by Overton, Max
"We're not going to know that until Dani starts translating again, but hey, we knew nothing about the Nubian involvement with Smenkhkare before we heard it here, so maybe she has some more surprises for us."
"Like the story of the gods," Doris said.
"As far as I'm concerned," Angela said, "She can't top the story of her two half-brothers battling it out in front of Thebes. I've looked in the history books and that is totally new."
Daffyd stubbed his cigarette out and leaned back. "Actually, it's not completely new, particularly if you remember that Greece had a Thebes too. The legend of Oedipus has two brothers killing each other in front of Greek Thebes and being succeeded by their uncle. I forget the names, but the similarity is intriguing."
"You're kidding," Bob exclaimed. "That would be a hell of a coincidence."
"What about the rest of the Oedipus legend," Doris asked. "Are there more coincidences?"
Daffyd shrugged. "I can't remember. Perhaps it is something else we could research."
Al snorted. "I think we have quite enough to be getting on with."
"I agree," Marc said. "Let's just concentrate on Scarab's story and leave the other legends to somebody else."
The End of Scarab-Ay: Book 4 of the Amarnan Kings
The Story Concludes in Scarab-Horemheb: Book 5 of the Amarnan Kings
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The Main Characters & Places in Scarab-Ay
The pronunciations given below are hardly definitive. As vowels are unknown in ancient Egyptian, we can only guess at the proper pronunciation. I have tried to select spellings and pronunciations that are common among English speakers, though where the accent lies is anyone's guess. If you prefer another form, please feel free to use it.
Aanen (Ah-nen) - ex-second prophet of Amun, brother of Ay
Abu (Ar-boo) - the city of Aswan
Akhenaten (Ah-ken-ah-ten) - the heretic king, husband of Nefertiti
Amenemipet (Ah-men-emm-ee-pet) - deputy viceroy of Nubia
Amenhotep III (Ah-men-hoh-tepp) - king, father of Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten), Smenkhkare, Tutankhaten and Beketaten
Amenhotep IV - king, son of Amenhotep III, later changed his name to Akhenaten
Amenope (Ah-men-o-pee) - an older man loyal to Scarab
Amentep (Ah-men-tepp) - commander of Paramessu's Ptah legion
Ankhesenamen (Ann-kess-en-ah-men) - name taken by Ankhesenpaaten when Tutankhaten changed his name
Ashraz (Ash-razz) - Aziru's spymaster
Ay (Eye) - father of Nefertiti and brother to queen Tiye, holds title of Divine Father, Tjaty to Akhenaten, Smenkhkare and Tutankamen
Aziru (Azz-ee-roo) - king of the Amorites
Baenre (Bar-en-ray) - one of Horemheb's troop commanders
Bakenkhons (Bar-ken-con-ss) - commander of the Sept legion
Bakt (Bar-k-tt) - third prophet of Amun, elevated by Ay to first prophet
Beketaten (Beck-ett-ah-ten) - youngest daughter of Amenhotep III and Tiye, known as Scarab
Disebek (Dee-sebb-ekk) - commander of the Kharga garrison
Djedhor (Jedd-hore) - commander of Paramessu's Heru legion
Emsaf (Emm-saff) - junior officer on Amenemipet's staff
Ephras (Eff-rass) - aide of Jebu, later general of the Amorite army, executed
Hednackht (Head-nah-k-tt) - commander of Paramessu's Re legion
Hemaka (Hem-ah-car) - lieutenant under Nakhtmin
Hetepnebi (Het-epp-neb-ee) - a body in the House of the Dead
Horemheb (Hore-emm-heb) - general of the eastern borders, later of all armies during reign of Akhenaten, later Tjaty of Ta Mehu under Tutankhamen
Huni (Hoo-nee) - leader of Scarab's wounded soldiers
Ipuwer (Ee-poo-were) - Head embalmer of East Gate House of the Dead, father of Rekhmire
Ipy (Ee-pee) - commander of the Heq-at legion
Iteru (Ee-tare-roo) - the Great River, the Nile
Iunu (Ee-oo-noo) - the city of Heliopolis in Lower Egypt
Iymeru (Ee-mare-roo) - a physician in Paramessu's army
Jebu (Jeb-oo) - Amorite general
Khnumt-Atum Scarab (Kh-noom-tt-ah-toom Scarab) - the nomen of Scarab
Khu (Coo) - farm lad of Akhet-Re, a King's Councilor and companion of Scarab
Khui (Coo-ee) - commander of Paramessu's Set legion
Meketre (Mekk-ett-ray) - high priest of Shesepankh
Menes (Men-ayz) - assistant to Panas at Men-nefer
Menkure (Men-coo-ray) - friend and Tjaty of Smenkhkare
Men-nefer (Ee-neb Hedge) - Capital of the Lower Kingdom, known later as Memphis
Mentmose (Ment-mo-zay) - mayor of Ta-senet
Mentopher (Men-toe-fur) - steward of Tjaty Ay's household
Meny (May-knee) - Leader of Fifty under Paramessu
Meres (Meh-rays) - chamberlain of the Men-nefer palace
Mose (Moh-zay) - one of Horemheb's troop commanders
Mutaril (Moo-tar-rill) - Hittite ambassador to King Aziru
Nakhtmin (Nar-k-tt-minn) - son of a Theban landowner, general of Ay's army, adopted by Ay, crown prince and heir
Natsefamen (Nat-seff-ah-men) - junior officer in the Heru legion
Nebhotep (Neb-hoh-tepp) - court physician in Akhet-Aten, King's Councilor under Smenkhkare, companion of Scarab
Nebkheperure (Neb-kep-er-roo-ray) - Lord of the Manifestations of Re; throne name of Tutankhamen
Nebmaetre (Neb-my-tray) - The Lord of Truth is Re; throne name of Amenhotep III
Neferkheperu (Neff-er-kepp-er-roo) - the prenomen of Scarab
Paramessu (Pah-ram-ess-oo) - son of Seti, a friend of Horemheb, who becomes a general of the Northern Army
Piankh (Pee-ank-hh) - one of Horemheb's troop commanders
Psenamy (Sen-a-me) - General at Thebes under the control of Ay
Rekhmire (Rake-me-ray) - embalmer of the East Gate House of the Dead, son of Ipuwer
Scarab - nickname of Beketaten, comes to be her preferred name
Seneb (Seh-neb) - one of Horemheb's troop commanders
Sepi (Sepp-ee) - one of Scarab's wounded soldiers
Set (Seth) - son of Scarab and Paramessu
Seti (Seth-ee) - judge and troop commander of Zarw, father of Paramessu
Shesepankh (Shess-eh-pank) - the Sphinx
Shubbiluliuma (Shoo-bill-ool-ee-oo-ma) - king of the Hittites
Smenkhkare (Ss-men-kah-ray) - son of Amenhotep III by his own daughter Sitamen, King of Kemet, sometimes known as Son of Sobek (the crocodile god)
Ta Mehu (Tar-May-hoo) - Lower Egypt
Ta-senet (Tar-senn-ett) - the town of Esna
Ta Shemau (Tar-shem-ow) - Upper Egypt
Tjaty (Jar-tee) - vizier, second to the king
Tutankhamen (Too-tank-ah-men) - son of Amenhotep III by his own daughter Iset, becomes king after the disappearance of Smenkhkare
Usermontju (Oo-sir-mont-jew) - Chief of the Medjay (Police) in Thebes
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Gods of the Scarab Books
Amun (Ah-moon) - the hidden one; a sun god, lord of the sky and king of gods; became increasingly powerful during the eighteenth dynasty; worship was centreed on Waset.
Asar (Ah-sar) (Osiris) - god of the dead; one of the Nine of Iunu
Aten (Ah-ten) - the sun as a disc, distinct from Re; elevated from a minor god in the eighteenth dynasty; became the supreme god during Akhenaten's reign.
Atum (Ah-toom) - Creator god; the unified light; one of the Nine of Iunu
Auset (Ow-seth) (Isis) - goddess of family love and loyalty; one of the Nine of Iunu
Djehuti (Jeh-hoot-ee) (Thoth) - god of the moon and of wisdom; patron deity of scribes and knowledge
Geb (Gebb) - god of the earth and growing things; one of the Nine of Iunu
Hapi (Hah-pee) - god of the Nile River
Heru (Heh-rue)(Heru) - a sky god; the Ascending Light
Het-Her (Hathor) - goddess of love, beauty and fertility
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br /> Khepri (Kepp-ree) - an aspect of the sun god epitomised by the actions of the sacred scarab beetle which rolls balls of dung (representing the ball of the sun) containing its eggs; the Dawn Light.
Khnum (Kh-noom) - god of the source of the Nile; the Divine Potter; creator of human children
Min (Minn) - fertility god.
Nebt-Het (Nebb-tt-het) (Nephthys) - goddess of secrets and mysteries; one of the Nine of Iunu
Nekhbet (Neck-beth) - vulture goddess of Upper Egypt
Nut (Noot) - goddess of the sky and direction; one of the Nine of Iunu
Ptah (Tar) - god of craftsmen.
Re (Ray) - one of the sun god; the Midday Light
Satet (Sah-teth) - goddess of the inundation of the Nile
Set (Seth) - god of the desert and destruction; associated with the colour red; one of the Nine of Iunu
Sobek (Sob-eck) - the Crocodile god
Shu (Shoo) - god of air and dryness; one of the Nine of Iunu
Tefnut (Teff-noot) - goddess of moisture; one of the Nine of Iunu
Wadjet (Wadge-eth) - cobra goddess of Lower Egypt
Wepwawet (Wepp-wah-wet) - Opener of Ways; the god of war and funerals
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About the Author
Max Overton has travelled extensively and lived in many places around the world--including Malaysia, India, Germany, England, Jamaica, New Zealand, USA and Australia. Trained in the biological sciences in New Zealand and Australia, he has worked within the scientific field for many years, but now concentrates on writing. While predominantly a writer of historical fiction (Scarab: Books 1-6 of the Amarnan Kings; the Scythian Trilogy; the Demon Series; Ascension), he also writes in other genres (A Cry of Shadows, the Glass Trilogy, Haunted Trail, Sequestered) and draws on true life (Adventures of a Small Game Hunter in Jamaica, We Came From Königsberg). Max also maintains an interest in butterflies, photography, the paranormal and other aspects of Fortean Studies.
Most of his other published books are available at Writers Exchange Ebooks, http://www.writers-exchange.com/Max-Overton.html and all his books may be viewed on his website:
http://www.maxovertonauthor.com
Max's book covers are all designed and created by Julie Napier, and other examples of her art and photography may be viewed at www.julienapier.com
If you enjoyed this author's book, then please place a review up at Amazon and any social media sites you frequent!
If you want to read more about books by this author, they are listed on the following pages...
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Other Books By This Author
A Cry of Shadows
{Paranormal Murder Mystery}
Australian Professor Ian Delaney is single-minded in his determination to prove his theory that one can discover the moment that the life force leaves the body. After succumbing to the temptation to kill a girl under scientifically controlled conditions, he takes an offer of work in St Louis, hoping to leave the undiscovered crime behind him.
In America, Wayne Richardson seeks revenge by killing his ex-girlfriend, believing it will give him the upper hand, a means to seize control following their breakup. Wayne quickly discovers that he enjoys killing and begins to seek out young women who resemble his dead ex-girlfriend.
Ian and Wayne meet, and when Ian recognizes the symptoms of violent delusion he employs Wayne to help him further his research. Despite the police closing in, the two killers manage to evade identification as the death toll rises.
John Barnes, the detective in charge of the case, is frantic, willing to try anything to catch his killer. With time running out, he looks desperately for answers. Will John get them before it's too late?
Publisher ebook page: http://www.writers-exchange.com/A-Cry-of-Shadows.html
Amazon (ebook and print): http://mybook.to/ACryOfShadows
AmazonSmile (US Region): https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00E96DIDM
* * *
Adventures of a Small Game Hunter in Jamaica
{Biography}
An eleven-year-old boy is plucked from boarding school in England and transported to the tropical paradise of Jamaica. A shy and dreamy boy, he has one great love in his life--butterflies. He discovers that Jamaica has a wealth of these wonderful insects and sets about making a collection of as many as he can find. Along the way, he has adventures with many other creatures, from hummingbirds to vultures, from iguanas to black widow spiders, and through it all runs the promise of the legendary Homerus swallowtail, Jamaica's national butterfly.
Other activities intrude, like school, boxing and swimming lessons, but he manages to inveigle his parents into taking him to strange and sometimes dangerous places, all in the name of butterfly collecting. He meets scientists and Rastafarians, teachers, small boys and the ordinary people of this tropical isle, and even discovers butterflies that should not exist in Jamaica.
I was that young boy. I count myself fortunate to have lived in Jamaica in an age very different from our present one. I still have some of the butterflies I collected half a century or more ago, and each one releases a flood of memories every time I open the box and gaze at their tattered and fading wings. These memories have become stories--stories of the Adventures of a Small Game Hunter in Jamaica.
Publisher ebook page: http://www.writers-exchange.com/Adventures-of-a-Small-Game-Hunter.html
Amazon: http://myBook.to/AdventuresGameHunter
AmazonSmile (US Region): https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01AC7HJ2M
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Ascension Series
{Historical: Holocaust}
Book 1: Ascension
A small boy discovers that being a Jew in Germany can be a dangerous thing. Fear prompts Konrad Wengler to put his faith aside and he tries desperately to forget his heritage.
He fights in the Great War and is wounded, becomes a policeman in his tiny Bavarian town, where he falls under the spell of the fledgling Nazi Party. He joins the Party in patriotic fervour and becomes a Lieutenant of Police and Schutzstaffel (SS).
In the course of his duties as policeman, he offends a powerful Nazi official, who starts an SS investigation of this troublesome police Lieutenant. When war breaks out, he joins the Police Battalions and is sent to Poland where he has to witness the atrocities being committed upon his fellow Jews.
The SS investigators have discovered Konrad's origins and follow him into Poland. He is arrested and sent to Mauthausen Concentration Camp. Suddenly, Konrad must face what it means to be a Jew and fight for survival. He has friends on the outside, a wife and a lawyer, but will they be enough to counter the might of the Nazi machine?
Publisher ebook page: http://www.writers-exchange.com/Ascension.html
Amazon (ebook and print): http://mybook.to/Ascension1
AmazonSmile (US Region): https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00DPGT4QM
Book 2: Maelstrom
Konrad Wengler has survived his brush with the death camps of Nazi Germany, and has been reinstated as a police officer in his home town despite being a Jew. He throws himself back into his work, seeking to uncover the evidence that will remove a corrupt Nazi party official, but underestimates his enemy. The Gestapo have their own agenda, and despite orders from above to eliminate this troublesome Jewish policeman, they hide him in the Totenkopf (Death's Head) Division of the Waffen-SS.
Now Konrad must fight to survive in the snowy wastes of Russia as the tide of war turns against Germany. He experiences tank battles, ghetto clearances, partisans, and death camps (this time as a guard), as well as the fierce battles where his Division is badly outnumbered and on the defence.
Through it all, he must try to live by his conscience and resist taking part in the atrocities happening all around him. He still thinks of himself as a policeman, but his desire to bring the corrupt official to justice now seems far removed from his present reality. Konrad must first survive if he is to find the necessary evidence.
; Publisher ebook page: http://www.writers-exchange.com/Maelstrom.html
Amazon (ebook and print): http://mybook.to/Ascension2
AmazonSmile (US Region): https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01M64ZQMD
* * *
Fall of the House of Ramesses
{Historical: Ancient Egypt}
Book 1: Merenptah
Egypt was at the height of its powers in the days of Ramesses the Great and the young king confidently predicted that his House would last for a Thousand Years. Sixty years later he was still on the throne and one by one his heirs had died and the survivors had become old men. When he at last died, he left a stagnant kingdom and his throne to an old man - Merenptah. What followed laid the groundwork for a nation ripped apart by civil war.
The northern tribes rebelled and joined forces with the Sea Peoples, invading from the north; while in the south the king's eldest son, angered at being passed over in favour of the younger son, plotted to rid himself of his father and brother. An ageing king takes to the field to fight for the House of Ramesses.
Publisher ebook page: http://www.writers-exchange.com/Merenptah.html
Amazon (ebook and print): http://mybook.to/FOTHR1
AmazonSmile (US Region): https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00RADM7P6