The Literature of the Ancient Egyptians

Poems, Narratives, and Manuals of Instruction from the Third and Second Millenia B.C.

Adolf Erman

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781317274766
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Ancient History
• Index: History

Originally published in 1927, this text contains a translation of Adolf Erman's work into English. Erman's original intention was to bring the songs, stories and poems that have survived from ancient Egypt to the masses of the modern world. The literature of the Egyptian world provides a real insight into the day-to-day life of one of the oldest societies known to man and this translation ensures that these insights are afforded to an English audience. This title will be of interest to students of History, Classics and Literature.

III. FROM THE NEW KINGDOM

(So far as not stated to the contrary, in New Egyptian throughout)

A. NARRATIVES

1. THE TALE OF THE TWO BROTHERS¹

IN form and contents this is more naīve and more racy of the soil than any Egyptian tale that we possess, and we may congratulate ourselves that the young scribe Ennana,² who was a pupil of the scribe of the treasury Kagabu, copied out so entirely an unliterary piece of writing.

This delightful story is certainly based on a myth, as is shown by the names of the two brothers. The one is called Anubis, like the ancient jackal-god of the dead; and if the other, Bata, does not possess so distinguished a namesake, he is also, however, a divine being, for in the Upper Egyptian town of Saka, in the period of the New Kingdom, a god called Bata³ was worshipped side by side with the chief local divinity Anubis.

It will accordingly be a myth belonging to this town that the story-teller has here transferred to the sphere of human activities, a transference, thanks to which it has acquired a charm that it could scarcely have possessed as a mere legend about the gods.

The world, however, in which the events related take place is, naturally, not the actual world, but the supernatural world of faerie, in which the cedar has large blossoms, oxen speak, and all kinds of marvellous and impossible things occur. Two incidents in the story, which are puzzling at first, have been unexpectedly explained by comparison with other folk-tales.

It is related that there were once two brothers by one mother and one father; and the name of the elder was Anubis, and the name of the younger Bata. Now Anubis, he had an house and he had a wife, while his younger brother dwelt with him as a son. It was he who made clothes for him, tended his cattle in the field, ploughed and reaped for him, and did for him all the tasks that are in the field. Yea, his younger brother was a good husbandman, who had not his equal in the whole land, and the strength (?) of a god was in him.

Now many days after this¹ his younger brother tended his cattle, as he did every day, and he came home to his house every evening laden with all manner of herbs of the field, and with milk, and with … wood² of the field, and set it down before his elder brother, while he sat with his wife; and then he drank and ate, and (laid him down to sleep) in his stall, and (kept watch over) his kine.

Now when it was dawn and another day had come,³ he (made ready) cooked (victuals) and set them before his elder brother, and he gave him bread for the field, and he drave out his cattle in order to pasture them in the field. He walked behind his cattle, and they said unto him: “The herbage is good in such and such a place,” and he heard all that they said and took them to the place where was the good herbage which they desired. Thus the cattle which he tended flourished exceedingly and calved very, very often.

Now at the season of ploughing his elder brother said unto him: “Make ready an yoke (of oxen) for ploughing, for the land hath come forth and it is now good for ploughing.⁴ Also come to the field with seed, for we will plough with a will in the early morn.” So spake he unto him, and his younger brother did all the things that his elder brother said unto him, “Do them.”

Now when day dawned and another day had come, they went afield with their … and ploughed with a will, and were exceeding glad of heart because of their work at their beginning of work.⁵

And many days after this they were in the field and were short of seed. And he sent his younger brother, saying: “Go and fetch us seed from the village.” And his younger brother found the wife of his elder brother as she sat having her hair done. And he said unto her: “Up, and give me seed, that I may go to the field, for mine elder brother waiteth for me. Tarry not.”

And she said unto him: “Go, open the bin (thyself), and take away for thee what thou willest; make me not to leave unfinished the dressing of my hair.”

And the lad went into his stall and took a great vessel, with the intent to take away much seed. And he loaded himself with barley and wheat and went out with it. And she said unto him: “How much is it that thou hast upon thy shoulder?” And he said unto her: “Three sacks of wheat and two sacks of barley, five in all, have I upon my shoulder.” So spake he unto her. And she … and said: “Then thou hast great strength. Yea, I see daily how strong thou art.” And her desire was to know him as one knoweth a youth.

And she arose and took hold of him and said: “Come, we will take our pleasure and sleep. It will also be for thine advantage, for I will make thee goodly garments.”

And the lad became enraged like a leopard … at this wicked thing which she said unto him, and she was sore afraid. And he spake unto her, saying: “Lo, thou art unto me as a mother, and thine husband is unto me as a father, for as the elder hath he brought me up. What is this great abomination that thou hast spoken? Say it not again unto me. But I will tell it to no man, and will not suffer it to come forth from my mouth to any man.” And he took up his burden and went into the field. And he came to his elder brother, and they worked at their work with a will.

Then at eventide his elder brother went home to his house, but his younger brother tended his cattle, and loaded himself with all manner of things of the field, and he drave his cattle before him, in order to let them sleep in their stall in the village.

Now the wife of his elder brother was afraid because of that which she had said. So she took fat and …,¹ and made as though she had been cruelly beaten, desiring to say to her husband: “It was thy younger brother that did beat me.” And her husband came home at even, as was his daily wont. He came to his house and found his wife lying down and made cruelly sick. She poured no water upon his hands according to his wont; she had kindled no light against his return, and his house was in darkness; and there she lay and vomited. And her husband said unto her: “Who hath spoken with thee?” And she said unto him: “No one hath spoken with me save thy younger brother. When he came to fetch the seed and found me sitting all alone, he said unto me: ‘Come, we will take our pleasure and sleep. Put on thy ringlets.’¹ So spake he unto me, but I heeded him not. ‘Lo, am I not thy mother, and thine elder brother is unto thee as a father,’ so spake I unto him. Then he was afraid, and he beat me so that I might not report it unto thee. If, therefore, thou sufferest him to live, I will take mine own life; for behold, when he cometh home at even and I tell this evil tale, he will have made it (look) white.”

Then his elder brother became (enraged) as a leopard, and made his lance sharp and took it in his hand.

And his elder brother took up his stand behind the door of his stall, in order to slay his younger brother, when he came home at even to drive his cattle into the stall.

And when the sun set, he loaded himself with all herbs of the field, according to his daily wont. He came, and the first cow entered the stall. And she said unto her herdsman: “Have a c...