Legends of the Gods | Page 8

the earth and in water, and to draw up a
writing for every place in which serpents are known to be, containing
strict orders that they are to bite, no one. Though these serpents knew
that Ra was retiring from the earth, they were never to forget that his
rays would fall upon them. In his place their father Keb was to keep
watch over them, and he was their father for ever.
As a further protection against them Ra promised to impart to
magicians and snake-charmers the particular word of power, hekau,
with which he guarded himself against the attacks of serpents, and also
to transmit it to his son Osiris. Thus those who are ready to listen to the
formulae of the snake-charmers shall always be immune from the bites
of serpents, and their children also. From this we may gather that the
profession of the snake-charmer is very ancient, and that this class of
magicians were supposed to owe the foundation of their craft to a
decree of Ra himself.
Ra next sent for the god Thoth, and when he came into the presence of
Ra, he invited him to go with him to a distance, to a place called
"Tuat," i.e., hell, or the Other World, in which region he had
determined to make his light to shine. When they arrived there he told
Thoth, the Scribe of Truth, to write down on his tablets the names of all
who were therein, and to punish those among them who had sinned
against him, and he deputed to Thoth the power to deal absolutely as he
pleased with all the beings in the Tuat. Ra loathed the wicked, and
wished them to be kept at a distance from him. Thoth was to be his
vicar, to fill his place, and "Place of Ra," was to be his name. He gave
him power to send out a messenger (hab), so the Ibis (habi) came into
being. All that Thoth would do would be good (khen), therefore the
Tekni bird of Thoth came into being. He gave Thoth power to embrace
(anh) the heavens, therefore the Moon-god (Aah) came into being. He
gave Thoth power to turn back (anan) the Northern peoples, therefore
the dog-headed ape of Thoth came into being. Finally Ra told Thoth

that he would take his place in the sight of all those who were wont to
worship Ra, and that all should praise him as God. Thus the abdication
of Ra was complete.
In the fragmentary texts which follow we are told how a man may
benefit by the recital of this legend. He must proclaim that the soul
which animated Ra was the soul of the Aged One, and that of Shu,
Khnemu (?), Heh, &c., and then he must proclaim that he is Ra himself,
and his word of power Heka. If he recites the Chapter correctly he shall
have life in the Other World, and he will be held in greater fear there
than here. A rubric adds that he must be dressed in new linen garments,
and be well washed with Nile water; he must wear white sandals, and
his body must be anointed with holy oil. He must burn incense in a
censer, and a figure of Maat (Truth) must be painted on his tongue with
green paint. These regulations applied to the laity as well as to the
clergy.

III.

THE LEGEND OF RA AND ISIS.

The original text of this very interesting legend is written in the hieratic
character on a papyrus preserved at Turin, and was published by Pleyte
and Rossi in their Corpus of Turin Papyri.[FN#16] French and German
translations of it were published by Lefebure,[FN#17] and
Wiedemann[FN#18] respectively, and summaries of its contents were
given by Erman[FN#19] and Maspero.[FN#20] A transcript of the
hieratic text into hieroglyphics, with transliteration and translation, was
published by me in 1895.[FN#21]

[FN#16] Papyrus de Turin, pll. 31, 77, 131-138.

[FN#17] A. Z., 1883, p. 27 ff.
[FN#18] Die Religion, p. 29.
[FN#19] Aegypten, p. 359 ff.
[FN#20] Les Origines, V. 162-4.
[FN#21] First Steps in Egyptian, p. 241 ff.

It has already been seen that the god Ra, when retiring from the
government of this world, took steps through Thoth to supply mankind
with words of power and spells with which to protect themselves
against the bites of serpents and other noxious reptiles. The legend of
the Destruction of Mankind affords no explanation of this remarkable
fact, but when we read the following legend of Ra and Isis we
understand why Ra, though king of the gods, was afraid of the reptiles
which lived in the kingdom of Keb. The legend, or "Chapter of the
Divine God," begins by enumerating the mighty attributes of Ra