Antique Statue of Amenhotep III 1400 BC.

Antique Statue of Amenhotep III 1400 BC.
This statue was found inside Luxor Temple in 1900.
The great about this photo ,the face of the little boy setting next to the statue and the amazing similarity of their facial features and face structure .....!!!!! what do you think ?

Tom and Jerry in pharaohnic Egypt

Tom  and Jerry in pharaohnic Egypt ,this is a scene back to nearly 1400 BC. ,Where the artist depicted one of the priests as a mice mocking at him while the chief of artisans as the cat who forced to serve him propriety .
This is known as Ostraka piece and it is one of thousands other similar ostrakas were found near the artisans village of Deir Elmadina -Luxor west bank.
Ostrakas for ancient Egyptian artist is a stone sketch board .

Is Egypt Safe for Tourists to visit ?

Is Egypt Safe for Tourists To visit? Yes.

The truth about Egypt is that its recent restlessness is more about internal domestic issues and about a proud and awakened people yearning for freedom and dignity. That's what the Egyptian Revolution in January 2011 was all about, and the country continues to make its way toward this goal. Ordinary Egyptians all over the country warmly welcome foreign tourists, especially Americans, and they are always incredibly happy to see them returning.
foreign  media  continue to perpetuate the myth that Egypt is unsafe for foreign tourists, and they love to play old clips of rallies and demonstrations in one tiny square in one city of Egypt from specific days every time a story on Egypt is reported. The funny thing to those is actually on the ground in Egypt every month is that we see these same news reports and stories on TV from  , then  look out the window and see life on the streets of Cairo going on as normal - calmly and peacefully.

Those who can see past the facade and who are willing to come visit Egypt are always surprised to find out how amazing the experience is, even now, and the fact that tourism is depressed generally across the region means that it's the perfect time to come see this country without the congestion and crowds that you normally see at Egypt's world-famous sites and monuments.

 

www.egyptraveluxe.com

 with Egyptraveluxe Tours get your private Tour and enjoy exploring at your own pace .

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Egypt biblical Tours

Egypt biblical Tours
 
The Bible stories concerning the relationship of God's people with Egypt have been subject to much ridicule. Critics regard Biblical stories, such as the accounts of Joseph and the Exodus, as mythology.
 The stones of archaeology were silent witnesses to the dramas of the past, and it was only after 1799, when the Rosetta Stone was discovered, that the ancient records could be deciphered. It took Jean-François Champollion 20 years to decipher the ancient hieroglyphics from the Rosetta Stone. The Stone was unique in that three languages were inscribed upon it, each telling the same story. The science of archaeology is thus a fledgling science, and most of its treasures have only been subject to scrutiny in the last century.
Today it is possible to not only read hieroglyphics, but also the ancient cuneiform writings. Astoundingly, the ancient relics have succeeded in silencing many of the Biblical critics. The harmony between Scripture and archaeological findings has shed new light upon the debate. 
Concerning the story of Joseph, it is known that the Semitic Hyksos overthrew the Egyptian dynasties from the year 1780 BC to 1545 BC, a period of just over a quarter of a century. During this time, it would have been possible for a Semite to reach the position of prestige occupied by Joseph. In recent times, frescoes have been found in Egyptian tombs depicting fat and thin cows, and inscriptions have been found referring to seven lean and seven opulent years, making this Biblical story more than just a myth. One of the most exciting stories in Scripture, however, is the Exodus.

According to Biblical chronology, Moses was born in 1530 BC, during the reign of Tutmoses I, who ruled from 1532 to 1508 BC. Tutmoses I was the third pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. The first pharoah was Amoses 1570 to 1553 BC, followed by Amenhotep 1553 to 1532 BC, who was the father of Tutmoses I. This is the pharaoh who issued the decree that all the sons born to the Israelites were to be thrown into the river, but that girls were permitted to live (Exodus 1:22).
Aaron, the brother of Moses, was born in 1533 BC, prior to the reign of Tutmoses I, and he had thus escaped the vicious decree. According to Biblical chronology, Moses fled Egypt 40 years after his birth in 1490 BC (Remember, we have to calculate backwards, as we are dealing with the time before Christ). Exodus 2:15 tells us about Pharaoh's reaction:

"When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh, and went to live in Midian" (NIV). 

It was here, in Midian of Sinai, that the Lord revealed Himself to Moses. Two pharaohs reigned simultaneously during the exile of Moses. Tutmoses I, who issued the decree to kill the newborn sons of the Israelites, was the father of Hatshepsut, the princess who is the most likely candidate for having found Moses in the Nile. It is probable that Moses grew up as a foster child in the house of Pharaoh. Tutmoses I had no sons, and, upon his death in 1508 BC, Moses could have become the pharaoh, but he declined. Acts 7:20 tells us, "Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was powerful in speech and action."
In Hebrews 11:24, we are told, "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter."

After Moses' refusal, Tutmoses II (the husband of Hatshepsut) became pharaoh, but he only ruled from 1508 to 1504 BC, a period of just four years. Again, Moses could have become pharaoh, but again he refused. Hatshepsut herself became the next pharaoh. Her mortuary temple is at Deir el Bahri, and she ruled Egypt from 1504 to 1482 BC; a total of 22 years. The illegitimate son of Hatshepsut's husband became co-regent together with her. He was Tutmoses III, who was favored by the Egyptian priesthood.
The story of Hatshepsut is a sad story. In 1488, six years prior to her death, all official records of Hatshepsut ceased. Her royal wall paintings on the walls of her mortuary temple at Deir el Bahri were defaced, and her statues were destroyed. To this day, only a few small busts have been found. Such drastic action was only taken if pharaohs were disloyal to Egyptian deities. It is probable that Hatshepsut adopted the Hebrew religion in 1488, when Egyptian documentation about her ceased. Moses at this time was already in exile, having fled before the wrath of Tutmoses III, who enjoyed the support of the Egyptian priesthood.

Moses heard about the death of Hatshepsut while he was in exile, and her death is recorded in his writings. Exodus 2:23 states, "During that long period, the king of Egypt died." The sole ruler in Egypt was now Tutmoses III, and with Hatshepsut out of the way, and the protection she probably afforded the Israelites no longer available, Tutmoses suppressed them in a most cruel fashion.

"The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groanings and...looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them" (Exodus 2:23-25).

The return of Moses and his fear for Pharaoh is now understandable, particularly since the same pharaoh that induced him to flee became the sole ruler in Egypt.
Tutmoses III was one of the greatest pharaohs in history. He was known as the Napoleon of Egypt. He ruled until 1450 BC, which, according to the chronology in 1 Kings 6:1, is the year of the Exodus. According to the Bible, the Exodus took place on March 17, 1450 BC. The precise dates of the Passover and the Exodus are recorded in the Scriptures. The Bible tells us that the pharaoh then ruling (Tutmoses III) followed the Israelites through the Red Sea, and that he was killed in the process. The biography of Tutmoses III, written by Amenemhab says, "Lo, the king completed his lifetime of many years, splendid in valour, in might and triumph: from year 1 to 54."

1504 to 1450, a reign of 54 years, brings us precisely to the date of the Exodus. Amenemhab mentions the month and the day of his death:

"The last day of the third month of the second season... He mounted to heaven, he joined the sun: the divine limbs mingled with him who begot him."

According to the Egyptologist James Breasted, this translates to March 17, 1450 BC. A mummy of Tutmoses III in the Cairo museum was analyzed by two Egyptologists, Harris and Weeks, in 1973 and found to be a mummy of a young man, whereas Tutmoses III must have been at least 80.

Egyptians had a way of disguising their embarrassments. The pharaoh was probably never recovered from the Red Sea, and to hide this fact, a fake mummy was put in his place. There is more circumstantial evidence from the 18^th dynasty to support this argument. Tutmoses III co-reigned with his son, Amenhotep II (after the death of Hatshepsut), and Amenhotep II was not in Egypt at the time of the Exodus, but in Syro-Palestine suppressing an uprising with most of the Egyptian army. According to Egyptian writings, he returned in June 1450 BC, when he apparently defaced many Egyptian monuments. This act needs an explanation. The Bible tells us that all the first-born in Egypt died in the last plague. On returning to Egypt, he would have found not only the Israelites gone, but he would have also found his father dead, and his first-born son killed in the plague. One can now understand the emotion felt by Amenhotep that caused such a violent outburst.

The next pharaoh to rule was Tutmoses IV, who was the second born son of Amenhotep II. According to succession rights, the first-born should have become pharaoh, but he died. To explain this apparent anomaly, there is an inscription on the Sphinx telling the story of how the second-born son became pharaoh in the place of the first-born. Apparently, Tutmoses IV was resting between the legs of the Sphinx when he heard a voice telling him to clear the sand from between the legs, and the Sphinx would see to it that he, rather than the first-born, would be the next pharaoh. An unlikely story, and another demonstration of attempts to cloud the issue, so that the embarrassment should not be made public to the descendants.
Monotheistic worship in Egypt did not die with the death of Hatshepsut. During the Amarna Period of the 18th dynasty, monotheism again surfaced in Egypt. The pharaoh after Tutmoses IV was Amenhotep III. This son of Tutmoses IV was still an idolater, but during the reign of his son (Amenhotep IV), the religion of Egypt shifted from the worship of Amun to that of Aten. Atenism was the worship of the one Creator God. The symbol of the sun and its rays was used to described Aten's care for mankind. The sun was not worshiped in Atenism, but served merely as a symbol. There is good evidence that Atenism has its basis in the Hebrew religion.

The Exodus must have left its mark upon the Egyptian people, and many adhered to the God of the Hebrews, rather than to the Egyptian deities. The essence of the Egyptian religion was that of sun worship, but numerous gods played secondary roles in their belief system. Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten, >symbolizing the change from Amun worship to Aten worship (Amenhotep means "Amun is pleased"). Further evidence of Akhenaten's break with the old religion is that he shifted his capital from Luxor to a new capital Akhetaten. In a song written by Akhenaten to his god, there are 17 verses corresponding with Psalm 104.

Under Akhenatan's influence, Egyptian culture experienced a period of realism. In statues of pharaohs and their families, pharaohs were no longer depicted as larger than life, but statues of Akhenaten and his family portray him with all his defects, and his wife and children are portrayed in a loving bonding relationship with the pharaoh. His wife was the famous Nefertiti, whose name means "maiden of joy." They had six daughters, of which one was engaged to a young man by the name of Tutankaten. The daughter's name was Ankensenpaaten. Note that the names end in "aten," portraying their mode of worship. Upon the death of Akhenaten, Tutankaten was to become the next pharaoh. However, his change of name to Tutankamun indicates that his pharaohship was subject to the change of his religion. The greatest archaeological finds concern this pharaoh, and tell the story of a short but splendid reign. 
Was it worth giving up the truth for the sake of earthly glory? The defacing of the statues associated with the reign of Akhenaten again demonstrates the hatred and rivalry between idolatry and the worship of the Creator God. 

THE LEGEND OF THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF HORUS, AND OTHER MAGICAL TEXTS

The Metternich Stele--Obverse.

The Metternich Stele--Reverse.

in Egypt, it became the custom to make house talismans in the form of small stone stelae, with rounded tops, which rested on bases having convex fronts. On the front of such a talisman was sculptured in relief a figure of Horus the Child (Harpokrates), standing on two crocodiles, holding in his hands figures of serpents, scorpions, a lion, and a horned animal, each of these being a symbol of an emissary or ally of Set, the god of Evil. Above his head was the head of Bes, and on each side of him were: solar symbols, i.e., the lily of Nefer-Tem, figures of Ra and Harmakhis, the Eyes of Ra (the Sun and Moon), etc. The reverse of the stele and the whole of the base were covered with magical texts and spells, and when a talisman of this kind was placed in a house, it was supposed to be directly under the protection of Horus and his companion gods, who had vanquished all the hosts of darkness and all the powers of physical and moral evil. Many examples of this talisman are to be seen in the great Museums of Europe, and there are several fine specimens in the Third Egyptian Room in the British Museum. They are usually called "Cippi of Horus." The largest and most important of all these "cippi" is that which is commonly known as the "Metternich Stele," because it was given to Prince Metternich by Muhammad 'Ali Pasha; it was dug up in 1828 during the building of a cistern in a Franciscan Monastery in Alexandria, and was first published, with a translation of a large part of the text,
 The importance of the stele is enhanced by the fact that it mentions the name of the king in whose reign it was made, viz., Nectanebus I., who reigned from B.C. 378 to B.C. 360. The obverse, reverse, and two sides of the Metternich Stele have cut upon them nearly three hundred figures of gods and celestial beings. These include figures of the great gods of heaven, earth, and the Other World, figures of the gods of the planets and the Dekans, figures of the gods of the days of the week, of the weeks, and months, and seasons of the year, and of the year. Besides these there are a number of figures of local forms of the gods which it is difficult to identify. On the rounded portion of the obverse the place of honour is held by the solar disk, in which is seen a figure of Khnemu with four ram's heads, which rests between a pair of arms, and is supported on a lake of celestial water; on each side of it are four of the spirits of the dawn, and on the right stands the symbol of the rising sun, Nefer-Temu, and on the left stands Thoth. Below this are five rows of small figures of gods. Below these is Harpokrates in relief, in the attitude already described. He stands on two crocodiles under a kind of canopy, the sides of which are supported by Thoth and Isis, and holds Typhonic animals and reptiles. Above the canopy are the two Eyes of Ra,

each having a pair of human arms and hands. On the right of Harpokrates are Seker and Horus, and on his left the symbol of Nefer-Temu. On the left and right are the goddesses Nekhebet and Uatchet, who guard the South of Egypt and the North respectively. On the reverse and sides are numerous small figures of gods. This stele represented the power to protect man possessed by all the divine beings in the universe, and, however it was placed, it formed an impassable barrier to every spirit of evil and to every venomous reptile. The spells, which are cut in hieroglyphics on all the parts of the stele not occupied by figures of gods, were of the most potent character, for they contained the actual words by which the gods vanquished the powers of darkness and evil. These spells form the texts which are printed on p. 142 ff., and may be thus summarized:--
The first spell is an incantation directed against reptiles and noxious creatures in general. The chief of these was Apep, the great enemy of Ra, who took the form of a huge serpent that "resembled the intestines," and the spell doomed him to decapitation, and burning and backing in pieces. These things would be effected by Serqet, the Scorpion-goddess. The second part of the spell was directed against the poison of Apep, and was to be recited over anyone who was bitten by a snake. When uttered by Horus it made Apep to vomit, and when used by a magician properly qualified would make the bitten person to vomit, and so free his body from the poison.

The next spell is directed to be said to the Cat, i.e., a symbol of the daughter of Ra, or Isis, who had the head of Ra, the eyes of the uraeus, the nose of Thoth, the ears of Neb-er-tcher, the mouth of Tem, the neck of Neheb-ka, the breast of Thoth, the heart of Ra, the hands of the gods, the belly of Osiris, the thighs of Menthu, the legs of Khensu, the feet of Amen-Horus, the haunches of Horus, the soles of the feet of Ra, and the bowels of Meh-urit. Every member of the Cat contained a god or goddess, and she was able to destroy the poison of any serpent, or scorpion, or reptile, which might be injected into her body. The spell opens with an address to Ra, who is entreated to come to his daughter, who has been stung by a scorpion on a lonely road, and to cause the poison to leave her body. Thus it seems as if Isis, the great magician, was at some time stung by a scorpion.
The next section is very difficult to understand. Ra-Harmakhis is called upon to come to his daughter, and Shu. to his wife, and Isis to her sister, who has been poisoned. Then the Aged One, i.e., Ra, is asked to let Thoth turn back Neha-her, or Set. "Osiris is in the water, but Horus is with him, and the Great Beetle overshadows him," and every evil spirit which dwells in the water is adjured to allow Horus to proceed to Osiris. Ra, Sekhet, Thoth, and Heka, this last-named being the spell personified, are the four great gods who protect Osiris, and who will blind and choke his enemies, and cut out their tongues. The cry

of the Cat is again referred to, and Ra is asked if he does not remember the cry which came from the bank of Netit. The allusion here is to the cries which Isis uttered when she arrived at Netit near Abydos, and found lying there the dead body of her husband.
At this point on the Stele the spells are interrupted by a long narrative put into the mouth of Isis, which supplies us with some account of the troubles that she suffered, and describes the death of Horus through the sting of a scorpion. Isis, it seems, was shut up in some dwelling by Set after he murdered Osiris, probably with the intention of forcing her to marry him, and so assist him to legalize his seizure of the kingdom. Isis, as we have already seen, had been made pregnant by her husband after his death, and Thoth now appeared to her, and advised her to hide herself with her unborn child, and to bring him forth in secret, and he promised her that her son should succeed in due course to his father's throne. With the help of Thoth she escaped from her captivity, and went forth accompanied by the Seven Scorpion-goddesses, who brought her to the town of Per-Sui, on the edge of the Reed Swamps. She applied to a woman for a night's shelter, but the woman shut her door in her face. To punish her one of the Scorpion-goddesses forced her way into the woman's house, and stung her child to death. The grief of the woman was so bitter and sympathy-compelling that Isis laid her hands on the child, and, having uttered one of her most potent

spells over him, the poison of the scorpion ran out of his body, and the child came to life again. The words of the spell are cut on the Stele, and they were treasured by the Egyptians as an infallible remedy for scorpion stings. When the woman saw that her son had been brought back to life by Isis, she was filled with joy and gratitude, and, as a mark of her repentance, she brought large quantities of things from her house as gifts for Isis, and they were so many that they filled the house of the kind, but poor, woman who had given Isis shelter.
Now soon after Isis had restored to life the son of the woman who had shown churlishness to her, a terrible calamity fell upon her, for her beloved son Horus was stung by a scorpion and died. The news of this event was conveyed to her by the gods, who cried out to her to come to see her son Horus, whom the terrible scorpion Uhat had killed. Isis, stabbed with pain at the news, as if a knife had been driven into her body, ran out distraught with grief. It seems that she had gone to perform a religious ceremony in honour of Osiris in a temple near Hetep-hemt, leaving her child carefully concealed in Sekhet-An. During her absence the scorpion Uhat, which had been sent by Set, forced its way into the biding-place of Horus, and there stung him to death. When Isis came and found the dead body, she burst forth in lamentations, the sound of which brought all the people from the neighbouring districts to her side. As she related to

them the history of her sufferings they endeavoured to console her, and when they found this to be impossible they lifted up their voices and wept with her. Then Isis placed her nose in the mouth of Horus so that she might discover if he still breathed, but there was no breath in his throat; and when she examined the wound in his body made by the fiend Aun-Ab she saw in it traces of poison. No doubt about his death then remained in her mind, and clasping him in her arms she lifted him up, and in her transports of grief leaped about like fish when they are laid on red-hot coals. Then she uttered a series of heartbreaking laments, each of which begins with the words "Horus is bitten." The heir of heaven, the son of Un-Nefer, the child of the gods, he who was wholly fair, is bitten! He for whose wants I provided, he who was to avenge his father, is bitten! He for whom I cared and suffered when he was being fashioned in my womb, is bitten! He whom I tended so that I might gaze upon him, is bitten! He whose life I prayed for is bitten! Calamity hath overtaken the child, and he hath perished.
Whilst Isis was saying these and many similar words, her sister Nephthys, who had been weeping bitterly for her nephew Horus as she wandered about among the swamps, came, in company with the Scorpion-goddess Serqet, and advised Isis to pray to heaven for help. Pray that the sailors in the Boat of Ra may cease from rowing, for the Boat cannot travel

onwards whilst Horus lies dead. Then Isis cried out to heaven, and her voice reached the Boat of Millions of Years, and the Disk ceased to move onward, and came to a standstill. From the Boat Thoth descended, being equipped with words of power and spells of all kinds, and bearing with him the "great command of maa-kheru," i.e., the WORD, whose commands were performed, instantly and completely, by every god, spirit, fiend, human being and by every thing, animate and inanimate, in heaven, earth, and the Other World. Then he came to Isis and told her that no harm could possibly have happened to Horus, for he was under the protection of the Boat of Ra; but his words failed to comfort Isis, and though she acknowledged the greatness of his designs, she complained that they savoured of delay. "What is the good," she asks, "of all thy spells, and incantations, and magical formulae, and the great command of maa-kheru, if Horus is to perish by the poison of a scorpion, and to lie here in the arms of Death? Evil, evil is his destiny, for it hath entailed the deepest misery for him and death."
In answer to these words Thoth, turning to Isis and Nephthys, bade them to fear not, and to have no anxiety about Horus, "For," said he, "I have come from heaven to heal the child for his mother." He then pointed out that Horus was under protection as the Dweller in his Disk (Aten), the Great Dwarf, the Mighty Ram, the Great Hawk, the Holy Beetle, the Hidden Body, the Divine Bennu, etc., and proceeded

to utter the great spell which restored Horus to life. By his words of power Thoth transferred the "fluid of life" of Ra, and as soon as this came upon the child's body the poison of the scorpion flowed out of him, and he once more breathed and lived. When this was done Thoth returned to the Boat of Ra, the gods who formed its crew resumed their rowing, and the Disk passed on its way to make its daily journey across the sky. The gods in heaven, who were amazed and uttered cries of terror when they heard of the death of Horus, were made happy once more, and sang songs of joy over his recovery. The happiness of Isis in her child's restoration to life was very great, for she could again hope that he would avenge his father's murder, and occupy his throne. The final words of Thoth comforted her greatly, for he told her that he would take charge of the case of Horus in the Judgment Hall of Anu, wherein Osiris had been judged, and that as his advocate he would make any accusations which might be brought against Horus to recoil on him that brought them. Furthermore, he would give Horus power to repulse any attacks which might be made upon him by beings in the heights above, or fiends in the depths below, and would ensure his succession to the Throne of the Two Lands, i.e., Egypt. Thoth also promised Isis that Ra himself should act as the advocate of Horus, even as he had done for his father Osiris. He was also careful to allude to the share which Isis had taken in the restoration of Horus to life, saying, "It is the words

of power of his mother which have lifted up his face, and they shall enable him to journey wheresoever he pleaseth, and to put fear into the powers above. I myself hasten [to obey them]." Thus everything turned on the power of the spells of Isis, who made the sun to stand still, and caused the dead to be raised.
Such are the contents of the texts on the famous Metternich Stele. There appears to be some confusion in their arrangement, and some of them clearly are misplaced, and, in places, the text is manifestly corrupt. It is impossible to explain several passages, for we do not understand all the details of the system of magic which they represent. Still, the general meaning of the texts on the Stele is quite clear, and they record a legend of Isis and Horus which is not found so fully described on any other monument.

---

edfu temple THE LEGEND OF HER-BEHTET AND THE WINGED DISK

Horus holding the Hippopotamus-fiend with chain and spear. Behind stand Isis and Heru Khenti-Khatti.

Horus driving his spear into the Hippopotamus-fiend; behind him stands one of his "Blacksmiths".

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Horus driving his spear into the belly of the Hippopotamus-fiend as he lies on his back; behind stands on of his "Blacksmiths".

Horus and Isis capturing the Hippopotamus-fiend.

the legend assumes that Ra, was still reigning on earth, though he was old and feeble, and had probably deputed his power to his successor, whom the legend regards as his son.
In the 363rd year of his reign Ra-Harmakhis 1 was in Nubia with his army with the intention of destroying those who had conspired against him; because of their conspiracy (auu) Nubia is called "Uaua" to this day. From Nubia Ra-Harmakhis sailed down the river to Edfu, where Heru-Behutet entered his boat, and told

him that his foes were conspiring against him. Ra-Harmakhis in answer addressed Heru-Behutet as his son, and commanded him to set out without delay and slay the wicked rebels. Then Heru-Behutet took the form of a great winged Disk, and at once flew up into the sky, where he took the place of Ra, the old Sun-god. Looking down from the height of heaven he was able to discover the whereabouts of the rebels, and he pursued them in the form of a winged disk. Then he attacked them with such violence that they became dazed, and could neither see where they were going, nor hear, the result of this being that they slew each other, and in a very short time they were all dead. Thoth, seeing this, told Ra that because Horus had appeared as a great winged disk he must be called "Heru-Behutet," and by this name Horus was known ever after at Edfu. Ra embraced Horus, and referred with pleasure to the blood which he had shed, and Horus invited his father to come and look upon the slain. Ra set out with the goddess Ashthertet (Ashtoreth) to do this, and they saw the enemies lying fettered on the ground. The legend here introduces a number of curious derivations of the names of Edfu, &c., which are valueless, and which remind us of the derivations of place-names propounded by ancient Semitic scribes.
In gladness of heart Ra proposed a sail on the Nile, but as soon as his enemies heard that he was coming, they changed themselves into crocodiles and hippopotami,

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Horus standing on the back of the Hippopotamus-fiend, and spearing him in the presence of Isis.

The "Butcher-priest" slicing open the Hippopotamus-fiend.

so that they might be able to wreck his boat and devour him. As the boat of the god approached them they opened their jaws to crush it, but Horus and his followers came quickly on the scene, and defeated their purpose. The followers of Horus here mentioned are called in the text "Mesniu," i.e., "blacksmiths," or "workers in metal," and they represent the primitive conquerors of the Egyptians, who were armed with metal weapons, and so were able to overcome with tolerable ease the indigenous Egyptians, whose weapons were made of flint and wood. Horus and his "blacksmiths" were provided with iron lances and chains, and, baying cast the chains over the monsters in the river, they drove their lances into their snouts, and slew 651 of them. Because Horus gained his victory by means of metal weapons, Ra decreed that a metal statue of Horus should be placed at Edfu, and remain there for ever, and a name was given to the town to commemorate the great battle that had taken place there. Ra applauded Horus for the mighty deeds which be had been able to perform by means of the spells contained in the "Book of Slaying the Hippopotamus." Horus then associated with himself the goddesses Uatchet and Nekhebet, who were in the form of serpents, and, taking his place as the winged Disk on the front of the Boat of Ra, destroyed all the enemies of Ra wheresoever he found them. When the remnant of the enemies of Ra, saw that they were likely to be slain, they doubled back to the South, but
Horus pursued them, and drove them down the river before him as far as Thebes. One battle took place at Tchetmet, and another at Denderah, and Horus was always victorious; the enemies were caught by chains thrown over them, and the deadly spears of the Blacksmiths drank their blood. After this the enemy fled to the North, and took refuge in the swamps of the Delta, and in the shallows of the Mediterranean Sea, and Horus pursued them thither. After searching for them for four days and four nights he found them, and they were speedily slain. One hundred and forty-two of them. and a male hippopotamus were dragged on to the Boat of Ra, and there Horus dug out their entrails, and hacked their carcases in pieces, which he gave to his Blacksmiths and the gods who formed the crew of the Boat of Ra. Before despatching the hippopotamus, Horus leaped on to the back of the monster as a mark of his triumph, and to commemorate this event the priest of Heben, the town wherein these things happened, was called "He who standeth on the back ever after.
The end of the great fight, however, was not yet. Another army of enemies appeared by the North Lake, and they were marching towards the sea; but terror of Horus smote their hearts, and they fled and took refuge in Mertet-Ament, where they allied themselves with the followers of Set, the Arch-fiend and great Enemy of Ra. Thither Horus and his well-armed Blacksmiths pursued them, and came up with them at the town

Horus of Behutet and Ra-Harmakhis in a shrine.

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Horus of Behutet and Harmakhis in a shrine.

Ashthertet ('Ashtoreth') driving her chariot over the prostrate foe.

Left: Horus of Behutet spearing a Typhonic animal, and holding his prisoners with rope.
Right: Horus of Behutet, accompanied by Ra-Harmakhis and Menu, spearing the Hippopotamus-fiend.

called Per-Rerehu, which derived its name from the "Two Combatants," or "Two Men," Horus and Set. A great fight took place, the enemies of Ra were defeated with great slaughter, and Horus dragged 381 prisoners on to the Boat of Ra, where he slew them, and gave their bodies to his followers.
Then Set rose up and cursed Horus because he had slain his allies, and he used such foul language that Thoth called him "Nehaha-her," i.e., "Stinking Face," and this name clung to him ever after. After this Horus and Set engaged in a fight which lasted a very long time, but at length Horus drove his spear into the neck of Set with such violence that the Fiend fell headlong to the ground. Then Horus smote with his club the mouth which had uttered such blasphemies, and fettered him with his chain. In this state Horus dragged Set into the presence of Ra, who ascribed great praise to Horus, and special names were given to the palace of Horus and the high priest of the temple in commemoration of the event. When the question of the disposal of Set was being discussed by the gods, Ra ordered that he and his fiends should be given over to Isis and her son Horus, who were to do what they pleased with them. Horus promptly cut off the heads of Set and his fiends in the presence of Ra and Isis, and be dragged Set by his feet through the country with his spear sticking in his head and neck. After this Isis appointed Horus of Behutet to be the protecting deity of her son Horus.

The fight between the Sun-god and Set was a very favourite subject with Egyptian writers, and there are many forms of it. Thus there is the fight between Heru-ur and Set, the fight between Ra and Set, the fight between Heru-Behutet and Set, the fight between Osiris and Set, and the fight between Horus, son of Isis, and Set. In the oldest times the combat was merely the natural opposition of light to darkness, but later the Sun-god became the symbol of right and truth as well as of light, and Set the symbol of sin and wickedness as well as of darkness, and ultimately the nature myth was forgotten, and the fight between the two gods became the type of the everlasting war which good men wage against sin. In Coptic literature we have the well-known legend of the slaughter of the dragon by St. George, and this is nothing but a Christian adaptation of the legend of Horus and Set.
After these things Horus, son of Ra, and Horus, son of Isis, each took the form of a mighty man, with the face and body of a hawk, and each wore the Red and White Crowns, and each carried a spear and chain. In these forms the two gods slew the remnant of the enemies. Now by some means or other Set came to life again, and he took the form of a mighty hissing or "roaring" serpent, and hid himself in the ground, in a place which was ever after called the "place of the roarer." In front of his hiding-place Horus, son of Isis, stationed himself in the form of a hawk-headed staff to prevent him from coming out. In spite of this,

Horus of Behutet and Thoth spearing human victims with the assistance of Isis.

Horus of Behutet and Thoth spearing Set in the form of a crocodile.

however, Set managed to escape, and he gathered about him the Smai and Seba fiends at the Lake of Meh, and waged war once more against Horus; the enemies of Ra were again defeated, and Horus slew them in the presence of his father.
Horus, it seems, now ceased to fight for some time, and devoted himself to keeping guard over the "Great God" who was in An-rut-f, a district in or near Herakleopolis. This Great God was no other than Osiris, and the duty of Horus was to prevent the Smai fiends from coming by night to the place. In spite of the power of Horus, it was found necessary to summon the aid of Isis to keep away the fiends, and it was only by her words of power that the fiend Ba was kept out of the sanctuary. As a reward for what he had already done, Thoth decreed that Horus should be called the "Master-Fighter." Passing over the derivations of place-names which occur here in the text, we find that Horus and his Blacksmiths were again obliged to fight bodies of the enemy who had managed to escape, and that on one occasion they killed one hundred and six foes. In every fight the Blacksmiths performed mighty deeds of valour, and in reward for their services a special district was allotted to them to dwell in.
The last great fight in the North took place at Tanis, in the eastern part of the Delta. When the position of the enemy had been located, Horus took the form of a lion with the face of a man, and he put on his head the Triple Crown. His claws were like flints, and with

them he dragged away one hundred and forty-two of the enemy, and tore them in pieces, and dug out their tongues, which he carried off as symbols of his victory.
Meanwhile rebellion had again broken out in Nubia, where about one-third of the enemy had taken refuge in the river in the forms of crocodiles and hippopotami. Ra counselled Horus to sail up the Nile with his Blacksmiths, and when Thoth had recited the "Chapters of protecting the Boat of Ra" over the boats, the expedition set sail for the South. The object of reciting these spells was to prevent the monsters which were in the river from making the waves to rise and from stirring up storms which might engulf the boats of Ra and Horus and the Blacksmiths. When the rebels and fiends who had been uttering, treason against Horus saw the boat of Ra, with the winged Disk of Horus accompanied by the goddesses Uatchet and Nekhebet in the form of serpents, they were smitten with fear, and their hearts quaked, and all power of resistance left them, and they died of fright straightway. When Horus returned in triumph to Edfu, Ra ordered that an image of the winged Disk should be placed in each of his sanctuaries, and that in every place wherein a winged Disk was set, that sanctuary should be a sanctuary of Horus of Behutet. The winged disks which are seen above the doorways of the temples still standing in Egypt show that the command of Ra, was faithfully carried out by the priests.

Horus of Behutet in the form of a lion slaying his foes.

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