth shows that it was used atthe neck, and hence"bonds", "handcuffs",or "stocks" seemhardlysuitabletranslations. It is difficultto

escape the conclusionthat the khwas some sort of collar or canguesuch as is used on prisoners n China.On the other hand, it has to be admitted that no such applianceseems to be found on the monuments,and Dr. Nelson informsme that he has observednothing of the sort in the representationsof prisonersatMedinetHabu or Karnak.

1Scene9: Chassinat,op. cit., vi, 121-2; xm, Pls. dxxvi, dxxvii; Naville, op. cit., xvi.2

N) : kmi phti? This phrasedoes not occur in the Wdrterbuch.Possibly it is derived from km; "tobeat metal".

3 Be, a name of Seth: cf. Wb.d. aeg.Spr., I, 410; Mariette,Dendera,m, 72; Diimichen,Geog. nschr.,

I, lxxxi; m, xcii; iv, cxvii. 4 Read m mdw m gs.f hri. 56 , s.-t.4Zw\

82








Then said Rer to Horus of Behdet: "Lo! we havefought with the company<of Seth>and it

is exhausted1(?) and its strengthlikewise, and the company of Seth (now) swims (away).Would that we might go northwardsafter [them] ...." Then the Winged Disk said: "All that

thou commandest hall come to pass, , 13]0 Br, Lord of the gods. Let this thy barquebe sent

against them to whatsoeverplace they may go, and I will do what Rer desireswith them". Andit was done accordingto all that ee Whadaid. Then the Winged Disk barded the barqueofwhich was on the stream....... his ... his spear (?) and all ropesfor fighting. [9, 14] Then

he saw one of the enemywith him in the sameplace, and he threwhis lance at him immediately,and broughthim at once and slew him before err. (Thus) he brought t (the fight) to an end:

therewereno..... Be, there wereno ..... in this place at that time.2

[10,i]3 Thothsaid: "Thisplacewhich Horusof Behdethasmadebecauseof themshall becalled

St-i3b'i".4 Then he spentsix daysand six nightsmooredon its waterswithoutseeingoneof them.

Then he saw them overthrownn thecanal, and hepreparedthis place as St-i3b-i, t being by the

,water's edge,and it faced south. [10,2] All rites areperformed or Horus of Behdeton Thoth1,Tobi 7 and Mechir 21 and 24:-these are thefestivals in St-hb-i on thesouthernside of Neref.5

He mooredhis barque (in order to act) against then as one whowatchesas a king overthe

greatgod who is in Neref, in this place, driving off the Enemy and his companywhenhe comes

by nightfrom the districtofAr on the west of this place. [10, 3] Horus of Behdetwas as a man

of proved valour, with theface of a falcon, crownedwithh e white croewn,he red crown, the

doubleplumes and the doublecrown,the two uraei being on his head, and his arms werestrongiwhilebearinghis spear, while slaying thehippopotamusof redjasper6 wvhichwas in the desert

with him. And Ber said to Thoth: "Lo! Horus of Behdet is the lord of combatwho slays his

foreign (foes) daily". And Thoth said to Ber:"

Therefore he priest of this god shall be called

'Lord of combat'from this day".

[lo, 4] ThereuponIsis performedall the magic spells for driving back Be from Neref in

thisplace,

and Thoth said:"Therefore

shall thesongstressof

thisgod

be called 'MistressofMagic'". And Thothsaid to Rer:

"Howthappy is this place now that thou restestwithin it as

one who watchesas king overthegreatgodwhois in Neref, at a distanceof (?) four schoenoi".

[io, 5] And Thoth said: "Thereforethe name of the palace in this place shall be called 'The

happy place' from this day. It is on thesouth-wtestf Nrr7at a distanceof (?)four schoenoi".

ThenRer said to Horus of Behdet: "Hast thousearched hh) thesewaters or theenemies?".

And Thothsaid: [10, ] "Thenaeme of the sacred lake in this place shall be called 'Waters of

Seeking'" (mw hh). Then Ber said: "How nrumerous re thy boats, 0 Horus of Behdet, on

the lake (dmit) [in this place]". And Thoth said: "The name of [the boat]of [this] god shall

be called 'Great[of Terror]',8and thename of this watershall be called Dmit". [1o, 7] As for

St-h3bli,t lies on the vwater'sedge:thenameof its palaceis " Thehappyplace", "Lord of Combat

is thenameof thepriest,[" Mistress of Magic"] is thenameof thesongstress,"Watersof Seeking"1ma ts`r ?

2 Brugsch's translation: "Da war [der Kampf] beendigt und kein [Feind war mehr] an dieser Stelle von

Minute an " does not accord perfectly with what is still visible of these damaged phrases.

3Scene 10: Chassinat, op. cit., vi, 122-6; xii, Pls. dxxviii, dxxix; Naville, op. cit., xvii.

4 St-ib i: "The place which I have desired" ? cf. Gautlier, op. cit., v, 69, where references to the many

variants of the name are given. Naville (Z.A.S., 8, 123-8) considered that St-ilb i was specially connected

with Horus and Isis, while Neref. to which St-zib' was obviously very close, was connected with Osiris.

A

- - c Neref, the necropolis of Abusir el-Melek (Wb. d. aeg. Spr., ii, 916; Gauthier, op. cit., II, 66-7).

6 Hnm: red jasper, cf. Gardiner, Egyptian Hieratic Texts, I (Leipzig, 1911), 41*, n. 10 = Koller, 4, 2.

Seth is also called a red hippopotamus (hb-or db-dsr) in other parts of the myth, e.g., vi, 216. 2; 217. 3, 9.

77Nrr:

the twentieth nome of Upper Egypt, the nome of Heracleopolis (Wb. d. aeg.Spr., r, 208; Gauthier,

op. cit., iIn, 71). R8 estore wr [nrw] from vi, 124. 6.

F

33







34 H. W. FAIRMAN

is the name of the (sacred)lake, [Dmit is thename1] of the waters, [lo, 8] i3m and Snd are the

names of thesacredtrees,Ht-ntr the name of the sacredtown,and "Greatof Terror" the name

of the barque. The gods who are in it are Horus of Behdet who slays theforeigners, Horus

son of Isis (and) Osiris ......

...... [l0, 9]2with his harpoonersandfollowersround abouthim, and with his lance,hismsnw, his . ,3and all his ropes. Horus of Behdet boarded hebarque. [He sailed downstream]to Lower Egypt [with his] followers [in order to reach?] those enemies. [io, 10] As for the

harpoonerswhowerein theCentralDistricts,4hemade a greatslaughterby means of them,5and

106 of the enemy were broughtaway captive. As for the harpoonersof the West, 106 enemies

were brought away captive. As for the harpoonersof the East, among whom was Horus ofBehdet,[lo, 11]heslewthem(the enemy) beforeRJr n thecentralcities. Then said Rerto Thoth:

"My heart<is pleased>with the workof theseharpoonersof Horus of Behdet,and his followers.

They shall (always) exist in the shrines, and offerings and libations [shall be made?] to their

images, [io, 12] togetherwith theirmonth-priests,and the wholetemple staff of their temples,as

a reward or theirhaving slain the enemy or me." Thothsaid: "The CentralDistricts shall be

called ('The towns of) theseharpooners' rom this day. [10, 13] The god who is in them shall

be called Horus of Behdet,Lordof Msnfrom this day, and the WesternMsn shall be called'The

City' from this day. As for the WesternMsn, it faces [the East] in which Rer rises. And the

Eastern Msn shall be called ('The town of) these harpooners'from this day. [10, 14] As forthe double townof Msn, thework of theseeasternharpooners, t faces south to Behdet,it is the

abode6(?) of Horus. In it shall beperformedall rites for Horus of Behdetin LowerEgypt on

Thoth2, Khoiak 24, Tobi 7, and Mechir 21 from this day. [10, 15] Their waters shall be called

Sty ('The two places'), the name of their palace shall belleed 'The pure place', and their

[priest?] shall be called 'Brave in combat' (Kn-rh3),and their town shall be called 'The work

of Msn' from this day."

[ll, i]7 Rer said to Horus of Behdet: "Theseenemies,theyhave sailed to the East in ordertoreach Iwnw-mhw, they have sailed to theEast to Thel, their marshland". Then said Horus ofBehdet: "All thatthou commandest hall come to pass, 0 RJe,Lord of thegods, for thou art the

lord of commands". Then they boardedthe barque of Ber, and they sailed (hnt) to the East

(i3bt). Then he saw thoseenemies, some of them werefallen in the sea, and some of them were

fallen on the mountains. [11, 2] And Horus of Behdet assumed the form of a lion with the

face of a man, crownedwith thetriple crown,his armbeinglikeflint, and he hastenede afterthem,and he broughtaway 142 enemies. He slew them with his claws, he draggedforth heir kidneys,8their blood ay on thehoeights,nd he made a meal out of themfor his followers, while he was on

1 The restorationseems to be demandedby the context, but is hardlysufficient o fill the lacuna.2

Perhapsrestore

["ThenHorusof Behdet set

forth"]or some similar

phrase.3 The name of one of the weaponsof Horus, the readingof which is uncertain: see furtherChassinat'snote 1 on vi, 125. 1.

4 F or lq: Gardiner uggeststhe emendationIw hri-ib"The island in the midst", andquotes Pap. Ch.

Beatty I, rt. 5, 4. Since, however,there are so many referenceshere to the central districts and towns, it

seems safer to leave the text without emendation. In texts of the Ptolemaic period the rwwhrtw-tbarenot infrequentlymentioned as distinct from both Upperand LowerEgypt: e.g.,hk; msmr,bitim mhw, ty mrwwhrtw-lb, n, 11. 7. A clearinstance, however,of rwwbeing used instead of iww occurs in ii, 43. 4, rww

hri(w)-ibW;d-wr.5 irn-f hxyt rct m-sn: the usual meaningof irt fhyt m is "to make a slaughterof", but here it is quite

clearthat the harpoonersare the agents of Horus and not his victims.6 to0E: readPhyt w nt Hr. For POytf. Wb.d. aeg. Spr., m, 16.

7 Scene 11: Chassinat,op. cit., vi, 127-8; xiII, Pls. dxxx, dxxxi; Naville, op. cit., xviii.8 For dpt "kidney" cf. Wb. d. aeg. Spr., v, 445.







THE MYTH OF HORUS AT EDFU-I 35

the mountains. Rer said to Thoth: "Lo! Horus of Behdetis like a lion on his msn, (standing)on the backs of the enemies who yield him their kidneys". [11, 3] Thoth said: "This town

shall be called Hnt-i3bt, it shall be called Thel from this day, and kidneys shall be brought

from the marshes (?) of Thelfrom this day, and this god shall be called Horus of Behdet,Lord

of Msn,from this day".Then Recsaid to Horus of Behdet: "Let us sail to theSea so that we may drivethe enemies,whethercrocodilesor hippopotami,from Egypt". [11, 4] And Horus of Behdetsaid: "As thou

desirest, 0 Rer, Lordof thegods". Then he sailed after the remainder1(?)of the enemies which

was in the Sea. ThereuponThoth recited the spellsfor protectingthe barqueand theboatsof the

harpooners, 11, 5] in orderto calm the sea when it is stormy. And Rer said to Thoth: "Have

we not travelled over the whole land? Have we not travelledover all the sea?" Thoth said:

"(These) waters shall be called 'Waters of travel' rom this day.Then they sailed upstream again by night [11, 6] withoutseeing those enemies. Then they

reachedNubia and the city of S3s-hrt.2 Then he saw those enemies and theirssstyw in the land

of Wawat plotting (w3w3)against their lord. [11, 7] ThereuponHorus of Behdetassumed the

form of theWingedDisk on theprowof thebarqueof Rer,and he took with him Nekhbetand Utoas two uraei ;who trike terror n theflesh of the rebels. Their hearts wereweak through ear ofhim, and they couldnot stand but died immediately. [11, 8] Then said thegods who were in the

train of the barqueof Rer-Harakhte:"How greatis he who has placed himself between he two

uraeus-goddesses!He has slain thefoes byhisfear". And Rer-Harakhte aid: "Mighty (wr) are

the twouraeus-goddesses w3dty)". Horus of Behdetis called Wr w3dty to this day.

[12, 1]3 Then Rer-Harakhtesailed in his barque,and he moored at Wts-Hr. Then Thoth

said: "The brightlycolouredone has comeforth from the horizon,and has smitten the enemies

in thisformzwhich hehas assumed". And he is called"Brightly coloured,whocomesforthfromthe horizon" to this day. Then said Rer-Harakhte o Thoth: "Thou shalt make this wingeddisk in

everyplacein wvhich have

rested,in the

places ofthe

godsin

Upper Egypt, in theplaces of the gods in LowerEgypt, ..... the West, [12,2]for he has overthrown he council

of the evil ones in theirpaths". And Thoth set up this image everywhere nd in everyplace in

whichtheyare (now)and in which any gods or goddessesare to this day.Now as for the Winged Disk which is on the shrines of all thegods and goddessesof Upper

and LowerEgypt, and on theirchapelslikewise, it is Horus of Behdet. As for Horus of Behdet,

great god, lord of heaven,whois pre-eminentin the Upper Egyptian itrt, he shall beput on the

righthand: he is Horus of Behdet,[12,3] and he has takenNekhbetwith him as uraeus goddess.Asfor Horus of Behdet,greatgod, lordof heaven,lordof Msn,pre-eminent n theLowerEgyptianitrt, he shall be put on the left hand: he is Horus of Behdet, and Uto is with him as uraeus

goddess. As for Horus of Behdet,great god, lordof heaven, lordof Msn, pre-eminent n the two

itrt of Upper and Lower Egypt, Rer-Harakhtehas placed hir in everyplace of his [in orderto] overthrow he rebels in whateverplace they may be in. Therefore s he called "Pre-eminent

in the twoitrt of Upper and LowerEgypt" to this day. [12,4] As for this Morning Star4 on the

eastof heaven,wholightensthe Two Landswith his eyes,he is Horus of Behdet,great god, lordof

Professor Gunn suggests that perhaps the (8, , , of the original should be emended <jo . If the

text is left without emendation "the remaining third" would be a possible translation.2 8s-hrt:an unidentified city in Nubia, cf. Schafer in Beitrdge zur Alten Geschichte, iv, 152-63, especially

pp. 157 ff. Newberry suggests the transliteration S?-shryt (Journal, 14, 222, n. 1); cf. also Newberry in

Klio, 12, 397, n. 3.

3 Scene 12: Chassinat, op. cit., vi, 129-31; xm, Pls. dxxxii, dxxxiii; Naville, op. cit., xix.

~4 *̂e ? , var. : the god of the Morning Star (Wb. d. aeg. Spr., v, 423).







36 H. W. FAIRMAN

heaven, who overthrows he enemy in the east in the course of [every] day. Adoration of this

[god]. Utterance.Hail to thee,MorningStar! Hail tothee,Horus! Hail tothee,Horusof Behdet,

great god, lord of heaven! [12, 5] Thou overthrowestApopis and the enemies [on] the east ofheaven, in heaven, earth, water, and the mountains, and they shall never raise their heads.

Thou overthrowest ll the enemies of the Son of Rjr C in heaven, earth, water, and themountains.

As for ..... [on] the west of Pwenet, who rises in theeveningon the westof heaven,and

whoserays pervadetheTwoLands, [12, 6] he is Horus of Behdet,he is called "The Lone Star"'

and men see by his beauty. Adorationof this god. Utterance. Hail to thee,Lone Star, thoustar

on the west of Pwenet! [Hail to thee] Horus, who strides (?) (twn.f). Hail to thee, Horus of

Beh[det],thou living and greatone, who camestforth from the NuTn. Thou overthrowestApopisand the enemy on the east of heaven, in heaven, earth, water, and the mountains, [12, 7] and

they shall never raise themselves(n twn-sn r nhh). May thy fair face be kindly to the Son ofRer,Ptolemy, who livesfor ever,belovedof Ptah.

Asfor

theWinged

Beetlewhichis on the shrinesof

all thegods

andgoddessesof Upper

and

LowerEgypt, he is Horus of Behdet, great god, lord of heaven, who overthrows[A]popis and

the enemies and foes and the evil council in their ways. The living and the dead [12,8] are

inscribed with his name, as is donefor his father RBr-Harakhte o this day.The king shall act (?) on theday on which troubleand strifeoccur. A wingedbeetle n writing

shall be made on his breast when he sees trouble, ust as Rer-Harakhtedid [when he saw] the

troubleof theSon of RerCD, its face beingthatof afalcon, {its> lips those of a vulture,[12,9]and its bodythatof a beetle. Be ye far from him, 0 ye foes, ye evil council, ye men, gods,spirits,and dead, Apopis, thoufoe of the Son of Rer, Ptolemy, who livesfor ever,belovedof Ptah. He

is the god's avenger (?) who cameforth from Behdet,and Horus of Behdetis his name. Be ye

far from him, 0 ye whoare in thetrain of Rer, ye who are in the train of Shu, ye whoare in the

train of Geb,[12, 10] ye wvho re in the train of Horus, ye who are in the train of Seth! TheSon of RBr,Ptolemy who lives for ever, belovedof Ptah, he is the god's avenger (?), who came

forth from Behdet,and Horus of Behdet is his name (4 times). Then shall theking himself say:"I am the god's avenger(?) who cameforth from Behdet, and Horus of Behdet is my name"

(4 times).Let this utteranceberecitedwhen troubleoccurs,[12, 1] and the king shall not be afraid, but

his foes will be slain beforehim, and his heart will rejoice over themimmediately, and (each)onewill slay his fellow immediately,as befellthe enemiesof Rer-HarakhtewzhenHorus of Behdet

[flew] against them as the great Winged Disk. This image shall be made with theface of the

king to this day.

1 *L *, sbw-wfct:cf. Pyr., 251, b; Wb. d. aeg. Spr., iv, 82. In this case it is clearly the Evening Star.

the myth of horus at edfu - i

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