Volume7 No. 1, Spring1996
T'Hf, OSTRASONJ
EGYPTIAN
STUDY
S OC IET Y
@ DHNHrgst
I N T HI S I S S UE
PUBLICATIONS
COMMITTEE
Frank Pettee
J udy G r eenf i e l d
Sandy Kerns
Mary Pratchett
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Cheryl Preyer
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Page
1
Hatshepsut's Recarved Sarcophagus
by Peterder Manuelian
&
C hri sti an Loeben
ESS STAFF LIAISON
Dr. Robert Pickering
THE OSTRACOIVis published three times per year by members
of the Egyptian Study Society. The ESS, a support group of
the DENVERMUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY,is a non-profit
organization whose purpose is to study ancient Egypt.
Articles are contributed by members and scholars on a
voluntary basis. Member participation is encouraged. Nothing
may be reprinted in whole or in part without written
oermis sio n.
o 19 96 Egy pt ian St udy Soc iet y
Publication of THE OSTRACON is supported by a grant from
THE PETTY FOUNDATION
16
18
19
Murder ln Memphis
by LeoDepuydt
Featured Pharaoh: King Sneferu
by DavidPepper
Featured God/Goddess: Ser
by FrankPettee
House of Scrolls:
The Carnegie Museum
by BruceRabe
Kingston Lacy Conference
by DavidPepper
THE RECARVEDEGYPTIANSARCOPHAGUS
OF
OUEENHATSHEPSUT
AND KINGTHUTMOSEI
By
Peterder Manuelianand ChristianE. Loeben
Ahout the Authors: Peter der Manuelian r's
Assistant Curator, Department of Ancient
Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern Art,
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Christian E.
Loeben is lnstructor of Egyptology, HumboldtUniversitdt, Berlin.
Abridged with the authors' permission from Vol. 5, 1993,
the Journal of the Museum of Fine Arts. Boston.
Some objects are exquisite works of art,
m a s t er pie ce stha t earn their own place i n t h e
realm of art history. Others are of critical
h i s t o r i cali m po r tancebut may be nothing mu c h
t o l o ok at. Still m ore objectsenlightenus o n t h e
r e l i g i ousa n d p h ilosophicaldevelopment o f a
p a r t i cula rcu ltur e . Rarely, however, are a ll o f
t h e s e fea tur e sfound in a single piece. Wh e n
t h i s i s th e case , the object in question is a
t r e a s ur ei nd e e d . lt is no exaggerationto a s s ig n
t h e B o stonM use umof Fine A rt's E gyptianro y a l
s a r c oph a g u(sFi gure1) to this elite categor y .
T h e Bo ston sar cophagusis one of only t h re e
r o y a l ston e sa r cophagi currently on dis p la y
o u t s i d eEg yp t.t l t is one of very few from t h e
1 8 t h Dyn a sty to s how multiple alteration sa n d
p h a s e sof d e co r a tion. lt was originallyprep a re d
f o r Oue e n Ha tshepsut,and then recut fo r h e r
f a t h e r , Ki ng Thu tmose l, in what turned o u t t o
b e a sh u fflin gof r oyal burialsand reburial s .T h e
sarcophagusis an artistic masterpiecefrom a
royal atelier,a prototype for the funeral beliefs
a n d t rad iti on s of a millennium,and a piv o t a l
h i s t o ri calp ie ce of the complicated puz z le o f
e a r l yN ew Kin g d ompoliticalhistory.
Historicalbackground. The history of the New
Ki n g d o mbe g a na fter a family of Thebanprin c e s
e x p e lle dthe la st ruler of severalgeneratio n so f
d o mr nati onby the Hyksos (literally"Rul e rs o f
F o r e i gn La n d s") . The Thebans reunite d t h e
c o u n tr y a n d e stablishedtheir own dyn a s t y ,
w h i c h ca m eto be numberedthe eighteenth .
Page 1
O n e o f t h e g re a t e s t(a n d e a rlie s t )o f t h i s f a m i l y
o f wa rrio r p h a ra o h s wa s K in g T h u t m o s e I
(1 5 2 4 -1 5 1 8 B CE ). Ro y a l in s c rip ti o n sl i s t h i s
s u c c e s s f u lc a mp a ig n sin Nu b ia a n d i n N a h a r i n ,
t h e la n d a c ro s s t h e E u p h ra t e s ri v e r i n t h e
k in g d o mo f Mit a n n i (mo d e rnS y ria ). I n a d d i t i o n
to his ambitious construction projects at the
t e mp le s o f K a rn a k a t T h e b e s a n d O s i r i s a t
A b y d o s , h e wa s t h e f irs t o f a lo n g li n e o f r u l e r s
t o s e le c t t h e V a lle y o f t h e K in g s i n W e s t e r n
T h e b e sa s t h e s it e o f h is t o mb . T h e t o m b w a s
c o n s t ru c t e d wit h " n o o n e s e e in g , n o o n e
h e a rin g , "b y t h e ma y o r o f T h e b e sa nd f i r s t c h i e f
a rc h it e c tin t h e V a lle yo f t h e K in g s ,I n e n i . 2
T h u t mo s e l' s s o n a n d s u c c e s s o r,T h u t m o s el l ,
ma rrie dh is h a lf -s is t e r,Ha t s h e p s u tw
, hose name
"
f
o
re
mo
s
t
me a n s
o f t h e n o b le o n e s . " S h e b o r e
t h e t it le o f " K in g ' s G re a tWif e " d u ri n gt h e r e i g n
o f T h u t mo s ell a n d wa s d e s t in e dt o b e c o m ea
ma jo r f ig u re in t h e s t ru g g le f o r s u c c e s s i o n
f o llo win gh is c o mp a ra t iv e lyu n e v e n tf u rl e i g na n d
e a rlyd e a t h . T h u t mo s elll, T h u t mo s el l ' s s o n b y
a le s s e rq u e e n ,wa s s t ill t o o y o u n g t o a d m i n i s t e r
t h e c o u n t ry ,a n d h is a u n t Ha t s h e p s ust t e p p e di n
a s c o -re g e n t . A f e w y e a rs la t e r, s h e e l e v a t e d
h e rs e lf t o t h e p o s it io n o f p h a ra o h w h i l e h e r
young stepson was
relegated to
the
b a c k g ro u n d . 3 O n ly t wic e b e f o re i n E g y p t i a n
h is t o ryh a d a wo ma n t a k e n t h e t h ro n e , ob u t t h i s
is p o s s ib ly t h e f irs t c a s e o f t w o " k i n g s "
o c c u p y in gt h e t h ro n e s imu lt a n e o u s l y . O u e e n t u rn e d -k in gHa t s h e p s u g
t ra d u a llyin tr o d u c e dt h e
ra d ic a l s t e p o f re p re s e n t in gh e rs e l f a s a m a n ,
c o mp le t ewit h ma let o rs o a n d c e re m o n i abl e a r d . 5
A f e ma lep h a ra o hwa s a lmo s t a c o nt r a d i c t i o ni n
t e rms , a n d a t t h e v e ry le a s t p o s e d p r o b l e m sf o r
t h e s c rib e so f t h e a d min is t ra t io in
n as s i g n i n gt h e
" c o rre c t " g e n d e r p ro n o u n wh e n r e f e r r i n g t o
Hatshepsut.
I n e n i c h ro n ic le d t h e e v e n t s o f H a t s h e p s u t ' s
p o lit ic a "l c o u p " in a n in s c rip t io n :
... havi ng ascended up to heaven, he ( Thut m ose
l l ) j oi ned w i th the gods, and hi s son ( Thut m ose
l l l ) arose i n hi s pl ace as K i ng of the Two Lands
(U pper and Low er E gypt).
IB ut] while he
(Thutmose l l l ) rul ed upon the throne . . . I it was]
hi s si ster, the god' s w i f e H atshepsut , who
governed the affai rs of the l and, the Two Lands
bei ng under her control . E gypt w as m ade t o
w ork for her w i th bow ed head ...6
Spring | 996
Supported by powerful administratorssuch as
H a p usen e bthe vizier and the high stewa rd o f
Am u n , Sen e n m ut,T"K ing" Hatshepsut c o mpletedjust over two decadeson the throne. Her
r e i g nwas n o t th e tranquil,campaignless
ey e -o f the-storm of 18'h Dynasty militarism that is
s o m eti m escl aim edin the literature. In fac t , lik e
ma n y r ule r so f the ThutmosidHouse,she is a ls o
c r e d i te dwith m ilitaryventuresof her own.t He r
best-known accomplishments,however, were
t h e m an u factur etransportation,
,
and erect io no f
a p a i r of to we r in ggraniteobelisksat the T e mp le
o f K a r n a k,e
an d th e expeditionshe dispatc h e dt o
the foreign Land of Punt, probably located on
t h e R ed Sea co a st.lo
A f t e r 2 1 o r 2 2 y e a rs , Ha t s h e p s u t ' sr e i g n c a m e
t o a n e n d ; e x a c t ly h o w re ma in su n c e r t a i n . H e r
death and the demise of her supportingcast of
h ig h o f f ic ia lsle f t T h u t mo s e lll f in a l l y i n c h a r g e
of the country. He eventuallyerased,covered
u p , o r o t h e rwis e o b lit e ra t e dt h e n a m e o f h i s
a u n t f ro m c o u n t le s smo n u me n t s ,an d s h e w a s
c u s t o ma rily o mit t e d f ro m s u b s eq u e n t K i n g
L is t s . 1 1 T h e B o s t o n s a rc o p h a g u spr e s e n t s ,i n
mic ro c o s m, t h e e v e n t s a n d p rio r i t i e s o f t h e
ru le rs o f t h e a g e , wit h it s c o m p l i c a t e d
s u c c e s s io no f p h a ra o h s mu d d ie d b y d i f fe r i n g
s c h o la rlyt h e o rie sf o rmu la t e da t t h e be g i n n i n go f
this century, and by more recent reassessments
o f t h e t o mb s a n d t o mb o wn e rs . t 2 l t p l a y s a
c rit ic a l ro le in o u r d e c ip h e rme n to f f u n e r a r y
p o lit ic sa t t h e b e g in n in go f t h e 1 8 ' hD y n a s t y . l 3
Figure1. Hatshepsut'srecarvedSarcophagus
C.
Spnng I 956
Page 2
Hatshepsut's
sarcophagi.
The
Boston
sarcophagus was the second of no fewer than
three sarcophagi prepared for Hatshepsut, and it
is a peculiar irony that probably none of them
ever actually held her mummy. Before taking
the throne, Hatshepsut had prepared a tomb for
herself in a secret cleft, south of Deir el-Bahari.
Although neither completed nor used, her tomb
contained a f inished, crystalline sandstone
sarcophagus. In the sequence of early 18'h
Dynasty sarcophagi established by Hayes, this
first sarcophagus of Hatshepsut was designated
"Sarcophagus A." lt is a rectangular box with
l ong sides divided i nto three panels, all of which
are blank except for hieroglyphic udjat eyes
(which magically allow the deceased a view out
eastwards towards the Land of the Living).
With the exception of a representation of the
sky goddess Nut on top of the lid, there are no
f igures on the sarcophagus,
After having herself crowned senior pharaoh,
Hatshepsut clearly felt that a new royal tomb
was in order; this time, as befit a pharaoh, in
the Valley of the Kings.la The cleft tomb was
abandoned and excavation work began to c reate
what is know known as tomb KV 20 in the
Valley of the Kings.15 The new tomb was
provided with a new quartzite sarcophagus for
female
king.
This
sarcophagus,
the
is
Boston
Hatshepsut's
second,
the
sarcophagus, now known as "Sarcophagus C"
[ed. note: "Sarcophagus B" was the one carved
for Hatshepsut's husband, Thutmose lll. This
piece was cut, decorated, inscribed, and
The
completely prepared f or Hatshepsut.
situation should have been settled here. But
many changes of plan were still to follow.
Early in her solo reign, Hatshepsut may have
experienced difficulty legitimizing her clai m to
the throne. Probably between years four and
seven,tu Hatshepsut decided to expand upon her
She
association with her deceased f ather.
I
removal
of
the
body
of
Thutmose
ordered the
from his own tomb in the Valley of the Kings
(KV 38) for reburial next to her sarcophagus in
her own second tomb (KV 2Ol, still under
relegated her
second
construction. She
(Boston
Sarcophagus C) to
sarcophagus
Thutmose l, and ordered it to be refitted to
house his mummified body and its original wood
Page 3
a n t h ro p o idc o f f in . T h is c a lle d f o r a c o m p l e t e
re s iz in ga n d re d e s ig no f t h e p ie c e .
No w t wo s a rc o p h a gric
i h e r,b u t s t ill l a c k i n go n e
f o r h e r o wn e v e n t u a lmu mmif ic a t io na n d b u r i a l ,
Hatshepsutorderedyet a third sarcophagusfor
D," which
h e rs e lf ,n o w k n o wn a s " S a rc o p h a g us
p
re
s
e
n
t
ly
lo c a t e din t h e E g y p t ia nM u s e u m i n
is
Ca iro . T h is p ie c e is s imila r,a lt h o u g hl a r g e ra n d
s .tt
mo re e la b o ra t et,o t h e B o s t o nS a rc o ph a g uC
E v e n t u a llyt,h e e x c a v a t io no f Ha t s h ep s u t ' tso m b
K V 2 0 wa s d e e p e n o u g h t o a l l o w b o t h
p h a ra o h s ,Ha t s h e p s u ta n d T h u t mo s e l , t o b e
b u rre din t h e in n e rmo s tc h a mb e r. ls H o w e v e r ,a t
t f Thutmose
s o me p o in t d u rin g t h e re in t e rme n o
I ' s mu mmy , it wa s s u d d e n lyd is c o v er e dt h a t h i s
o rig in a la n t h ro p o idwo o d c o f f in wa s t o o l a r g et o
f it
in s id e Ha t s h e p s u t ' s n e wly
altered
Wit h a p p a re n t ha s t e , t h e
S a rc o p h a g u sC.
in t e rio rh e a d a n d f o o t e n d s o f t h e s a r c o p h a g u s
we re wid e n e df ro m t h e in s id e . T h is r e s u l t e di n
t h e o b lit e ra t io no f t h e d e c o ra t io n a d d e d f o r
T h u t mo s el, a n d d a ma g e dt h e t e x t s on t h e t o p s
o f t h e s a rc o p h a g u swa lls wh ic h h a d b e e n
re c e n t lya lt e re db y l-la t s h e p s ufto r T h u t m o s el ' s
b e n e f it , De c o ra t io nwa s h a s t ilyre a p p l i e dt o t h e
in t e rio rh e a d a n d f o o t e n d s , t h e k in g ' s w o o d e n
c o f f in wa s p la c e din s id e ,a n d t h e lid w a s c l o s e d
o v e r h im.
I n mo d e rn t ime s , Ho wa rd Ca rt e r, w o r k i n g o n
b e h a lf o f Rh o d e ls la n d la wy e r a n d e n t r e p r e n e u r
T h e o d o reM. Da v is , c le a re dHa t s h e ps u t ' st o m b
a n d d is c o v e re dt h e t wo ro y a l S a rc o p h a gC
i and
D. t e T h e E g y p t ia nA n t iq u it ie sS e rv rc ep r e s e n t e d
t h e re c a rv e dS a rc o p h a g u sC o f T h u t m o s eI t o
Da v is , wh o in t u rn d o n a t e d it in 1 90 4 t o t h e
Mu s e u mo f F in eA rt s , B o s t o n .
Wh a t b e c a meo f t h e a c t u a lmu mmif iedb o d i e so f
T h u t mo s e I a n d Ha t s h e p s u t ? Ne i t h e r w e r e
f o u n d in t o mb K V 2 0 . T h u t mo s el' s t r a v e l sd i d
n o t e n d a f t e r h is re b u ria l b y h is d a u g h t e r ,
Ha t s h e p s u t ,in t o mb K V 2 0 . T h ut m o s e l l l ,
f in a lly in c o n t ro l o f t h e c o u n t r y a f t e r
Ha t s h e p s u t ' sd e a t h , s e n t h is a g e n t s t o r e o p e n
K V 2 0 , lif t t h e mu mmy o f T h u t mo s eI o u t o f h i s
S a rc o p h a g u C,
s a n d mo v e it b a c k t o t h a t k i n g ' s
Ra t h e r t h an u s e t h e
o rig in a l t o mb K V 3 8 .
a lt e re d S a rc o p h a g u sC, wh ic h s t il l b o r e t h e
n a me s a n d t it le s o f t h e f e ma le k in g, T h u t m o s e
Spring1996
Plres.3.Otttycrrbudc
offhuhor: I lnc.ntb
b.vbiH.
6A
Ph.r.2. 9i6nr uniqueb
in end
l{islrcfutfilbd
Felr*d; anb,$tcat
ThutmcscI cenrcdwr lt
€>
'#>y
Fh.s. 1. Cadordtc od
Flairhepcltt cervrd
Figure2. The recarved
C artouches of Thutmose l l
l l l o r de r e da n o the rstone "S arcophagusE ," ma d e
f o r h is gr a n d af ther. This had the effec t o f
r e mo v i ng Thu tm ose I from any monume n t o r
site that could be associatedwith Hatshepsut.
T h e k ing w as m oved again, however, and wa s
e v e n tu a llyd isco veredin 1881 on the othe r s id e
o f t h e cl i ffs fr o m the V alley of the K ings . His
b o d y wa s fo u n d i n the royal cache of mum mie s
at Deir el-Bahari,site of a secret reburial of
n u mer o u sph a r a ohsand royal family memb e rs
by the priests of Dynasty 21.'o The body of
H a t s he p suht a s ye t to be definitivelyidentif ie d . 2 l
The Decorations on the Boston sarcophagus.
T h e Bo stonSar co phagusC is currentlyexh ib it e d
w i t h i ts l i d p r o p p edup to revealthe interio r. lt
i s m ade o f b r o wnish quartzite, the ston e o f
c h o i c efo r e a r ly 18'n Dynasty sarcophagi. O n e
s o l i d pi ecew as u sed for the lid and anothe rf o r
th e b ox.
H a t s h e p su t'sor d er for the alteration of t h e
s a r c o ph a g u sto a ccommodatethe coffin of h e r
f a t h e r r esu ltedi n some surfaces being sha v e d
a n d c om p le tely reinscribed, other (for me rly
b l a n k )su r face sb e ing inscribedfor the first t ime ,
a n d sti l l othe r s being given only royal n a me
c h a n g e sa n d co n versionof grammaticalend in g s
f r o n r f e m in in eto masculine(Figure2). The la s t n r i n i r teen la r g e m entof the interiorhead and f o o t
Spnrg 7996
e n d s f o r T h u t mo s e l' s u n e x p e c t e d l y l a r g e
wo o d e n a n t h ro p o idc o f f in c a lle df o r t h e r e m o v a l
o f u p t o 6 c m (t wo in c h e s )f ro m t h e i n t e r i o r ,
s nd f i g u r e s .
d e s t ro y in gp a rt so f t h e in s c rip t io n a
T h e la y o u t o f t h e s a rc o p h a g u s 'sd e c o r a t i o n
re f le c t st h e f u n d a me n t a lE g y p t ia nc o n c e r nw i t h
proper orientation. The land of the northwardflowing Nile was a strictly delineatedcountry,
where the east bank representedthe Landof the
L iv in ga n d t h e ris in gs u n , a n d t h e wes t b a n k t h e
L a n d o f t h e De a d a n d t h e s e t t in g s u n . l t i s o n
the west bank of the Nile that most Egyptian
n e c ro p o lis e sa re lo c a t e d , a n d t h is d i r e c t i o n a l
orientationassignedspecific deities to the east
and west sides of the sarcophagus. The east
s id e g e n e ra llyb e lo n g st o t h e s u n -go d a n d t h e
re a lm o f t h e liv in g , wh e re a s t h e w e s t s i d e
c o n t a in s s p e e c h e s b y t h e G o d O f T h e
Un d e rwo rld a
, lo n g wit h s p e llsf ro m t h e B o o k o f
the Dead. The placementof the sarcophagusin
t h e t o mb a ls o f o llo we d s u it , wit h t he h e a d e n d
t o t h e n o rt h , a n d t h e e a s t a n d w e s t s i d e s
orientedaccordingly. Tomb KV 20 and its two
S a rc o p h a gC
i a n d D we re t h e e x c e p t i o nt o t h i s
ru le . T h e h e a d e n d s o f t h e s e we re f o u n d f a c i n g
s o u t h , a n d t h e " mo rt u a ry " (i. e . w e s t ) s i d e s
f a c in g e a s t . F a r f ro m a b re a k i n E g y p t i a n
f u n e ra ry t ra d it io n , t h is a b e rra t io n m a y b e
explainedby the fact that the excavatorswere
Page 4
c o m p e lle dto cur ve the sepulcherback aro u n d
o n i t s el f du e to the poor quality of the bedro c k .
Nevertheless,they seem to have treated the
t o m b as if it continued straight on its a x is
t o w a r d s H atshe p sut'smortuary temple at De ir
e l - Ba har i.
T h e i nscr ip ti on sfall into three basic categ o rie s :
( 1 ) d e d ica ti on sby the deceasedon beha lf o f
specificdeities; (21 prayersfor protectionmade
b y t h e d e ce a se dto specific deities; and (3 )
s p e e ch e s b y sp ecific deities promising s u c h
p r o t e ctio n f or the deceased.
E ight e e n t h
Dy n a s ty r o ya l sa r cophagiplay a critical role in
th e de ve lo p m e nt of early New K in g d o m
li t e r a tur e- tha t i s, the evolutionof the Th e b a n
version of the Book of the Dead, replacingthe
Middle Kingdom Coffin Texts and their
counterpart,in turn, the Old Kingdom Pyramid
Texts. SarcophagusC provides some of the
e a r l i e st ver sio n s of certain spells, partic u la rly
o n e o f the fir st co mpleteeditionsof Chapt e r7 2 ,
the Book of Going Forth into Day and Opening
Up the Tomb.
There is an extremely important historicaltext
o n H a tshe p su t'sSarcophagusC that says:
as a
She [Hatshepsut]made it [the sarcophagus]
monument to her beloved f ather. the oerfect
god, Lord of the Two Lands, King of Upper and
Lower Egypt, Aa-kheper-ka-re,son of Re,
Thutmoseil1,justi fied.
On the exterior and interior sides of the lid. the
sky goddess, Nut, stands atop a central vertical
inscription which
shows
alterations f rom
Alterations also
Hatshepsut to Thutmose l.
appear on the transverse bands of text which
begin on the lid and continue down the long
On the lid the
sides of the sarcophagus.
"t"
feminine
ending in the word inBly.t, "the
revered one," has consistently been filled in with
resin to change it to the masculine form, intlby.
The vertical inscription down the center of the
exterior of the lid contains a speech by the
queen that has been modified and assigned to
the king:
Recitation (by) the king of Upper and Lower
Egypt, Aa-kheper-ka-re,justified. He says:
O' mother Nut, stretch yourself over me,
Page 5
that you might place me am ong the
Indestructible Stars which are in you, and I
will not perish.
The second panel on the exterior long sides are
filled with udjat eyes. In earlier coffins from the
Middle Kingdom, the eyes occupy the first panel
at the head end; by Hatshepsut's time they have
moved one panel down, closer to the foot end.22
In the earlier Middle Kingdom coff ins, the
mummy lay on its side, with the head turned
directly to the carved or painted udjat eyes.
However, by the New Kingdom, with its larger
coffins, the mummy lay upon its back. Thus, it
was less important which panel contained the
udjat eyes as long as they were on the side.
The short ends of the sarcophagus are
decorated with inscriptions accompanying the
typical kneeling figures of the goddess Nepthys
(head end) and lsis (foot end). Each wears a
tight-f itting dress and the so-called khat
headdress.
The goddesses kneel on the
commonly shown nbw ("gold") sign, a beaded
collar which here stands for Seth (the god of
chaos and enemy of his brother, the resurrection
deity Osiris). Seth is, thus, vanquished beneath
the goddesses.
Egyptian sarcophagi came to emulate different
elements and structures at various periods in
their history. Several of these elements are
conf lated for the first time in the early 1B'n
Dynasty corpus under discussion, with the
Boston sarcophagus setting a developmental
trend. These sarcophagi evolved out of the
form of Middle Kingdom coffins. By the end of
the dynasty, they had evolved from the exterior
simple box concept and incorporated elements
from anthropoid coffins. Like their anthropoid
counterparts, the earliest royal coffins of the
18'h Dynasty were probably also made of wood.
The original sarcophagus of Hatshepsut as
queen {Sarcophagus A) was probably the first
stone sarcophagus of the series and represents
a transition of the form f rom one medium
(wood) to another (stone).
The transverse
bands of inscriptions derive from the anthropoid
coff ins of the 17'n and early 1 8'n Dynasties.
They represent the bandage wrappings wound
around the mummv itself.
Spring 1996
The developmentof Hatshepsut's three stone
sarcophagialso betrays her growing concern
w i t h bolster in gher legitimacy on the thro n e .
num b e rs
Ea c hm o n u m e n tshows ever-increasing
of titles and epithets,a concernabsent from the
l a t e rsar co p h a gof
i the 18'hDynasty.
H a y e s ha s sp o ken of S arcophagus C a s
no t of a reign, but of a perio d . 2 3
r e p r e se n tati ve,
Pe r h aps no other monument embodies t h e
f a s c i na ti ngpe r io d of the early 18'h Dynas t y a s
well as the Boston sarcophagus. With its
s u p e rla ti ve cr a ftsmanship, complex po lit ic a l
h i s t o ry, an d developmental and relig io u s
s i g n i ifcan ce , the sarcophagus is indee d a
microcosmfor a dynasty on the rise to an era of
p r o s p e r ityan d p r o minence.
ENDNOTES
1. The other two sarcophagibelong to Seti I (made
of alabasterand in the Sir John Soane'sMuseum,
London)and Ramseslll (made of red granite;the
lid of which is in the Fitzwilliam Museum,
Cambridge;the lower half in the Louvre Museum,
Paris);see Bertha Porterand RosalindL. B. Moss,
Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian
Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings l, The
Theban Necropolis, Part 2, Royal Tombs and
Smaller Cemeteries, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Clarendon
Press,1964), pp. 526, 643.
2. For the biography of Ineni, see Kurt Sethe,
Urkunden des iigyptischen Altertums lV (Berlin and
Graz: J.C. Hinrichs, 1961); cf . more recently
EberhardDziobek, Das Grab des lneni; Theban Nr.
Veroffentlichungen
68 (Mainz
8/, Archdologische
am Rhein:Philipvon Tabern, 19221, pp. 84, and
226.
3. On the coronation of Hatshepsut, see Roland
Tefnin. "L'an 7
de Touthmosis lll et
d'Hatshepsout," Chroniqued'Egypte 48 (1973),
pp. 232-42; Siefried Schott, "Zum Kronungstag
der Krinigin Hatshepsut," Nachrichten von der
Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Gottingen, I
Phil.-hist.Klasse 6 (Gottingen, 1955), pp. 195219: Jean Yoyotte, "La date suppose6 du
couronnementd'Hatshepsout,"KEMI, 18 (1968),
pp. 85-91; WilliamC. Hayes,Varia from the Time
of Hatshepsut," Mitteilungen des Deutschen
Archdologischen lnstituts, Abeitlung Kairo 15
(195i ), pp. 78-80.
Spring | 996
ru see
4. On the Oueens Nitocris and Sobeknef
ChristianeM. Zivie, "Nitokris,"in W. Helckand W.
Wetendorf, eds., Lexikon der Agyptologie lV
(Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1582'), cols.
513-514; Jurgenvon Beckerath,"Sobeknofru,"in
Lexikon der Agyptotogie lV (Wiesbaden: Otto
Harrassowitz,1982), cols. 1050-1051; Alan H.
Gardiner,Egypt of the Pharaohs (Oxford: Oxford
UniversityPress, 1961), p. 102. For a general
introductionto the problemsof Hatshepsut'sreign
see Emily Teeter, "Wearer of the Royal Uraeus:
Hatshepsut,"KMT | (1990) pp. 4-13, and 56-57.
The same issue containsadditionalessayson the
periodby CatharineRoehrigand DennisForbes.
5. See ElisabethStaehelin,"Zum Ornat an Statuen
" Bulletin de la Soci6td
regierender Koniginnen,
d'EgyptologieGendve13 (1989) pp. 145-156.
6. Sethe, Urkunden des dgyptischen Altertums lY,
59. 13-60.4 ( : lines 16-17 of the ancient text);
and Dziobek, Das Grab des lneni; Theban Nr. 81,
pp. 49-50, 54.
7 . For recentdiscussionson Senenmut,see Dorman,
The Monuments of Senenmuti idem, The Tombs
of
Senenmut; Meyer,
Senenmut: eine
prosopographische
Untersuchung.
8. See Donald Redford, History and Chronology of
the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt: Seven Studies
(Toronto:Universityof Toronto, 1967), pp. 57-87;
Walter-Friedrich
Reineke,"Ein Nubienfeldzug
unter
"
K<inigin Hatschepsut, Agypten und Kusch,
Schriften zur Geschichte und Kultur des Alten
Orients 13 (Berlin: Akademie Verlag, '1977].,
pp. 369-376.
9. Labib Habachi,The Obelisksof Egypt: Skyscrapers
of the Pasr (Cairo:American Universityin Cairo
Press,1984), p. 60.
10. Kenneth A. Kitchen, "Punt and How to Get
There," Orientalia 40, pp. 184-208; Kemp,
Ancient Egypt; A SocialHistory, pp 136-137.
1 1. Just how soon after his accessionThutmoselll
began his campaignof erasuresis uncertain;see
C.F, Nims, "The date of the dishonoringof
Hatshepsut," Zeitschrift ftir dgyptische Sprache 93
(1966), pp. 97-1OO;W.Seipel,"Hat shepsutl" in
Lexikon der Agyptologie ll (Weisbaden: Otto
Harrassowitz,19771.,col. 1051, n. 72, idem, "Zur
VerfehmungHatschepsutsdurch Thutmosislll.,"
Acts of the I st lnternational Congress of
(Berlin:1979), pp. 581-582.
Egyptologisrs
Page 6
12. See Kurt Sethe, Das Hatschepsut-Problemnoch
(Berlin: Akademie der
einmal untersucht
Wissenschaften, 1932l.; W.F. Edgerton, The
Thutmosid Succession (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1933); Hayes, Royal Sarcophagi
pp. 141-146; idem, "Egypt:.lnternalAffairs from
TuthmosisI to the Death of Amenophislll," in The
CambridgeAncient History ll, Part | (Cambridge:
CambridgeUniversity Press, 1973), chapter 9,
pp. 315-322. On reassessmentsof royal tomb
ownership,see Romer,"TuthmosisI and the Biben
el-Mol0k:Some problemsof Attribution,"Journal
of EgyptianArchaeology60 (19741.,pp. 1 19-133.
13. One of the f irst scholarsto sort out the history
behind the evidenceof the sarcophagiwas H.E.
Winlock, "Notes on the Reburialof Tuthmosis1,"
Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 15 (1929),
pp. 56-68.
14. The best plan and section of KV 2O may be
found in Kent Weeks et al., "The BerkeleyMap of
the Theban Necropolis, Report of the Third
Season, 1980, "Newsletter of the American
ResearchCenterin Egypt 113 (1980), pp. 38-39.
Photographsof the interiorsof both tombs KV2O
and 38 are now publishedby GeorgeB. Johnson,
"No One Seeing,No One Hearing:KV38 & KV2O:
The First RoyalTombs in the Valley of the Kings,"
KMT 3 (1992-93),pp. 64-81.
19. Davis et al., The Tomb of Hdtshopsit0. Carter
includeda watercolorin the publicationshowing
SarcophagusD as found, pl.9 (facing p.78),
reproducedin black and white in Romer,Valleyof
the Kings, p. 193. See also Reevesand Taylor,
Howard Carter Before Tutankhamun,pp. 78-79.
20. Gaston Maspero, Les Momies Royales de D6ir elBahari (Paris:Ernest Leroux, 1889), pp. 581-82,
pls. 78, 88; G. Elliot Smith, The Royal Mummies
(Cairo: Institut frangais d'arch6ologieorientale,
1912), pp. 25-28; pls. 20-22. See also J.R. Harris
and E.F.Wente, RoyalMummiesof the Eighteenth
Dynasty:A Biologicand Egyptological
Approach,"
in C. NicholasReeves, ed., After Tutankhamun.
Research and Excavation at the Royal Necropolis
at Thebes (London; Kegan Paul International.
1992), pp. 2-2O; Reeves, Valley of the Kings,
pp.183-92.
21. On the femaleoccupantof KV6O,see DonaldB.
Ryan, "Who is buried in KV6O?" KMT | (1990),
pp.58-59.
22. Hayes,Royal Sarcophagi,pp. 64-66.
23. Hayes,RoyalSarcophagi,pp. 136-137.
15. Porter and Moss, Topographical Bibliography ll,
2, pp.546-47; Davis et al., The Tomb of
Hatshopsit1,pp. 77-80, pl. 8; ElizabethThomas,
The Royal Necropolis of Thebes (Princeton:
Moorman, 1966), pp. 75-77; John Romer, Valley
of the Kings (New York: William Morrow and
Company,1981), pp. 192-195; Eric Hornung,The
Valley of the Kings.
16. See Hayes,RoyalSarcophagi,pp. 146-149.
17. For a color photographof the exteriorfoot end
and a succinct descriptionof SarcophagusD, see
Mohammed Saleh and Hourig Sourouzian,The
Egyptian Museum Cairo, Official Catalogue (Mainz:
Philippvon Zabern, 1987), cat. 131.
18. For notes on the architectof Hatshepsut'stomb,
KV2O. whose statue is now in the Louvre, see
P.E. Newberry,"A statue of Hapu-senb:Vezir of
Thothmes ll, " Proceedings of the Society of
BiblicalArchaeology22 (1900), pp. 31-36, and
James Henry Breasted,.Ancient Records of Egypt
ll, (New York: Russell & Russell, 1906),
pp. 160-162,esp. 5 389.
Page 7
GlazedAmphorafrom the 18'nDynasty
MetropolitanMuseum of Art, NY
Spring 1996
MURDERIN MEMPHIS:
THE STORYOF CAMBYSES'MORTAL
WOUNDINGOF THE APIS BULL
By
Leo Depujrdt
About the Author: Leo Depuydt was educated at
Yale University, the University of Ttibingen, the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Hebrew
Union College in Cincinnati, and the University
of Louvain. After teaching two years at Yale, he
has been with the Department of Egyptology at
Brown University since 1991.
Reorintedfrom the Journal of Near Eastern Studies 54 no.
2 (1 9 95) , T he Univ e rs i ty o f C h i c a g o ; e d i te d wi th the
a u th o r ' sper m is s ion.
This report reopensthe investigationinto one of
t h e g r ea t cr i m e cases of antiquity, the alle g e d
m u r de ro f th e sacredA pis bull by Camby s e sin
the Ptah Temple at Memphis soon after the
Persianconquestof Egypt, circa 525 BCE. The
case owes its fame to the stature of both the
a c c u se dan d th e presumedvictim. The fo rme r,
Cambyses, had shortly before the conquest
b e c om e r ule r o f the largest empire that t h e
w o r l d h a d h ithe rto seen. The latter, the A p is
b u l l , em a n a ti on and embodiment of the g o d
Ptah, inspireda cult that most vividly stirredthe
E g y pti anr e lig io usimagination.l The accu s a t io n
o f m ur d e r ,h e n ce, carriedwith it a grave c o u n t
o f s a cr ile g e . Th e principalquestionhas alwa y s
b e e n w he the r the heinouscrime did or d id n o t
t a k e pla ce ,a n d the answer to this questi o nh a s
v a r i edove r ti m e. lt is the focus of the follo win g
i n q u i r y.
Th i s is th e thir d time that the case has b e e n
r e o p ene d .Th e episodeis so often mention e din
h i s t o r ica wr
l iti ng s over the last two and a h a lf
mi l l en n iath a t ci ting every reference,if I h a d
b e e n a b le to d o so, would have been ted io u s .
H o w e ve r , th r e e periods, which partly ov e rla p ,
c a n be d isti nguished in the cont in u in g
i n t e . Dr etati onof this historicaltradition. T h e
f i r s t p e r io d is b y far the longest and runs f ro m
the earliestreferencesa few decades after the
€ V€ , rtto ab o u t 1850; the second period s p a n s
f r o m al r olr t18 5 0 to roughly 1900; and the t h ird
p e r r odccve r sf'om roughly 19OOto the pre s e n t .
Spring | 996
lf a trial had been held at any time in the first
p e rio d (u p t o 1 8 5 0 ), t h e ju ry wo u l d n o t h a v e
n e e d e dmu c h d e lib e ra t io n
t o re a c ha r e s o u n d i n g
"Guilty" verdict! The most often-citedreportof
wh a t a lle g e d ly h a p p e n e d , t h a t wh i c h s t a n d s
closest to the events, is that of Herodotusof
Ha lic a rn a s s u swh
, o wro t e a ro u n d 4 5 0 B C E . 2
Not long after his conquestof Egypt, Cambyses
u n d e rt o o ka n e x p e d it io ns o u t h wa rdw h i c h e n d e d
in d is a s t e r. Up o n h is re t u rn t o M e m p h i s ,
He ro d o t u ss a y st h e f o llo win gh a p p en e d : 3
(lll, 27) WhenCambyses
Apis
cameto Memphis,
appearedamong the Egyptians
On his
put on
appearance,
the Egyptiansimmediately
their best clothes and engagedin festival. At
the sight of the Egyptiansdoing this, Cambyses
f ormed the suspicion that they were making
merry at his misfortunes. He ... asked them
how it was that when he, Cambyses,was in
Memphisbefore,the Egyptianshad done nothing
of this sort, but only for now, when he was
there after having lost most of his army. The
Egyptianstold him that their god was wont to
appear only at very long intervalsof time and
that, whenever he did so appear, all of the
Egyptiansrejoicedand kept festival... Cambyses
said: "What! Some sort of tame god has come
to the Egyptians,and lam not to know of it!"
and so he bade the priestsbring Apis to him...
When the priestsbroughtApis to him, Cambyses
was nearly lunatic. He drew his dagger and
madeto stab Apis in the belly but struckthe calf
in the thigh. At this he burst into laughterand
said to the priests, "You miserablewretches,is
that the kind of your gods, things of blood and
flesh and susceptibleof iron? Surelythis god is
worthy of the Egyptians;but, all the same, you
will not lightly make a mock of me." ... The
festival among the Egyptianshad broken up ...
and Apis, wounded in the thigh. died as he lay
on the floor of the shrine. After he died of his
wounds, the priests buried him in secret from
Cambyses. lt was directly as a result of this,
say the Egyptians--thisdeed of wrong--that
Cambyseswent mad, though indeedhe was not
in true possessionof his wits before.
The image of Cambyses as a cruel madman
persisted throughout classical antiquity and
down to early modern times, in Egypt and
elsewhere. But two events in the 19'n century
bore the seed of change. The decipherment of
hieroglyphic writing by J.F. Champollion in 1822
finally allowed the ancient Egyptians to speak
Page I
for themselves. The discoveryof the Serapeum
( Fi g u r e1 ) , bu r ia l place of the A pis bulls, by A .
Mariette in 1850, was the first great
a r c h a eo lo g icaf li nd in the young disciplin eo f
Egyptology. lt was located in the desert at
Saqqara,a few miles from tlie ancientcapitalof
Me mph is i n the Nile V alley. The living A p is
residedin the Ptah temple in nearby Memphis
itself where the celebrations reported by
H e r o do tusw er e he ld.
T h e e v i de n cefr o m the S erapeumis still not f u lly
p u b l i sh e d ,a
b u t as it began to come to ligh t in
t h e l ast ce n tur y, a second epoch in t h e
in t e r p r e tati onof the A pis murder case wa s
in a u g ur a ted . lt w as only natural that scho la rs
w o u l d tr y to co nfirm Herodotus' account b y
f i n d i n g th e Apis he mentions among th o s e
b u r i e di n th e Se r a peum. Commemoratives t e la e
p l a c e di n th e Ser a peumon the occasionof A p is
b u r i a l sr e ve a lth a t two A pis bulls had lived a t
t h e t i me o f C am b yses'conquestin the fifth y e a r
of his reign (53O-522 BCEI. Around that time,
A p i s X L ll ha d die d and A pis X LIV was bo rn .
( Th e n um b e r sof the bulls are those assign e db y
M a r i e tte ; a n d a lthough the numbers are n o t
s u c c e ssi ve,
the bu lls certainlywere).5
A p i s XL IV w as b o r n in Y ear 5, Month 5, Da y 2 9
o f C am b yse s'r e ign (May 29,525
B CE )
a c c o r din gto ste le Louvre 1M.4187.6 Hav in g
lived 7 years, 3 months, and 5 days, rather less
than the average life span of about twenty
ye a r s ,th is b u ll d ie d in Y ear 4, Month 9, Da y 4
o f D a ri usI's r eig n (A ugust 31, 518 B CE ) . A s
traditionrequired,it was buried 70 days later in
Y e a r 4 , M on th 11 , Day 13 (November8, 5 1 8
BCE).?
r A pis X LIV was A pis X L ll.
T h e p red e ce sso of
A p i s X L ll w as b uried in Y ear 6, Month 1 1
( O c t o b e r 28 - November 26, 524 B CE) o f
Ca mb yse s' r eig n according to stele Lou v re
1 M . 4 1 3 3 .8 l ts d a te of death is unknown , b u t
si n c ea ne w bu ll i s, as a rule, born only after it s
p r e d e cessohr a s died, it may be assumedt h a t
Apis XLll died before the date of birth of its
p r e d e cesso rAp
, is XLIV --Y ear5, Month 5, Da y
2 9 - - u n d e rC am b yses.
That a new Apis is born after its predecessor's
de a t his o n e o f th r ee rules pertainingto the A p is
Page 9
cult derivedfrom all the availableevidence(see
below). No two Apis bulls were, therefore,ever
alive at the same time. What took place,then,
shortly after the Persianconquest was an Apis
s u c c e s s io n .
T o le a rnf ro m e x c a v a t io n st h a t a b u ll h a d i n d e e d
d ie d a ro u n dt h e t ime o f Ca mb y s e s c' on q u e s t ,a s
Herodotusreported, was too good to be true.
Apis XLll was, therefore, readily accepted as
He ro d o t u s b
' u ll, a n d t h is is t h e o p in i o nf o u n d i n
s t a n d a rd wo rk s o n E g y p t ia n h is t or y i n t h e
s e c o n d h a lf o f t h e 1 9 t h c e n t u ry . e T h u s , t h e
g u ilt y v e rd ic t h a n d e d d o wn in t h e c l a s s i c a l
s o u rc e ss e e me dc o n f irme db y t h e a rc h a e o l o g i c a l
e v id e n c e ,a n d h e n c et h e re we re n o gr o u n d sf o r
a p p e a l.
Ho we v e r, a ro u n d t h e t u rn o f t h e c e n t u r y ,
s e rio u sd o u b t s a ro s e a s t o wh e t h e r A p i s X L l l
c o u ld in f a c t h a v e b e e n t h e o n e m e a n t b y
He ro d o t u s . A t h ird p h a s e in t h e h is t o r y o f t h i s
p ro b le mc o mme n c e d . T wo a rg u me n t sw e r e p u t
f o rwa rd a g a in s t id e n t if y in g A p is X L l l w i t h
He ro d o t u s ' b u ll. lt s h o u ld b e n o t ed t h a t t h e
s e c o n d ,mo re c o n c lu s iv e ,a rg u me n th a d t o w a i t
f o r G . P o s e n e r' s p u b lic a t io n o f L o u v r e s t e l e
1 M. 4 1 3 3in 1 9 3 6 . 1 o
F irs t ,A p is X L ll re c e iv e da re g u la rb u r i a la n d t h e
sarcophagus was even a personal gift of
Ca mb y s e s a s it s in s c rip t io n in d ic a t e s . l t I n
s u p p o rt o f t h is f irs t a rg u me n t ,o n e m i g h t a d d
t h a t Ca mb y s e s ' p ie t y wa s p ra is e d i n g l o w i n g
terms by Udjahorresne,one of his Egyptian
counsels. But Udjahorresnewas after all a
" c o fa b o raot r. " 1 2
S e c o n d ,a y e a r-d a t eo f 2 7 c a n s t ill b e r e a d i n
L o u v re1 M. 4 1 3 3 . S in c et h is mu s t b e th e y e a r o f
b irt h o f A p is X L ll in A ma s is ' re ign ( t h a t i s ,
5 4 4 1 4 3B CE ),A p is X L ll wo u ld h a v e be e n n e a r l y
2 O y e a rs o ld wh e n it d ie d . lt c o u ld , t h e r e f o r e ,
hardly have been the pooX(, "calf," mentioned
b y He ro d o t u s(lll 2 8 ). 1 3
S in c eo n ly a s in g leA p is is a liv ea t a n y o n e t i m e ,
a n d A p is X L I V d ie d o n ly in 5 1 8 B CE , n o o t h e r
b u ll wa s a v a ila b let o re p la c eA p is X L l l a s t h e
one referred to by Herodotus. As a result,
Herodotus'report was rejectedas fictional and
with it the entire relatedclassicaltradition. The
Spring1996
Figure1. Insidethe Serapeum.(FromMariette)
E g y p ti anstor y o f the murder of the A pis b u ll
h a d n ow be e n "strippedfrom all foundatio nin
f act,"1a and "the entire tradition about
C a m byses' ab h o rrent and sacrilegiousc rime
I h a d ] colla p se ld Jinto nothing."15 lt bec a me
co mm o n to th in k that "Mariette's excav a t io n s
h a d b ro u g h tthe proof that Cambysescould n o t
h a v eco m m itte dth e crime."16
T h e r e for e , th e guilty verdict had b e e n
ov e r t ur n e d o n a ppeal. The view that t h e
E g y p tia n evid e n ce contradicts Herodotus n o w
pr e v a i l s. lts d o minancemay be illustrat e db y
statements in three valuable survey articles of
an e ncyclo p e d ic nature in the f ields o f
A c h a em e n id studies, ancient history, a n d
E g y p to lo g y ( fu r ther bibliography is found in
these contributions). ln CAMBRIDGEANCIENT
HISTORY,one reads that "tradition adds to the
w o u n d in g o f the A pis the animal's ling e rin g
d e a t h an d cla n d estineburial. The hierog ly p h ic
r e c o r dsca r ce lybe arsthis out... lt is a pie c eo f
f o l k l o r e . 'No t p r oven" or even 'not guilt y " is
the necessaryverdict."l7 fhe LEXTCONDER
AAVpfOIOGIE notes that "[t]his unsympathetic
p i c t t r r epa in ted by the Classicalauthors o f t h e
at r o i tie s i nfl i cted upon the E gyptian s b y
C a r r , b yse ,;a n , his agents must now b e
Sprirg 7996
s o me wh a t t e mp e re d . T h e A p is bu l l , w h i c h
Ca mb y s e sa lle g e d lymu rd e re d ,a c t ua l l y d i e d i n
Y e a r 6 o f h is re ig n a n d wa s c e r e m o n i o u s l y
interred."18 According to the CAMBRIDGE
HISTORY OF IRAN, Herodotus' account is
"disproved by a stele from the Serapeum
wh ic h t e s t if ie st o t h e s o le mnb u ria li n t h a t y e a r
of the Apis bull born in the twenty-seventhyear
o f A ma s is . " le
Wit h t h e s e e lo q u e n td e f e n s e s ,t h e A p i s m u r d e r
c a s e wo u ld s e e m t o b e c lo s e d a n d C a m b y s e s
vindicatedfrom the accusationbrought against
h im b y t h e c la s s ic a l t ra d it io n . H o w e v e r , a
reconsideration
of the evidence,presentedhere,
c re a t e sf irm g ro u n d sf o r h ig h e ra p p e al . l t w i l l b e
d e mo n s t ra t e d b e lo w t h a t t h e a rc h a e o l o g i c a l
e v id e n c e d o e s n o t c o n t ra d ic t He ro d o t u s . l f
a n y t h in g ,it ra t h e rc o n f irmsh im.
M. Mille r h a s a lre a d y o b s e rv e dt h at " t h e A p i s
s t o ry in He ro d o t u ss e e mst o b e p u re f i c t i o n ,y e t
it is t h e h in g e o f t h e wh o le n a rra t i v e ,a n d i t i s
mo s t d if f ic u ltt o b e lie v et h a t t h e re wa s n o t s o m e
remote foundation f or ir.."2o This general
c o n s id e ra t io is
n re a s o n a b leb u t c a n h a r d l vc o u n t
a s p ro o f.
Page 1O
Proof can be' derived from an understandingof
the Apis career. The four principalevents in the
careerof the Sacred Apis are birth, installation,
de a t h , an d bu r ia l. S ome stelae give prec is e
datesfor all four events as well as the exact life
span of the bull. Three rr-ilesregarding the
relationships between these events can be
d e r i v e dfr o m th e a vailableevidenceas work in g
hyp o t h ese s.
(1 )A new bull is born a fte r th e d e a th o f i ts
p re dec es s or . 2l
(2 ) D e a t h and bur ial o f a b u l l a re s e p a ra te d b y 7 0
d a ys, t he t im e allo tte d to a n e l a b o ra te ri tu a l
i n cl u ding t he em b a l mi n g .2 2
(3 ) A b ull is bur ied be fo re i ts s u c c e s s o r i s i n s ta l l ed.
The expected sequence of events in any
su c c e ssio n of Ap is A by A pis B wou ld ,
therefore,be as follows.
1 . Ap isA die s.
2. ApisB is born,andApisA is buried.23
3. ApisB is installed.
I n v i e w o f the following discussion,it may b e
kept in mind that the installation of a new Apis
is precededby a matter of months by the burial
of its predecessor.
A h a r mon iza ti on
of the archaeological
evide n c e
from the Serapeumand Herodotuscan now be
a t t e mp ted . In r ehabilitating Herodotus , A .
Klasens,in a well-documentedstudy, has taken
t h e l e a d,2ab u t th o ugh occasionallyquoted , h e
s e e m st o ha ve fo u n d no following.
Kl a s e n sm ake s tw o suggestionsregardingt h e
s u c c e ssi onof Ap is X Lll by A pis X LIV - the f irs t
false, the second correct. First, he assumes
t h a t t he two
bulls could have liv e d
a
s
long
as they did not reig n a t
s i mu l t an e o u sly
t h e s a me tim e 2 s and he cites an instan c e
m e n t i o ne db y Otto .26 However,A pis X LIV wa s
born on Month 5, Day 24 of Year 28 of the
Ptolemy Vlll Euergetesll, after its predecessor
d i e d i n Yea r27 .27
K l a s e n s'seco n dsuggestion,however, is on t h e
ma r k . 2 8 At lll 2 7 , Herodotus stated, "Wh e n
Ca mb y se s cam e to Memphis, A pis appe a re d
( e g c r vq)a m o n gth e E gyptians." In terms of t h e
f o u r p r i ncip a leve nts in the A pis career (s e e
Page 11
above), this event has always been interpreted
as the birth of an Apis. After all, the Apis is
describedas a "calf." However,the birth of the
Apis was not celebratednationwide, and the
A p is wa s u s u a lly n o t e v e n b o rn in M e m p h i s . 2 s
Yet Herodotus described how the Egyptians,
u p o n Ca mb y s e s 'in q u irin ga b o u t t h e c a u s e f o r
these festivities,explainedthat "their god would
appear at very long intervalsof time and that,
wh e n e v e r h e d id s o a p p e a r, a ll t h e E g y p t i a n s
re jo ic e da n d k e p t f e s t iv a l" (lll 2 8 ). Si n c e A p i s
b u lls liv e d o n a v e ra g e 2 0 y e a rs , on e m i g h t
expect to experienceonly about two to three
a p p e a ra n c ein
s a lif e t ime .
O f t h e t h re e o t h e r la n d ma rk sin t h e c a r e e ro f t h e
A p is , d e a t h a n d b u ria l h a v e n o c a u s e f o r j o y .
T h e o n ly e v e n t t o wh ic h He ro d o t u s c a n ,
therefore,have referredis the installation. The
verb qcrveo0cr,"appear,"used by Herodotusto
refer to the event, is in ali probabilitya Greek
equivalentof Egyptian b'y, "appeat,"denoting
t h e p h a ra o h ' sin s t a lla t io n . 3 0
I t h a s a lre a d yb e e n c o n c lu d e dt h a t t h e A p i s c a l f
whose death is describedby Herodotuscannot
b e A p is X L ll o r A p is X L I V . A p is X L ll w a s n o t a
calf but rather a bull about 20 years old, and
Apis XLIV did not die around the conquestbut
la t e r, in 5 1 8 .
A n y a t t e mp t t o ha r m o n i z e
Herodotus with the archaeologicalevidence
must be based on the assumption that three
differentbulls playeda role in the events during
the f irst couple of years after the Persian
conquest. lmportantly, there is no overlap
between Herodotusand the evidencefrom the
Serapeumwith regardto these three bulls: two
(Ma rie t t e ' sX L ll a n d X L I V ) a re o n ly k n o w n f r o m
t h e S e ra p e u m;t h e t h ird , a b u ll t h a t d i e d y o u n g
a t t h e t ime o f it s in s t a lla t io nis
, o n ly k n o w n f r o m
He ro d o t u s . T h e n , h o we v e r, He ro d o t u s w o u l d
h a v e b e e n mo re in t e re s t e din t h e h ig hl yu n u s u a l
in c id e n to f a k in g mu rd e rin ga n A p is t ha n i n t h e
ongoing and uneventful successions of Apis
b u llso v e r t h e c e n t u rie s .
T h e s e t h re e b u lls ma y n o w b e c o n s i d e r e d
establish whether
the
separately to
Herodotus
a rc h a e o lo g ic a l e v id e n c e a n d
c o n t ra d ic to n e a n o t h e r.
Spring 1996
E
L'
*
,f,
H
!
'!tc!
j
It*
::;-
--:--.S
. ..t,4.,
* <;1;7
-_ --.*-
,,tfifl
-..--'l :.;j
.:i ..,, . --'{-2.:,
' : . . * . . - Jt*t, . j.-1'.--".*Ar'E-lE'F-:
: { = ' # ir e , ; | 7 '
, *,*s-j--.,::
.-,:
Figure2. Apis Sarcophagus
at the Serapeum.(FromMariette)
1 . As to the calf mortally wounded b y
Cambyses, Herodotus states that it was
buried l.a0pr1,"secretly." Consequently,
one might expect not to find a trace of this
b ul l in the Se rapeum,which is indeedt h e
c ase . H er o d otus and the silence of t h e
a r ch a e o lo g ical
evidenceare, therefore,n o t
a t va r ia n ce , and K lasens is justified in
p o stula ti nga n A pis x.31
2 . H er o d o tusdo es not mention other bu lls ,
but the existence of two more can be
inferredfrom his report and what is known
a bo u t th e Ser apeum'straditions. He d o e s
r e co r d the in stallationof an A pis, a n d
a ccor d in gto the rules outlined above, a n
i n s ta lla ti onwa s generallyprecededby t h e
b ur ia l o f the previous bull.32 A n offic ia l
b ur ia l sho u ld , therefore, have occurre d
a r ou n dth is time. In fact, the recordsfr o m
Spring | 996
t h e S e ra p e u m c o n firm t h a t Ap i s X L l l
receiveda stately burialunder the auspices
o f Ca mb y s e s . T h is b u ria lmu s t h a v e t a k e n
p la c e wh e n Ca mb y s e swa s a w a y i n t h e
south on his ill-fatedexpeditionor perhaps
during the period between the conquest
a n d t h e e x p e d it io n . lt is n o t k no w n h o w
lo n g a f t e r t h e c o n q u e s t(a ro u n d5 2 S B C E )
Cambyses returned to Memphis for the
s e c o n dt ime , b u t ju d g in g f ro m t h e e v e n t s
describedby Herodotus (lll 14-26), many
months must have passed.33Sometimein
t h a t p e rio dt h e b u ria lo f A p is X L ll o c c u r r e d .
T h e k n o wn b u ria ld a t e in Y e a r 6 s u i t s t h i s
s c e n a rio .
3. From Herodotus' report that the Apis had
d ie d o f a wo u n d in f lic t e d b y C a m b y s e s ,
t h e f in d in g o f a n e w b u ll c a n b e i n f e r r e d .
Ha v in g t o f in d a re p la c e me n tw a s v e r y
Page 12
exceptional,but so was the murder of an
Apis.3a There is no record as to how this
was done, or whether a procedureexisted
f o r r ep la cin gelected A pis bulls that ha d
d i e d you n g be foreor duringthe installat io n
ceremony.
Sacred herds were kept
t h r ou g h o u t Eg ypt and a substitute wou ld
p r e su m a b lyha ve been found whose record
s h ow edtha t i t was born after the death o f
A p i s XL ll. Th is would be A pis X LIV . Th e
i n s ta lla ti onof this A pis is mentionedin it s
epitaph,3sbut the text breaks off tantalizi n g ly b e for e the date. One expects this
d a t e to h a ve fa llen after the date of bur ia l
o f Apis XLll in Y ear 6, Month 11 o f
C a m byse s, as the S erapeum's customs
r e q ui r e. The birth date of A pis X LIV is
Y e ar 5, M o n th 5, Day 29 of Cambyse s .
A s me n ti on e dearlier,this impliesthat A pis
XL l l d ie d b e fore that date. The resu lt
w o uld be a gap of a year and a ha lf
b e t w ee nthe de ath and burialof A pis X L ll,
r a t he rtha n th e required70 days. This ga p
i s hi gh ly ir r e g ularand it has often bee n
d i s c usse d .36 Perhaps the irregularityis
s o meh o w r e la ted to the incident of th e
A p i s m ur d e r .
However, since th e
S e r a p e u m 'sad ministratorswould proba b ly
have found a bull that was born after the
d e ath of Ap is XLll, or at least have s o
d a t ed i ts bir th, the year and a half ga p
c o ul dw ell b e bona fide.37
I n s u m m a r y, th e circumstancesin which t h e
s u b s t i tutecou ld h a ve been found are unkno wn .
A g a i n , the r e ar e no incongruities betwe e n
He r o d o tusa n d the archaeological
record.
Co n c l usi on . Did Cambysesmortallywound t h e
Ap i s ? Ulti m ately,this dependson whether o n e
b e l i e v esw ha t H er odotusand his informantss a id
t h a t C a m b yse sdid . The precedinglines have a t
l ea s t sh o wn th a t no essential points in h is
a c c o u n t a r e "d e monstrably f alse,"38 as is
c o m mon lyassu m e d.
O n t h e w ho le , H er odotusfaithfully reporte dt h e
i nf o r m ati onh e ga thered,but he did not scre e n
i t. W h e n te llin g f antastic stories, he hard ly
c o n c o ctedthe m himself. However,in record in g
t h e m , he wa s "probably indifferent to t h e
T h u c y d id e a nqu e stion 'B ut did they happe n ? '
Page 13
b e c a u s e , lik e P la t o , h e k n e w v e ry w e l l t h a t
me n ' s f a n t a s ie sa n d d e e d s liv e t e rribl yc l o s e t o
each other and often move interchangeably."3e
Accordingly,Herodotusprobablyheardthe story
o f t h e A p is mu rd e r in E g y p t f ro m E g y p t i a n
in f o rma n t s .Wh e n He ro d o t u swa s a y ou n g m a n ,
p e o p lewh o h a d t h e ms e lv e sb e e n y o u n g a d u l t s
wh e n t h e mu rd e r a lle g e d lyh a p p e n edm u s t s t i l l
h a v e b e e n a liv e . He ro d o t u sc o u ld ea s i l y h a v e
me t s o me o n ewh o wa s in Me mp h isa t t h e t i m e
o f Ca mb y s e s 're t u rn f ro m t h e s o u t h . I n t h i s
light, it is also noteworthy that a detailed
examination of Herodotus' treatment of the
preceding Saite Period (664-525 BCE) has
s h o wn t h a t h e is g e n e ra llyt ru s t wo rt hy . a 0
After the discoveryof the Serapeum,Herodotus'
veracity in the Apis case was subordinatedto
t h e q u e s t io no f wh e t h e r t h e b u ll h e m e n t i o n e d
c a n o r c a n n o t b e id e n t if ie da mo n g t ho s e f o u n d
in t h e S e ra p e u m.S c h o la rs h iph a s n o t d i s t a n c e d
it s e lf f ro m t h is q u e s t io n ' s p rio rit y e v e r s i n c e .
Whether answered negatively or affirmatively,
the questionowes its enduringpriorityin part to
t h e o rig in a ld e lig h tt h a t mu s t h a v e a cc o m p a n i e d
t h e a rc h a e o lo g ic a dl is c o v e ry t h a t th e r e h a d
indeed been an Apis successionaround 525
BCE. However,becausethe truth of Herodotus'
s t o ry wa s t h o u g h t t o h in g e o n it , s c ho l a r s h i p
of
t h e t h ird s t a g e , wh ile rig h t ly re jec t i n g t h e
t h e o rie s o f t h e s e c o n d s t a g e re g a r d i n gt h e
identity of the Apis mentioned by Herodotus,
had to extend this rebuttal to Herodotus'
a c c o u n tit s e lf . T h u s , t h e b a b y wa s t h r o w n o u t
with the bath water.
T h e wa y in wh ic h t h e a b o v e q u e s t ionh a r d e n e d
in t h e mid d leo f t h e la s t c e n t u ry re mi n d so n e o f
c e rt a in t re n d s in b ib lic a l a rc h a e o log y . l f t h e
B ib le me n t io n sa h ill, t h e re mu s t b e a h i l l . l f
He ro d o t u ss a y s t h e re is a b u ll, t h e n wh e r e i s t h e
b u ll?
lf Ca mb y s e swe re t rie d in a mo d e rn U . S . c o u r t
o n t h e b a s is o f t h e e x is t in ge v id e n c e ,h e m i g h t
we ll wa lk a wa y a f re e ma n , b e in g a b l e t o a f f o r d
t h e b e s t la wy e rsmo n e y c a n b u y a n d b e n e f i t i n g
f ro m t h e a d v a n t a g eo f t h e p rin c ip leo f p r e s u m e d
in n o c e n c e o r t h e re q u ire me n tt o p r o v e g u i l t
b e y o n da d o u b t . Ho we v e r,u n lik eju ri e s ,a n c i e n t
h is t o ria n sd o n o t n e e dt o re a c hv e rd ict sa n d c a n
Spring1996
in an ongoing proces s . I n
c a l i br a tep la u sib ilities
l i g h t o f th e e vid ence,I would personallyra t h e r
believethat Cambysesis to be presumedguilty
u n t i l p r o ve nin n o cent.
E NDNOTE S :
1 . For a recentsurvey of this Memphitic cult, with focus on
the Ptolemaicperiod,see D. J. Thompson,Memphisunder
the Ptolemies (Princeton, 1988), pp. 19O-211.
At
Memphis the burials began in the 13'n century BCE, but
the cult is alreadyattested in the earliest records (cf. W.
K. Sim ps on," A Run n i n go f th e Ap i s i n th e R e i g nof A ha
and Passages in Manetho and Aelian," Or., n.s.. 26
t1 9 5 7 1:139- 421.
pioneers in Egyptian history as E. Meyer and A.
W i edemann.
10. Posener. La premidre domination pe6e, pp. 30-35.
This needs to be taken into account when evaluating
di scussi onsof thi s probl emdated before 1 936, including
the influential entry "Kambyses" in A. Pauly and G.
Wissowa.
Realenzyklopddie
der
classischen
Alterumswissenschaft (Stuttgart, 1 917).
11. See J.V. PriiSek,Kambysesutndl dre Uberlieferung
des
Althertums, Forschungenzur Geschichtedes Altertums I
(Lei pzi g, 1897), pp. 10-11; P osener, La pr em i1r e
domination perse, p. 174; Kienitz, Die politische
Geschichte Agyptens vom 7, bis zum 4. Jahrhundert,
p. 58.
2 . Fo r a lis t of c las s i c a ls o u rc e s , s e e E . K i e B l i ng," D i e
Gotter von Memphis in griechisch-rcimischer
Zeit," Archiv
fir Papyrusforschung15 (1953): 28, n. 8. A distinctive
va ri a t ionon t he lit er a ryth e me o f C a m b y s e sa n d the A pi s
is found in the Coptic story of Cambyses' invasion of
Egypt, preserved in fragmentary form in six parchment
leaves,now in Berlin (see H. L. Jansen, The Coptic Story
of Cambyses' lnvasion of Egypt: A Critical Analysis of lts
Literary Form and its Historical Purpose, Avhandlinger
u tg i tt av det Nor s k eV i d e n s k a p s -Ak a d e m
i iOs l o , l l : H i st.
Fi l o s.K las s . .no. 2 [ O s l o , 1 9 5 0 ]).
13. Posener, La premiire domination perse, p. 174 with
n.4.
3. The translationis taken from D. Green, Herodotus: The
History (Chicago,1987l.,pp. 222-24.
14. Pr65ek, Kambyses u[nd] GeschicheAgyptens vom 7.
bis zum 4. Jahrhunderf, p. 59.
4 . Se e M . M alinin e , G. P o s e n e r, a n d J . V e r coutter,
Catalogue des ste/es du SdrapCum de Memphis. 2 vols.
(Paris. 1968); Vercoutter, Textes biographiques du
Sdrapdum de Memphis: Contribution l'6tude des sti/es
votives du S1rapdum, Bibliothdque de l'Ecole des Hautes
Etudes.lV" Section (Scienceshistoriqueset philologiques)
(Pa ri s , 1962) . Rec e n t c o n tri b u ti o n sa re A. F a ri d , " N eun
d e mo t is c heI ns c hr if te na u s d e m S e ra p e u mv o n M emphi s
im Louvre-Museum."
Mitteilungen des Deutschen
Archdlogischen lnstituts, Abteilung Kairo 49 (1993): 6991; P. Pr6vot, "Observationssur des stdles du Sdrapdum
de Memphis," Revued'Egyptologie43 (19921: 215-21.
15. Kienitz, Die politische GeschichteAgyptens vom 7, bis
zum 4. Jahrhundert, p. 59.
For the text of the inscription,see B. Gunn, "The inscribed
Sarcophagi in the Serapeum," Annales du Service des
Antiquitds de l'Egypte 26 (1926): 82-94, at 85-86;
Posener,La premidre dominationperse, pp.35-36.
12. A .B . Ll oyd. " The Inscri pti on of U d jahor r esnet a,
Collaborator'sTestament," JEA 68 (1982): 166-80.
16. l. Hofmann, "Kambyses in Agypten," Studien zur
altdgyptischenKultur I (1981): 179. Hofmanncites many
literary parallels from other Near Eastern literatures,
interestingin their own right, in order to explainhow the
fi cti onalaccountof the bul l ' s ki l l i ngmi ght h ave com e int o
existence.
17. J. D. Ray, "Egypt 525-404 BC," CambridgeAncient
History, 2d ed., vol. 4 (Cambridge,1988), p. 260.
5. For bibliographicalreferences on Apis XLll and Apis
XLIV. see B. Porter and R. L. B. Moss, assistedby E. W.
Burney. Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian
Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings, lll2: Memphis.
Part 2, Saqqdrato Dahsh0r. Fascicle 3 UIF 777-1014]l, 2d
e d . rev . by J . M dlek( O x fo rd ,1 9 8 1 ), p p . 7 9 9 -8 0 0 .
18. R. S. Bianchi, "Perser in Agypten," Lexikon der
Agyptologie,vol. 4 (Wiesbaden,1982), p. 943.
6. G. Posener, La premiire domination perse en Egypte:
Recueil d'inscriptions
hi6roglyphiques,
Bibliothdque
d 'Etude11 ( Cair o,19 3 6 ), p p . 3 6 -3 1 .
20. M. Miller. "The EarlyPersianDates in Herodotus,"K/ro;
Beitrdgezur alten Geschichte37 (1959): 35.
7. For the stelaein which this informationis contained,see
Posener,La premi4re domination perse, pp. 38-39.
8 . l b i d . ,pp. 30- 35. T h e d a y -d a tei s d a m a g e d .
9. Cf. F. K. Kienitz, Die politische Geschichte Agyptens
vom 7, bis zum 4. Jahrhundert vor der Zeitwende (Berlin,
1 9 5 3) , p. 58 wit h n . 2 , re fe rri n g to w o rk s by such
Spring 7996
19. E . B resci ani ," The P ersi an Occupation of Egypt . "
Cambridge History of lran, vol. 2 (Cambridge, 1985),
p 5O4.
21 . J. Vercoutter, "Une 6pitaphe royale in6dite du
S6rap6um (contribution a I'histoire des Apis et du
S6rapdum de Memphisl," Mitteilungen des Deutschen
Archdologischen lnstituts, Abteilung Kairo 16 (1958):
341 . Moreover, the new Apis was very often found
shortly after the death of its predecessor(ibid.,p. 343).
It cannot be discounted that the Serapeum's
administratorsoccasionallytamperedwith the numbersto
Page 74
make them match the rule if a suitablebull had been born
slightlyearlier.
22. For this ritual, see Vercoutter, "Apis," Lexikon der
Agyptologie.vol. 1 (Wiesbaden,1975), pp. 338-50. The
principal source is a bilingual pap.yrus,in Hieratic and
Demotic, edited by W. Spiegelberg,"Ein Bruchstitckdes
Bestattungsritualder Apisstiere (Demot. Pap. Wien Nr.
und
ftir
Sprache
271,"
Zeitschrift
Sgyptische
Altertumskunde56 (1920): 1-33, now re-editedby R. L.
Vos, in The Apis Embalming Ritual: P. Vindob. 3873,
A n a l e c ta5 0 (L e u v e n ,1 9 9 3 ).
Ori e n ta liaLov aniens ia
23. The order of these two events seems to vary, but it is
no t cru cialt o t he f ollo w i n g a rg u m e n t. T w o c o n tra sti ve
e xa mp l e sm ay s uf f ic e. In th e c a s e o f th e s u c c e s s i o nthat
occurred in Year 16 of Necho ll (Kienitz, Die politische
Geschichte Agyptens vom 7 . bis zum 4. Jahrhundert, p.
15 5 ), Ap is B was bor n b e fo reA p i s A w a s b u ri e d :A p i s A
di e d i n Y ear 16, M ont h 2 , D a y 6 ; Ap i s B w a s b o rn i n Y ear
16 , Mo n t h 2, Day 7; a n d Ap i s A w a s b u ri e di n Ye ar 16,
Mo n th 4 Day 16. Howe v e r,i n th e s u c c e s s i o no f y e a rs27
a n d 2 8 of P t olem yV lll (Eu e rg e te sl l ), A p i s A d i e d i n Y ear
27 , Mo nt h 10, Day 26 (H . B ru g s c h ," D e r A p i s -Kre i saus
den Zeiten der Ptolemdernach den hieroglyphischenund
demotischen Weihinschriften des Serapeums von
Memphis." Zeitschrift fAr dgyptische Sprache und
Altertumskunde24 t18861: 20-22} and was, therefore,
presumablyburied 70 days later on the last day of Year
27 or the first day of Year 28, dependingon how the TOth
day was counted; Apis B was born after that in Year 28,
Month 5, Day 24 lE. de Roug6, "Mdmoire sur quelques
inscriptionstrouv6es dans la sdpulture des Apis lsuite],"
Revue 6gyptologique5 t1 8871: 2) .
24. A. Klasens,"Cambysesen Egypte,"Jaarberichtvan het
Vooraziatisch-Egyptisch Genootschap, Ex Oriente Lux
3/9 -10 (1945- 48) :347 - 4 8 .
25 . l b i d ., pp. 346- 47.
32. When the CambridgeHistory of lran, following common
opinion, states that Herodotus' report that Cambyses
"incensedat linding the people of Memphis in a festive
mood due to the appearanceof the new Apis, ... mortally
wounded the sacred bull which was then buried secretly
by the priests" is "disproved by a stela from the
Serapeum...,which testifies to the solemn burial lin Year
6 of Cambysesl of the Apis bull born in the twentyseventhyear of A masi s" (B resci ani",P ersi anO ccupat ion. "
p.5O4; i tal i csmi ne),then thi s i s a non sequ it urbecause
an "appearance"of one bull is not disproved by, but,
rather, presupposesand is even confirmedby the slightly
earl i eroccurrenceof the " sol emnburi al "of ano t herbull.
33. A nother factor i s that a bul l i s not usually inst alled
earl i erthan the age of ni ne months,and tw o year s is not
abnormal (Vercoutter, "The Napatan Kings and Apis
Worship [SerapeumBurialsof the NapatanPeriodl,"Kush
8 I19601:74).
34. There is a traditionthat, in 343 BCE,ArtaxerxesOchus
also murdered an Apis (Kienitz, Die politische Geschichte
Agyptens vom 7, bis zum 4. Jahrhunded, p. 1O8: A. B.
Bosworth, A Historical Commentaryon Arrian's History' of
Alexander [Oxford, 1980], p. 262; Thompson,Memphis
under the Ptolemies;p. 1O6, n. 3).
35. For the text, see Posener, La premi4re domination
perse, pp. 36-41.
36. For a remarkablecase in which a burialwas apparently
delayed for years, see Thompson, Memphis under the
Ptolemies,pp. 199, n. 53; 295.
37 . For a discussion of this problem and attempts to
explainit, see my forthcomingarticle in JAOS, "Evidence
for Accession Dating under the Achaemenids," esp.
Excursus 2.
38. Kienitz, Die politische GeschichteAgyptens vom 7. bis
zum 4. Jahrhundert, p. 58.
26. E. Otto, Beitrdge zur Geschichte der Stierkulte in
Geschichte und
Aegypten, Untersuchungen zut
A l te rtu m s k unde.egy pt e n s1 3 (L e i p z i g 1, 9 3 8 ), p . 1 5 .
39. Green,Herodotus: The History, p. 11.
27. See Thompson, Memphis under the Ptolemies,
p p . 2 8 9 -90. T his was f i rs t e s ta b l i s h e db y B ru g s c h ," D er
Ap i s-Kreis ,pp.
" 19- 24.
40. H. de Meulenaere,Herodotus over de 26ste Dynastie.
Bijdrage tot het historisch-kritisch onderzoek van
Herodotos' gegevens in het licht van de Egyptische en
andere contemporairebronnen, Biblioth6quedu Mus6on 27
(Leuven,1951).
28. Kl a sens", Cam by s ese n Eg y p te ,"p p .3 4 7 -4 8 .
29. For the birthplaces of the Ptolemaic bulls. see
Thompson, Memphis under the Ptolemies,pp. 284-96.
30 . Kl a se ns", Cam by s ese n Eg y p te ,"p . 3 4 7 , n . 6 5 .
31 . l b i d ., p. 314. T his p ro p o s a lo f a n A p i s x h a s been
describedas a somewhat desperateattempt to hold on to
th e h i stor ic it yof t he A p i s mu rd e r(H o fm a n n ," K a m b y sesi n
th a t such
A g yp te n, "p. 180) , but i t s h o u l db e re me mb e re d
a re b u t t al is ins pir e d b y th e c o n fi d e n c e th a t the
a rch a e o logic ev
al idencec o n tra d i c tsH e ro d o tu s .
Page 75
Apis bull from the tomb of Khnumhotep,
12'hDynasty
Spring 1996
WHO'S WHO IN ANCIENTEGYPT
From Newberry,
wig . S n e f e ru b ra n d is h e sa ma c e i n h i s r i g h t
h a n d a n d , wit h h is le f t h a n d ,g ra s p st h e h a i ro f a
defeatedAsiatic prisonerwho begs for mercy.
A t a n e ig h b o rin gs it e in t h e S in a i, Sn e f e r uw a s
depictedwith Hathor,the mistressof turquoise.
From the Third Dynasty onwards, royal
e x p e d it io n sv is it e d t h e S in a i min e s a n d r e c o r d s
of successful missions were carved onto cliff
f a c e st o g lo rif yt h e k in g .
Ancient Egyptian Scarabs
FEATUREDPHARAOH
Three famous Egyptian artifacts date f rom
S n e fe ru ' s re ig n :
KIN GS N E F E R U
By David Pepper
About the Author: David Pepper is a professional
engineer and commercial pilot and has a BS in
Physics, an MS in Aerospace Engineering, and a
Masters in BusinessAdministration. He has served
on the ESS Board as treasurer and is currently chair
of the publications committee.
1 . T h e " G e e s eo f Me id u m" f re s c o w a s f o u n d
at the mastaba of Nefer-maat who was
b u rie dn e a r t h e P y ra mido f Hu n i, S n e f e r u ' s
f a t h e r, a t Me id u m. lt wa s S n e f e r u w h o
c o mp le t e d t h e c o n s t ru c t io n o f H u n i ' s
p y ra mid ,a s re c o rd e do n a c o mm e m o r a t i v e
stelefound next to the pyramid.
Sneferu was the birth-name of
t h e s on o f Ki ng Huni, the last
p h a r ao h o f th e T hird Dynasty.
On the Papyrus Prisse it is
written, "And it came to pass
t h a t the M aje sty of K ing Huni
d i e d a nd th a t th e Majestyof K ing
Sn e fe r u a r o se as a beneficent
k i n g o ve r all the earth."
Ac c o rd in g to M a netho's List of
Ki n g s, Sn e fer u is consideredto
be the f irst king of the Fourth
D y n a s ty.
S n e fe ru's r e ig n began about
2 6 2 0 BCE, a n d a ccordingto the
T u r i n Pap yr u s,he reignedfor 24
y e a r s . Whe n he was crowned,
S n e f e r uto o k o n the Horus name
Nebmaat, "Lord Of Truth."
Historiansrecordedthat he was
a b e ne fi cen tki ng who founded
c i t i e sa n d b u ilt m any temples.
2. The twin statues of Prince
Rahotep (probablya son of
Sneferu)and his wife Nofret
a re n o w in t h e C a i r o
Mu s e u m. T h e s e l i f e - s i z e d
statues are masterpiecesof
art with inlaid eyes of
o p a q u e q u a rt z a n d p u p i l s o f
rock crystal. Rahotepsports
a d a p p e r mu s t a c h e ,a n d h i s
wif e h a s a h e a v y s h o u l d e r le n g t h wig a n d p a i n t e d
d ia d e m.
King Sneferu.(FromFakhry)
T h e r eis a r elie fi n the E gyptianMuseumin Ca iro
w h i c h wa s co lle cted by Flinderspetrie a t t h e
si t e o f the tu r q u o isemines at W adi Maghara ,in
t h e Si n a i. l t sh o ws the king dressedin a pla it e d
k i l t a nd w ea n n g a divine crown of do u b le
pl u r , r e:an C d,.u h le horns set upon a rou n d e d
Spring 7996
3. The reconstructedfurniture
o f Q u e e n He t e p h e r e s ,w i f e
o f S n e f e ru ,is n o w o n d i s p l a y
in t h e Ca iro Mu s e um . T h i s
f u rn it u re wa s f o u n d b y
Re is n e rin a t o mb s h a f t n e x t
t o K h u f u ' s p y ra mid . K h u f u
wa s t h e s o n a n d s u c c e s s o r
o f S n e f e ru , a n d t he b u i l d e r
o f t h e G re a tP y ra m i da t G i z a .
Sneferu was often mentioned in legends that
we re c o p ie d b y s c rib e s in la t e r e ra s . I n t h e
PapyrusWestcar, which was written during the
later Hyksos Period,there is the story of "The
L a d y o f t h e L a k e . " lt is t h e t a le o f h o w t h e k i n g
Page 76
summonedthe magicianDjedemankhto suggest
an activity to relieve his boredom' Soon
afterward,Sneferu was being rowed around by
2 0 b e au tiuf l m aidens, clad only in fishn e t
g o w n s . A tur q u o ise charm .was subseque n t ly
l o s t i n th e wa ter , and the magiciancast a s p e ll
to retrieveit from the bottom of the lake.
In another literary work, "The Prophecy of
Neferti,"Sneferusummons a prophet to foretell
t h e f u t ur e . Th e king supposedlyhears a t a le
that predicts the coming of the First
lntermediatePeriod and
t he a c cessio n o f a
s t r o n g ki ng , Am enemh e t , w ho will r e-unite
t he T w o L a n d s i nto one
c o u n t r y. M o d e r n s cholar s t h i nk this tale , which
da t e s fr om th e Middle
a
wa s
Ki n g d om ,
"justificationtale" written by Amenemhet to
j u s t i f y h is usu r p a tionof
t he t h r on e .
and attached by a causeway to the Bent
Pyramid. Inscriptions found in this temple
describethe many temples Sneferu erected to
honor the gods throughout Egypt; There is
evidencethat the temple supporteda cult center
d e d ic a t e d t o S n e f e ru u p t h ro u g h t he M i d d l e
K in g d o ma n d o n in t o P t o le ma ict ime s ' F a k h r y
says, "We found [ancient incensealtars]there,
s t ill s t a n d in g u p rig h t a n d u n h a rme d . O n o n e
wa s a b o wl o f c h a rc o a l,wa it in g in v ai n f o r t h e
a t t e n d a n t p rie s t t o c o me a n d s p rin k l ei n c e n s e
u p o n t h e e mb e rs . "
The Red Pyramid is
larger than the Bent at
3 4 0 f e e t in h e i g h t a n d
c o n t a in s mo re m a t e r i a l
due to its shallower43d e g re e s lo pe , w h i c h
ru n s a ll t h e w a y u P t o
t h e t o p . A lth o u g h i t s
c a s in g s t o n e s a r e m i s s in g , s e v e ra l bl o c k s i n s c rib e d wit h S n e fe r u ' s
n a me we re f o un d a t t h e
The Bent Pyramid (Photoby the author)
Red Pyramid. This pyramid a ls o h a s h ig h c o rb e lle dc e ilin gc h am b e r s .
A l m o s t eve r y O l d K ingdom pharaoh built a
pyramid, and Sneferu was no exception. lt is
The Red and Bent Pyramidsare the third and
known from Old Kingdom inscriptions that
fourth largestpyramidsin Egypt, secondin size
Sneferu had at least two pyramids. Evidence
only to the two pyramids of Sneferu's
has been found that the Bent Pyramidat Dashur
successors,Khufu and Khafre,at Giza'
wa s c alle dth e "so uthern P yramidof S nef e ru . "
It is felt that Sneferu's"NorthernPyramid"must
On the PalermoStone it is recordedthat in year
have beenthe one that is locatedone mile north
1 3 o f S n e f e ru ' sre ig n ,a g ia n t s h ip o f s t a t e , 1 0 0
of t h e Be n t Pyr a mid,and which is now ca lle d
cubits in length, called The Adoration of the
t he " R ed" Pyr a m id.
Two Lands, was built. The construction of
a n o t h e r 6 0 s ma lle rs h ip s is a ls o me n t i o n e d ,a l l
The Bent Pyramid gets its name f rom the
5
4
built with 40 shiploadsof cedar wood imported
su d d e n ch a n g e i n slope f rom the steep
f ro m L e b a n o n .
degreesat the bottom, to a shallow 43 degree
is
a
P
yramid
B
ent
The
up.
a n g l eab o u t ha lf- w ay
REFERENCES
v e r y l a r g estr uctur e,335 feet in height,that s t ill
has most of its smooth casing stones in situCHRONICLE OF THE
Clayton, Peter A.
T h i s p yr am id is also unique in that it has t wo
PHARAOHS. Thames and Hudson: London,
en t r a nce s: the usual northern entrance, a n d
19 9 4 .
a n o t h erhig h up o n the western side. There a re
h i g h c or b e lle dceilingsin its two largechamb e rs ,
Fakhry,Ahmed. THE PYRAMIDS. Universityof
a n d t h e up p e rcha mberhas largebeamsof c e d a r
Ch ic a g oP re s s :Ch ic a g o ,1 9 6 1 .
w o o d still in pla ce .
S n e f e r u 'sm or tua ry temple was found in 19 5 1
b y A h me d Fakh r y. lt was buriedunderthe s a n d
Page 1 7
von Zabern, Philipp. THE EGYPTIANMUSEUM
Mu
: n ic h , 1 9 8 7.
CA I RO . P re s t e l-V e rla g
Spring | 996
FEATURED GOD/GODDESS
SET
bv Frank Pettee
About the Author: Frank Pitttee is one of the
most active members in the ESS. He has served
on the ESSboard and is currently an editor on the
Publications Committee.
Pettee also gives
lectures to local school children and volunteers
for many DMNH activities.
Was he given a raw deal, or did he deservethe
bad reputationgiven him in lateryears?
Set (or Seth) was an
early god, portrayed
with a nondescript
a n i ma l he a d , endowed with long ears
a n d a la r g e be a k-like
s n o u t , on a h u man
body.
His h ierogl y p h i c d e ter m in ative
is either the figure of
an animalfu o. a
Set was the third offspring of Nut and Geb
following Osiris and lsis, and was born on the
third of the five intercalarydays of the Egyptian
year. (Thecalendarof ancientEgyptconsistedof
12 months of 30 days each, with five intercalary
days left over). Ra, the sun god, had forbidden
Nut to marry Geb. When she disobeyed,Ra
ordained that she would be unable to bear
children in any month of the year. Thoth felt
sorry for her and, by playinga game of draughts
with Khonsu,the moon god, won from him one
seventy-secondpart of his light, amountingto
those five days. On each of these days Nut was
able to give birth to a child: Osiris,Horus, Set,
ls is ,a n d Nep h t h y s .
Set marriedhis sister.
Nephthys, and was
said to be the father
of Anubis.
Desert
a n ima ls , t h o s e t h a t
live in the water, and
a n y a n imal w i t h r e d
hair or red skin were
consideredchildrenof
Set.
stone symbolizing
the desert country on
ei t h e rs i deof the Nile.
He was considered
the god of the south,
in contrast to Horus,
the god of the north,
which was held to be
a f r i e n d ly division
during the
early
dynasties.
His evil reputation
probablybegan about
t h e t ime o f K i n g
Menes,(FirstDynasty,
2920
BCE). The
followersof Set were
at odds with those
followers of Horus
who lived in the
Set. (from Rohl)
south. This strife
resulted in the re-writing of the Osiris myth to
includethe feud betweenHorusand Set over the
Set's chief cult center was at Ombos, near
murder of Osiris. As the story goes, the
Nekhebet,and he was consideredLord of Upper
characterof Set was blackenedby the followers
Egypt by his followers. The original"role" of Set
of Osiris,who believedhe was born at the wrong
was not the evil personification
attributedto him
time and in the wrong place. They claimedSet
in later years. In the Pyramid Texts, he acted as
had torn himself from the womb of his mother
a friend of the dead and even assistedOsiristo
and burst through her side. This did not impede
reachheaven. He also held an importantpart in
her and the myth goes on to say that Nut had
the coronationceremonies. Both Set and Horus
numerouschildren,for she was a mother-goddess
are depictedin carvingsand paintingsas pulling
as well as the goddessof the sky.
on oppositeropes thus uniting Upper and Lower
Egvpt.
Spring 7996
Page 18
AlthoughSet was the murdererof Osiris,and the
Tribunalof God's judgment had been in favor of
Horus, Ra sympathizedwith the claims of Set.
Ra depended on Set who stood in the solar
barqueto defend it against the enemiesof Ra,
especially the serpent Apep (Apophis). As
consolationto Set for the loss of his throne, he
was exiledto the sky and becamethe GreatBear
constellation.
Set regained some of his status in the 1gth
Dynasty when some of the Ramessidekings
included"Belovedof Set" in their royal titles. ln
the 2O'nDynasty,the worship of Osiris became
predominant,and Set was forever demoted to
the personification
of Evil. The representations
of
him on monuments and paintings were erased
and replacedwith that of Thoth or Sobek.
Both good and evil are attributed to Set, and
more of his story can be researchedby those
who are interested.
REFERENCES:
lons, Veronica. EGYPTIANMYTHOLOGY. The
H a m l y nPub lish in Group:
g
Feltham,Middlese x .
Spence, Lewis. ANCIENT EGYPTIAN MYTHS
AND LEGENDS.Dover PublicationsInc.
Set and Horus pouringlibationover Seti L
{from Budge}
Page 19
HOUSEOF SCROLLS
The EgyptianCollectionof the
GarnegieMuseum of NaturalHistory
by
BruceRabe
T h e Ca rn e g ie Mu s e u m o f Na t u ra l H i s t o r y i n
Pittsburghhouses a small but select collection
of Egyptianarchaeological
materialin the Walton
Ha ll o f A n c ie n t E g y p t . Wit h n o " s u p e r s t a r "
pieces (except the famous CarnegieBoat), the
museumwisely choosesto concentrateon more
prosaicartifactsthat illustratevariousaspectsof
Egyptian culture.
This approach is very
successful;the artifacts are skillfullyintegrated
in t o d io ra ma s , mu ra ls , v id e o s , a c o m p u t e r
s t a t io n ,a n d o t h e r d is p la y s .
The centerpieceof the collectionis the Carnegie
B o a t . lt is a ma z in gt h a t a p ie c e s o i m p o r t a n t ,
discovered relatively late in the history of
E g y p t ia na rc h a e o lo g y ,s h o u ld la c k d o c u m e n t a t io n . I n e x p lic a b lyt,h e e x a c t p ro v e na n c eo f t h e
b o a t is u n c e rt a in . B a s e d o n t h e s i m i l a r i t yt o
o t h e r b o a t s a t t h e F ie ldMu s e u min C h i c a g oa n d
a t t h e Ca iro Mu s e u m, it is a lmo s t c e r t a i n l yo n e
of four boats excavated by de Morgan at the
p y ra mid o f S e n u s e rt lll a t Da s h u r d u r i n g t h e
1 8 9 4 -9 5 f ie ld s e a s o n . T h e b o a t wa s p u r c h a s e d
b y a n a g e n t o f A n d re w Ca rn e g iea s a s u r p r i s e
g if t f o r t h e mu s e u m;e v e n t h e mu s eu md i r e c t o r
d id n o t le a rno f t h e g if t u n t il t h e b o at a r r i v e di n
1 9 0 1 ! T h e 3 o -f o o t v e s s e l n o w o c c u p i e sa n
e n t ire wa ll in t h e c o lle c t io n , whe r e i t i s
in c o rp o ra t e din t o a n e x h ib it o n t h e n a u t i c a l
t ra d it io no f E g y p t .
A n o t h e r h ig h lig h t is t h e F u n e rar y R e l i g i o n
Exhibit. This showcasesartifacts collectedby
t h e mu s e u md u rin g e x c a v a t io n so f 1 7 t nD y n a s t y
t o mb s in A b y d o s . T h e it e ms a re d is p l a y e di n a
s imu la t e dt o mb , wh ic h in c lu d e swa l l p a i n t i n g s
copied from the originals by projecting slides
o n t o t h e e x h ib itwa lls . T h e re s u ltg iv e st h e f e e l
Spring1996
o f a n actua l tomb while still allowing t h e
i n s p ecti onof in d ividualitems.
The Life and Times of William John Bankes
Conference
Th e Car n e g ieM useum publishesa well-k n o wn
s e r i es o f po p ular pamphlets on v a rio u s
E g y ptolo g icato
l p ics, includingone on the ro y a l
b o a t ; th e se , and a well-illustrated e x h ib it
c a t a l og ,a r e ava ilablein the museum book s t o re .
Th e Natur a l History Museum buildingconn e c t s
t o t h e C ar n e g ieMuseum of A rt, which als o h a s
a f e w Eg yp ti ani tems on display. B oth mus e u ms
are at 44OO Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh.
M u s eu m h o u r s are 1O-5 Tuesday thro u g h
Sa t u r da yan d 1- 5 Sunday.
by
David Pepper
t7 a
:>
lill
-
/iE\
frJ
!;
A t t h e 1 9 9 5 Co llo q u iu mh e ld a t K ing s t o nL a c y ,
t h e f o rme r
Bankes estate near Wimborne
Min s t e rin Do rs e t ,1 2 s p e a k e rsp re s e n t e dp a p e r s
o u t lin in g t h e lif e a n d t ime s o f W i l l i a m J o h n
B a n k e sa n d h is c o n t e mp o ra rie s .E a r l ys k e t c h e s
we re s h o wn a n d q u o t a t io n sf ro m jou r n a l sw e r e
read.
Papyri that were collected were
translated,and discoverieswere put into their
historicalperspective.
B a n k e s t, h e lo rd o f t h e ma n o rh o u s eo f K i n g s t o n
L a c y in Do rs e t , E n g la n d , liv e d d u r i n g v e r y
in t e re s t in gt ime s . T h e F re n c h h a d j u s t c a p i t u la t e d E g y p t t o t h e B rit is h ,a n d t h e l a n d s o f t h e
Ne a r E a s t a n d t h e ir a n c ie n t c it ie s h a d j u s t
b e c o me a c c e s s ib let o f o re ig n e rs . A c o n t e m p o ra rya n d f rie n d o f L o rd B y ro n ,He n r yS a l t , J . L .
B u rc k h a rd t ,a n d G io v a n n iB e lz o n i,B a n k e sw a s
a n E n g lis hc o u n t ry g e n t le ma nwh o s e t o f f t o
e x p lo ret h e wo rld in t h e e a rly 1 9 ' hc e n t u r y . H i s
p riv ile g e du p b rin g in gh a d t ra in e dh im w e l l f o r t h e
s k ills h e wo u ld n e e d a s a n e x p lo rer . H e w a s
in t e llig e n t ,v e ry we ll re a d in a n c ien t L a t i n a n d
G re e kt e x t s , a n d h e h a d b e e nt ra in e da s a n a r t i s t
a n d c o p y is ta s p a rt o f h is s c h o o lin g .
B a n k e sa ls o h a d a n e y e f o r c o lle ct i n g . A f t e r
s e rv in g a s a me mb e r o f t h e B rit is h P a r l i a m e n t
f ro m 1 8 1 0 t o 1 8 1 2 , h e b e g a n h is t r a v e l sw h i c h
wo u ld la s t e ig h t y e a rs . Du rin g h is t r a v e l s h e
regularlysent objects d' arts home for display in
h is p riv a t ec o lle c t io n . B a n k e sa c q u ir e dp a i n t i n g s
and portraiturefrom famous schools of art in
S p a in . He t ra v e le d wid e ly in S y ria a n d m a d e
t wo e x p e d it io n su p t h e Nile b e y o n dAb u S i m b e l .
P a p y r u sb u r n i s h eirn i vo r y fr o m th e to m b o f T u ta n kh a m u n ,
1 8 ' hDyn a sty,Ca ir oM u se u m .
Sprh'g 1996
B a n k e sv is it e dE g y p t in 1 8 1 4 -1 5 a n d t h e n a g a i n
in 1 8 1 8 -1 9 , c o p y in g t h e s c e n e s he s a w o n
mo n u me n t s . O f t e n wo rk in g f o r d ay s , o r e v e n
mo n t h s , o n e n d , h e wo u ld c limb l a d d e r sa n d
s k e t c h b y c a n d le lig h t , s o me t ime s f o r m a n y
h o u rs wit h o u t a b re a k . S o me o f h i s d r a w i n g s
a re t h e o n ly re ma in in ge v id e n c ewe h a v e t o d a y
o f wa ll p a in t in g swh ic h h a v e s u f f e redi r r e p a r a b l e
lo s s . B a n k e sa ls o c o lle c t e ds t e la ea nd p a p y r i ,a s
d id ma n y o f t h e o t h e r e a rly e x p lo r e r s ;a t t h i s
Page 2O
time the hieroglyphicscript had not been fully
de c i p he r e dan
, d i t was hoped that bringingt h e
actual artifacts back to scholars would enable
s be decoded.
t h e h i e r o g lyp h to
His house at Kingston Lacy still contains his
collectionof antiquities. With objects such as a
l a r g eo be liskr em o vedfrom P hilaewith the h e lp
o f B e lzo n i, a g iant stone sarcophagus ,a n d
s m a l l e ro b je cts l i ke perfume jars and usha b t is ,
th e c olle cti on is an important glimpse in t o
E g y p t 'spa st. The collectionis now displaye din
th e f o rm e r billia r droom of the house, and 2 5
st e l a e fr om th e workmen's village at De ir e l
Me d i nalo o k d o wn onto the pool table!
Bankes should best be remembered,however,
a s a n e xa cti ng draftsman who painsta k in g ly
to o k m e a su r e m ents and made metic u lo u s
d r a w i ng sof the tombs and temples he visit e d .
He was one of the few early visitors who tried
to f a i thfullyr ep r o ducethe monumentshe s a w,
in s t e ado f do in g a series of rough sketch e sin
th e f i e ld , a n d th e n later using artistic licen s et o
d r a m ati zethe scene when back in E ng la n d .
The contributionsof these early explorersshould
not be underestimated. These pioneersproduced volumes of notes and referencebooks
that excitedthe next generationof scholarsand
explorersand helped to found the new science
of Egyptology.
Co llo q u iu m i n c l u d e d
the
S p e a k e rs a t
E g y p t o lo g is t sT . G . H. J a me s , S t e p he n O u i r k e ,
a n d L is e Ma n n ic h e . O t h e r s p e a k e rsin c l u d e da r t
h is t o ria n s , b io g ra p h e rs ,a n d a rc h iv i s t s . T h e
conferencewas excellent,the subject material
f a s c in a t in g a
, n d t h e lo c a t io nwa s in o n e o f t h e
mo s t e le g a n t h o u s e s in B rit a in ; h e n c e , i t w a s
t ru ly a me mo ra b lee v e n t .
NNNNN
T HE D E N V E RM US E U MOF
NATURALHISTORY
2 O O 1C o l o r a d oB l vd .
D enve r ,C O 8 0 2 05
EGYPTIAN
ST UDY
S OCIETY
@Dmrn 9
Page21
Spring 1996