THE HIEROGLYPHICS OF RAMESES II.
_First side.--Right hand._
"Horus, powerful bull, son of Tum, king of Upper and Lower Egypt,
Ra-user-ma-sotep-en-Ra, lord of kingly and queenly royalty, guardian of
Kham (Egypt), chastiser of foreign lands, son of the sun, Ra-meri-Amen,
dragging the foreigners of southern nations to the Great Sea, the
foreigners of northern nations to the four poles of heaven, lord of the
two countries, Ra-user-ma-sotep-en-Ra, son of the sun, Ra-mes-su-men-Amen,
giver of life like the sun."
Most of the above hieroglyphs have already been explained, but the
following remarks will enable the reader to understand better this column
of hieroglyphs.
Cartouche containing the divine name of Rameses:--
[Illustration: "King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Ra-user-ma-sotep-en-Ra."]
OVAL (=aten=) _Ra_. The oval is the solar disk, the usual symbol of
the supreme solar deity called Ra.
ANUBIS STAFF (=user=) _abounding in_. This symbol was equal to Latin
_dives_, rich, abounding in. The _user_, or Anubis staff, was a rod
with a jackal-head on the top. The jackal was the emblem of Anubis,
son of Osiris, and brother of Thoth. The god Anubis was the friend and
guardian of pure souls. He is therefore frequently depicted by the bed
of the dying. After death Anubis was director of funeral rites, and
presided over the embalmers of the dead. He was also the conductor of
souls to the regions of Amenti, and in the hall of judgment presides
over the scales of justice.
FEMALE FIGURE (=ma=) _Ma_ or _Thmei_, the goddess of truth. She is
generally represented in a sitting posture, holding in her hand the
_ankh_, the key of life, an emblem of immortality.
DISK (=aten=) _Ra_, the supreme solar deity.
DRILL OR AUGER (=sotep=) _approved_. _Sotep_ means to judge, to
approve of. Here it simply means _approved_.
ZIGZAG (=en=) _of_.
The prenomen, or divine name of Rameses, means "The supreme solar god,
abounding in truth, approved of Ra." Thus in his divine nature Rameses
claims to be a descendant of Ra, and of the same nature with the god. This
prenomen is repeated twice in each column of hieroglyphs, and as there are
eight lateral columns cut by Rameses, it follows that this divine name
occurs sixteen times on the obelisk.
[Illustration: "Lord of kingly and queenly royalty, guardian of Egypt,
chastiser of foreign lands."]
THE VULTURE (=mut=) was worn on the diadem of a queen, and was a badge
of queenly royalty.
THE SACRED ASP, called _uræus_, was worn on the forehead of a king. It
was a symbol of kingly royalty and immortality, and being worn by the
king [Greek: (Basileus)], the sacred asp was also called _basilisk_.
Rameses, in choosing the epithet "Lord of kingly and queenly royalty,"
wished perhaps to set forth that he embodied in himself the graces of
a queen with the wisdom of a king.
CROCODILE'S TAIL (=Kham=) _Egypt_. _Kham_ literally means black, and
Egypt in early times was called "the black country," from the black
alluvial soil brought down by the Nile. The symbol thought to be a
crocodile's tail represents Egypt, because the crocodile abounded in
Egypt, and was a characteristic of that country. Even at the present
time Egypt is sometimes spoken of as "the land of the crocodile."
TWO STRAIGHT LINES (=tata=) is the usual symbol for the two countries
of Egypt. They appear above the second prenomen of this column of
hieroglyphs. Each line represents a layer of earth, and is named _ta_.
Egypt was a flat country, and on this account the emblem of Egypt was
a straight line.
A figure with an undulating surface, called _set_, is the usual emblem
of a foreign country. The undulating surface probably indicates the
hills and valleys of those foreign lands around Egypt, such as Nubia,
Arabia Petra, Canaan, Phoenicia, etc. These countries, in comparison
with the flat land of Egypt, were countries of hills and valleys. This
hieroglyph for foreign lands occurs in this column immediately above
the first nomen.
Cartouche with nomen: "Ra-mes-es Meri Amen."
[Illustration]
FIGURE WITH HAWK'S HEAD is Ra. On his head he wears the _aten_, or
solar disk, and in his hand holds the _ankh_, or key of life.
TRIPLE TWIG (=mes=) is here the syllabic _mes_. This is the usual
symbol for _birth_ or _born_; thus the monarch in his name _Rameses_
claims to be _born of Ra_.
CHAIR BACK (=s=). The final complement in _mes_.
REED (=es=) _es_. The final syllable in name Rameses. Some are
disposed to render the reed as _su_, and thus make the name Ramessu.
With his name the king associates the remaining hieroglyphs of the
cartouche.
The figure with sceptre is the god Amen. On his head he wears a tall hat
made up of two long plumes or ostrich feathers. On his chin he wears the
long curved beard which indicates his divine nature. A singular custom
among the Egyptians was tying a false beard, made of plaited hair, to the
end of the chin. It assumed various shapes, to indicate the dignity and
position of the wearer. Private individuals wear a small beard about two
inches long. That worn by a king was of considerable length, and square at
the end; while figures of gods are distinguished by having long beards
turned up at the end. The divine beard, the royal beard, and the ordinary
beard, are thus easily distinguished.
Amen was the supreme god worshipped at Thebes. He corresponds to Zeus
among the Greeks, and Jupiter among the Latins. Rameses associates with
his own name that of Amen. The hieroglyphs inside the cartouche are
"Ra-mes-es-meri-Amen," which literally translated mean, "Born of Ra,
beloved of Amen." The king consequently claims descent from the supreme
solar deity of Heliopolis, and the favour of the supreme god of Thebes.
_First side.--Left hand._
"Horus, powerful bull, beloved of Ra, lord of Upper and Lower Egypt,
lord of festivals, like his father Ptah-Totanen, son of the sun,
Rameses-meri-Amen, powerful bull, like the son of Nut; none can stand
before him, lord of the two countries, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, son of
the sun, Rameses-meri-Amen."
On the third face, Rameses calls himself the son of Tum, but here he
claims Ptah Totanen as his father.
Ptah, also called Ptah Totanen, was the chief god worshipped at Memphis,
and is spoken of as the creator of visible things. Tum is also represented
as possessing the creative attribute, and it is not improbable that Ptah
and Tum sometimes stand for each other. The obelisk stood before the
temple of Tum at Heliopolis, and was probably connected with that deity.
That Ptah stands for Tum seems to receive confirmation from the fact that
after Ptah's name comes the figure of a god used as a determinative. This
figure has on its head a solar disk, and therefore appears to be intended
for a solar deity.
Nut was a sky-goddess, and represents the blue midday sky. She was said to
be the mother of Osiris, who is the friend of mankind, and one of the gods
much beloved.
_Second side.--Right hand._
"Horus, powerful bull, son of Kheper, king of Upper and Lower Egypt,
Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, golden hawk, abounding in years, greatly
powerful, son of the sun, Rameses-meri-Amen; the eyes of created
beings witness what he has done, nothing has been said against the
lord of the two countries, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, son of the sun.
Rameses-meri-Amen, the lustre of the son, like the sun."
The _kheper_, or sacred beetle, was sacred to both Ptah and to Tum, and it
ought to be observed that Rameses claims each of these gods as his father.
The _hawk_ was an emblem of a solar deity, and it was described as golden,
in reference to the golden rays of the sun.
The bird at the bottom of this lateral column of hieroglyphs rendered the
lustre, is the _bennu_, or sacred bird of Heliopolis, regarded as an
incarnation of a solar deity, and therefore the symbol for lustre or
splendour. It is often depicted with two long feathers, or one feather, on
the back of its head.
_Second side.--Left hand._
"Horus, powerful bull, beloved of truth, king of Upper and Lower
Egypt, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, born of the gods, holding the country
as son of the sun, Rameses-meri-Amen, making his frontiers at the
place he wishes--at peace by means of his power, lord of the two
countries, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, son of the sun, Rameses-meri-Amen,
with splendour like Ra."
In the above _frontier_ is represented by a _cross_, to indicate where one
country passes into another. The flat land of Egypt is represented by a
straight line (_ta_), probably designed to be a layer of earth, while a
chip of rock stands for any rocky country, such as Nubia, or for a rocky
locality, as Syene, on the frontiers of Nubia, the region of the great
granite quarries. In the column it will be noticed that Rameses vauntingly
asserts that his conquests were co-extensive with his desires.
_Third side.--Right hand._
"Horus, powerful bull, beloved by Ra, king of Upper and Lower Egypt,
Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, lord of festivals, like his father Ptah, son
of the sun. Rameses-meri-Amen, son of Tum, out of his loins, loved of
him. Hathor, the guide of the two countries, has given birth to him,
Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, son of the sun, Rameses-meri-Amen, giver of
life, like the sun."
In the above, the hieroglyph rendered Hathor is an oblong figure with a
small square inscribed in one corner, thus resembling a stamped envelope.
This oblong figure called _ha_, probably represented the ground plan of a
temple or house, and is rendered abode, house, temple, or palace,
according to the context. Inside the ground-plan in this case is a figure
of a hawk, the emblem of a solar deity. Here it stands for Horus, and the
entire hieroglyph (_ha_, _hor_) rendered Hathor, means "the abode of
Horus." The "abode of Horus" refers to his mother, a goddess who is
therefore named Hathor, or Athor. The cow is often used as an emblem of
this goddess. Isis also is the reputed mother of Horus, and consequently
some think that Hathor and Isis are two names for one and the same
goddess.
_Third side.--Left hand._
"Horus, the powerful bull, son of Tum, king of Upper and Lower Egypt,
Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, lord of kingly and queenly royalty, guardian
of Egypt, chastiser of foreign lands, son of the sun.
Rameses-meri-Amen, coming daily into the temple of Tum; he has seen
nothing in the house of his father, lord of the two countries,
Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, son of the sun, Rameses-meri-Amen, like the
sun."
In the above the word rendered guardian is _mak_, a word made up of three
phonetic hieroglyphs, namely, a hole, arm, and semicircle.
Egypt, called _Kham_, that is the black country, is here represented by a
crocodile's tail, since crocodiles were common in the country, and
characteristic of Egypt.
The word rendered chastiser is in the original _auf_, a name made up of
three phonetic hieroglyphs, namely, an arm, chick, horned snake. The
arrangement of these hieroglyphs with a view to neatness and economising
space displays both taste and ingenuity.
While it is asserted that Rameses went into the temple of Tum every day,
it is also said that he saw nothing in the temple. This seems like a
contradiction; but, according to classic writers, Rameses II., called by
the Greeks Sesostris, became blind in his old age, and the preceding
passage may have reference to the monarch's blindness.
_Fourth side.--Right hand._
"Horus, powerful bull, beloved of Ra, king of Upper and Lower Egypt,
Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, the son of Ra, born of the gods, holding his
dominions with power, victory, glory; the bull of princes, king of
kings, lord of the two countries, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, son of the
sun, Rameses-men-Amen, of Tum, beloved of Heliopolis, giver of life."
In the above, a lion's head, called _peh_, stands for glory, and a crook
like that of a shepherd, called _hek_, stands for ruler or prince.
The phrase, "king of kings," occurs in the above, and is the earliest
instance of this grand expression--familiar to Christian ears from the
fact that in the Bible it is applied to the High and lofty One that
inhabiteth eternity. "Alleluia: for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth ...
and on His vesture a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."
_Fourth side.--Left hand._
"Horus, powerful bull, son of Truth, king of Upper and Lower Egypt,
Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, golden hawk, supplier of years, most powerful
son of the sun, Rameses-meri-Amen, leading captive the Rutennu and
Peti out of their countries to the house of his father; lord of the
two countries, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, son of the sun,
Rameses-meri-Amen, beloved of Shu, great god like the sun."
The first half of the above is almost identical with the upper part of the
lateral column on the second side, right hand. The _Rutennu_ probably mean
the Syrians, and the _Peti_ either the Libyans or Nubians.
Shu was a solar deity, the son of Tum.
[Illustration]