Amunet: Egyptian Goddess of Mystery

Amunet (also spelled Amonet or Amaunet) was a primordial goddess in Ancient Egyptian religion. She is a member of the Ogdoad and the consort of Amun.

Her name, meaning "the female hidden one", was simply the feminine form of Amun's own name.  It is possible that she was never an independent deity, as the first mention of either of them is in a pair.

By at least the Twelfth dynasty (c. 1991–1803 BC) she was overshadowed as Amun's consort by Mut, but she remained locally important in the region of Thebes where Amun was worshipped, and there she was seen as a protector of the pharaoh.

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A Prayer for Bastet (Egyptian)

(art by: http://rotarr.com)

Beloved Bast, mistress of happiness and bounty, twin of the Sun God, slay the evil that afflicts our minds as you slew the serpent Apep. With your graceful stealth anticipate the moves of all who perpetrate cruelties and stay their hands against the children of light. Grant us the joy of song and dance, and ever watch over us in the lonely places in which we must walk.

You may wish to take a moment to honour this great ancient egyptian goddess. Light a green candle (Bast's sacred colour) and be nice to a cat, her cherished animal.

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Apep: Egyptian God of Darkness and Chaos

(art: Anubis & Apep by: http://darknatasha.com/)

Apep was the god of all darkness and chaos. He was believed to have taken a discarded form of Ra. How he god his form is unknown to us. Apep is the eternal enemy of Ra, the sun god. Serpents were a major nescience in upper and lower Egypt, so they gave the form of a snake to things that were evil. There are many stories about the battles between Ra and Apep. Egyptians needed reasons for things that happened that they didn't understand, like earthquakes, droughts, eclipses, ect… Apep was said to live underneath the world, because of his dislike of the sun. Whenever he would slither out of the ground, earthquakes would happen. When droughts came they thought Apep was strangling the Nile River. The people believed that Apep didn't attack the sun while it was daylight, because they would have been able to see the serpent. They thought that when storms came, Apep was fighting Ra. Ra was so overcome by the engagements with Apep he didn't have the power to light up Egypt. It was the same idea during eclipses, Apep would have swallowed up the sun, and eventually Ra's servants cut him free. Since Apep was thought of as from the underworld, to revive, he only had to wait for the night time. It was from this hatred and dislike of Apep, that the Egyptians came up with a process on how to kill serpents. This method of killing Apep was also used on other snakes. The list was taken from hieroglyphs that were all around Egypt, "Spit Upon Apep, Defiling Apep with the Left Foot, Taking a Lance to Smite Apep, Fettering Apep, Taking a Knife to Smite Apep, Laying Fire Upon Apep." The people needed a way of fighting snakes, so they made it know how to kill Apep. It was in this era that snake charming began to be a major talent. Apep was known to have a gaze that would enchant any man he looked at. Egyptians often tried to counter this gaze with a gaze of their own, thus creating snake charmers. During large banquets dolls and wax figures of Apep were fashioned, and during the ceremony people would demonstrate new techniques on how to kill this immortal god. Apep was also believed to live in the Nile River.

Apep did not have a known family, or any siblings. However he belonged to the "evil cult" led by Set.

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The Birth of Anubis (Egyptian)

When her birth time came, Nephthys fled into the desert by night, knowing that the last place her husband would go to find her would be his own hunting ground. One of her servant women saw her go, and secretly followed her. The Goddess stopped where there was water, she writhed alone in the pain of birth amid the howling of the wolves, and delivered her son. She dared not take him home. She nursed him for as long as she could, until her milk ran dry, and she saw that unless she could nourish herself, she and her son would both die. So she made a shelter covered with melilot flowers, which had begun to grow everywhere, not only in the royal garden. Then she asked the mothers of the desert to guard her son.

The servant ran to find Isis, who was at the river at dawn, picking herbs as usual, and told her everything, of course. They ran at once to find the baby, who was still alive. His cries were heard by a greyhound who had just mothered four pups nearby, and who suckled the boy like one of her own young. By the time Isis found him, he was red and very sore from crying in the glare of the sun, but he was healthy and strong. Isis knew from her first look at his face who had cared for him.

Isis cradled the boy and said. "What a beauty. You will grow up to have the same keen senses, most of all right here, in the nohohohohose as the one who's protected you. The same swiftness. You will have a new mother in the Black Land, and your father Osiris will call you the One who Opens the Way. Anuuuubis. You will teach healing to other men who don't want to learn it from women. You will prophesy with the truth, and only when you are asked. Your understanding of friendship will be the deepest of all."

Isis and Nephthys were the only ones who knew whose child Anubis was. Osiris never knew that until his first son was old enough to be his physician. Osiris was so innocent that at times he seemed much less intelligent than Set, in that way that leaders would have later, when Set gained so much influence: from now on kings, prime ministers and others of high power would be one of two kinds: affable, charming men operated by groups of craftier men; or secretive, pinched men whose eyes are moving all the time.

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Sekhmet & Anubis by Dark Natasha

art by: http://darknatasha.com/

Sekhmet: Egyptian Goddess of Divine Retribution, Vengeance, & Conquest

Appearance: a woman with the head of a lioness.

Description: Sekhmet means "The Mighty One," and she was one of the most powerful of the gods and goddesses. She was the goddess who meted out divine punishment to the enemies of the gods and of the pharaoh. In this capacity she was called the "Eye of Ra." She also accompanied the pharaoh into battle, launching fiery arrows into battle ahead of him. Sekhmet could also send plagues and disease against her enemies, but was sometimes invoked to avoid plague and cure disease.
Sekhmet's capacity for destruction is well-documented. In one story, Ra sends her to punish those mortals who have forgotten him and she ends up nearly destroying the entire human race. Only the cleverness of Ra stops her rampage before it consumes every living thing.

Worship: Worshipped as part of a triad made up of herself, her husband Ptah and their eldest child Nefertem, her cult center was at Memphis.

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Cleopatra: Nea Isis

Egyptians thought Cleopatra was a reincarnation of the goddess Isis, as she called herself Nea Isis.

Cleopatra VII Philopator (Late 69 BC – August 12, 30 BC), known to history as Cleopatra, was the last active pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, only shortly survived by her son, Caesarion as pharaoh. The name Cleopatra is derived from the Greek name Κλεοπατρα (Kleopatra) which meant "glory of the father" in the feminine form, derived from κλεος (kleos) "glory" combined with πατρος (patros) "of the father" (the masculine form would be Kleopatros Κλεοπατρος).

Cleopatra was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a family of Greek origin that ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great's death during the Hellenistic period. The Ptolemies, throughout their dynasty, spoke Greek and refused to speak Egyptian, which is the reason that Greek as well as Egyptian languages were used on official court documents such as the Rosetta Stone. By contrast, Cleopatra did learn to speak Egyptian and represented herself as the reincarnation of an Egyptian goddess, Isis.

Cleopatra originally ruled jointly with her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes, and later with her brothers, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, whom she married as per Egyptian custom, but eventually she became sole ruler. As pharaoh, she consummated a liaison with Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne. She later elevated her son with Caesar, Caesarion, to co-ruler in name.

After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, she aligned with Mark Antony in opposition to Caesar's legal heir, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (later known as Augustus). With Antony, she bore the twins Cleopatra Selene II and Alexander Helios, and another son, Ptolemy Philadelphus (her unions with her brothers had produced no children). After losing the Battle of Actium to Octavian's forces, Antony committed suicide. Cleopatra followed suit, according to tradition killing herself by means of an asp bite on August 12, 30 BC. She was briefly outlived by Caesarion, who was declared pharaoh by his supporters but soon killed on Octavian's orders. Egypt became the Roman province of Aegyptus.

The Battle of Horus & Set (Seth)

The god-king Ra-Harakhte, in the year 363 of his reign on earth, advanced his army into Nubia to quell a rebellion being led by Seth. Seth had already done a great injustice by brutally murdering Osiris, his brother. Ra-Harakhte's army sailed up the Nile toward Nubia, stoping in Edfu, where they were joined by Horus Behudety. Horus was also Osiris' brother and he was eager to avenge his murder. Ra asked Horus to arm himself and do battle with Seth's army of conspirators that were plotting against the aging king.

Knowing his brother to be a worthy adversary, both cunning and treacherous, Horus enlisted the help of the god of wisdom and magic, Thoth. The magic that Thoth used turned Horus into a sun-disk with splendid outstretched wings. The goddesses Nekhbet and Uazet in the form of uraeus snakes joined him at his side.

When he came upon the army of Seth, he flew straight at the sun to look down upon the enemies of Ra-Harakhte. So fierce was his stare (the heat of midday) that the enemies of Ra became confused and could no longer tell friend from foe. In fear and rage, they attacked one another. When the battle was over and his enemies were either dead or scattered, Horus swooped down upon the battle field to find his brother, Seth. But he was nowhere to be found. When Ra heard of this great victory, he went to see the corpse-strewn battlefield and rejoiced saying "Let us go to the Nile, for our enemies are dead."

However, not all his enemies were dead. Seth's following was still strong. He commanded his agents to turn themselves into hippopotami and crocodiles with thick hides. This they did in preparation for an attack on the boat of Ra. Horus too was making preparations, his army made lances of iron and heavy chains. Upon these weapons, Thoth spoke some powerful magic. When the attack came, many of the thick-skinned beasts were either slain by the magic weapons or fled to the south. Horus pursued the army of Seth, and another great battle took place. These battles continued for some time.

Horus and Ra-Harakhte now sailed north in search of their foe, who took the shape of hippopotami and crocodiles and hid underwater for days. Upon sight, Horus attacked and did great damage to his enemies with his magical weapons. But his brother continued to allude him. Almost four hundred prisoners were taken before the boat of Ra to be executed. When Seth heard this news, he was furious and his curses were terrible. He decided to personally lead his army into battle against Horus. Another long battle raged. At some point, Horus took a prisoner whom he believed to be Seth. He dragged him and threw him at Ra's feet. "Do with him as you will," Ra told Horus. So Horus executed him, cut off his head, dragged him by his feet through the dust and hacked him into pieces, much the same as Seth had done to Horus's father, Osiris.

For many, the story ends here with the death of Seth. However, others say that upon death, Seth lived again as a serpent. But there are other endings as well. Some say that it was not Seth at all that Horus had executed, but mearly an associate. Seth was still at large and had taken the shape of a great snake and hidden himself underground. In some versions of the story, Seth was captured and given to Isis and it is Isis who executes Seth by decapitating him. Yet others say that the final battle of good verses evil has not yet taken place. It is said Horus will be victorious and on that day, Osiris and the rest of the gods will return to the earth.

Egyptian Goddess: Bastet

The goddess Bastet was usually represented as a woman with the head of a domesticated cat. However, up until 1000 BC she was portrayed as a lioness. Bastet was the daughter of Re, the sun god. It may have been through him that she acquired her feline characteristics. When Re destroyed his enemy Apep, he was usually depicted as a cat. As portrayed as a cat, she was connected with the moon (her son Khonsu was the god of the moon). When shown as a lioness, she is associated with sunlight.

Bastet was the goddess of fire, cats, of the home and pregnant women. According to one myth, she was the personification of the soul of Isis. She was also called the "Lady of the East". As such, her counterpart as "Lady of the West" was Sekhmet.

Bastet as a cat headed womanBastet seemed to have two sides to her personality, docile and aggressive. Her docile and gentle side was displayed in her duties as a protector of the home, and pregnant women. Her aggressive and vicious nature was exposed in the accounts of battles in which the pharaoh was said to have slaughtered the enemy as Bastet slaughtered her victims.

Her center of worship was in Bubastis (Per-Bast, Pa-Bast, Pibeseth, Tell-Basta), in the eastern Delta. Her chief festivals were celebrated in April and May.

The Tale of the Two Brothers (A Story of Anubis & Bata)

Once upon a time there were two brothers, so the story goes, having the same mother and the same father. Anubis was the name of the elder, and Bata was the name of the younger. Now as for Anubis, he [possessed] a house and had a wife, [and] his younger brother was (associated) with him after the manner of a son, so that it was he (that is, the elder brother) who made clothes for him while he (that is, the younger brother) followed behind his cattle to the fields, since it was he who had to plow. It was he who reaped for him, and it was [he] who did for him every chore that was in the fields. Indeed, his younger brother [was] a perfect man: there was none like him in entire land, for a god's virility was in him.

After many days following this, his younger brother / [was tending] his cattle according to his daily habit,and he would [leave work] for his house every evening laden [with] every vegetable of the field, [with] milk, with wood, and [with] every [good produce of] the field; he would place them before his [elder brother] while he was sitting with his wife, and he would drink and eat, and [he would leave to spend the night in] his stable among his cattle [daily].

After dawn and the next day had come about, [he prepared foods] which were cooked, and he would place them before his elder brother, [and he would] give him bread for the fields, and he would drive his cattle to let them graze in the fields while he followed behind his cattle. [And they [would] tell him: The herbage of such and such a place is good. And he would listen to all that they said and take them to the place / with good herbage which they were desiring. The cattle that were in his charge became so exceedingly fine that they multiplied their offspring exceedingly.

At plowing time his [elder] brother told him: have a team [of oxen] made ready for us for plowing, for the soil has emerged so that it is just right for tilling.Also, you are to come to the field with seed because we shall begin to cultivate tomorrow. So he said to him. Then his / younger brother made all preparations that his elder brother had told him to [make]. And after dawn [and the next] day had come about, they went to the field carrying their [seed] and began [to] plow with [their hearts] exceedingly pleased about their project as [they] began to work.

After many [days] following this, while they were in the field, they needed seed. He sent his younger brother, saying: You shall go and fetch us seed from town. His younger brother found the wife of his elder brother seated plaiting her (hair). he told her: Get up and give me seed / so that may hurry off to the field, because it is for me that my elder brother is waiting. don't cause a delay. Then she told him: Go, open the magazine and fetch for yourself what you want. Don't make leave my hairdressing unfinished.

then the youth entered his stable and fetched a large vessel, since it was his desire to take out a lot of seed. he loaded himself with barley and emmer and came out carrying it. Then she said to him: how much is it that is on your shoulder? And he told her: It is / three sacks of emmer and two sacks of barley, totaling five, that are on my shoulder. So he said to her. Then she [spoke with] him, saying: There is [great] virility in you, for I have been observing your exertions daily. For it was her desire to know him through sexual intimacy. she got up, seized hold of him, and told him: Come, let's spend for ourselves an hour sleeping (together). Such will be to your advantage, for I will make you fine clothes.

Then the youth became like an Upper Egyptian panther in harsh rage over the wicked proposition that she had made to him, and she become exceedingly fearful. he argued with her, saying: Now look, you are (associated) with me after the manner of a mother, and your husband is (associated) with me after the manner of a father, for the one who is older than I it is who has brought me up. What means / this great offense which have said to me? Don't say it to me again. but I shall tell it to no one, for I will not let it escape my mouth to anybody. he picked up his load and went off to the field. Then he reached his elder brother, and they began to work their project.

Afterward, at evening time, his elder brother left work for his house, while his younger brother was (still) tending his cattle and [would] load himself with all produce of the field and bring back his cattle / before him to let them spend the night their stable, which was in town. The wife of his elder brother was fearful the proposition which she had made. She then fetched grease and fat and feigningly became like one who has been assaulted with the intention of telling her husband: it's your younger brother who has assaulted . Her husband left work in the evening according to his daily habit.He reached his house and found his wife lying (down), feigning (to be) sick, so that she did not pour water upon his hand(s) according to his custom, nor had she prepared lighting for his arrival, so that his house was in darkness as she lay vomiting. her husband said to her: Who has quarreled with you? She said to him: No one has quarreled with me except your / younger brother. When he returned to take out seed for you, he found me sitting alone and said to me, "Come, let's spend an hour sleeping (together). You shall put on your wig." So he said to me, but I refused to obey him. "Isn't it so that I am your mother, and that your brother is (associated) with you after the manner of a father?" So I said to him. And he became afraid and assaulted to prevent me from making a disclosure to you. Now if you let him live, I'll take my life. See, as soon as he returns, don't,,,him, because I denounce this wicked proposition which he would have carried out yesterday.

then his elder brother became / like an Upper Egyptian panther, and he had his spear sharpened and placed in his hand. His elder stood behind the door his stable in order to kill his younger brother upon his return in the evening to let his cattle enter the stable. Now when the sun set, he loaded himself all (sorts of) vegetables of the fields, according to his daily habit, and returned. the lead cow entered the stable and said to its herdsman: Look, your elder brother is standing in wait for you bearing his spear to kill you. You shall depart from his presence. He understood what his lead cow had said, and / the next one entered and said it also. He looked under the door of his stable and observed his elder brother's feet as he was standing behind the door with his spear in his hand. he set his load onto the ground and hastened to run off flight, and his elder brother went in pursuit of him, carrying his spear.

Then his younger brother prayed to Pre-Harakhti, / saying: My good lord, it is you who distinguishes wrong from right. Thereupon Pre heard all his petitions, and Pre caused a great (gulf of) water to come between him and his elder , infested with crocodiles, so that one of them came to be on one side and the other on the other (side). His elder brother struck twice upon (the back of) his hand because he had failed to kill him. Then his younger brother called to him on the (other) side, saying: Wait there until dawn. As soon as the sun rises, I shall / be judged with you in his presence, and he shall deliver the culprit to the just, for I will never again be present in your company nor will I be present in a place where you are. I shall go to the Valley of the Pine.

Now after dawn and the next day had come about, Pre-Harakhti arose, and they observed each other. Then the youth argued with his elder brother, saying: What's the meaning of your coming in pursuit of me in order to kill unjustly without having heard what I have to say? for I am still your younger brother, and / you are (associated) with me after the manner of a father, and your wife is (associated0 with me after the manner of a mother, isn't it so? When you sent to fetch us seed, your wife said to me, "Come, let's spend an hour sleeping (together)." But see, it has been distorted for you as something otherwise. Then he informed him about all that had transpired between him and his wife. he swore by Pre-Harakhti saying: As for your in order to kill me unjustly, carrying your spear, it was on account of a sexually exhausted slut. he fetched a reed knife, cut off his phallus, and threw it into the water. The catfish swallowed , and he / grew weak and became feeble. his elder brother became exceedingly grieved and stood weeping for him aloud. He could not cross over to where his younger brother was because of the crocodiles.

then his younger brother called to him, saying: If you have recalled a grievance, can't you recall a kindness or something that I have done on your behalf? Please depart to your home and take care of your cattle, for I shall not stay in a place where you are. I shall go off to the Valley of the Pine. now what you shall do on my behalf is to come and care for me if find out that something has happened to me I extract my heart and put it on top of the flower of the pine tree. and if the pine tree is cut down and falls to the ground, / you are to come to search for it. If you shall have spent seven years in searching for it, don't let your heart become discouraged, for if you do find it and put it into a bowl of cool water, then I will become alive in order that may avenge the wrong done to me. Now you shall ascertain whether something to me if a beaker of beer is delivered to you in your hand and produces froth. Don't delay upon seeing that this comes to pass with you.

then he went off to the Valley of the Pine, and his elder brother went off to his home with his hand(s) placed upon his head and his (body) smeared with dirt. Presently he reached his home, and he killed his wife, cast her the dogs, and sat down in morning over his younger brother. After many days following this, his younger brother was in the Valley of the Pine with no one with him while he spent all day hunting desert game. He returned in the evening to spend the night under the pine tree on top of whose flower his heart was. And after / many days followed this, he built for himself a country villa with his (own) hands the Valley of the Pine, filled with all (sorts of) good things with the intention of establishing a home for himself.

Presently he went out form his country villa and encountered the Ennead as they were walking (along) governing the entire land. The Ennead spoke in unison, saying to him: Oh, Bata, Bull of the Ennead, are you alone here having abandoned your town before the face of the wife of Anubis, your elder brother? / See, has killed his wife, and thus you will be avenged upon him every wrong done against you. For they were exceedingly sorry for him. Pre-Harakhti told Khnum: Please fashion a marriageable woman for Beta so that he does not (have to) live alone. thereupon Khnum made for him a house-companion who was more beautiful in her body than any woman in the entire land, for every god was in her. then the seven Hathors came see her and said all together: It is by an execution knife that she shall die.

Then he proceeded to covet her exceedingly while she was dwelling in his house and while he spent all day / hunting desert game, bringing (it) back, and putting (it) down before her. he told her: Don't go outside lest the sea carry you away, for I will be unable to rescue you from it, because I am a female like you and my heart lies on top of the flower of the pone tree. but if another finds it, I will fight with him. Then he revealed to her all his inmost thoughts.

After many days following this, while Bata went to hunt according to his daily habit,/ the maiden went out to stroll under the pine tree which was next to her house. thereupon she beheld the sea surging up behind her, and she hastened to flee from it and entered her house. then the sea called to the pine tree, saying: Seize hold of her for me. And the pine tree removed a curl form her hair. The sea brought it to Egypt and deposited it in the place of the launderers of Pharaoh, l.p.h. then the scent of the curl of hair appeared in the clothes of Pharaoh, l.p.h., and the king wrangled with the launderer of Pha. oh, l.p.h., saying: Scent of ointment is in the clothes of Pharaoh, l.p.h. The king came to wrangling with them daily, but / they didn't know what to do. the chief launderer of Pharaoh, l.p.h., went to the bank with his mind exceedingly vexed as a consequence of the wranglings with him daily. then stopped still and stood by the seashore opposite the curl of hair that was in the water. he had someone go down, and it was brought to him. scent was found exceedingly fragrant, and he took it away to Pharaoh, l.p.h.

then the learned scribes of Pharaoh, l.p.h., were brought. They told Pharaoh, l.p.h.: As for this braid of hair, / it belongs to a daughter of Pre-Harakhti in whom there is the seed of every god. Now it is a tribute to you another country. Send envoys forth to every foreign country in order to search for her. As for the envoy who will go to the Valley of the Pine, have many men go with in order to fetch her. Then His Majesty, l.p.h., said: what you have said is very good, very good. and (they) were sent off.

After many days following this, the men who had gone to a foreign country returned to render report to His Majesty, l.p.h., whereas those who had gone to the Valley of the Pine failed to return, for Bata had killed them leaving (only) one of them to render report to His Majesty, l.p.h. then His Majesty, l.p.h., again sent forth many soldiers as well as chariotry in order to fetch her, there being / a woman among them through whom all (sorts of) beautiful feminine adornment were presented to her.

The woman returned to Egypt with her, and there was jubilation for her in the entire land. Then His Majesty, l.p.h., proceeded to love her exceedingly, and the king appointed her to be Chief Lady. the king spoke with her in order to have her describe the nature of her husband and she said to His Majesty, l.p.h.: have the pine tree cut down and hacked up. the king sent / soldiers bearing their copper (implements) in order to cut down the pine tree, and they reached the pine tree. they cut off the flower upon which was Bata's heart, and he fell dead at the very same moment.

After dawn and the next day had come about and after the pine tree had been cut down, Anubis, the elder brother of Bata, entered his house and sat down and washed his hand(s). he was handed a beaker of beer, and it produced froth. Another of wine was handed him, and it turned bad. then he took his / staff and his sandals as well as his clothes and his weapons, and he hastened to journey to the Valley of the Pine. He entered the country villa of his younger brother and found his younger brother lying dead upon his bed. He wept when saw younger brother lying in a state of death, and he went to search for his younger brother's heart beneath the pine tree under which his younger brother slept in the evening. / he spent three years in searching for it without finding it. Now when he had commenced the fourth year, his heart desired to return to Egypt, and he said: I shall depart tomorrow.So he said in his heart.

After dawn and the next day had come about, he began walking under the pine tree and spent all day searching for it. he gave up in the evening. Again he spent time in order to search for it, and he found a (pine) cone. he left for home with it. It was really his younger brother's heart. And he fetched a bowl of cool water, dropped it into it, and sat down according to his daily . After darkness had fallen, / his heart absorbed the water, and Bata shuddered over all his body and began looking at his elder brother while his heart was (still) in the bowl. Anubis, his elder brother, took the bowl of cool water in which was his younger brother's heart and him drink it. His heart assumed its (proper) position so that he became as he used to be. Then each embraced the other, and they conversed with one another. Then Beta said to his / elder brother: Look, I shall become a large bull that has every beautiful color and whose sort is unparalleled, and you shall sit upon back. As soon as the sun rises, we shall be where my wife is that may avenge myself, and you shall take me to where the king is, for every sort of good thing shall be done for you and you shall be rewarded with silver and gold for taking me to Pharaoh, l.p.h., because I shall become a great marvel, and there shall be jubilation for me in the entire land, and (then) you shall depart to your (home) town.

After dawn / and the next day had come about, Bata changed into the form which he had mentioned to his elder brother. Then Anubis, his elder brother, sat down upon his back until dawn, and he reached the place where the king was, and His Majesty, l.p.h., was informed about him. He saw him and became exceedingly joyful over him. He served him a grand oblation, saying: It is a great marvel that has come to pass. And there was jubilation for him in the entire land. then / his weight was made up in silver and gold for his elder brother, who (again) took up his abode in his (home) town. the king gave him much personnel and a lot of goods, for Pharaoh, l.p.h., preferred him exceedingly over anybody (else) in the entire land.

Now after many days following this, he entered the kitchen and stood in the place where the Lady was. he began speaking with her, saying: See, I'm still alive! She said to him: Who are you, I ask? And he told her: I am Bata. I realize that when you caused the pine tree to be hacked up for Pharaoh, l.p.h., it was on account of me, to keep me from staying alive. See, / I'm still alive, but as a bull.

The Lady became exceedingly fearful because of the revelation which her husband had made to her. then he left the kitchen, and His Majesty, l.p.h., sat down and made holiday with her. She poured (drinks) for His Majesty, l.p.h., so that the king was exceedingly happy in her company. then she said to His Majesty, l.p.h.: Swear to me by god as follows, "As for what will say, I shall grant it to her." And he heard all that she said: Let me eat of the liver of this bull, / for he never will amount to anything. So she said speaking to him. The king became exceedingly vexed over what she had said, and Pharaoh, l.p.h., was exceedingly sorry for him.

After dawn the next day had come about, the king proclaimed a grand oblation as an offering to the bull, and the king sent a first royal cupbearer of His Majesty, l.p.h., to sacrifice the bull. And subsequently he was sacrificed. While he was upon the shoulders of the men, he trembled in his neck and caused two drops of blood to be shed beside the two doorposts of His Majesty, l.p.h., one landing on one side of the great portal of Pharaoh, l.p.h., and the other on the other side. they grew into / two large Persea trees, each one of which was choice. Then someone went to tell His Majesty, l.p.h.: Two large Persea trees have grown this night as a great marvel for His Majesty, l.p.h., beside the great portal of His Majesty, l.p.h. And there was jubilation for them in the entire land, and the king presented an offering to them.

After many days following this, His Majesty, l.p.h., appeared at the audience window of lapis lazuli with a wreath of every sort of flower on neck, and he a chariot of electrum / and came out from the palace, l.p.h., in order to inspect the Persea trees. Then the Lady came out in a chariot following Pharaoh, l.p.h. His Majesty, l.p.h., sat down under one Persea tree, spoke with his wife: Ha, you liar! I am Bata. I'm alive in spite of you. I realize that as for your having had cut down for Pharaoh, l.p.h., it was on account of me. And I became a bull, and you had me killed.

After many days following this, the Lady stood pouring (drinks) for His Majesty, l.p.h., so that the king was happy in her company. She told His Majesty, l.p.h.: Swear to me by god as follows, "As for what the Lady will tell me, I shall grant it to her." So you shall say. and he heard / all that she said, and she said: have these two Persea trees cut down and made into fine furniture. Then the king heard all that she had said, and after a brief moment His Majesty, l.p.h., sent skilled craftsmen, and the Persea trees were cut down for Pharaoh, l.p.h. the queen, the Lady, observed it (being done), and a splinter flew up and entered the Lady's mouth. / She swallowed and became pregnant in the space of a split second, and the king made out of them whatever was her desire.

After many days following this, she bore a son, and someone went in order to tell His Majesty, l.p.h.: A son has been born to you. then he was brought, and nurse and maids were assigned to him. There was jubilation in the entire land, and the king sat down and made holiday and proceeded to hold him on his lap. His Majesty, l.p.h., cherished him exceedingly immediately, and the king appointed him / Viceroy of Kush.

After many days following this, His Majesty, l.p.h., made him crown prince of the entire land. and after many days following this, when he had completed many [years] as crown prince in entire land, His Majesty, l.p.h., flew up to the sky. Then the (new) king said: Have my great officials of His Majesty, l.p.h., brought to me that I may inform them regarding every situation / that I have been involved in. His wife [was] brought to him, and he was judged with her in their presence. A consensus was reached among them. His elder brother was brought to him, and he appointed him crown prince in the entire land. he thirty years as King of Egypt. he departed from life, and his elder brother acceded to his throne on the day of death.

(source: http://www.touregypt.net)

Bastet: Egyptian Goddess of the Sun

The goddess Bastet was usually represented as a woman with the head of a domesticated cat. However, up until 1000 BC she was portrayed as a lioness. Bastet was the daughter of Re, the sun god. It may have been through him that she acquired her feline characteristics. When Re destroyed his enemy Apep, he was usually depicted as a cat. As portrayed as a cat, she was connected with the moon (her son Khonsu was the god of the moon). When shown as a lioness, she is associated with sunlight.

Bastet was the goddess of fire, cats, of the home and pregnant women. According to one myth, she was the personification of the soul of Isis. She was also called the "Lady of the East". As such, her counterpart as "Lady of the West" was Sekhmet.

Bastet as a cat headed womanBastet seemed to have two sides to her personality, docile and aggressive. Her docile and gentle side was displayed in her duties as a protector of the home, and pregnant women. Her aggressive and vicious nature was exposed in the accounts of battles in which the pharaoh was said to have slaughtered the enemy as Bastet slaughtered her victims.

Her center of worship was in Bubastis (Per-Bast, Pa-Bast, Pibeseth, Tell-Basta), in the eastern Delta. Her chief festivals were celebrated in April and May. Herodotus, the famous Greek historian, provides the following description of one of the festivals:

"When the Egyptians travel to Bubastis, they do so in this manner: men and women sail together, and in each boat there are many persons of both sexes. Some of the women shake their rattles and some of the men blow their pipes during the whole journey, while others sing and clap their hands. If they pass a town on the way, some of the women land and shout and jeer at the local women, while others dance and create a disturbance. They do this at every town on the Nile. When they arrive at Bubastis, they begin the festival with great sacrifices, and on this occasion, more wine is consumed than during the whole of the rest of the year."

Nefertari led by Goddess Isis

Queen Nefertari and Isis. Wall painting in the tomb of Queen Nefertari. It portrays the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis (right) leading Queen Nefertari by the hand. Nefertari lived around 1300-1255 BC and was the first wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II. The tomb of Queen Nefertari, located in the Valley of the Queens, Thebes, Egypt, is one of the best preserved and most ornately decorated of all known tombs. It was rediscovered in 1904 by the Italian archaeologist Ernesto Schiaparelli, but has been closed to the public since 2003.

Anubis

Anubis is one of the most iconic gods of ancient Egypt. Anubis is the Greek version of his name, the ancient Egyptians knew him as Anpu (or Inpu). Anubis was an extremely ancient deity whose name appears in the oldest mastabas of the Old Kingdom and the Pyramid Texts as a guardian and protector of the dead. He was originally a god of the underworld, but became associated specifically with the embalming process and funeral rites. His name is from the same root as the word for a royal child, "inpu". However, it is also closely related to the word "inp" which means "to decay", and one versions of his name (Inp or Anp) more closely resembles that word. As a result it is possible that his name changed slightly once he was adopted as the son of the King, Osiris. He was known as "Imy-ut" ("He Who is In the Place of Embalming"), "nub-tA-djser" ("lord of the scared land").  

He was initially related to the Ogdoad of Hermopolis, as the god of the underworld. In the Pyramid Texts of Unas, Anubis is associated with the Eye of Horus who acted as a guide to the dead and helped them find Osiris. In other myths Anubis and Wepwawet (Upuaut) led the deceased to the halls of Ma´at where they would be judged. Anubis watched over the whole process and ensured that the weighing of the heart was conducted correctly. He then led the innocent on to a heavenly existence and abandoned the guilty to Ammit.

Hathor Egyptian Goddess of Love

 

Hathor (Egyptian:"mansion of Horus") is an Ancient Egyptian goddess who personified the principles of joy, feminine love, and motherhood. She was one of the most important and popular deities throughout the history of Ancient Egypt. Hathor was worshiped by Royalty and common people alike in whose tombs she is depicted as "Mistress of the West" welcoming the dead into the next life. In other roles she was a goddess of music, dance, foreign lands and fertility who helped women in childbirth, as well as the patron goddess of miners.

Hathor is ambiguously depicted until the 4th dynasty. In the historical era Hathor is shown using the imagery of a cow deity. Artifacts from pre-dynastic times depict cow deities using the same symbolism as used in later times for Hathor and Egyptologists speculate that these deities may be one and the same or precursors to Hathor.

A cow deity appears on the belt of the King on the Narmer Palette dated to the pre-dynastic era, and this may be Hathor or, in another guise, the goddess Bat with whom she is linked and later supplanted. At times they are regarded as one and the same goddess, though likely having separate origins, and reflections of the same divine concept. The evidence pointing to the deity being Hathor in particular is based on a passage from the Pyramid texts which states that the King's apron comes from Hathor.

A stone urn recovered from Hierakonpolis and dated to the 1st dynasty has on its rim the face of a cow deity with stars on its ears and horns that may relate to Hathor's, or Bat's, role as a sky-goddess. Another artifact from the 1st dynasty shows a cow lying down on an ivory engraving with the inscription "Hathor in the Marshes" indicating her association with vegetation and the papyrus marsh in particular. From the Old Kingdom she was also called Lady of the Sycamore in her capacity as a tree deity.

Hathor was the god of love, music, dance and Egyptian mothers. She watched over all of Egypt's mothers while they had children. Hathor also increased the joy and music in Egypt. She was all about spirit and love.

Hathor had a complex relationship with Ra. At times she is the eye of Ra and considered his daughter, but she is also considered Ra's mother. She absorbed this role from another cow goddess 'Mht wrt' ("Great flood") who was the mother of Ra in a creation myth and carried him between her horns. As a mother she gave birth to Ra each morning on the eastern horizon and as wife she conceives through union with him each day.