MUT

the 'Mother,' was one of the divinities of

the Theban triad; she was supposed to represent Nature, the mother of all things.

CHEPER Å , the 'Creator,' was associated with Ptah, and was supposed to be the god who caused himself to come into existence. He is represented with a beetle for his head. In later days he was supposed to be the father of the gods and creator of the universe, and the attributes which had been applied to Rā during the Middle Empire were transferred to him.

BAST

183

was principally worshipped in Lower Egypt at Bubastis, where a magnificent temple was built in her honour (see p. 109); she is represented with the head of a cat, and was associated with Ptaḥ. The correct reading of her name appears to be Séchet, and she represents the flame

of the Sun.

NIT,

хх

the 'Weaver,' was a counterpart of the goddess Mut; she is also identified with Hathor. She was the goddess of hunting, and is represented holding bows and arrows; she is usually coloured green.

RĀ, the Sun-god, was the creator of gods and men; his emblem was the sun's disk. His worship was very ancient, and he was said to be the offspring of Nut, or the sky. He assumed the forms of several other gods, and is at times represented by the lion, cat, and hawk. In papyri and on bas-reliefs he is represented with the head of a hawk and wears a disk, in front of which is a uræus He was particularly adored at Thebes. When he rose in the morning he was called Heru-chuti or Harmachis; and at night, when he set, he was called Åtmu, or 'the closer.' During the night he was supposed to be engaged in fighting Apepi, the serpent, who, at the head of a large army of fiends, personifications of mist, darkness, and cloud, tried to overthrow him. The battle was fought daily, but Rā always conquered, and appeared day after day in the sky.

HORUS,

Heru, is the morning sun, and is also represented as having the head of a hawk; he was said to be son of Isis and Osiris, and is usually called the "avenger of his father," in reference to his defeat of Set.

a

RA.

HORUS.

AMEN-RA, Mut, and Chonsu formed the

"Adoration of Åmen-Rā, the bull in Heliopolis, president of all the gods, beautiful god, beloved one, the giver of the life of all warmth to all beautiful cattle!

"Hail to thee, Åmen-Rā, lord of the thrones of the two lands, at the head of the Åpts. The bull of his mother, at the head of his fields, the extender of footsteps, at the head of the "land of the South," ‡ lord of the Mat'au, § prince of Araby, lord of the sky, eldest son of earth, lord

* In the principal temple of each province the chief deity was associated with other gods; . . . . . hence from an early period triads (consisting of the principal god, a female deity and their offspring) or enneads consisting of nine gods. (Renouf, Hibbert Lectures, p. 83.) + The great temple at Karnak. Ethiopia and Asia.

§ A country in Asia.

of things which exist, establisher of things, establisher of all things.

"One in his times, as among the gods. Beautiful bull of the cycle of the gods, president of all the gods, lord of Law, father of the gods, maker of men, creator of beasts, lord of things which exist, creator of the staff of life, maker of the green food which makes cattle to live. Form made by Ptaḥ, beautiful child, beloved one. The gods make adorations to him, the maker of things which are below, and of things which are above. He shines on the two lands sailing through the sky in peace. King of the South and North, the SUN (Ra), whose word is law, prince of the world! The mighty of valour, the lord of terror, the chief who makes the earth like unto himself. How very many more are his forms than those of any (other) god! The gods rejoice in his beauties, and they make praises to him in the two great horizons, at (his) risings in the double horizon of flame. The gods love the smell of him when he, the eldest born of the dew, comes from Araby, when he traverses the land of the Mat'au, the beautiful face coming from Neter-ta. The gods cast themselves down before his feet when they recognize their lord in his majesty, the lord of fear, the mighty one of victory, the mighty of Will, the master of diadems, the verdifier of offerings (?), the maker of t'efau food.

"Adorations to thee, O thou maker of the gods, who hast stretched out the heavens and founded the earth! The untiring watcher, Åmsu-Åmen, lord of eternity, maker of everlasting, to whom adorations are made (literally, lord of adorations), at the head of the Apts, established with two horns, beautiful of aspects; the lord of the uræus crown,

* Compare Psalm cx. 3.

+ I.e., "Divine land," a name frequently given on the monuments to indicate the lands which lie to the south of Egypt between the Nile and the Red Sea.

G

exalted of plumes, beautiful of tiara, exalted of the white crown; the serpent meḥen, and the two urai are the (ornaments) of his face; the double crown, helmet and cap are his decorations in (his) temple. Beautiful of face he receives the atef crown; beloved of the south and north is it, he is master of the sechti crown He receives

the àmsu sceptre 4, (and is) lord of the...... and of

the whip. Beautiful prince, rising with the white crown

lord of rays, creator of light! The gods give acclamations to him, and he stretches out his hands to him that loves him. The flame makes his enemies fall, his eye overthrows the rebels, it thrusts its copper lance into the sky and makes the serpent Nåk* vomit what it has swallowed.

*

Nak is one of the names of Āpepi, the demon of mist, cloud, and night, who was supposed to swallow up the sun daily; he was the enemy, par excellence, whom the Sun-god Rā was supposed to fight against and overcome. Apepi was represented under the form of a serpent with knives stuck in his back. Compare the following extract from the service for his destruction which was recited daily in the temple of Amen-Rā, at Thebes: "Fall down upon thy face, Apepi, enemy of Ra! The flame coming forth from the eye of Horus comes against thee, a mighty flame which comes forth from the eye of Horus, comes against thee. Thou art thrust down into the flame of fire which rushes out against thee, a flame which is fatal to thy soul, thy intelligence, thy words of power, thy body and thy shade. The flame prevails over thee, it drives darts into thy soul, it makes an end of whatever thou hast, and sends goads into thy form. Thou hast fallen by the eye of Horus, which is mighty over its enemy, which devours thee, and which leads on the mighty flame against thee; the eye of Rā prevails over thee, the flame devours thee, and nothing of thee remains. Get thee back, thou art hacked in pieces, thy soul is parched, thy name is buried in oblivion, silence covers it, it is overthrown; thou art put an end to and buried under threefold oblivion. Get thee back, retreat thou, thou art cut in pieces and removed from him that is in his shrine. O, Apepi, thou doubly crushed one, an end to thee, an end to thee! Mayest thou never rise up again! The eye of Horus prevails over thee