Tales of Ancient Egypt

by Roger Green

  ‘Pharaoh, my lord – life, health, strength be to you!’ answered Zazamankh the magician, ‘I will do what you ask – for to one with my knowledge it is not a great thing. Yet maybe it is an enchantment you have never seen, and it will fill you with wonder, even as I promised, and make your heart rejoice yet further in new things.’

  Then Zazamankh stood at the stern of the Royal Boat and began to chant great spells and words of power. And presently he held out his wand over the water, and the lake parted as if a piece had been cut out of it with a great sword. The lake here was twenty feet deep, and the piece of water that the magician moved rose up and set itself upon the surface of the lake so that there was a cliff of water on that side forty feet high.

  Now the Royal Boat slid gently down into the great cleft in the lake until it rested on the bottom. On the side towards the forty-foot cliff of water there was a great open space where the bottom of the lake lay uncovered, as firm and dry as the land itself.

  And there, just below the stern of the Royal Boat, lay the golden lotus.

  With a cry of joy the maiden who had lost it sprang over the side on to the firm ground, picked it up and set it once more in her hair. Then she climbed swiftly back into the Royal Boat and took the steering oar into her hands once more.

  Zazamankh slowly lowered his rod, and the Royal Boat slid up the side of the water until it was level with the surface once more. Then at another word of power, and as if drawn by the magician’s rod, the great piece of water slid back into place, and the evening breeze rippled the still surface of the lake as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

  But the heart of Pharaoh Seneferu rejoiced and was filled with wonder, and he cried: ‘Zazamankh, my brother, you are the greatest and wisest of magicians! You have shown me wonders and delights this day, and your reward shall be all that you desire, and a place next to my own in Egypt.’

  Then the Royal Boat sailed gently on over the lake in the glow of the evening, while the twenty lovely maidens in their garments of golden net, and the jewelled lotus flowers in their hair dipped their ebony and silver oars in the shimmering waters and sang sweetly a love song of old Egypt:

  ‘She stands upon the further side,

  Between us flows the Nile;

  And in those waters deep and wide

  There lurks a crocodile.

  ‘Yet is my love so true and sweet,

  A word of power, a charm –

  The stream is land beneath my feet

  And bears me without harm.

  ‘For I shall come to where she stands,

  No more be held apart;

  And I shall take my darling’s hands

  And draw her to my heart.’

  Teta the Magician

  The Pharaoh Khufu reigned in Egypt and the building of the Great Pyramid at Giza had begun. His architect, Hemon, had learnt all the wisdom of Imhotep, who had built the Step Pyramid for Zoser a hundred years before, and the people of Egypt came in their thousands during the months of the Inundation each year when no farming was possible, and laboured gladly to the glory of the good god Pharaoh Khufu – who, like all true Pharaohs of Egypt, was held to be an incarnation of the spirit of Amen-Ra himself.

  But there was one thing lacking. Hemon and the magicians of Memphis could not find the papyrus roll on which Imhotep was said to have written the words of power to keep a pyramid safe for ever against earthquake and thunderbolt – the weapons of Set the Evil One.

  So Khufu sent out messengers and offered rewards to any who could find the words of power. The priests in the temples, from Philae to Tanis, searched their records; the magicians of Thebes and Abydos and Heliopolis sought the aid of spells and incantations – but all in vain.

  At last, however, one of Pharaoh’s sons, the Prince Hordedef, came to his father and bowing to the ground, said, ‘Pharaoh my father – life, health, strength be to you! – I have found a magician stronger and more wonderful than any in your realm. His name is Teta and he dwells not far hence, at Meidum near the pyramid of your father Seneferu. There is no one like him in all Egypt: he is one hundred and ten years old, and was a boy when Zoser reigned and Imhotep built the first pyramid – and he eats five hundred bread-cakes and a side of beef, and drinks one hundred draughts of beer each day, even now. He knows how to restore the head that is smitten off; he knows how to make the savage lion of the desert follow him like a tame dog. And he swears that he knows how you may find the papyrus of Imhotep, inscribed with the words of power and the charms that must be spoken to keep a pyramid safe from the blows of Set the Evil One, who would destroy the dwelling places of the dead if they were not protected.’

  Khufu the Pharaoh was delighted at this news, and said, ‘Go in person, Hordedef my son, and take with you the Royal Litter and many attendants. Bring Teta the magician hither to Memphis with all speed, and treat him as if he were a subject prince visiting me his lord. Sail up the Nile in the Royal Boat so that Teta may travel with ease and comfort.’

  So Hordedef set out in the Royal Boat, taking with him all things needful. Up the river he went, beyond Saqqara, beyond the Pyramids of Dahshur, until he came to the Pyramid of Meidum built by Seneferu. Here he landed and set out up the royal causeway to the Pyramid, and round it to the village beyond where dwelt Teta the magician.

  They found the old man lying on a couch of palm-wood in the shade of his house, while his servants fanned him and anointed his head and feet with oil.

  Prince Hordedef saluted him reverently, saying, ‘Greetings worthy of your great and revered age be to you, Teta the magician, and may you continue free of the infirmities of the old. I come with a message from my father Khufu the great Pharaoh, life, health, strength be to him! He bids you visit him at Memphis and share the best of food and wine, even such as he himself eats and drinks. Moreover, he has sent his own Royal Boat so that you may travel in ease and comfort; and here is the Royal Litter of ebony set with gold in which you shall be carried, even as Pharaoh himself is borne, from here down to the Royal Boat, and from it to the palace in Memphis.’

  Then Teta the magician replied, ‘Peace be with you, Hordedef, son of the great Pharaoh, beloved of your father! May Khufu the Pharaoh – life, health, strength be to him! – advance you among his councillors and bring you all good things! May your Ka prevail against your enemies, and may your Bai find the road of righteousness that leads to the throne of Osiris in the Duat! I will come with you to the presence of Pharaoh. But let another boat follow bringing my attendants and the book of my art.’

  All things were done as Teta desired, and in due time he sailed down the Nile in the Royal Boat and was carried in the Royal Litter to the palace at Memphis.

  When Khufu heard of Teta’s arrival he cried, ‘Bring him before me immediately!’ So Teta was led into the great Hall of Columns where Pharaoh awaited him on his throne with the great men of Egypt gathered about him.

  Pharaoh said to Teta, ‘How is it, great master of magic, that I have not seen you before?’

  And Teta answered, ‘He who is summoned is he who comes. The good god Pharaoh Khufu – life, health, strength be to him! – has sent for me, and behold I am here.’

  Then Pharaoh said, ‘Is it true, as I have heard tell, that you can restore to its place the head that is smitten off?’

  And Teta replied, ‘That indeed I can do, by the magic and wisdom of my hundred years and ten.’

  ‘Bring from the prison one who is doomed to die,’ commanded Khufu. ‘And let the executioner come also to perform the death sentence on the criminal.’

  But Teta exclaimed, ‘Let it not be a man, O Pharaoh my lord. Let it be ordered that the head be smitten from some other living creature.’

  So a duck was brought into the Hall of Columns and its head was cut off and laid at one end while its body remained at the other. Then Teta spoke the rolling words of power, and at his secret charm the duck’s b
ody fluttered along the ground, and its head moved likewise until they came together. And when the two parts met they joined, and the duck stood flapping its wings and quacking loudly.

  Then a goose was brought, and the same magic was performed. And when an ox was beheaded Teta had but to speak the great words of power that made up his charm and the dead ox rose lowing to its feet and followed him across the Hall of Columns with its halter trailing on the ground.

  Then said Pharaoh, ‘All that is reported of you is true, Teta, greatest of magicians. But now can you tell me that which I long to know: where lies the papyrus on which Imhotep wrote the words of power that went to the building of the pyramid for Zoser, yes and for that of Seneferu my father also.’

  ‘I can tell you where the papyrus lies,’ answered Teta. ‘It is in a casket of flint that is hidden in the great Temple of Amen-Ra at Heliopolis. I cannot tell where that casket is concealed, but I know by my art that only one person can find the casket for you – yes, and I can tell you who it is.’

  ‘Speak then, greatest of magicians!’ exclaimed Khufu eagerly. ‘And great indeed shall be your reward.’

  ‘This very night,’ answered Teta, ‘the wife of a priest at Heliopolis shall bear three children at a birth, and the spirit of Amen-Ra shall be in them. Her name is Rud-didet, and one of her children shall find the casket … One of her children shall also sit where you sit and rule over Egypt.’

  Then Khufu’s heart was troubled, and he said, ‘Surely it would be better to send and slay Rud-didet ere ever her children are born. For only by treachery can one of them become Pharaoh of Egypt.’

  But Teta said, ‘Let not your heart be troubled. Your son Khafra shall reign after you, and Menkaura his son after him, before a son of Rud-didet sits on the throne of the Upper and Lower Lands. The words of power can be found and spoken by none but he – and if he speaks them three great pyramids shall rise at Giza and stand there for ever. But if he speaks them not, all that you build, and your son builds and your son’s son after him shall fall and crumble away and become as the sands of the desert.’

  So Khufu issued a decree that the children of Rud-didet should dwell at Heliopolis in all honour, and that if any lifted a hand against them, be he a prince of Egypt, he should die a death of shame, and his body be destroyed so that his Ka should perish also. And he bade Hordedef take Teta the magician to dwell in his palace for the rest of his days, giving him daily five hundred bread-cakes, a hundred draughts of beer, a side of beef, and whatever else he might desire.

  Meanwhile the three children of Rud-didet were born, and when the eldest, User-kaf, played in the temple of Amen-Ra as a boy he found the casket of flint in which was the papyrus roll containing the words of power. And, as a young priest, he read them at the dedication of the Great Pyramid of Khufu; as high priest of Heliopolis he read them at the dedication of the Pyramid of Khafra, and as Pharaoh-elect he read them at the dedication of the Pyramid of Menkaura. And when Menkaura was laid in his pyramid, User-kaf became Pharaoh of all Egypt – the first Pharaoh of the Fifth Dynasty.

  As for the words of power and the charm against Set the Evil One, they seem to have done all that Khufu the Pharaoh wished: for the three great pyramids of Khufu, Khafra and Menkaura stand at Giza to this day – the first of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, and the only one that is still standing nearly five thousand years later.

  The Book of Thoth

  Rameses the Great, Pharaoh of Egypt, had a son called Setna who was learned in all the ancient writings, and a magician of note. While the other princes spent their days in hunting or in leading their father’s armies to guard the distant parts of his empire, Setna was never so happy as when left alone to study.

  Not only could he read even the most ancient hieroglyphic writings on the temple walls, but he was a scribe who could write quickly and easily all the many hundreds of signs that go to make up the ancient Egyptian language. Also he was a magician whom none could surpass: for he had learnt his art from the most secret of the ancient writings which even the priests of Amen-Ra, of Ptah and Thoth, could not read.

  One day, as he pored over the ancient books written on the two sides of long rolls of papyrus, he came upon the story of another Pharaoh’s son several hundred years earlier who had been as great a scribe and as wise a magician as he – greater and wiser, indeed, for Nefrekeptah had read the Book of Thoth by which a man might enchant both heaven and earth, and know the language of the birds and beasts.

  When Setna read further that the Book of Thoth had been buried with Nefrekeptah in his royal tomb at Memphis, nothing would content him until he had found it and learnt all his wisdom.

  So he sought out his brother Anherru and said to him, ‘Help me to find the Book of Thoth. For without it life has no longer any meaning for me.’

  ‘I will go with you and stand by your side through all dangers,’ answered Anherru.

  The two brothers set out for Memphis, and it was not hard for them to find the tomb of Nefrekeptah the son of Amen-hotep, the first great Pharaoh of that name, who had reigned three hundred years before their day.

  When Setna had made his way into the tomb, to the central chamber where Nefrekeptah was laid to rest, he found the body of the prince lying wrapped in its linen bands, still and awful in death. But beside it on the stone sarcophagus sat two ghostly figures, the Kas, or doubles, of a beautiful young woman and a boy – and between them, on the dead breast of Nefrekeptah lay the Book of Thoth.

  Setna bowed reverently to the two Kas, and said, ‘May Osiris have you in his keeping, dead son of a dead Pharaoh, Nefrekeptah the great scribe; and you also, who ever you be, whose Kas sit here beside him. Know that I am Setna, the priest of Ptah, son of Rameses the greatest Pharaoh of all – and I come for the Book of Thoth which was yours in your days on earth. I beg you to let me take it in peace – for if not, I have the power to take it by force or magic.’

  Then said the Ka of the woman, ‘Do not take the Book of Thoth, Setna, son of today’s Pharaoh. It will bring you trouble even as it brought trouble upon Nefrekeptah who lies here, and upon me, Ahura his wife, whose body lies at Koptos on the edge of Eastern Thebes together with that of Merab our son – whose Kas you see before you, dwelling with the husband and father whom we loved so dearly. Listen to my tale, and beware!

  ‘Nefrekeptah and I were the children of the Pharaoh Amen-hotep and, according to the custom, we became husband and wife, and this son Merab was born to us. Nefrekeptah cared above all things for the wisdom of the ancients and for the magic that is to be learned from all that is carved on the temple walls, and within the tombs and pyramids of long-dead kings and priests in Saqqara, the city of the dead that is all about us here on the edge of Memphis.

  ‘One day as he was studying what is carved on the walls in one of the most ancient shrines of the gods, he heard a priest laugh mockingly and say, ‘All that you read there is but worthless. I could tell you where lies the Book of Thoth, which the god of wisdom wrote with his own hand. When you have read its first page you will be able to enchant the heaven and the earth, the abyss, the mountains and the sea; and you shall know what the birds and the beasts and the reptiles are saying. And when you have read the second page your eyes will behold all the secrets of the gods themselves, and read all that is hidden in the stars.”

  ‘Then said Nefrekeptah to the priest, “By the life of Pharaoh, tell me what you would have me do for you, and I will do it – if only you will tell me where the Book of Thoth is.”

  ‘And the priest answered, “If you would learn where it lies, you must first give me a hundred bars of silver for my funeral, and issue orders that when I die my body shall be buried like that of a great king.”

  ‘Nefrekeptah did all that the priest asked; and when he had received the bars of silver, he said, “The Book of Thoth lies beneath the middle of the Nile at Koptos, in an iron box. In the iron box is a box of bronze; in the bronze box is a sycamore
box; in the sycamore box is an ivory and ebony box; in the ivory and ebony box is a silver box; in the silver box is a golden box – and in that lies the Book of Thoth. All around the iron box are twisted snakes and scorpions, and it is guarded by a serpent who cannot be slain.”

  ‘Nefrekeptah was beside himself with joy. He hastened home from the shrine and told me all that he had learned. But I feared lest evil should come of it, and said to him, “Do not go to Koptos to seek this book, for I know that it will bring great sorrow to you and to those you love.” I tried in vain to hold Nefrekeptah back, but he shook me off and went to Pharaoh, our royal father, and told him what he had learnt from the priest.

  ‘Then said Pharaoh, “What is it that you desire?” And Nefrekeptah answered, “Bid your servants make ready the Royal Boat, for I would sail south to Koptos with Ahura my wife and our son Merab to seek this book without delay.”

  ‘All was done as he wished, and we sailed up the Nile until we came to Koptos. And there the priests and priestesses of Isis came to welcome us and led us up to the Temple of Isis and Horus. Nefrekeptah made a great sacrifice of an ox, a goose and some wine, and we feasted with the priests and their wives in a fine house looking out upon the river.

  ‘But on the morning of the fifth day, leaving me and Merab to watch from the window of the house, Nefrekeptah went down to the river and made a great enchantment.

  ‘First he created a magic cabin that was full of men and tackle. He cast a spell on it, giving life and breath to the men, and he sank the magic cabin into the river. Then he filled the Royal Boat with sand and put out into the middle of the Nile until he came to the place below which the magic cabin lay. And he spoke words of power, and cried, “Workmen, workmen, work for me even where lies the Book of Thoth!” They toiled without ceasing by day and by night, and on the third day they reached the place where the Book lay. Then Nefrekeptah cast out the sand, and they raised the Book on it until it stood upon a shoal above the level of the river.