Part 4

And to this day men make ceremonies in remembrance of the Battles of Horus on the first day of the first month of the inundation, on the seventh day of the first month of the appearing of the earth after the inundation, and on the twenty-first and twenty-fourth days of the second month of the earth's appearing. These days are kept holy at Ast-abt, which is at the south side of Anrudef, where is one of the graves of Osiris. And Isis made magical spells round Anrudef that no enemy might come near it; and the priestess of Anrudef is called "The Lady of Spells" to this day in remembrance; and the waters are called "The Waters of Seeking," for there it was that Horus sought for his foe.

And Horus sent out his Followers, and they hunted down the enemy, and brought in prisoners; one hundred and six from the East and one hundred and six from the West. These they slew before Ra in the sanctuaries.

Then Ra gave to Horus and his fighters two cities which are called the Mesen-cities to this day, for the Followers of Horus are Mesenti, the Metal-workers. In the shrines of the Mesen-cities Horus is the God, and his secret ceremonies are held on four days in the year. Great and holy are these days in the Mesen-cities, for they are in remembrance of the Battles of Horus which he fought against Set, the murderer of Osiris.

Now these enemies, they gathered again in the East, and they travelled towards Tharu. Then was launched the Boat of Ra to follow after them, and Horus of Edfu transformed himself into the likeness of a lion with the face of a man; his arms were like flint, and on his head was the Atef-crown, which is the white diadem of the South Land with feathers and horns, and on either side a crowned serpent. And he hastened after his enemies, and defeated them, and brought of prisoners one hundred and forty-two.

Then said Ra to Horus of Edfu, "Let us journey northwards to the Great Green Waters, and smite the foe there as we have smitten him in Egypt."

Northwards they went, and the enemy fled before them, and they reached the Great Green Waters, where the waves broke on the shore with the noise of thunder. Then Thoth arose and he stood in the midst of the Boat, and he chanted strange words over the boats and barges of Horus and his Followers, and the sea fell calm as the sound of the words floated across its waves. And there was silence on the Great Green Waters, for the wind was lulled, and naught was in sight save the boats of Ra and of Horus.

Then said the Majesty of Ra, "Let us sail round the whole extent of the land, let us sail to the South Land." And they knew that Ra was aware of the enemy. They made haste and sailed to the South Land by night, to the country of Ta-kens, and they came to the town of Shaïs, but until they reached Shaïs they saw naught of any enemy. Now Shaïs is on the border of Nubia, and in Nubia were the guards of the enemy.

Then Horus of Edfu changed himself into a great winged Disk with gleaming pinions outspread, and on either side of him came the goddesses Nekhbet and Uazet, and their form was the form of great hooded snakes with crowns upon their heads; on the head of Nekhbet was the white crown of the South Land, on the head of Uazet was the red crown of the North Land.

And the Gods in the Boat of Ra cried aloud and said, "See, O Thou who art twice great, he has placed himself between the two goddesses. Behold how he overthrows his adversaries and destroys them."

Now this is the encounter in Nubia, but the last great battle was not yet.

Then came Ra in his Boat and he moored at Thest-Hor, and he gave commandment that in every temple throughout the Two Lands men should carve the Winged Disk, and on the right and left of the Disk should be Nekhbet and Uazet as great hooded snakes with crowns upon their heads. And the temple at the point of Thest-Hor is called "The House of Horus in the South" to this day in remembrance, and a great offering is made there to Ra and Horus. And Ra gave to Horus the province of the House of Fighting, and Ast-Abt, and the Mesen-cities of the East and the West, and Edfu of the North, and Tharu, and Gauti, and the Sea of Sailing, and Upper Shasu, and Edfu-of-the-House-of-Ra. And from the lake south of Edfu-of-the-House-of-Ra they bring water to the two Houses of the King on the day of the Sed-festival. And Isis carried Ar-stone of sand to Thest-Hor--Ar-stone of the Star was it; and in every place in the South Land to which Horus went, there is Ar-stone found to this day.

Now some say that the last great battle is still to come, and that in the end Horus will kill Set, and that Osiris and all the Gods will reign on earth when their enemy is utterly destroyed. But others say that the battle is already ended and that Horus slew the great and wicked Foe who had wrought misery and calamity to all.

And this is what they say: After months and years Horus the Child grew to manhood. Then came Set with his allies, and he challenged Horus in the presence of Ra. And Horus came forth, his Followers with him in their boats, with their armour, and their glittering weapons with handles of worked wood, and their cords, and their spears.

And Isis made golden ornaments for the prow of the boat of Horus, and she laid them in their places with magic words and spells, saying, "Gold is at the prow of thy boat, O Lord of Mesen, Horus, Chieftain of the boat, the great boat of Horus, the boat of rejoicing. May the valour of Ra, the strength of Shu, power and fear be around thee. Thou art victorious, O son of Osiris, son of Isis, for thou fightest for the throne of thy father."

Then Set took upon himself the form of a red hippopotamus, great and mighty, and he came from the South Land with his Allies, travelling to the North Land to meet Horus of Edfu. And at Elephantine, Set stood up and spoke a great curse against Horus of Edfu and against Isis, and said, "Let there come a great wind, even a furious north-wind and a raging tempest"; and the sound of his voice was like thunder in the East of the sky. His words were cried from the southern heaven and rolled back to the northern heaven, a word and a cry from Set, the enemy of Osiris and the Gods.

At once a storm broke over the boats of Horus and his Followers, the wind roared, and the water was lashed into great waves, and the boats were tossed like straws. But Horus held on his way; and through the darkness of the storm and the foam of the waves gleamed the golden prow like the rays of the sun.

And Horus took upon himself the form of a young man; his height was eight cubits; in his hand he held a harpoon, the blade was four cubits, the shaft twenty cubits, and a chain of sixty cubits was welded to it. Over his head he brandished the weapon as though it were a reed, and he launched it at the great red hippopotamus which stood in the deep waters, ready to destroy Horus and his Followers when the storm should wreck their boats.

And at the first cast the weapon struck deep into the head of the great red hippopotamus and entered the brain. Thus died Set, that great and wicked One, the enemy of Osiris and the Gods.

And to this day the priests of Horus of Edfu, and the King's daughters, and the women of Busiris and the women of Pé chant a hymn and strike the drum for Horus in triumph.

And this is their song: "Rejoice, O women of Busiris! Rejoice, O women of Pé! Horus has overthrown his enemies!

"Exult, dwellers in Edfu! Horus, the great God, Lord of heaven, has smitten the enemy of his father!

"Eat ye the flesh of the vanquished, drink ye his blood, burn ye his bones in the flame of the fire. Let him be cut in pieces, and let his bones be given to the cats, the fragments of him to the reptiles.

"O Horus, the Striker, the great One of Valour, the Slayer, the Chief of the Gods, the Harpooner, the Hero, the only begotten, Captor of captives, Horus of Edfu, Horus the Avenger!

"He has destroyed the wicked One, he has made a whirlpool with the blood of his enemy, his shaft has made a prey. Behold ye, see ye Horus at the prow of his boat. Like Ra, he shines on the horizon. He is decked in green linen, in binding linen, in fine linen and byssus. The double diadem is upon thy head, the two serpents upon thy brow, O Horus the Avenger!

"Thy harpoon is of metal, the shaft is of the sycomore of the desert, the net is woven by Hathor of the Roses. Thou hast aimed to the right, thou hast cast to the left. We give praise to thee to the height of heaven, for thou hast chained the wickedness of thine enemy. We give praise to thee, we worship thy majesty, O Horus of Edfu, Horus the Avenger!"

IX

THE BEER OF HELIOPOLIS

Now the Majesty of Ra reigned over the Two Lands. He was the second king of Egypt, and in his reign peace was on earth, and harvests were so plentiful that to this day men speak of the good things which "happened in the time of Ra." By his own power he created himself, and he created heaven and earth, gods and men, and he ruled over them all.

For hundreds and hundreds of years he ruled until he waxed old, and men no longer feared him, but laughed and said, "Look at Ra! He is old, his bones are like silver, his flesh like gold, and his hair like true lapis lazuli."

Then Ra was wroth when he heard their jests and their laughter, and he called to those who were in his train, "Summon hither my daughter, the apple of my eye, and summon also the gods Shu and Tefnut, Geb and Nut, and the great god Nun, whose dwelling is in the waters of the sky. Do my bidding secretly lest men should hear you and see you, for then would they be afraid and hide themselves."

In secret went the messengers, very softly they came to summon the gods and goddesses. Secretly and softly came the gods and goddesses to the Mansion of Ra in the Hidden Place. Naught did men see or hear; and they laughed again at Ra, not knowing the punishment that should fall upon them.

On each side of the throne came the gods and goddesses, and they bowed before the Majesty of Ra with their foreheads to the ground, saying, "Speak that we may hear."

Then said Ra to Nun, the great god whose dwelling is in the waters of the sky, "O eldest of the gods and all ye ancestor-gods! Behold the men whom I have created, how they speak against me. Tell me what ye would that I should do to them, for verily I will not slay them till I have heard your words."

And Nun, the great god whose dwelling is in the waters of the sky, made answer, "My son Ra, greatest of gods, mightiest of kings, thy throne is set fast, and thy fear will be upon all the world when thou sendest out thy daughter, the apple of thine eye, against those who attack thee."

The Majesty of Ra spoke again, "Lo, they will flee to the deserts and the mountains and hide themselves, if fear falls upon their hearts on account of their jests and laughter; and in the deserts and mountains none can find them."

Then said the gods and goddesses, bowing before him with their foreheads on the ground, "Send forth thy daughter, the apple of thine eye, against them."

And at once there came the daughter of Ra. Sekhmet is she called, and Hathor, fiercest of the goddesses; like a lion she rushes on her prey, slaughter is her delight, and her pleasure is in blood.

At her father's bidding she entered the Two Lands to slay those who had rebelled against the Majesty of Ra, and had turned their rebellion to jest and laughter. In the land of Ta-mery she killed them, and on the mountains which lie to the east and west of the great river. To and fro she hastened, slaying all who crossed her path, and before her fled the rebels against Ra.

And Ra looked forth upon the earth and cried to his daughter, the apple of his eye, "Come in peace, O Hathor! Hast thou done that which I gave thee to do?"

And Hathor laughed as she answered, and her laugh was the terrible voice of the lioness as she tears her prey. "By thy life, O Ra," she cried, "I work my will upon men, and my heart rejoices."

For many nights the river ran red, and the goddess waded in the blood of men, and her feet were red as she strode through the land of Egypt as far as Henen-seten.

Then Ra looked forth upon the earth again, and his heart was filled with pity for men, though they had rebelled against him. But none could stop the ruthless goddess, not even the Majesty of Ra himself; of herself must she cease to slay, for neither gods nor men could compel her. By subtlety alone could this be accomplished.

Ra gave command, saying, "Call hither to me messengers who are swift as the blast of the storm wind." And when they were brought, he said, "Run to Elephantine, hasten, go quickly, and bring back to me the fruit that causes sleep. Be swift, be swift, for all this must be accomplished ere the day dawn."

The messengers hastened, and their speed was the speed of a blast of the storm-wind. They came to Elephantine, where the great river rages among the rocks that bar its passage; they took the fruit that causes sleep, and with the fleetness of the wind they brought it to Ra. Crimson and scarlet was the fruit, and its juice was the colour of man's blood; and the messengers carried to it Heliopolis, the city of Ra.

Then the women of Heliopolis crushed barley and made beer, and with the beer they mixed the juice of the fruit that causes sleep, and the beer became the colour of blood. Seven thousand measures of beer did they make, and in haste they brewed it, for the night was drawing to a close and the day was about to break. In haste came the Majesty of Ra, and all the gods and goddesses, who were with him, to Heliopolis to inspect the beer. Ra saw that it was like human blood, and he said, "Very good is this beer. By this I can protect mankind."

At the dawning of the day, he gave command, "Carry this beer to the place where men and women have been slain, and pour it out upon the fields before the beauty of the night has passed." So they poured it out upon the fields. Four palms deep it lay upon the ground, and its colour was the colour of blood.

In the morning came the fierce Sekhmet, ready to slay, and as she passed by she looked to this side and that, watching for her prey. But no living thing did she see, only the fields that lay four palms deep in the beer that was the colour of blood. Then she laughed with the laugh like the roar of a lioness, for she thought it was the blood she had shed. And she stooped and drank. Again and again she drank, and she laughed the more, for the juice of the fruit that causes sleep mounted to her brain, and no longer could she see to slay by reason of the juice of that fruit.

Then the Majesty of Ra said to her, "Come in peace, O sweet one." And to this day the maidens of Amu are called "Sweet Ones" in remembrance.

And the Majesty of Ra spoke again to the goddess, saying, "For thee shall be prepared drinks from the fruits that cause sleep; every year shall these be made at the great Festival of the New Year, and the number of them shall be according to the number of the priestesses who serve me."

And to this day, on the festival of Hathor, drinks are made of the fruits that cause sleep, according to the number of the priestesses of Ra, in remembrance of the protection of mankind from the fury of the goddess.

X

THE NAME OF RA

Now the Majesty of Ra was the creator of heaven and earth, of gods, men, and cattle, of fire, and the breath of life; and he ruled over gods and men. And Isis saw his might, the might that reached over heaven and earth, before which all gods and men bowed; and she longed in her heart for that power, that thereby she should be greater than the gods and have dominion over men.

There was but one way to obtain that power. By the knowledge of his own name did Ra rule, and none but himself knew that secret name. Whosoever could learn the secret, to that one--god or man--would belong the dominion over all the world, and even Ra himself must be in subjection. Jealously did Ra guard his secret, and kept it ever in his breast, lest it should be taken from him, and his power diminished.

Every morning Ra came forth in his glory at the head of his train from the horizon of the East, journeying across the sky, and in the evening they came to the horizon of the West, and the Majesty of Ra sank in his glory to lighten the thick darkness of the Duat. Many, many times had Ra made the journey, so many times that now he had waxed old. Very aged was Ra, and the saliva ran down from his mouth and fell upon the earth.

Then Isis took earth and mixed it with the saliva, and she kneaded the clay and moulded it, and formed it into the shape of a snake, the shape of the great hooded snake that is the emblem of all goddesses, the royal serpent which is upon the brow of the Kings of Egypt. No charms or magic spells did she use, for in the snake was the divine substance of Ra himself. She took the snake and laid it hidden in the path of Ra, the path on which he travelled in journeying from the eastern to the western horizon of heaven.

In the morning came Ra and his train in their glory journeying to the western horizon of heaven, where they enter the Duat and lighten the thick darkness. And the serpent shot out its pointed head which was shaped like a dart, and its fangs sank into the flesh of Ra, and the fire of its poison entered into the God, for the divine substance was in the serpent.

Ra cried aloud, and his cry rang through the heavens from the eastern to the western horizon; across the earth it rang, and gods and men alike heard the cry of Ra. And the gods who follow in his train said to him, "What aileth thee? What aileth thee?"

But Ra answered never a word, he trembled in all his limbs, and his teeth chattered, and naught did he say, for the poison spread over his body as Hapi spreads over the land, when the waters rise above their banks at the time of the overflowing of the river.

When he had become calm, he called to those who followed him and said, "Come to me, ye whom I created. I am hurt by a grievous thing. I feel it, though I see it not, neither is it the creation of my hands, and I know not who has made it. Never, never have I felt pain like this, never, never has there been an injury worse than this. Who can hurt me? For none know my secret name, that name which was spoken by my father and by my mother, and hidden in me that none might work witchcraft upon me. I came forth to look upon the world which I had made, I passed across the Two Lands when something--I know not what--struck me. Is it fire? Is it water? I burn, I shiver, I tremble in all my limbs. Call to me the children of the gods, they who have skill in healing, they who have knowledge of magic, they whose power reaches to heaven."

Then came all the gods with weeping and mourning and lamentations; their power was of no avail against the serpent, for in it the divine substance was incorporated. With them came Isis the Healer, the Mistress of Magic, in whose mouth is the Breath of Life, whose words destroy disease and awake the dead.

She spoke to the Majesty of Ra and said, "What is this, O divine Father? what is this? Has a snake brought pain to thee? Has the creation of thy hand lifted up its head against thee? Lo, it shall be overthrown by the might of my magic, I will drive it out by means of thy glory."

Then the Majesty of Ra answered, "I passed along the appointed path, I crossed over the Two Lands, when a serpent that I saw not struck me with its fangs. Was it fire? Was it water? I am colder than water, I am hotter than fire, I tremble in all my limbs, and the sweat runs down my face as down the faces of men in the fierce heat of summer."

And Isis spoke again, and her voice was low and soothing, "Tell me thy Name, O divine Father, thy true Name, thy secret Name, for he only can live who is called by his name."

Then the Majesty of Ra answered, "I am the Maker of heaven and earth, I am the Establisher of the mountains, I am the Creator of the waters, I am the Maker of the secrets of the two Horizons, I am Light and I am Darkness, I am the Maker of Hours, the Creator of Days, I am the Opener of Festivals, I am the Maker of running streams, I am the Creator of living flame. I am Khepera in the morning, Ra at noontide, and Atmu in the evening."

But Isis held her peace; never a word did she speak, for she knew that Ra had told her the names that all men know; his true Name, his secret Name, was still hidden in his breast. And the power of the poison increased, and ran through his veins like burning flame.

After a silence she spoke again, "Thy Name, thy true Name, thy secret Name, was not among those. Tell me thy Name that the poison may be driven out, for only he whose name I know can be healed by the might of my magic." And the power of the poison increased, and the pain was as the pain of living fire.

Then the Majesty of Ra cried out and said, "Let Isis come with me, and let my Name pass from my breast to her breast."

And he hid himself from the gods that followed in his train. Empty was the Boat of the Sun, empty was the great throne of the God, for Ra had hidden himself from his Followers and from the creations of his hands.

When the Name came forth from the heart of Ra to pass to the heart of Isis, the goddess spoke to Ra and said, "Bind thyself with an oath, O Ra, that thou wilt give thy two eyes unto Horus." Now the two Eyes of Ra are the sun and the moon, and men call them the Eyes of Horus to this day.

Thus was the Name of Ra taken from him and given to Isis, and she, the great Enchantress, cried aloud the Word of Power, and the poison obeyed, and Ra was healed by the might of his Name.

And Isis, the great One, Mistress of the Gods, Mistress of magic, she is the skilful Healer, in her mouth is the Breath of Life, by her words she destroys pain, and by her power she awakes the dead.

XI

THE REGIONS OF NIGHT AND THICK DARKNESS

When the world came into being, there were two rivers, the river of Egypt and the river of the sky. Great is the Nile, the river of Egypt, rising in his two caverns in the South beyond the cataract, flooding the land of Egypt and bringing joy and good harvests to Ta-mery. Great and mighty is the river of the sky, flowing across the heavens and through the Duat, the world of night and of thick darkness, and on that river floats the Boat of Ra. Boat of Millions of Years is its name, but men call it the Manzet Boat in the dawn, when Ra rises in splendour on the eastern horizon of heaven; the Mesektet Boat is it called in the evening, when Ra enters in glory within the portals of the Duat, where the mountain of Manu lifts its peaks to the western sky. On the western horizon is the mountain of Manu. and on the eastern horizon the mountain of Bakhu; vast and huge are they, raising their crests above the earth, and the sky rests upon their summits. And on the topmost peak of the mountain of Bakhu dwells a serpent; thirty cubits in length is he, and his scales are of flint and of glittering metal. He guards the mountain and the Great Green Waters, and none can pass by him save Ra in his Boat.

In the evening Ra descends in majesty to the Western horizon of heaven, to the portals of the Duat at the Gap of Abydos. Splendid is the Mesektet Boat, glorious its trappings, and its colours are of amethyst and emerald, jasper and turquoise, lazuli and the lustre of gold. At the Gap of Abydos waits a company of gods to prepare the Boat for the journey through the Duat, the land of night and of thick darkness. Stripped is the Boat of its splendour, bare and without glory is it when it passes through the portals of the Duat, and in it is the body of Ra, lifeless and dead.