Legends of the Gods | Page 7

called the "City of Apis," (Brugsch, Dict. Geog., p.
491), and is the Apis city of classical writers. It is, perhaps, represented
by the modern Kom al-Hisn.

Soon after this Ra complained that he was smitten with pain, and that
he was weary of the, children of men. He thought them a worthless
remnant, and wished that more of them had been slain. The gods about
him begged him to endure, and reminded him that his power was in
proportion to his will. Ra was, however, unconsoled, and he
complained that his limbs were weak for the first time in his life.
Thereupon the god Nu told Shu to help Ra, and he ordered Nut to take
the great god Ra on her back. Nut changed herself into a cow, and with
the help of Shu Ra got on her back. As soon as men saw that Ra was on
the back of the Cow of Heaven, and was about to leave them, they
became filled with fear and repentance, and cried out to Ra to remain
with them and to slay all those who had blasphemed against him. But
the Cow moved on her way, and carried Ra to Het-Ahet, a town of the
nome of Mareotis, where in later days the right leg of Osiris was said to
be preserved. Meanwhile darkness covered the land. When day broke
the men who had repented of their blasphemies appeared with their
bows, and slew the enemies of Ra. At this result Ra was pleased, and
he forgave those who had repented because of their righteous slaughter
of his enemies. From this time onwards human sacrifices were offered
up at the festivals of Ra celebrated in this place, and at Heliopolis and
in other parts of Egypt.

After these things Ra declared to Nut that he intended to leave this
world, and to ascend into heaven, and that all those who would see his
face must follow him thither. Then he went up into heaven and
prepared a place to which all might come. Then he said, "Hetep sekhet
aa," i.e., "Let a great field be produced," and straightway
"Sekhet-hetep," or the "Field of peace," came into being. He next said,
"Let there be reeds (aaru) in it," and straightway "Sekhet Aaru," or the
"Field of Reeds," came into being. Sekhet-hetep was the Elysian Fields
of the Egyptians, and the Field of Reeds was a well-known section of it.
Another command of the god Ra resulted in the creation of the stars,
which the legend compares to flowers. Then the goddess Nut trembled
in all her body, and Ra, fearing that she might fall, caused to come into
being the Four Pillars on which the heavens are supported. Turning to
Shu, Ra entreated him to protect these supports, and to place himself
under Nut, and to hold her up in position with his hands. Thus Shu
became the new Sun-god in the place of Ra, and the heavens in which
Ra lived were supported and placed beyond the risk of falling, and
mankind would live and rejoice in the light of the new sun.
At this place in the legend a text is inserted called the "Chapter of the
Cow." It describes how the Cow of Heaven and the two Boats of the
Sun shall be painted, and gives the positions of the gods who stand by
the legs of the Cow, and a number of short magical names, or formulae,
which are inexplicable. The general meaning of the picture of the Cow
is quite clear. The Cow represents the sky in which the Boats of Ra, sail,
and her four legs are the four cardinal points which cannot be changed.
The region above her back is the heaven in which Ra reigns over the
beings who pass thereto from this earth when they die, and here was
situated the home of the gods and the celestial spirits who govern this
world.
When Ra had made a heaven for himself, and had arranged for a
continuance of life on the earth, and the welfare of human beings, he
remembered that at one time when reigning on earth he had been bitten
by a serpent, and had nearly lost his life through the bite. Fearing that
the same calamity might befall his successor, he determined to take
steps to destroy the power of all noxious reptiles that dwelt on the earth.

With this object in view he told Thoth to summon Keb, the Earth-god,
to his presence, and this god having arrived, Ra told him that war must
be made against the serpents that dwelt in his dominions. He further
commanded him to go to the god Nu, and to tell him to set a watch over
all the reptiles that were in