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Middle Kingdom of Egypt › Who Was
Definition and Origins
The Middle Kingdom (2040-1782 BCE) is considered ancient Egypt 's Classical Age during which the culture produced some of its greatest works of art and literature. Scholars remain divided on which dynasties constitute the Middle Kingdom of Egypt with some arguing for the later half of the 11th through the 12th, some the 12th to 14th, and some the 12th and 13th.The 12th Dynasty is often cited as the beginning because of the vast improvement in the quality of art and architecture but these developments were only possible because of the stability the 11th Dynasty secured for the country. The most commonly accepted dates for the Middle Kingdom, then, are 2040-1782 BCE, which include the latter part of the 11th Dynasty through the middle of the 13th Dynasty. The 13th Dynasty was never as powerful or stable as the 12th and allowed an immigrant people known as the Hyksos to gain power in Lower Egypt, which eventually grew strong enough to challenge the authority of the 13th Dynasty and usher in the era known as the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt (c. 1782-c.1570 BCE). According to every estimation of the Middle Kingdom, Egypt reached its highest point of culture during the 12th Dynasty, and the innovations of this period influenced the rest of Egypt's history.
Designations such as 'Middle Kingdom' and ' Second Intermediate Period ' are constructs of 19th century CE Egyptologists in their attempt to make more manageable the long history of the country. The ancient Egyptians themselves used no such names for their eras in history. Those periods which are marked by the country's unification under a strong central government are called 'kingdoms' while the times of disunity or long-term political or social unrest are known as 'intermediate periods.'Each of these eras has their own defining quality, including the Middle Kingdom, but scholars have claimed this period is more difficult to connect to any central image or accomplishment. Mark van de Mieroop comments on this:
While both the modern term 'Middle Kingdom' and the ancient presentation of [it] may suggest that this period parallels the Old and New Kingdoms, in many respects it is more difficult to define the Middle Kingdom than those other periods. In simplistic terms we can point to the pyramids as the Old Kingdom 's defining characteristic and at the empire for the New Kingdom ; no comparable single feature describes the Middle Kingdom. It was a period of transformation. (97)
It could be argued, however, that the physical evidence of that transformation is the defining characteristic. The literature and art of the Middle Kingdom are unlike any that came before it and influenced everything which followed after. Even though the Middle Kingdom may not have the grand pyramids of Egypt's past or the power which lay in the future, the contributions made by this era contributed enormously to the definition of Egyptian culture as it is recognized in the present day.
INFLUENCE OF THE FIRST INTERMEDIATE PERIOD
The Middle Kingdom rose following the First Intermediate Period (2181-2040 BCE), a time when the central government was diminished almost to the point of non-existence and the regional administrators ( nomarchs ) governed their districts ( nomes ) directly until two kingdoms developed - Herakleopolis in Lower Egypt and Thebes in Upper Egypt - out of minor provincial cities and challenged each other for supreme rule of the country. Under the prince Mentuhotep II (c. 2061-2010 BCE) the rulers of Herakleopolis were defeated and Thebes became the capital of Egypt. Mentuhotep was praised as a "second Menes" in reference to the first king of the Early Dynastic Period in Egypt (c. 3150-2613 BCE) who initially united the country.
Mentuhotep II
Although the Middle Kingdom rulers tried to emulate those of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, and scholars have traditionally represented the Middle Kingdom as a return to the earlier paradigm, the political and social structure of the era was quite different. The First Intermediate Period had introduced a level of wealth and independence to the districts of Egypt which had not existed in the Old Kingdom structure of a supremely powerful centralized government, and when that era ended with Mentuhotep II's reunification, those changes in the culture remained. Although the king was again the ruler of all Egypt, subordinate officials often lived and acted like small kings and there was an ease in upward mobility in the society which had not existed before.
These changes from the First Intermediate Period are most clearly seen in the art and literature of the 12th Dynasty, which gives the Middle Kingdom its epithet of 'Classical Age.' The influence of many different districts of the country is seen in the architecture, written works, inscriptions, paintings, and tombs of the 12th Dynasty clearly indicating that regional influences were welcomed and respected and that artistic expression was more fluid at this time. The works of the Old Kingdom were commissioned and controlled by the royalty and are uniform in appearance and style, while those of the Middle Kingdom are much more varied. None of these changes could have come about, were it not for the transitional era known as the First Intermediate Period.
THE FIRST INTERMEDIATE PERIOD & THE RISE OF THEBES
After the collapse of the Old Kingdom following the 6th Dynasty, there was no strong central government in Egypt. This came about, in part, because of the great works commissioned by the kings of the 4th Dynasty who built the pyramids at Giza. King Sneferu, the first ruler of the 4th Dynasty, initiated the construction of pyramids and set the paradigm of diverting resources and manpower to building mortuary complexes. His successors Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure (the builders of the Giza pyramids) followed his example, but it is no accident that the pyramid of Khafre is smaller and his complex less luxuriant than Khufu's Great Pyramid or that Menkaure's is smaller than Khafre's. The enormous resources required for these projects ran out as the Old Kingdom went on.
POLITICAL & SOCIAL CHANGES FROM THE FIRST INTERMEDIATE PERIOD ARE MOST CLEARLY SEEN IN THE ART & LITERATURE OF THE 12TH DYNASTY, WHICH GIVES THE MIDDLE KINGDOM ITS EPITHET OF 'CLASSICAL AGE.'
It was not just a problem of what it cost to build the pyramid complexes but also a matter of maintaining them. The maintenance was left to the priests of the complexes and the local official, the nomarch, of the region, who received money from the royal treasury. As more money went to the districts from the capital at Memphis, those districts naturally increased in wealth, and with the rise in popularity of the Cult of the Sun God Ra, the priests gained more wealth and power. This situation, combined with others of the time, brought about the end of the Old Kingdom.
During the First Intermediate Period, these nomarchs who now had the power to control their own districts without regard for Memphis essentially became kings of their regions. They passed and enforced laws and gathered taxes without consulting with the kings who still tried to rule from the old capital. The diversity of the regions of Egypt at this time can be seen in the art and architecture which express each separate district's individuality.
Thebes, at this time, was a minor city on the banks of the Nile which had no more prestige than any other. The kings of Memphis moved their capital to Herakleopolis, perhaps in an effort to gain more control over the larger population there, but remained as ineffectual as they had been in the old city. Around 2125 BCE a nomarch of Thebes named Intef challenged the authority of Herakleopolis and initiated a rebellion which set Thebes up as a rival to Herakleopolis. Intef's successors each gained more and more ground as Thebes grew in power and wealth. New and greater tombs were built and grander palaces until, with the ascension of Mentuhotep II and the defeat of Herakleopolis, Thebes became the capital of Egypt.
MENTUHOTEP II & THE 11TH DYNASTY
Although Mentuhotep II became the 'second Menes' who united Egypt and ushered in the era of the Middle Kingdom, the path to that unification was initiated by Intef I and made clear by his successors. Mentuhotep I (c. 2115 BCE) followed Intef I's lead and conquered the surrounding nomes for Thebes, greatly enhancing its stature and increasing the city's power. His successors continued his policies, but Wahankh Intef II (c. 2112-2063 BCE) is credited with some of the most important steps toward unification in taking the city of Abydos and claiming for himself the title 'King of Upper and Lower Egypt.' Wahankh Intef II further strengthened the position of Thebes by ruling justly and commanding military expeditions against Herakleopolis, which weakened the Memphite king's hold on their region.
Mentuhotep II built on these early successes to finally defeat Herakleopolis and, afterwards, to punish those nomes which had remained loyal to the old kings and reward those which had honored Thebes. Once the process of unification was underway, Mentuhotep II turned his attention to governing, military feats, and building projects. Margaret Bunson writes:
The era that began with the fall of Herakleopolis to Mentuhotep II was an era of great artistic gains and stability in Egypt. A strong government fostered a climate in which a great deal of creative activity took place. The greatest monument of this period was at Thebes, on the western bank of the Nile, at a site called Deir el-Bahri. There Mentuhotep II erected his vast mortuary complex, a structure that would influence architects of the 18th Dynasty.The Mentuhotep royal line encouraged all forms of art and relied upon military prowess to establish new boundaries and new mining operations. (78)
Mentuhotep II's successor, Mentuhotep III (c. 2010-1998 BCE) continued his policies and enlarged their scope. He sent an expedition to Punt and fortified the boundaries of the north-eastern Delta. He was succeeded by Mentuhotep IV (c. 1997-1991 BCE) about whom little is known other than that he sent his vizier, a man named Amenemhat, on an expedition to quarry stones. His entire seven-year reign is silence, but he most likely continued the policies of his predecessors successfully because when Amenemhat succeeds him as king the country is flourishing.
THE 12TH DYNASTY BEGINS
Scholars who claim that the Middle Kingdom only truly begins with the 12th Dynasty do so because of the reign of Amenemhat I (c. 1991-1962 BCE) and the culture his dynasty forged. His family would rule Egypt for the next 200 years, maintaining a strong, united country and interacting significantly with neighboring lands.
When Amenemhat was vizier to Mentuhotep IV and was sent with his expedition to quarry stones for the king's project, he ordered an inscription made of amazing events which he experienced. First, a gazelle gave birth on the stone which had been chosen for the lid of the king's sarcophagus, signifying that stone had been chosen rightly as it was blessed with fertility and life. Second, an unexpected rainstorm fell upon the party which, once it had passed, revealed a well large enough to water the entire party. This inscription was later interpreted to mean that Amenemhat was chosen by the gods to become king as the gods had clearly allowed him to experience miracles few others had. The later Middle Kingdom work Prophecy of Nefertyenlarges on this idea by claiming to have been written before Amenemhat I's reign and "predicting" a king who will "come from the south, Ameny, the justified, by name" who will rule a united Egypt and smite his enemies.
Amenemhat I, for reasons not entirely clear, left Thebes and set up his capital and court at a city called Iti-tawi, south of Memphis. The exact location of the city is unknown but was probably near Lisht and was referred to in documents simply as the 'Residence.' The name Iti-tawi means "Amenemhat is he who takes possession of the Two Lands", according to van de Mieroop, and emphasizes the unity of Egypt (101). Amenemhat may have moved the capital to the Lisht region to distance himself from the previous dynasty - those who had united Egypt by force - and present himself as the unbiased king of the whole nation. Lisht was close by the old capital of Herakleopolis and near to the fertile area of the Fayyum, and so placing the court of the king there would signal that this dynasty was not just Theban but open to all Egyptians. There seems to have been significant unrest at the court toward the end of his reign, and evidence suggests he was assassinated. His death and the succession which followed forms the backdrop for the famous Egyptian literary text The Tale of Sinuhe.
THE CLASSICAL AGE OF THE MIDDLE KINGDOM
Amenemhat I's successor was Senusret I (c. 1971-1926 BCE), who improved the infrastructure of the country and initiated the kinds of grand building projects which had characterized the Old Kingdom and represented the power of the king, including a temple to Amun at Karnak, which initiated the construction of the great temple complex there. Amenemhat I had followed the example of Wahankh Intef II and Mentuhotep II in granting power only to those most trusted in the family and limiting the power of the local nomarchs and priests. One of the ways in which he curbed the nomarch's power was the creation of the first standing army. Prior to the 12th Dynasty, the Egyptian army was made up of conscripts raised by the nomarchs and sent to the king. Amenemhat I increased the power of the king by reforming the military so it was directly under his control.
Senusret I followed this same policy, which resulted in greater wealth and power for the throne and a stable central government. The bureaucracy of the 12th Dynasty was so efficient that, unlike that of the Old Kingdom, it kept wealth concentrated with the king but allowed for the growth and flourishing of individual districts without letting them grow too powerful. The king ruled all of Egypt, but individual officials were rewarded for their loyalty. Van de Mieroop writes:
All over Egypt local worthies announced their special status by erecting steles inscribed with biographies where they focused on their own achievements and, in many respects, this era shows the same cultural diversity as the preceeding period. (101)
The lack of tension between district officials and the crown allowed for great success in building projects, expansion of borders, defense, agricultural production, the improvements of cities and roads, and the development of art and literature. All of these improvements made Egypt one of the wealthiest and most stable countries in the world at the time. Margaret Bunson notes:
The 12th Dynasty kings raided Syria and Palestine and marched to the Third Cataract of the Nile to establish fortified posts. They sent expeditions to the Red Sea, using the overland route to the coast and the way through the Wadi Tumilat and the Bitter Lakes. To stimulate the national economy these kings also began vast irrigation and hydraulic projects in the Fayyum to reclaim the lush fields there. The agricultural lands made available by these systems revitalized Egyptian life. (78-79)
Senusret I began these policies by draining the lake at the center of the Fayyum through the use of canals. This not only made the fertile land of the lake bottom available for agriculture but freed up the water for easier access by more people. He is responsible for the White Chapel, a structure significant to archaeologists and scholars for listing all the nomes of the time on it. The White Chapel was destroyed and recycled for use in the Temple of Karnak but restored between 1927-1930 CE and may still be seen today. Although the capital had left Thebes, the city was not neglected as construction of temples there - especially the great Temple of Karnak - continued throughout the Middle Kingdom and on into the New Kingdom.
White Chapel
ART IN THE MIDDLE KINGDOM
Artistic expression, although still employed for the glory of the king or the gods, found new subject matter during the Middle Kingdom. Even a cursory examination of Old Kingdom texts shows they were largely of a type such as inscriptions on monuments, pyramid texts, theological works. In the Middle Kingdom, although these kinds of inscriptions are still seen, true literature developed which dealt not just with kings or gods but the lives of common people and the human experience. Works such as the Lay of the Harper question whether there is life after death as does Dispute Between a Man and his Ba (his soul).The best known and most popular prose works such as The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor and The Tale of Sinuhe also come from this period.
Tale of Sinuhe (Berlin 10499)
Sculpture and painting also often focus on daily life and common surroundings. Paintings of streams and fields, of people fishing or walking, are more common at this time. Images of everyday life and activities were painted in tombs so that the soul would be reminded of the life it had left behind on earth and move toward the Field of Reeds, the paradise of the afterlife, which was a mirror image of what had been left behind. Statuary became more realistic and new techniques were developed to create sharper and more life-like creations. Temple building, following the great mortuary complex of Mentuhotep II at Thebes, worked to create a seamless relationship between the structure and the surrounding landscape which resulted in almost every temple built in the 12th Dynasty mirroring Mentuhotep II's to greater or lesser degrees. The kings of the 12th Dynasty encouraged this kind of expression and their cordial relationship with the local nomarchs made the 12th Dynasty one of the greatest in the history of Egypt.
THE KING & THE NOMARCHS
Senusret I was succeeded by Amenemhat II (c. 1929-1895 BCE) who may have ruled jointly with him. A distinctive feature of the Middle Kingdom is the practice of co-regency whereby a younger man, the king's chosen successor (usually a son) would rule with the king in order to learn the position and ensure a smooth transition of power. Scholars are divided on whether this practice was actually observed, although at points such as with Amenemhat II and his successor Senusret II (c. 1897-1878 BCE) there is no doubt. The practice of co-regency is suggested by double dates for two rulers on official cartouches but the meaning of those double dates is not clear.
Little is known of Amenemhat II's reign, but Senusret II is known for his good relations with the regional nomarchs and increased prosperity for the country. It is interesting to note that, under Senusret II's reign especially, the local officials prospered just as they had toward the end of the Old Kingdom and yet this did not cause the problems for the crown which it had before. Van de Mieroop writes:
The 12th Dynasty kings at Itj-tawi were powerful but they were not alone in possessing wealth and social standing. For a long time during the Middle Kingdom the provincial elites that had been more-or-less independent in the First Intermediate Period kept their local authority, albeit within a setting where a king ruled the entire country. (103)
These local officials were extremely devoted to their kings as evidenced by their biographies carved into tombs such as those at Beni Hassan (even though these are probably idealized). These tombs are all large and well-crafted, attesting to the wealth of their owners, and all were for nomarchs or other regional administrators, not for royalty.
SENUSRET III & EGYPT'S GOLDEN AGE
Senusret II was succeeded by Senusret III (c. 1878-1860 BCE), the most powerful king of the era whose reign was so prosperous he was deified in his lifetime. Senusret III is considered the model for the legend of Sesostris, the great Egyptian Pharaoh who, according to Herodotus, campaigned in and colonized Europe and, according to Diodorus Siculus, conquered the entire known world. Senusret III is the best candidate as basis for Sesostris as his reign is marked by military expansion into Nubia and an increase in wealth and power for Egypt.
The prestige of the nomarchs declines during Senusret III's reign and the title vanishes from the official records suggesting the position was absorbed by the crown. This interpretation is supported by the institution of larger districts under the control of the central government. The individual families who had held the position do not seem to have lost their status, however, as the tombs at Beni Hassan mentioned earlier attest. Many of the biographies inscribed tell the story of a former nomarch who became a royal administrator devoted to the king.
Senusret III was the epitome of the warrior-king and embodied the Egyptian cultural value of military skill and decisive action.At the head of his army, he was considered invincible. His campaigns into Nubia expanded Egypt's boundaries and the fortifications he built along the border fostered trade. He also led an expedition into Palestine and afterwards increased trade relations with that region.
Head of Senusret III
Although the Middle Kingdom was a stable time of great prosperity, one still finds evidence of uncertainty in the literature and other inscriptions of the period. The Lay of the Harper mentioned earlier, for example, questions the existence of an afterlife and encourages a more existential view. The Execration Texts, objects upon which spells were written to destroy one's enemies, are more numerous during the Middle Kingdom than any other period in Egypt's history. The Egyptians believed in sympathetic magic whereby one could elevate a friend, or destroy an enemy, by working with an object which represented them.
The Execration Texts were clay objects, sometimes statues, with the names of one's enemies written on them and a verse one would recite before smashing the object. As the piece was destroyed, so would one's enemies be. Senusret III's campaigns and military success assured the Egyptians of safety, but the number of these objects found during this period indicates that, as Egypt grew more secure and wealthy, the people grew more fearful of loss. The realism of the literature of the New Kingdom could be interpreted to reflect people's growing concern with the present, rather than an idealized afterlife, as their daily lives became more comfortable and they found they had more to lose than before.
Ipuwer Papyrus
This fear of the loss of material goods, social stability - even all that one knew - could account for the rise in popularity of the Cult of Osiris at Abydos and the increasing veneration of Amun at Thebes. Amun combined the earlier aspects of the sun god Ra and the creator god Atum into an all-powerful god whose priests (like those of Ra in the past) would eventually amass more land and wealth than the pharaohs of the New Kingdom and would actually eventually topple the New Kingdom. Osiris, originally a fertility god, would become known as Lord and Judge of the Dead, the deity who determined where one's soul would spend eternity, and his cult would become the most popular, merging finally with that of his wife Isis.
Both of these gods promised stability in one's earthly journey and an eternal life beyond the grave. Senusret III paid special attention to the city of Abydos, where Osiris' head was thought to be buried, and sent representatives there with gifts for Osiris' statue. Abydos developed into a wealthy city during this time, the most popular place of pilgrimage in all of Egypt, with the most coveted necropolis. People wanted to be buried near Osiris to have a better chance of impressing him when their time came to stand before him at judgment.
At the same time, Amun's Temple at Karnak was continually being added to. This temple was dedicated to Amun, Lord of the Sky and Earth, who would become known as Amun-Ra, King of the Gods of Egypt. Amun assured believers of his constant watchful care during their lives and the continuation of harmony. The realism of the literary and artistic works of the time can be seen as reflected in the religious developments which promised an unbroken continuation of one's present life. As the afterlife, presided over by Osiris, was seen as a direct reflection of one's present life, and one's present life was protected by Amun, one had no reason to fear change because there would be none. Death was only another change in the course of one's life, not the end of it. The depictions of the afterlife at this time became just as vivid and realistic as those of common scenes from everyday life.
THE END OF THE 12TH DYNASTY
This realism even extends to how Senusret III is portrayed artistically. Whereas previous kings of Egypt are always depicted in statuary as young and strong, those of Senusret III are realistic and show him at his actual age and looking worn and tired from the responsibilities of rule. This same realism is apparent in the statuary of his son and successor Amenemhat III (c. 1860-1815 BCE), who is represented in statuary both ideally and realistically. Amenemhat III boasted of no great military victories but built almost as many monuments as his father and was responsible for the great mortuary temple at Hawara known as 'The Labyrinth,' which Herodotus claimed was more impressive than any of the ancient wonders of the world.
He was succeeded by Amenemhat IV (c. 1815-1807 BCE), who continued his policies. He finished his father's building projects and initiated many of his own. Military and trade expeditions were launched numerous times during his reign and trade flourished with cities in the Levant, especially Byblos, and elsewhere. The policy of the co-regency, if it was actually followed, which had ensured a smooth transition of power from ruler to ruler now failed in the case of Amenemhat IV who had no male heir to groom for success.
Upon his death the throne went to his sister (or wife) Sobekneferu (c. 1807-1802 BCE) about whose reign little is known.Sobekneferu is the first woman to rule Egypt since the Early Dynastic Period unless one accepts the queen Nitiqret ( Nitocris) of the 6th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom as historical. The debate over the historicity of Nitocris has been going on for decades and is no closer to a resolution but many scholars (Toby Wilkinson and Barbara Watterson among them) now accept her as an actual person rather than a myth Herodotus created.
That aside, Sobekneferu reigned centuries before Hatshepsut, the woman often cited as Egypt's first female monarch, and to rule with full royal powers as a man. A woman named Neithhotep (c. 3150 BCE) and another, Merneith (c. 3000 BCE), are thought to have ruled in their own names and by their own authority in the Early Dynastic Period but these claims are contested. Merneith may have only been a regent for her son Den and Neithhotep, whose reputation as a reigning monarch relies largely on the grandeur of her tomb and inscriptions, could have simply been honored as a great king's wife and mother.
Unlike Hatshepsut, whose statues increasingly portray her as a male, Sobekneferu is clearly depicted as a female monarch.She either refurbished or founded the city of Crocodilopolis south of Hawara in honor of her patron god Sobek and commissioned other building projects in the great tradition of the other rulers of the 12th Dynasty.
When she died without an heir the 12th Dynasty ended and the 13th began with the reign of Sobekhotep I (c. 1802-1800 BCE). The 12th Dynasty was the strongest and most prosperous of the Middle Kingdom. As van de Mieroop notes, "All but the last two rulers of the 12th Dynasty built pyramids and mortuary complexes in the surroundings and filled them with royal statuary, relief sculptures, and the like" (102). The 13th Dynasty would inherit the wealth and the policies but would not be able to make any great use of them.
THE END OF THE MIDDLE KINGDOM
The 13th Dynasty is traditionally seen as weaker than the 12th, and it was, but exactly when it began to decline is unclear because the historical records are fragmentary. Certain kings, such as Sobekhotep I, are well attested but they become less so as the 13th Dynasty continues. Some kings are only mentioned in the Turin King's list and nowhere else, some are named in inscriptions but not in lists. Manetho's king list, which is regularly consulted by Egyptologists, fails in the 13th Dynasty when he lists 60 kings ruling for 453 years, an impossible duration, which scholars interpret as a mistake for 153 years (Van de Mieroop, 107). The claim that the dynasty lasted for 150 years after Sobekhotep I is also probably wrong in that the Hyksos were firmly established as a power in Lower Egypt by c. 1720 BCE and were in control of that region by c. 1782 BCE.
Statue of Sobekhotep
The 13th Dynasty seems to have continued the policies of the kings of the 12th and kept the country unified but, as far as the fragmentary records indicate, none of them had the personal strength of the previous kings. Separate political entities began to spring up in Lower Egypt, the Hyksos being the greatest, and the capital at Itj-tawi does not seem to have had the resources to control any of them. Mortuary complexes, temples, and steles were still raised during this time and documents show the efficient bureaucracy of the 12th Dynasty was still in place but the momentum which propelled Egypt throughout the 12th Dynasty was lost.
As with the transition from the period of the Old Kingdom to the First Intermediate Period, the change from the Middle Kingdom to the Second Intermediate Period is often characterized as a chaotic decline. Neither of these characterizations is accurate.The 13th Dynasty faltered and a stronger power rose to take its place. Although the later Egyptian histories would characterize the time of the Hyksos as a dark period for the country, the archaeological record argues otherwise. The Hyksos, although they were foreigners, continued to respect the religion and culture of Egypt and seem to have benefited the country more than later historians give them credit for.
The Second Intermediate Period, during which the Hyksos ruled Egypt, may not have been the chaos it is presented as but still could not approach the heights of the Middle Kingdom. There was, in fact, some loss of culture such as that of hieroglyphic script and the rise of hieratic script. There is also evidence that artistic achievements were of a lower quality during the Second Intermediate Period. Scholars Bob Brier and Hoyt Hobbs write of the Middle Kingdom:
During its flowering, the Egyptian language attained a level of refinement that ever after made it the model for good prose in ancient Egypt. Art achieved an elegant realism: for the first time, pharaoh's faces were shown with lines of care and age, rather than idealized. Buildings, though not as mammoth as those of the Old Kingdom, possess a refinement that makes them second to none. Egypt also mounted serious military expeditions into the Sudan, forays that would later extend throughout the Middle East. Even a thousand years later, Egyptians looked back on the Middle Kingdom as a glorious time. (25)
The fear of loss evident in the texts of the Middle Kingdom was realized with the dissolution of the 13th Dynasty and the coming of another period of disunity and uncertainty. Later Egyptian writers would contrast the Middle Kingdom with the supposed lawlessness which preceded and succeeded it and raise it to the status of a golden age. The achievements of the period, especially of the 12th Dynasty, are undeniable and would continue to elevate the culture of ancient Egypt for the rest of its history.
Ancient Egyptian Literature › Ancient History
Definition and Origins
Ancient Egyptian literature comprises a wide array of narrative and poetic forms including inscriptions on tombs, stele, obelisks, and temples; myths, stories, and legends; religious writings; philosophical works; autobiographies; biographies;histories; poetry; hymns; personal essays; letters and court records. Although many of these forms are not usually defined as " literature " they are given that designation in Egyptian studies because so many of them, especially from the Middle Kingdom (2040-1782 BCE), are of such high literary merit.
The first examples of Egyptian writing come from the Early Dynastic Period (c. 6000- c. 3150 BCE) in the form of Offering Lists and autobiographies; the autobiography was carved on one's tomb along with the Offering List to let the living know what gifts, and in what quantity, the deceased was due regularly in visiting the grave. Since the dead were thought to live on after their bodies had failed, regular offerings at graves were an important consideration; the dead still had to eat and drink even if they no longer held a physical form. From the Offering List came the Prayer for Offerings, a standard literary work which would replace the Offering List, and from the autobiographies grew the Pyramid Texts which were accounts of a king's reign and his successful journey to the afterlife; both these developments took place during the period of the Old Kingdom (c. 2613-c.2181 BCE).
These texts were written in hieroglyphics ("sacred carvings") a writing system combining phonograms (symbols which represent sound), logograms (symbols representing words), and ideograms (symbols which represent meaning or sense).Hieroglyphic writing was extremely labor intensive and so another script grew up beside it known as hieratic ("sacred writings") which was faster to work with and easier to use. Hieratic was based on hieroglyphic script and relied on the same principles but was less formal and precise. Hieroglyphic script was written with particular care for the aesthetic beauty of the arrangement of the symbols; hieratic script was used to relay information quickly and easily. In c. 700 BCE hieratic was replaced by demotic script ("popular writing") which continued in use until the rise of Christianity in Egypt and the adoption of Coptic script c. 4th century CE.
MOST OF EGYPTIAN LITERATURE WAS WRITTEN IN HIEROGLYPHICS OR HIERATIC SCRIPT; HIEROGLYPHICS WERE USED ON MONUMENTS WHILE HIERATIC SCRIPT WAS USED IN WRITING ON PAPYRUS & CERAMICS.
Most of Egyptian literature was written in hieroglyphics or hieratic script; hieroglyphics were used on monuments such as tombs, obelisks, stele, and temples while hieratic script was used in writing on papyrus scrolls and ceramic pots. Although hieratic, and later demotic and Coptic, scripts became the common writing system of the educated and literate, hieroglyphics remained in use throughout Egypt's history for monumental structures until it was forgotten during the early Christian period.
Although the definition of "Egyptian Literature" includes many different types of writing, for the present purposes attention will mostly be paid to standard literary works such as stories, legends, myths, and personal essays; other kinds or work will be mentioned when they are particularly significant. Egyptian history, and so literature, spans centuries and fills volumes of books;a single article cannot hope to treat of the subject fairly in attempting to cover the wide range of written works of the culture.
LITERATURE IN THE OLD KINGDOM
The Offering Lists and autobiographies, though not considered "literature", are the first examples of the Egyptian writing system in action. The Offering List was a simple instruction, known to the Egyptians as the hetep -di- nesw ("a boon given by the king"), inscribed on a tomb detailing food, drink, and other offerings appropriate for the person buried there. The autobiography, written after the person's death, was always inscribed in the first person as though the deceased were speaking. Egyptologist Miriam Lichtheim writes:
The basic aim of the autobiography - the self-portrait in words - was the same as that of the self-portrait in sculpture and relief: to sum up the characteristic features of the individual person in terms of his positive worth and in the face of eternity (4).
These early obituaries came to be augmented by a type of formulaic writing now known as the Catalogue of Virtues which grew from "the new ability to capture the formless experiences of life in the enduring formulations of the written word" (Lichtheim, 5). The Catalogue of Virtues accentuated the good a person had done in his or her life and how worthy they were of remembrance. Lichtheim notes that the importance of the Virtues was that they "reflected the ethical standards of society" while at the same time making clear that the deceased had adhered to those standards (5). Some of these autobiographies and lists of virtues were brief, inscribed on a false door or around the lintels; others, such as the well-known Autobiography of Weni, were inscribed on large monolithic slabs and were quite detailed. The autobiography was written in prose; the Catalogue in formulaic poetry. A typical example of this is seen in the Inscription of Nefer-Seshem-Ra Called Sheshi from the 6th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom:
I have come from my townI have descended from my nomeI have done justice for its lordI have satisfied him with what he loves.I spoke truly, I did rightI spoke fairly, I repeated fairlyI seized the right momentSo as to stand well with people.I judged between two so as to content themI rescued the weak from the stronger than heAs much as was in my power.I gave bread to the hungry, clothes to the nakedI brought the boatless to land.I buried him who had no son,I made a boat for him who lacked one.I respected my father, I pleased my mother,I raised their children.So says he whose nickname is Sheshi (Lichtheim, 17).
These autobiographies and virtue lists gave rise to the Pyramid Texts of the 5th and 6th dynasties which were reserved for royalty and told the story of a king's life, his virtues, and his journey to the afterlife; they therefore tried to encompass the earthly life of the deceased and his immortal journey on into the land of the gods and, in doing so, recorded early religious beliefs. Creation myths such as the famous story of Atum standing on the primordial mound amidst the swirling waters of chaos, weaving creation from nothing, comes from the Pyramid Texts. These inscriptions also include allusions to the story of Osiris, his murder by his brother Set, his resurrection from the dead by his sister-wife Isis, and her care for their son Horusin the marshes of the Delta.
Detail from the Sarcophagus of Ankhnesneferibre
Following closely on the heels of the Pyramid Texts, a body of literature known as the Instructions in Wisdom appeared.These works offer short maxims on how to live much along the lines of the biblical Book of Proverbs and, in many instances, anticipate the same kinds of advice one finds in Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Psalms, and other biblical narratives. The oldest Instruction is that of Prince Hardjedef written sometime in the 5th Dynasty which includes advice such as:
Cleanse yourself before your own eyesLest another cleanse you.When you prosper, found your household,Take a hearty wife, a son will be born to you.It is for the son you build a houseWhen you make a place for yourself (Lichtheim, 58).
The somewhat later Instruction Addressed to Kagemni advises:
The respectful man prospers,Praised is the modest one.The tent is open to the silent,The seat of the quiet is spaciousDo not chatter!...When you sit with company,Shun the food you love;Restraint is a brief momentGluttony is base and is reproved.A cup of water quenches the thirst,A mouthful of herbs strengthens the heart (Lichtheim, 59-60).
There were a number of such texts, all written according to the model of Mesopotamian Naru Literature, in which the work is ascribed to, or prominently features, a famous figure. The actual Prince Hardjedef did not write his Instruction nor was Kagemni's addressed to the actual Kagemni. As in Naru literature, a well-known person was chosen to give the material more weight and so wider acceptance. Wisdom Literature, the Pyramid Texts, and the autobiographical inscriptions developed significantly during the Old Kingdom and became the foundation for the literature of the Middle Kingdom.
MIDDLE KINGDOM LITERATURE
The Middle Kingdom is considered the classical age of Egyptian literature. During this time the script known as Middle Egyptian was created, considered the highest form of hieroglyphics and the one most often seen on monuments and other artifacts in museums in the present day. Egyptologist Rosalie David comments on this period:
The literature of this era reflected the added depth and maturity that the country now gained as a result of the civil wars and upheavals of the First Intermediate Period. New genres of literature were developed including the so-called Pessimistic Literature, which perhaps best exemplifies the self-analysis and doubts that the Egyptians now experienced (209).
The Pessimistic Literature David mentions is some of the greatest work of the Middle Kingdom in that it not only expresses a depth of understanding of the complexities of life but does so in high prose. Some of the best known works of this genre (generally known as Didactic Literature because it teaches some lesson) are The Dispute Between a Man and his Ba (soul), The Eloquent Peasant, The Satire on the Trades, The Instruction of King Amenemhet I for his Son Senusret I, the Prophecies of Neferti, and the Admonitions of Ipuwer.
Egpytian Scribe's Palette
The Dispute Between a Man and his Ba is considered the oldest text on suicide in the world.La pieza presenta una conversación entre un narrador y su alma sobre las dificultades de la vida y cómo se supone que uno debe vivir en ella. En pasajes que recuerdan a Eclesiastés o el Libro bíblico de Lamentaciones, el alma trata de consolar al hombre recordándole las cosas buenas de la vida, la bondad de los dioses y cómo debería disfrutar de la vida mientras pueda porque pronto morirá. suficiente. El egiptólogo WK Simpson ha traducido el texto como El hombre que estaba cansado de la vida y no está de acuerdo con la interpretación que tiene que ver con el suicidio. Simpson escribe:
Este texto del Imperio Medio, conservado en Papyrus Berlin 3024, a menudo se ha interpretado como un debate entre un hombre y su amigo sobre el tema del suicidio. Ofrezco aquí la sugerencia de que el texto es de una naturaleza algo diferente. Lo que se presenta en este texto no es un debate sino una imagen psicológica de un hombre deprimido por el mal de la vida hasta el punto de sentirse incapaz de llegar a la aceptación de la bondad innata de la existencia. Su yo interior es, por así decirlo, incapaz de integrarse y en paz (178).
La profundidad de la conversación entre el hombre y su alma, la gama de experiencias de vida tocadas, también se ve en los otros trabajos mencionados. En The Eloquent Peasant un pobre que puede hablar bien es robado por un terrateniente rico y presenta su caso al alcalde de la ciudad. El alcalde está tan impresionado con su habilidad para hablar que sigue negándole la justicia para que pueda escucharlo hablar más. Aunque al final el campesino recibe su merecido, la pieza ilustra la injusticia de tener que humor y entretener a aquellos en posiciones de autoridad para recibir lo que deberían dar libremente.
EL SATIRE EN LOS TRABAJOS SE PRESENTA COMO UN HOMBRE ACONSEJANDO QUE SU HIJO SE CONVIERTA EN UN ESCRIBISTE PORQUE LA VIDA ES DIFÍCIL Y LA MEJOR VIDA POSIBLE ES UNA DONDE UN HOMBRE PUEDA SENTAR TODO EL DÍA SIN HACER NADA, PERO ESCRIBIR.
The Satire on the Trades is presented as a man advising his son to become a scribe because life is hard and the best life possible is one where a man can sit around all day doing nothing but writing. All the other trades one could practice are presented as endless toil and suffering in a life which is too short and precious to waste on them.
The motif of the father advising his son on the best course in life is used in a number of other works. The Instruction of Amenemhat features the ghost of the assassinated king warning his son not to trust those close to him because people are not always what they seem to be; the best course is to keep one's own counsel and be wary of everyone else. Amenemhat's ghost tells the story of how he was murdered by those close to him because he made the mistake of believing the gods would reward him for a virtuous life by surrounding him with those he could trust. In Shakespeare's Hamlet Polonius advises his son, "Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried/ Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel/ But do not dull thy palm with entertainment of each new-hatched, unfledged courage" (I.iii.62-65). Polonius here is telling his son not to waste time on those he barely knows but to trust only those who have proven worthy. Amenemhat I's ghost makes it clear that even this is a foolish course:
Put no trust in a brother,Acknowledge no one as a friend,Do not raise up for yourself intimate companions,For nothing is to be gained from them.When you lie down at night, let your own heart be watchful over you,For no man has any to defend him on the day of anguish (Simpson, 168).
The actual king Amenemhat I (c. 1991-1962 BCE) was the first great king of the 12th Dynasty and was, in fact, assassinated by those close to him. The Instruction bearing his name was written later by an unknown scribe, probably at the request of Senusret I (c. 1971-1926 BCE) to eulogize his father and vilify the conspirators. Amenemhat I is further praised in the work Prophecies of Neferti which foretell the coming of a king (Amenemhat I) who will be a savior to the people, solve all the country's problems, and inaugurate a golden age. The work was written after Amenemhat I's death but presented as though it were an actual prophecy pre-dating his reign. This motif of the "false prophecy" - a vision recorded after the event it supposedly predicts - is another element found in Mesopotamian Naru literature where the historical "facts" are reinterpreted to suit the purposes of the writer. In the case of the Prophecies of Neferti, the focus of the piece is on how mighty a king Amenemhat I was and so the vision of his reign is placed further back in time to show how he was chosen by the gods to fulfil this destiny and save his country. The piece also follows a common motif of Middle Kingdom literature in contrasting the time of prosperity of Amenemhat I's reign, a "golden age", with a previous one of disunity and chaos.
The Admonitions of Ipuwer touches on this theme of a golden age more completely. Once considered historical reportage, the piece has come to be recognized as literature of the order vs. chaos didactic genre in which a present time of despair and uncertainty is contrasted with an earlier era when all was good and life was easy. The Admonitions of Ipuwer is often cited by those wishing to align biblical narratives with Egyptian history as proof of the Ten Plagues from the Book of Exodus but it is no such thing. Not only does it not - in any way - correlate to the biblical plagues but it is quite obviously a type of literary piece which many, many cultures have produced throughout history up to the present day. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that everyone, at some point in his or her life, has looked back on the past and compared it favorably to the present. The Admonitions of Ipuwer simply records that experience, though perhaps more eloquently than most, and can in no way be interpreted as an actual historical account.
Ipuwer Papyrus
In addition to these prose pieces, the Middle Kingdom also produced the poetry known as The Lay of the Harper (also known as The Songs of the Harper ), which frequently question the existence of an ideal afterlife and the mercy of the gods and, at the same time, created hymns to those gods affirming such an afterlife. The most famous prose narratives in Egyptian history - The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor and The Story of Sinuhe both come from the Middle Kingdom as well. The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor holds Egypt up as the best of all possible worlds through the narrative of a man shipwrecked on an island and offered all manner of wealth and happiness; he refuses, however, because he knows that all he wants is back in Egypt. Sinuhe's story reflects the same ideal as a man is driven into exile following the assassination of Amenemhat I and longs to return home.
Las complejidades que Egipto había experimentado durante el Primer Período Intermedio (2181-2040 a. C.) se reflejaron en la literatura que siguió en el Período Medio. Contrario a la afirmación que aún aparece en los libros de historia sobre Egipto, el Primer Período Intermedio no fue un tiempo de caos, oscuridad y angustia universal; simplemente era una época en la que no existía un gobierno central fuerte. Esta situación resultó en una democritización del arte y la cultura a medida que las regiones individuales desarrollaron sus propios estilos, que fueron valorados tan grandemente como lo había sido el arte real en el Reino Antiguo. Los escribas del Reino Medio, sin embargo, miraron hacia atrás en el tiempo del Primer Período Intermedio y vieron en él una clara desviación de la gloria del Antiguo Reino. Trabajos como The Admonitions of Ipuwerfueron interpretados por los egiptólogos posteriores como relatos precisos del caos y el desorden de la época anterior al Reino Medio, pero en realidad, si no fuera por la libertad de exploración y expresión en las artes alentó el Primer Período Intermedio, los escribas posteriores nunca podrían haber escrito las obras que produjeron
Las autobiografías reales y las listas de ofrendas del Antiguo Reino, solo disponibles para reyes y nobles, fueron utilizadas en el Primer Período Intermedio por cualquiera que pudiera permitirse construir una tumba, real y no real. De la misma manera, la literatura del Reino Medio presentaba historias que podían alabar a un rey como Amenemhat I o presentar los pensamientos y sentimientos de un marinero común o el narrador anónimo en conflicto con su alma. La literatura del Reino Medio abrió ampliamente el rango de expresión ampliando los temas sobre los que se podría escribir y esto no hubiera sido posible sin el Primer Período Intermedio.
Cuento de Sinuhe (Berlín 10499)
Following the age of the 12th Dynasty, in which the majority of the great works were created, the weaker 13th Dynasty ruled Egypt. The Middle Kingdom declined during this dynasty in all aspects, finally to the point of allowing a foreign people to gain power in lower Egypt: The Hyksos and their period of control, just like the First Intermediate Period, would be vilified by later Egyptian scribes who would again write of a time of chaos and darkness. In reality, however, the Hyksos would provide valuable contributions to Egyptian culture even though these were ignored in the later literature of the New Kingdom.
LITERATURE IN THE NEW KINGDOM
Between the Middle Kingdom and the era known as the New Kingdom falls the time scholars refer to as the Second Intermediate Period (c. 1782-c.1570 BCE). During this era rule in Egypt was divided between the foreign kings of the Hyksos in Lower Egypt at Avaris, Egyptian rule from Thebes in Upper Egypt, and control of the southern reaches of Upper Egypt by the Nubians. Egypt was united, and the Hyksos and Nubians driven beyond the borders, by Ahmose of Thebes (c. 1570-1544 BCE) who inaugurated the New Kingdom. The memory of the Hyksos "invasion" remained fresh in the minds of the Egyptians and was reflected in the political policies and the literature of the period.
The early pharaohs of the New Kingdom dedicated themselves to preventing any kind of incursion like that of the Hyksos and so embarked on a series of military campaigns to expand Egypt's borders; this resulted in the Age of Empire for Egypt which was reflected in a broader scope of content in the literature and art. Monumental inscriptions of the gods of Egypt and their enduring support for the pharaoh became a vehicle for expressing the country's superiority over its neighbors, stories and poems reflected a greater knowledge of the world beyond Egypt's borders, and the old theme of order vs. chaos was re-imagined as a divine struggle. These larger themes were emphasized over the pessimistic and complex views of the Middle Kingdom. The Hyksos and the Second Intermediate Period did the same for New Kingdom art and literature that the First Intermediate Period had for the Middle Kingdom; it made the works richer and more complex in plot, style, and characterization. Rosalie David writes:
New Kingdom literature, developed in a period when Egypt had founded an empire, displays a more cosmopolitan approach. This is expressed in texts that seek to promote the great state god, Amun -Ra, as a universal creator and in the inscriptions carved on temple walls and elsewhere that relate the king's military victories in Nubia and Syria (210).
Sin embargo, esto solo es cierto para las inscripciones monumentales y los himnos. Las inscripciones son de naturaleza religiosa y se centran en los dioses, por lo general en Amun o en Osiris e Isis, los dioses de los dos cultos religiosos más populares de la época. Las historias y los poemas, sin embargo, continuaron ocupándose en su mayor parte de los conflictos que la gente enfrentaba en sus vidas, como lidiar con la injusticia, un cónyuge infiel e intentar vivir la vida completamente frente a la muerte. Estos mismos temas se abordaron o trataron completamente durante el Reino Medio, pero los textos del Nuevo Reino muestran una conciencia de otras culturas, otros valores, fuera del paradigma egipcio.
El escriba sentado
Middle Kingdom literature was now considered "classical" and studied by students learning to be scribes. An interesting aspect of New Kingdom literature is its emphasis on the importance of the scribal tradition. Scribes had always been considered an important aspect of Egyptian daily life and the popularity of The Satire on the Trades makes clear how readers in the Middle Kingdom recognized this. In the New Kingdom, however, in the works extant in the Papyrus Lansing and the Papyrus Chester Beatty IV, a scribe is not simply a respected profession but one who is almost god-like in the ability to express concepts in words, to create something out of nothing, and so become immortal through their work. Lichtheim comments on the Papyrus Chester Beatty IV :
Papyrus Chester Beatty IV is a typical scribal miscellany. The recto contains religious hymns; the verso consists of several short pieces relating to the scribal profession. Among these, one piece is of uncommon interest. It is a praise of the writer's profession which goes beyond the usual cliches and propounds the remarkable idea that the only immortality man can achieve is the fame of his name transmitted by his books. Man becomes dust; only the written word endures (New Kingdom, 167).
The concept of the sacred nature of words had a long history in Egypt. The written word was thought to have been given to humanity by the god of wisdom and knowledge, Thoth. Worship of Thoth can be dated to the late Pre-Dynastic Period (c. 6000-c. 3150 BCE) when Egyptians first began to discover writing. During the 2nd Dynasty of the Early Dynastic Period, Thoth received a consort: his sometimes-wife/sometimes-daughter Seshat. Seshat was the goddess of all the different forms of writing, patroness of libraries and librarians, who was aware of what was written on earth and kept a copy of the scribe's work in the celestial library of the gods.
Seshat ("the female scribe"), as part of her responsibilities, also presided over accounting, record-keeping, census-taking, and measurements in the creation of sacred buildings and monuments. She was regularly invoked as part of the ceremony known as "the stretching of the cord" in which the king would measure out the ground on which a temple was built. In this capacity she was known as Mistress of Builders who measured the land and lay the foundation of temples. Egyptologist Richard H. Wilkinson writes, "she appears to have had no temple of her own, but by virtue of her role in the foundation ceremony, she was part of every temple building" (167). Her involvement in a temple complex did not end with its inception, however, as she continued to inhabit a part of the temple known as the House of Life. Rosalie David explains the function of this part of the temple:
The House of Life appears to have been an area of the temple that acted as a library, scriptorium, and higher teaching institution, where the sacred writings were produced and stored and where instruction was given.Medical and magical texts as well as religious books were probably compiled and copied there. Sometimes this institution may have been situated within the temple itself, but elsewhere it was probably located in one of the buildings within the temple precinct. Very little is known of its administration or organization but it is possible that every sizable town had one. They are known to have existed at Tell el- Amarna, Edfu, and Abydos (203).
The name of the institution reflects the value Egyptians placed on the written word. The House of Life - a school, library, publishing house, distributor, and writer's workshop combined - was presided over by Seshat who made sure to keep copies of all that was produced there in her own celestial library.
During the New Kingdom these works were largely hymns, prayers, instructions in wisdom, praise songs, love poems, and stories. The Egyptian love poem of the New Kingdom is remarkably similar on many levels to the biblical Song of Solomonand the much later compositions of the troubadors of 12th century CE France in their evocation of a beloved who is beyond compare and worthy of all devotion and sacrifice. The same sentiments, and often imagery, used in these New Kingdom love poems are still recognizable in the lyrics of popular music in the present day.
Tale of Two Brothers Papyrus
The narrative structure of the prose work of the time, and sometimes even plot elements, will also be recognized in later works.In the story of Truth and Falsehood (also known as The Blinding of Truth by Falsehood ), a good and noble prince (Truth) is blinded by his evil brother (Falsehood) who then casts him out of the estate and assumes his role. Truth is befriended by a woman who falls in love with him and they have a son who, when he discovers the noble identity of his father, avenges him and takes back his birthright from the usurper. This plot line has been used, with modifications, in many stories since. The basic plot of any adventure tale is utilized in the story known as The Report of Wenamun which is a story about an official sent on a simple mission to procure wood for a building project. In the course of what was supposed to be a short and easy trip, Wenamun encounters numerous obstacles he needs to overcome to reach his goal and return home.
Two of the best known tales are The Prince Who Was Threatened by Three Fates (also known as The Doomed Prince ) and The Two Brothers (also known as The Fate of an Unfaithful Wife ). The Doomed Prince has all the elements of later European fairy tales and shares an interesting similarity with the story of the awakening of the Buddha : a son is born to a noble couple and the Seven Hathors (who decree one's fate at birth) arrive to tell the king and queen their son will die by a crocodile, a snake, or a dog. His father, wishing to keep him safe, builds a stone house in the desert and keeps him there away from the world. The prince grows up in the isolation of this perfectly safe environment until, one day, he climbs to the roof of his home and sees the world outside of his artificial environment. He tells his father he must leave to meet his fate, whatever it may be.On his journeys he finds a princess in a high castle with many suitors surrounding the tower trying to accomplish the feat of jumping high enough to catch the window's edge and kiss her. The prince accomplishes this, beating out the others, and then has to endure a trial to win the father's consent. He marries the princess and later meets all three of his fates - the crocodile, snake, and dog - and defeats them all. The end of the manuscript is missing but it is assumed, based on the narrative structure, that the conclusion would be the couple living happily ever after.
The Two Brothers tells the story of the divine siblings Anubis and Bata who lived together with Anubis' wife. The wife falls in love with the younger brother, Bata, and tries to seduce him one day when he returns to the house from the fields. Bata refuses her, promising he will never speak of the incident to his brother, and leaves. When Anubis returns home he finds his wife distraught and she, fearing that Bata will not keep his word, tells her husband that Bata tried to seduce her. Anubis plans to kill Bata but the younger brother is warned by the gods and escapes. Anubis learns the truth about his unfaithful wife - who goes on to cause more problems for them both - and must do penance before the brothers are united and the wife is punished.
From this same period comes the text known as The Contendings of Horus and Set, although the actual story is no doubt older. This tale is a divine version of the Middle Kingdom order vs. chaos motif in which Horus (champion of order) defeats his uncle Set (symbolizing chaos) to avenge his father Osiris and restore the kingdom which Set has usurped. Horus, the prince, must avenge the murder of his father by his uncle and, to do this, must endure a number of trials to prove himself worthy of the throne. This is the basic paradigm of what scholar Joseph Campbell calls "the hero's journey" and can be seen in myths around the world and throughout history. The enduring popularity of George Lucas' Star Wars films is their adherence to the narrative form and symbolism of this type of tale.
The Contendings of Horus and Set, although likely never read by later authors, is a precursor to two of the best-loved and most popular plots in western literature: Hamlet and Cinderella. American author Kurt Vonnegut has pointed out that both of these stories have been re-imagined with great success multiple times. The story of the disenfranchised who wins back what is rightfully theirs, sometimes at great cost, continues to resonate with audiences in the present day just as The Contendings of Horus and Set did for an ancient Egyptian audience.
Book of the Dead
Probably the best-known piece of literature from New Kingdom texts, however, is The Book of Coming Forth by Day, commonly known as The Egyptian Book of the Dead. Although the concepts and spells in The Egyptian Book of the Deadoriginated in the Early Dynastic Period and the book took form in the Middle Kingdom, it became extremely popular in the New Kingdom and the best preserved texts we have of the work date to that time. The Egyptian Book of the Dead is a series of "spells" which are instructions for the deceased in the afterlife to help them navigate their way through various hazards and find everlasting peace in paradise. The work is not an "ancient Egyptian Bible ", as some have claimed, nor is it a "magical text of spells". As the afterlife was obviously an unknown realm, The Egyptian Book of the Dead was created to provide the soul of the deceased with a kind of map to help guide and protect them in the land of the dead.
The literature of ancient Egypt would be a contender as the basis for later works but for the fact that the texts were lost and the language forgotten for centuries. The best one can argue is that the Hebrew scribes who wrote the biblical narratives may have been acquainted with some versions of these texts and later writers took plots and motifs from there but this is speculation. Different cultures come to similar conclusions, without any apparent contact, many times throughout history as best exemplified by the pyramid form of the Maya, Egyptians, and Chinese. It is possible, however, that Egyptian texts inspired or at least lent certain aspects to biblical narratives which were then borrowed by later writers in their works. It is, of course, equally possible that the story of the hero who triumphs over the forces of darkness and disorder simply resonates on a very deep level with humanity and there need be no original work later writers borrowed from.
Following the New Kingdom came the era known as the Third Intermediate Period (c. 1069-525 BCE) and then the Late Period (525-323 BCE) and the Ptolemaic Dynasty (323-30 BCE) after which Egypt was annexed by Rome. Around the 4th century CE Christianity rose to prominence in Egypt and the Christian Egyptians (known as Copts) developed their own script, a kind of hybrid of demotic Egyptian and Greek, and the old texts of hieroglyphic and hieratic script were forgotten.Inscriptions on monuments and temples, and all the texts in the libraries and Houses of Life, became incomprehensible until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1798 CE and the breakthrough in deciphering hieroglyphics it enabled by Jean-Francois Champollion in 1824 CE. By the time Champollion unlocked the mystery of the ancient text a whole world of literature had been created without the benefit of the ancient Egyptian works and yet the plots of these forgotten stories and poems appear in texts all over the world; testament to the primal and powerful nature of these themes to touch upon the most resonant aspects of the human experience.
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