“Diet: you are to eat raw aloe, fenugreek leaves, ginger and coriander in your midday meal at least twice a week. The aloe should take care of your constipation. If not, I’ll also prescribe another gentle laxative. Some doctors prefer harsher purgatives on a less frequent basis, but these are both tiring for the body and inconvenient. You need a mixed diet, including adequate amounts for fruit and both root and green-leaf vegetables. Several small meals during the days will be better for you than fewer larger meals.
“Regime. You’re up before dawn, due to your royal duties. The night before last you spent the whole day and night working. Your body needs you to be asleep early in the night. I know that the elderly often say they don’t need much sleep, but you do. Having all-night working sessions takes time off your lifespan and reduces your mental acuity for making important decisions. Ration your time and make sure you have an hour of time to relax two or three times a day, and take a two hour nap in the early afternoon. I presume that will mean that you’ll need to delegate more, which is always a difficult thing for most people to do, let alone somebody in your position.
“Environment: we’re here in your private quarters; frankincense is being burnt. That’s excellent. It repels both depression and mosquitoes. I must say you’re my only patient who can afford it! I’m thinking about blue lotus. Do you want to be spending nights rutting with your harem?”
“I like the idea and enjoy it, but these days I probably enjoy the sleep more!” said Ramesses with a chuckle.
Nikolas gave a smile of agreement. “I’ve looked at the properties of blue lotus. It’s a stimulant, but only lasts for a few hours before the patient becomes lethargic. It increases blood-flow and strengthens an erection, so it’s excellent for a few hours of coupling.
“Please excuse my ignorance, but I haven’t had an eighty-year-old patient before, so I don’t know whether you actually actively use your harem or not, nor how high that may be on your list of priorities. Blue lotus also has other properties – it treats headaches and improves memory in those who are… not so young.”
Ramesses gave a sigh and a rueful smile. “As to sexual activity, that’s not as often as I used to. Frankly these days I prefer a quiet evening with the family instead of proving my prowess. With over a hundred sons born, I probably have little need to prove that to anybody. Perhaps when the new Hittite queen arrives I’ll need to be a rutting bull once again! I’ll let you know then. But what sort of consultation is this? No casting of astrology charts? No demand to read my dreams? No chanting and prayers to see what demons have entered me to cause illness? No bleeding me to remove the bad humours in my blood?”
Nikolas gave a wry smile. “I could pretend to do all that if you want. I know that you Egyptians believe in magic, and you’d have more knowledge of that than just about anybody in the kingdom. You’re a god yourself and I’m sure that if you pray to the other gods for their assistance, and if the High Priest of Amun does the same, that the gods will take more notice of the two of you than they will of me!
“Your main problem is simple age. Your body is winding to its end, but despite that you are still generally in good health. The demons of sickness most often enter a body that is weak and tired. What I aim to do is to keep your body strong so the demons will not enter you, and so will not need driving out. The purging of the bowels, enemas and letting of blood all weaken the body and encourage the demons to enter if they’re not already there, or help them to work their evil if they are there. The ingredients I mentioned are what I will probably decide to give you, but I’ll think about it for a day and fine-tune the different substances. I need to make sure that there are no unwanted side-effects resulting from the combination of herbs.
“Because of unwanted side-effects, if you choose to take my medicines you must not take any other medicines without discussing them with me, and must take my medicines only in the amounts I prescribe. More is not better. Something I prescribe for you may kill you if taken together with something that Pa-ra-em-hat prescribes, or in larger quantities that I specify.”
“So you think you can cure everything with herbs?” asked Zineb.
“No, but I know what I can do. Herbalism can assist with the symptoms and prevent some issues such as constipation. It can remove troublesome tape-worms – and I’d need to see an example of the stool occasionally to check that the gut houses no unwanted guests. But it can rarely effect a cure. A good night of sleep is more efficacious than taking stimulants during the day.”
Addressing Ramesses he continued. “I can provide gentle stimulants to assist during the day and gentle sedatives for the evening. I can provide herbs that will assist with specific problems from time to time, such as peppermint for flatulence and upset stomach. What I’m proposing to do will make life more comfortable for you, particularly with the pain in your joints. A proper diet and a proper ordering of the day so that you have regular rest periods during the day and regularly retire early so you get adequate sleep are even more important. Neither of us are now twenty years old and able to work all night! If more severe problems occur I can provide more significant remedies. But generally, herbs act to reduce the symptoms of disease and don’t effect a cure. I don’t do surgery and I don’t draw teeth. My prescriptions may or may not help, but will not cause harm.
“Is disease caused by demons possessing the body? That’s an easy diagnosis to make but impossible to prove. My experience has been that most, but not all, illness has a physical cause – drinking bad water, eating bad meat and so on. Irrespective of the cause, what I do addresses the symptoms even if it may not effect a cure. For example, I can’t cure arthritis but I can reduce the swelling and the pain. In your case we can do a lot to avoid some problems in the first place. Those food items I have specified are excellent sources of a wide variety of beneficial substances. Eat them, have a proper and regular diet and proper rest and you are less likely to become ill. Demons of illness enter those who are weak and tired.” Nikolas gave a sudden wry grin. “I apologize for the lecture but preventative health measures are something I’m passionate about.”
Ramesses thought for a few moments and then said, “What you say makes sense. It’s better to avoid illness than cure it. I know that working long hours isn’t good for me, but I’ve been doing what’s needed. I’m the ‘Shepherd of the People’ and have onerous responsibilities, both secular and religious. People think that it’s easy to be a king. But the crook and the flail are not just ornamental regalia, but represent my obligations – as does the Blue War Crown! Perhaps I need to learn to delegate more and do less. After all, I have very capable sons, one of whom will need to take my place before too much longer. More time relaxing here in this garden and more time working hard in the harem are both things I’d enjoy. All work and no play isn’t enjoyable, and as you indicated I’ve earned some time for myself. Being both a king and a god isn’t easy! At least you’re telling me what is in the medicines and what benefit each provides, which is more than any of my doctors have done in the past. I like to know what’s happening to me and I welcome your description of the herbs and their effects. Sort out with Kawab what medicines I’m to have when and what foods I should eat. Make the food tasty and varied! Give him a draft daily schedule to allow me to rest. I doubt I’ll be able to keep to it, but at least it can form a basis of what I try to do. Rest is a commodity I’m always short of, as is time – particularly at the moment with Ra-em hotep’s funeral tomorrow. I also have a large family, many of whom are themselves quite elderly.”
Nikolas nodded his understanding, and Ramesses changed the topic, inviting Nikolas and his party to join the members of the Royal Household on the viewing-stand the next morning for the funeral ceremonies.
T T T T
The main ceremony took place in the First Courtyard of The Temple of a Million Years, Ramesses’ huge funerary temple built on the West Bank at the edge of where the rich floodplain of the Nile met the dry cliffs and hills where the dead were buried in
the Necropolis, located almost directly opposite Karnak on the other side of the river.
The preliminary funerary ceremonies were to take place in the temple built as Ramesses’ own funerary and memorial temple in the Nile Valley, while both his tomb and that of his sons were in the Valley of the Kings, known as ‘Ta-sekhet-ma’at’, ‘the Great Field’, in the hills just to the west. Nikolas, Kiya, Lorentis and Khui sat on the bare planks of a temporary viewing-stand placed on one side of the courtyard, towards the back and to one side of the mass of officials and valued employees of the household. They each wore their best clothes and jewellery for the occasion and on entering the courtyard each had been given a large collar of fresh flowers to wear. Nikolas’ was of celery leaves, white lotus petals and olive leaves in an alternating pattern, the olive leaves turned silver side out.
To reach the forecourt of the ‘The Temple of a Million Years’, more formally known as ‘House of millions of years of Usermaatra-setepenra that unites with Thebes-the-city in the domain of Amun’, they had passed though two huge pylons each sixty paces wide and with a central doorway.
The forecourt to the temple was large and impressive. To the left, on the west side, were two rows each of ten stone columns supporting a stone roof and forming a portico, the remainder of the courtyard being unroofed. The funerary dais was placed appropriately on the west side of the courtyard in the portico. At the far end next to the entrance to the second courtyard, on the north-east side of the gateway, was a massive and imposing granite statue of Ramesses sitting enthroned, smiling enigmatically. The huge statue was more than ten times the height of a tall man, at 20 cubits high, and dominated the whole courtyard.
The walls of the courtyard were carved and painted with images of Ramesses’ involvement in the battle of Kadesh. Nikolas gave a small smile at the way the carvings as usual depicted the favourable outcome of the battle as being solely due to Ramesses’ own personal involvement.
Opposite the funerary dais was another dais on which stood the thrones of the Pharaoh and The Great Royal Wife. Alan noted that the throne now appeared to have a shaped cushion for back support, so perhaps the king or the chancellor had been taking some notice of what Nikolas had been saying the night before. Behind this the royal family sat on padded cushions on a temporary multi-tiered wooden grandstand.
The royal couple entered through a side-door and mounted the dais before taking their seats. Ramesses wore the Pschent red and white composite crowns of the Two Lands and carried the crook and flail of his office against his naked chest. A large gold and lapis lazuli torque decorated his neck and shoulders. Bent ‘anta wore a formal white kalasaris gown and a towering feather head-dress in orange; she held a large golden ankh in one hand and a was sceptre in the other. Both wore garlands of flowers, as did all the guests. Testimony to Pharaoh’s personal fecundity the family group gathered was significant, but Nikolas noted that less than a quarter of the huge extended royal family was present; Ra-em hotep hadn’t been popular with his family and most hadn’t bothered to journey to Thebes to attend the ceremonies.
On the western side of the courtyard under the portico had been erected a gilded wooden altar, on each side of which were bronze tripod frames on which were placed large flat censers burning incense. In a small pen behind the altar a large black bull with widespread horns covered in gold-leaf stood quietly in readiness for the sacrifice. Nikolas assumed that the animal had been drugged to ensure no unfavourable portends. Clouds of sweet-smelling frankincense drifted around the courtyard. A buzz of conversation filled the air as the large crowd was in a festival mood, despite the solemnity of the occasion.
On the raised funerary dais an exquisitely carved anthropomorphic sarcophagus made of polished ebony wood stood in splendid isolation, shining a rich black in the sparkling sun. Gold-leaf had been applied to the features of the face carved into the wooden lid of the sarcophagus and contrasted brilliantly with the black of the wood. Again, it was covered in bouquets of fresh flowers, which were also strewn together with papyrus reeds thickly on the nearby ground. The sarcophagus was not large, being the inner sarcophagus that would later be placed into the stone outer sarcophagus already in place in the tomb.
A gong sounded. Priests of Anubis, wearing jackal-headed masks, walked with a slow and studied gait from the inner temple, each carrying a golden ankh symbolizing Life in his right hand. The crowd hushed expectantly as a drum beat a slow time and the priests moved into place beside the altar. More incense was added to the censers, causing clouds of sweet-smelling smoke to rise in the air and for a moment to partially obscure the altar.
The High Priest approached the catafalque on which the sarcophagus lay and raised his hands over his head. The gong sounded out again, low and clear in the sudden silence. “Behold he who was Ra-em hotep!” cried the priest in a voice slightly muffled by his mask.
After a series of incantations to draw the attention of the gods, a wab priest stepped forward and stood next to the sarcophagus. He began to recite the Negative Confessions, denying on behalf of the dead any wrongdoing in life, to assist in the imminent judgement that Ra-em hotep would face by the gods. The recital of the Negative Confessions took fifteen minutes. As the priest slowly ran through the list of forty-two statements of what evil Ra-em hotep had not done, claiming that he was innocent of all of the proscribed activities, Nikolas kept count of those of which he was certain that Ra-em hotep had indeed committed and formed the conclusion that the dead prince was now facing a serious problem when his heart was weighed against the ‘Feather of Truth’ of Ma’at; Ammit ‘The Devourer’ was likely to have a tasty snack comprising Ra-em hotep’s heart. As the priest was finishing actors wearing mask-heads entered the courtyard.
As another wab priest began recitals from of The Book of The Dead an actor wearing the jackal-headed mask of Anubis led by the hand another who wore a mask with the visage of Ra-em hotep. The actors proceeded to undertake a visual enactment of the priest’s recital. Anubis weighed an imitation heart of the deceased, with the hybrid monster Ammit standing ready to eat the heart if Ra-em hotep failed the judgement, but was disappointed. Ibis-headed Thoth recorded the judgement and hawk-headed Horus presented the worthy deceased to Osiris for entry to the World of the Dead.
A bier in the form of a papyrus boat, already containing the canopic jars which held the internal organs of the deceased, was carried into the courtyard by priests wearing blue wigs and white loincloths, and was placed next to the raised catafalque on which the inner sarcophagus stood.
The wooden sarcophagus was lifted and placed on the bier, being slid from the dais to the hearse. This was then lifted by a dozen priests and carried out of the temple, followed by the High Priests of the various sects in their leopard-skin cloaks; other priests in white robes followed, chanting as they progressed. The assembled family and dignitaries rose from their seats and followed, led by Pharaoh.
Ramesses and Bent ‘anta stepped into palanquins which were each borne by eight slaves and led the mourners following the funerary bier.
The entrance to Valley of the Kings lay not far to the north-east.
As they exited the temple Nikolas looked to his left at the collection of great buildings erected near the cliffs, built by Ramesses’ predecessors. Ramesses’ temple was near the middle of the collection of buildings and the thousand-strong cortege procession walked the road past the stone Valley Temples of Thutmose, Menuhotep and Hapshetsut. Nikolas looked at the beautiful and perfectly-proportioned Main Temple that Hapshetsut had built carved into the nearby face of the cliff and promised himself that he’d come back and look closely at the architecture of these magnificent buildings, hopefully with Khui as a guide.
The road into the Valley of the Kings had a gentle gradient and was of compacted fine gravel ten paces wide with a low stone wall on each side to protect it from erosion by the rare flash-flood.
Nikolas was using a walking-stick and walking slowly, as his maimed left leg was painful today.
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The valley itself was a little over a mile from the temple and the tomb was at the north end, perhaps another mile further on. The valley was bleak and forbidding with escarpment cliffs on each side, but with frequent promontories coming from the escarpments and dropping to the valley floor, forming a series of low horizontal hills along both walls of the valley, which then made many small cross-valleys along its length. The entrances to the many tombs they passed, lined with blocks of cut stone, looked unimpressive.
The glare off the light-grey limestone and gravel of the valley was causing Nikolas’ eyes to ache by the time they passed the branch entrances to the Eastern and Western Valleys and proceeded on to the funeral temple located at the North Valley, but he was still able to see the Medjay temple guards on duty at each occupied tomb and prowling both the hilltops and the valley floor.
Workers from the nearby village of Set Maat laboured in half a dozen places, either making repairs or undertaking the constant ongoing work of digging new shafts and rooms into the softer layers of rock, so a supply of ready to use tombs of various sizes were always available. As the cortege passed the workers ceased their labour and stood in respectful stillness. To the east of the funeral temple lay the tomb that would be used that day. Nearby, on the opposite side of the valley, stood the tomb already prepared and waiting for Ramesses himself. Dominating the valley was the large pyramid-shaped hill of ta dehent, ‘The Peak’.
“Why do the Pharaohs build beautiful temples in the Necropolis and then get buried in undistinguished holes in the ground?” Nikolas asked Lorentis.
Lorentis shrugged. “Simple security. Here we have the tombs of many kings. To the south-west is the Valley of the Queens. Khufu and his sons built the great pyramids at Giza – a massive effort and great monuments. Unfortunately, they didn’t fulfil the main requirement of protection of the Pharaoh’s body because they attracted attention. So now the Pharaohs and their families are buried safely, so that their tombs are not looted and their bodies not desecrated by tomb robbers. Here the Medjay guards can protect the many rulers already buried in the tombs, and the kings who will come in the future. They build their temples down in the Nile Valley that all can see and marvel at, but nobody comes into the Great Field without invitation unless they are guards or workers. The tombs look unimpressive from the outside, just a square hole in the face of the hill with a bit of stonework around it, but inside it’s another matter. They’re cut deep into the rock. Most are very large and all are beautifully decorated and, at least in the case of the Pharaohs, lavishly appointed with treasure for them to use in the Afterlife.
Murder in the Palace: A Nikolas of Kydonia Mystery Page 32