In The Twelfth Dynasty Egyptian Literature
A Reconstruction
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In The Twelfth Dynasty Egyptian Literature
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The oldest son of Seni and Neferty, Khuni, the chap that Sidiptu disdained, continued gazing at the sky. Arrogantly immune to his familial disasters, he and all his priests fixated on the approaching comet. They stayed on the high places, which offered the best vantage, and continued the watch day and night.
In the previous Kingdom, before the last disaster, the ancient kings had built huge pyramids to protect the royal family during the previous foreseen celestial disaster. The current star watchers climbed the pyramids hoping for a better view of the glory. They called it Hathor, the Golden One, the cow-horned heavenly being. A bright vision visible even sometimes during the day, it charged forward. Horns formed sometimes from the crescent shape similar to the moon phases. When the sun hit it at the right angle, it appeared to be charging: horns forward, swirling tail behind. Other times the corona took a horned shape also, but trailing the disc. The corona sometimes extended in a long tail. The long tail seemed to divide into two tails that spun and intertwined looking like two snakes trailing the disc. Sometimes apparently many snakes seemed to be spinning around the disc, flashing like lightening. When Hathor became so fiery the priests called her Sekhmet. Sekhmet appeared as a fiery lion, her mane, or crown being burning snakes. Despite the beauty and intrigue of the spectacle, the priests knew it would bring disasters. They began to hear the sounds of the flashing lightning attending the sky traveler. The magnetic exchange between the two bodies, the earth and the almost equal sized comet, would soon begin. The workers covered the pointed buildings with gold, which they knew attracted the lightning. It also provided an unbelievably beautiful sight. Lesser tall towers worked from single large chunks of perfect bedrock were covered with copper and somehow gave the priests some strange powers. They could capture and control some of the lightning’s powers. They shared little of this information with others. But the spectacles they produced could not be hidden. Many gazers revived the ancient writings and interpreted them concerning the comet’s apparition. One sage, Ipuwer, wrote, “what had been foretold by the ancients, has come true.” He referred to the writings of Imhotep and Hardyef who wrote warnings of the Seven Hathors. They warned, “It happened to us. Heed our warnings. It will come again. It brought us the seven-year famine. This god will visit you.” Later Ipuwer detailed some of the terror: “ . . . the river is blood . . . the trees destroyed . . . the land is not light . . . the children of princes are dashed against the wall . . . groaning throughout the land.” Factions formed. Groups considered disaster planning. Some called the priests superstitious morons. Some became Hathor worshippers. Some considered human sacrifice as the only reliable option. Panic and skepticism began to confuse the multitude. The high priest Khuni, appointed to be “Tread of Ra,” Sinuhe’s older full brother, emerged as leader concerning the heavenly situation. He seemed enamored of the goddess, as if she appeared for him personally. He began to speak to her as if she could hear him. “How beautiful your face, how doubly beautiful when reflected on the water,” he murmured his voice and eyes aimed at the vision. As the terrible years of anticipation passed and the approach of the cow goddess became more known and understood by the people, Khuni ordered a statue of gold made in representation of the “Golden One.” People worshipped her asking her to spare them and their families. Soon those who believed the only efficacious worship required human sacrifice, and lots of it, became more vocal. Many terrified persons heroically volunteered to be victims, hoping their valor would guarantee survival for some of their beloved ones. “As was done in the past, fathers must gather their firstborn. Only those most beloved possess the magic required to satisfy her hunger.” The confused king could not control or understand the strange priest and his followers. |
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