Published in Great Britain in MMXXII by The Salariya Book Company Ltd 25 Marlborough Place, Brighton BN1 1UB www.salariya.com
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Fiona Macdonald studied history at Cambridge University and at the University of East Anglia, both in England. She has taught adult education, and in schools and universities, and is the author of numerous books for children on historical topics. Alida Massari is an Italian artist, specialising in children’s illustration and stationery. She studied illustration at the European Institute for Design. Meredith Brand is an archaeologist and writer in the Rhetoric and Composition Department at the American University in Cairo, where she teaches research and academic writing. She completed her PhD at the University of Toronto on the socio-economic organisation of pottery production in New Kingdom Egypt, and her archaeological research and publications have focused on pottery and material culture from excavations in Egypt and Sudan. She is also the assistant director and the ceramicist of the Wadi el-Hudi Expedition that excavates and surveys ancient Egyptian mines and settlements in the Eastern Desert. For Angela Williams, with many thanks for her help and kindness. FM
EGYPTIAN MYTHS FIONA MACDONALD Illustrations by: Alida Massari
VOLUME ONE
SALARIYA
Br i lliant Books Make Br illiant Chi ldren
CONTENTS INTRODUCTION.......................................................................6 SEKHMET AND THE LAKE OF BLOOD....................................9 IN THE BEGINNING................................................................29 THE DOOMED PRINCE...........................................................35 TEARS OF THE SUN...............................................................54 TO DO GOOD IS BEAUTIFUL.................................................62 EARTH AND SKY....................................................................72 FROM SUNRISE TO SUNSET...................................................80 GLOSSARY..............................................................................88
INTRODUCTION
T
he ancient Egyptians lived in North Africa, where the world’s longest river, the Nile, flowed through the desert. Every year, the Nile waters flooded, covering land beside the river with rich black mud. Grains, fruits, vegetables and cattle all flourished there; so did Egyptian families. Egypt became a land of plenty, wealthy and powerful. It was home to a magnificent civilisation that lasted for thousands of years – from around 3100 BC to 30 BC. Egyptian myths were closely linked to the land of Egypt, and to the ideas, hopes and fears of Egyptian people. Many myths praised gods and god-like kings, others described the natural world, from life-giving Nile floods to deadly desert snakes 6
and scorpions. Perhaps most important of all, myths told how Egypt’s people and their homeland could be kept safe and strong by following the rules of truth, honesty and justice – and how, magically, mysteriously, they might go on living in the kingdom of the dead. Egyptian myths and legends were often not collected and recorded in a neat and tidy way. Instead, they were memorised in many different versions by priests and story-tellers, and passed down by word of mouth. Many have long been forgotten. But some myths have survived, as a whole or in part. They were written down by scribes on sheets of papyrus (paper made from plants that grew by the Nile) or carved in hieroglyphs on temples and tombs, or pictured in paintings and statues, and on mummies’ coffins. They were also described by ancient Greek and Roman travellers who visited Egypt – although we don’t know how accurately they reported them.
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Egyptian Myths The myths and legends in this book have been pieced together from evidence surviving from ancient Egyptian times. And, like Egyptian myths remembered and re-told by storytellers long ago, each one is a new version of a very old tale. Sometimes, parts of the story may be mixed up or missing. Sometimes they may be puzzling. But they still show us an amazing ancient world of imagination, love, hate, joy and reverence, full of strangeness and wonder.
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SEKHMET
AND THE
LAKE OF BLOOD
L
ong, long ago the gods lived on earth. Egypt was their world. It was plentiful, beautiful, wonderful! Ra, the sun-god, was king. There were other gods, too, of the sky, of the desert, of dusk and darkness, of fields and farms and feasting, of air and water, of the moon. Men and women and birds and animals and insects and trees and flowers all lived happily with the gods. Sun-god Ra gave them warmth and light. The River Nile brought water. Families grew, children played. Farming flourished. People were 9
Egyptian Myths well-fed and content. There was peace and safety, music, singing, dancing. It was a golden age, sunlit and perfect. To show their thanks for this good fortune, Egyptian people said prayers and gave offerings of their finest food and most treasured possessions to the gods. They tried to live in a good, fair and honest way, as the gods commanded. In return, the gods – especially Ra – protected them. But many years passed. Ra the sun-god grew old and tired; Egyptian people lost respect for him and refused to obey his laws. Egypt became an unhappy place, full of wickedness and suffering. There were quarrels and wars and diseases. Life was wretched and miserable. But Ra cared for his people. Worried and sighing, he looked down from his high throne to the land of Egypt that had once been so peaceful and plentiful. It was ruined; a wasteland. Ra sighed again, and wiped a tear from his eye. 10
Egyptian Myths Ra also saw that Egyptian people were plotting to rebel against him. They wanted power. They wanted to take control. Suddenly, scarily, Ra’s sorrow turned to anger. ‘How dare they make evil plans to overthrow me!’ he raged. ‘I must stop them! I must save my beautiful kingdom! I must bring peace and justice and respect and good order back to earth!’ But how? Still seething with anger, Ra tried to think of a plan. He was old, certainly, and not as strong as once he was. But he was still the king, the shining sun. Without the warmth and light he gave the earth every day, there would be terrible cold and darkness. The people of Egypt – and their homeland – would not survive. Should he simply abandon Egypt and leave everyone to die? ‘No, that would be too cruel,’ Ra said to himself, ‘but if they’ve forgotten how great I am, then I must remind them. They must learn not to rebel against me!’ 12
Sekhmet and the Lake of Blood He thought some more, and decided, ‘I’ll ask the other gods.’ He summoned them all to a secret meeting in his royal palace. What a day that was! The palace shone and trembled with divine energy. Wise words and good advice filled the air. Gods are not like humans. They can change shape and size, and put on many different faces. They can send their awesome powers to work in strange and wonderful ways. And so it was agreed that Ra should send his burning, searing, all-seeing Eye to punish the wicked people of Egypt. The Eye – Ra’s revenge – took the shape of a fearsome lion-goddess: Sekhmet, ‘she who dances on blood’. Sekhmet raged and roared around the beautiful land of Egypt, bringing death and destruction. Like Ra himself, she was blazing with anger. She prowled beside the river, through towns and villages, fields and farms, snarling and spitting, breathing out fire. Everywhere she went, she brought sunstroke, drought, famine, epidemics. 13
Egyptian Myths Crops shrivelled in the fields; farm animals starved. Thousands of people perished. The survivors hid in terror. Would they be the next to die? Sekhmet’s fury threatened to turn all Egypt into a dry, dead desert. Soon, there would be no one left alive. Seated high on his royal throne, Ra watched Sekhmet attack. But he began to feel sorry for Egypt and its people, and sickened by the sight of so much suffering. ‘Sekhmet must be stopped,’ he said to himself, ‘before she destroys everything!’ But even a god finds it hard to confront a savage lion. So Ra decided to use cunning. A trick! That would do it! Urgently, Ra ordered his servants to bring 7,000 flasks of drink and to mix it with red earth and red pomegranate juice. There was not much time left before Sekhmet killed everybody. ‘Quickly, quickly!’ he commanded. ‘Hurry up! Come on! Over here! Now, pour the drink on the ground. Yes, all of it!’ A new – dark red – lake quickly appeared. 14
Egyptian Myths Daylight came, and Sekhmet was exhausted after another wild killing spree. Her throat was dry after raging and roaring. She saw the red lake, and was very excited. ‘Urrrrrgh! Grrrrrrrr!’ she growled, leaping and pouncing like a cat playing with a mouse. Here was blood, fresh blood! Ravenously, she drank and drank and drank until she was so full that she could not move. So full, that she could not stay awake. She fell into a deep sleep. When Sekhmet awoke, three long days later, she did not know where she was. Cautiously, she raised her head, then sniffed the air. No scent of danger, but a strong, sweet smell. And – strange! – the ground around her was stained red, and wet, and sticky. But she felt good, still rather full but fresh and rested after her long sleep. She stretched – peacefully, luxuriously – then looked around. No one in sight. Idly, she gazed down into what was left of the red lake, and saw the reflection of her own face. 16
Egyptian Myths But what was this?! No, WHO was this? She was transformed. Changed, utterly and completely. She was no longer a savage, snarling lion. No longer Ra’s angry revenge. In fact, she was the complete opposite. Now she was Hathor, a gentle, golden goddess, with big, dark, shining eyes and a low, crooning voice. Graceful ivory horns – like a cow’s – curved above her brow. At first she was puzzled, and then she understood. Now she was Ra’s kindly feelings for Egypt and its people. She felt peaceful, protecting and generous. She felt pity. She felt love. She smiled. Ra smiled, too. He was delighted. ‘At last! The world is put to rights,’ he said. ‘Egyptians have learned their lesson. Now they will honour me, and I will care for them. Egypt, my Egypt, will grow great and glorious. Its fame will live forever.’
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