It was in the three hundred and sixty-third year of the reign of the
God Ra-Horakhti upon earth that the great war happened between Horus
and Set.
The Majesty of the God Ra, whom men call Ra-Horakhti also, was in
Nubia with his army, a great and innumerable multitude of soldiers,
footmen and horsemen, archers and chariots. He came in his Boat upon
the river; the prow of the Boat was of palm-wood, its stern was of
acacia-wood, and he landed at Thest-Hor, to the east of the Inner
Waters. And to him came Horus of Edfu, he whose name is Harpooner
and Hero, seeking for that Wicked One, Set, the murderer of Osiris.
Long had he sought, but Set had ever eluded him.
The Majesty of Ra had gathered his forces, for Set had rebelled
against him, and Horus was glad at the thought of battle, for he
loved an hour of fighting more than a day of rejoicing. He entered
into the presence of Thoth, the twice great, god of magic, and Thoth
gave him the power to change himself into a great winged disk, a disk
that glowed like a ball of fire, with great wings on either side like
the colours of the sky at sunset when the blue shades from dark to
light, and is shot with gold and flame. Men try to copy these hues
when they carve the winged disk above the temple-doors, or make it
into a breast-ornament of gold inlaid with turquoise and carnelian
and lazuli.
Thus Horus, as a great winged disk, sat on the prow of the Boat of
Ra, and his splendour flashed across the waters and fell upon his
foes as they lay in ambush. Upon his glorious wings he rose into the
air, and against his crafty enemies he made a curse, a curse terrible
and fear-striking, saying, "Your eyes shall be blinded, and ye shall
not see; and your ears shall be deaf, and ye shall not hear."
And at once, when each man looked at his neighbour, he saw a
stranger; and when he heard his own familiar mother-tongue it sounded
like a foreign language, and they cried out that they were betrayed,
and that the enemy had come among them. They turned their weapons
each against the other, and in the quickness of a moment many had
ceased to live, and the rest had fled, while over them flew the
gleaming Disk watching for Set. But Set was in the marshes of the
North Country and these were but his advance-guard.
Then Horus flew back to Ra, and Ra embraced him and gave him a
draught of wine mixed with water. And to this day men pour a
libation of wine and water to Horus at this place in remembrance.
When Horus had drunk the wine, he spoke to the Majesty of Ra and
said, "Come and see thine enemies, how they lie overthrown in their
blood." Ra came, and with him came Astarte, Mistress of Horses,
driving her furious steeds; and they saw the corpse-strewn field
where the army of Set had slain one another.
Now this is the first encounter in the South, but the last great
battle was not yet.
Then the associates of Set came together and took counsel, and took
upon themselves the likeness of crocodiles and hippopotamuses, for
these great beasts can live under water and no human weapon can
pierce their hides. They came up the river, the water swirling
behind them, and rushed upon the Boat of Ra to overturn it. But
Horus had gathered together his band of armourers and weapon-smiths,
and they had prepared arrows and spears of metal, smelted and welded,
hammered and shaped, with magical words and spells chanted over them.
When the fierce beasts came up the river in waves of foam, the
Followers of Horus drew their bowstrings and let fly their arrows,
they cast their javelins, and charged with their spears. And the
metal pierced the hides and reached the hearts, and of these wicked
animals six hundred and fifty were slain, and the rest fled.
Now this is the second encounter in the South, but the last great
battle was not yet.
The associates of Set fled, some up the river and some down the
river; their hearts were weak and their feet failed for fear of
Horus, the Harpooner, the Hero. And those whose faces were towards
the South Land fled fastest, for Horus was at their back in the Boat
of Ra; and with him came his Followers, their weapons in their hands.
At the south-east of Denderah, the city of Hathor, Horus saw the
enemy, and he rushed upon them with his Followers, while Ra and Thoth
watched the conflict as they waited in the Boat.
Then said the Majesty of Ra to Thoth, "See, how he wounds his
enemies! See, how Horus of Edfu carries destruction among them!"
And afterwards men built a shrine in this place in remembrance of the
fight, and the Gods in the shrine were Ra and Miri and Horus of Edfu.
Now this is the third encounter in the South, but the last great
battle was not yet.
Then quickly they turned the Boat, and swiftly was it carried
downstream, following the fugitives, whose faces were towards the
North Land. For a night and a day they followed after, and at the
north-east of Denderah Horus saw them. And he made haste, he and his
Followers, and fell upon them, and slew them. Great and terrible was
the slaughter as he drove them before him.
Thus was destroyed Set's army in the South in four great encounters,
but the last great battle was not yet.
Now the allies of Set turned their faces towards the lake and towards
the marshes of the sea. Horus came behind them in the Boat of Ra,
and his form was the form of a great winged disk; and with him came
his Followers, their weapons in their hands. Then Horus commanded
silence, and silence was upon their mouths.
Four days and four nights were they upon the water seeking the enemy.
But none did they find, for their foes had turned their shapes into
the shapes of crocodiles and hippopotamuses, and lay hidden in the
water. On the morning of the fifth day Horus saw them; at once he
gave battle, and the air was filled with the noise of the combat,
while Ra and Thoth watched the conflict as they waited in the Boat.
Then the Majesty of Ra cried aloud when he saw Horus like a devouring
flame upon the battlefield, "See, how he casts his weapon against
them, he kills them, he destroys them with his sword, he cuts them in
pieces, he utterly defeats them! See and behold Horus of Edfu!" At
the end of the fight Horus came back in triumph and he brought one
hundred and forty-two prisoners to the Boat of Ra.
Now this is the first encounter in the North, but the last great
battle was not yet.
For the enemies, who were upon the Northern Waters, turned their
faces towards the canal to reach the sea, and they came to the
Western Waters of Mert, where the Ally of Set had his dwelling.
Behind them followed Horus, equipped with all his glittering weapons,
and he went in the Boat of Ra, and Ra was in the Boat with eight of
his train. They were upon the Northern Canal, and backwards and
forwards they went, turning and re-turning, but nothing did they see
or hear. Then they went northward for a night and a day and they
came to the House of Rerhu.
There Ra spoke to Horus and said, "Behold, thy enemies are gathered
together at the Western Waters of Mert, where dwell the Allies of
Set." And Horus of Edfu prayed the Majesty of Ra to come in his Boat
against the Allies of Set.
Again they travelled to the northwards, where the never-setting Stars
wheel round a certain point in the sky, and on the banks of the
Western Waters of Mert were the Allies of Set, ready for battle.
Then Horus of Edfu delayed not a moment, but rushed upon the foe, and
with him came his Followers, their weapons in their hands. Death and
destruction they dealt to right and to left till the enemy fled
before them. When the conflict was over, they counted the prisoners;
three hundred and eighty-one were taken, and these Horus slew before
the Boat of Ra, and their weapons he gave to his Followers.
Now this is the second encounter in the North, but the last great
battle was not yet.
And now, at last, Set himself came forth from his hiding-place.
Fierce and savage he is, cunning and cruel; in his nature like a
beast of prey, without ruth or pity; and men make his image with the
head of a wild beast, for human feeling is to him unknown. From his
hiding-place he came forth and he roared terribly. The earth and the
heavens trembled at the sound of his roaring and at the words which
he uttered, for he boasted that he would himself fight against Horus
and destroy him as he had destroyed Osiris.
The wind bore the words of his boasting to Ra, and Ra said to Thoth
the twice great, Lord of Magic and Wisdom, "Cause that these high
words of the Terrible One be cast down."
Then Horus of Edfu sprang forward and rushed at his enemy, and a
great fight raged. Horus cast his weapon and killed many, and his
Followers fought also and prevailed. Out of the dust and the noise
of the combat came Horus, dragging a prisoner; and the captive's arms
were bound behind him, and the staff of Horus was tied across his
mouth so that he could make no sound, and the weapon of Horus was at
his throat.
Horus dragged him before the Majesty of Ra. And Ra spoke and said to
Horus, "Do with him as thou wilt." Then Horus fell upon his enemy,
and struck the weapon into his head and into his back, and cut off
his head, and dragged the body about by the feet, and at last he cut
the body into pieces. Thus did he treat the body of his adversary as
Set had treated the body of Osiris. This took place on the seventh
day of the first month of the season when the earth appears after the
inundation. And the lake is called the Lake of Fighting to this day.
Now this is the third encounter in the North, but the last great
battle was not yet.
For it was the Ally of Set whom Horus had slain, and Set himself was
still alive, and he raged against Horus as a panther of the South.
And he stood up and roared in the face of heaven, and his voice was
the voice of thunder, and as he roared he changed himself into a
great snake, and entered into the earth. None saw him go and none
saw him change, but he was fighting against the Gods, and by their
power and knowledge are they aware of what comes to pass, though no
man tells them. And Ra said to Horus, "Set has transformed himself
into a hissing snake and has entered the earth. We must cause that
he never comes forth; never, never no more!"
The associates of Set took courage, knowing that their leader was
alive, and they assembled again, and their boats filled the canal.
The Boat of Ra went against them, and above the Boat shone the glory
of the great winged Disk. When Horus saw the enemy gathered together
in one place, he drove at them and routed them and slew them without
number.
Now this is the fourth encounter in the North, but the last great
battle was not yet.
Then Horus of Edfu remained in the Boat of Ra upon the canal for six
days and six nights, watching for the enemy, but he saw none, for
they lay as corpses in the water.
And to this day men make ceremonies in remembrance of the Battles of
Horus on the first day of the first month of the inundation, on the
seventh day of the first month of the appearing of the earth after
the inundation, and on the twenty-first and twenty-fourth days of the
second month of the earth's appearing. These days are kept holy at
Ast-abt, which is at the south side of Anrudef, where is one of the
graves of Osiris. And Isis made magical spells round Anrudef that no
enemy might come near it; and the priestess of Anrudef is called "The
Lady of Spells" to this day in remembrance; and the waters are called
"The Waters of Seeking," for there it was that Horus sought for his
foe.
And Horus sent out his Followers, and they hunted down the enemy, and
brought in prisoners; one hundred and six from the East and one
hundred and six from the West. These they slew before Ra in the
sanctuaries.
Then Ra gave to Horus and his fighters two cities which are called
the Mesen-cities to this day, for the Followers of Horus are Mesenti,
the Metal-workers. In the shrines of the Mesen-cities Horus is the
God, and his secret ceremonies are held on four days in the year.
Great and holy are these days in the Mesen-cities, for they are in
remembrance of the Battles of Horus which he fought against Set, the
murderer of Osiris.
Now these enemies, they gathered again in the East, and they
travelled towards Tharu. Then was launched the Boat of Ra to follow
after them, and Horus of Edfu transformed himself into the likeness
of a lion with the face of a man; his arms were like flint, and on
his head was the Atef-crown, which is the white diadem of the South
Land with feathers and horns, and on either side a crowned serpent.
And he hastened after his enemies, and defeated them, and brought of
prisoners one hundred and forty-two.
Then said Ra to Horus of Edfu, "Let us journey northwards to the
Great Green Waters, and smite the foe there as we have smitten him in
Egypt."
Northwards they went, and the enemy fled before them, and they
reached the Great Green Waters, where the waves broke on the shore
with the noise of thunder. Then Thoth arose and he stood in the
midst of the Boat, and he chanted strange words over the boats and
barges of Horus and his Followers, and the sea fell calm as the sound
of the words floated across its waves. And there was silence on the
Great Green Waters, for the wind was lulled, and naught was in sight
save the boats of Ra and of Horus.
Then said the Majesty of Ra, "Let us sail round the whole extent of
the land, let us sail to the South Land." And they knew that Ra was
aware of the enemy. They made haste and sailed to the South Land by
night, to the country of Ta-kens, and they came to the town of Shaïs,
but until they reached Shaïs they saw naught of any enemy. Now Shaïs
is on the border of Nubia, and in Nubia were the guards of the enemy.
Then Horus of Edfu changed himself into a great winged Disk with
gleaming pinions outspread, and on either side of him came the
goddesses Nekhbet and Uazet, and their form was the form of great
hooded snakes with crowns upon their heads; on the head of Nekhbet
was the white crown of the South Land, on the head of Uazet was the
red crown of the North Land.
And the Gods in the Boat of Ra cried aloud and said, "See, O Thou who
art twice great, he has placed himself between the two goddesses.
Behold how he overthrows his adversaries and destroys them."
Now this is the encounter in Nubia, but the last great battle was not
yet.
Then came Ra in his Boat and he moored at Thest-Hor, and he gave
commandment that in every temple throughout the Two Lands men should
carve the Winged Disk, and on the right and left of the Disk should
be Nekhbet and Uazet as great hooded snakes with crowns upon their
heads. And the temple at the point of Thest-Hor is called "The House
of Horus in the South" to this day in remembrance, and a great
offering is made there to Ra and Horus. And Ra gave to Horus the
province of the House of Fighting, and Ast-Abt, and the Mesen-cities
of the East and the West, and Edfu of the North, and Tharu, and
Gauti, and the Sea of Sailing, and Upper Shasu, and
Edfu-of-the-House-of-Ra. And from the lake south of
Edfu-of-the-House-of-Ra they bring water to the two Houses of the
King on the day of the Sed-festival. And Isis carried Ar-stone of
sand to Thest-Hor--Ar-stone of the Star was it; and in every place in
the South Land to which Horus went, there is Ar-stone found to this
day.
Now some say that the last great battle is still to come, and that in
the end Horus will kill Set, and that Osiris and all the Gods will
reign on earth when their enemy is utterly destroyed. But others say
that the battle is already ended and that Horus slew the great and
wicked Foe who had wrought misery and calamity to all.
And this is what they say: After months and years Horus the Child
grew to manhood. Then came Set with his allies, and he challenged
Horus in the presence of Ra. And Horus came forth, his Followers
with him in their boats, with their armour, and their glittering
weapons with handles of worked wood, and their cords, and their
spears.
And Isis made golden ornaments for the prow of the boat of Horus, and
she laid them in their places with magic words and spells, saying,
"Gold is at the prow of thy boat, O Lord of Mesen, Horus, Chieftain
of the boat, the great boat of Horus, the boat of rejoicing. May the
valour of Ra, the strength of Shu, power and fear be around thee.
Thou art victorious, O son of Osiris, son of Isis, for thou fightest
for the throne of thy father."
Then Set took upon himself the form of a red hippopotamus, great and
mighty, and he came from the South Land with his Allies, travelling
to the North Land to meet Horus of Edfu. And at Elephantine, Set
stood up and spoke a great curse against Horus of Edfu and against
Isis, and said, "Let there come a great wind, even a furious
north-wind and a raging tempest"; and the sound of his voice was like
thunder in the East of the sky. His words were cried from the
southern heaven and rolled back to the northern heaven, a word and a
cry from Set, the enemy of Osiris and the Gods.
At once a storm broke over the boats of Horus and his Followers, the
wind roared, and the water was lashed into great waves, and the boats
were tossed like straws. But Horus held on his way; and through the
darkness of the storm and the foam of the waves gleamed the golden
prow like the rays of the sun.
And Horus took upon himself the form of a young man; his height was
eight cubits; in his hand he held a harpoon, the blade was four
cubits, the shaft twenty cubits, and a chain of sixty cubits was
welded to it. Over his head he brandished the weapon as though it
were a reed, and he launched it at the great red hippopotamus which
stood in the deep waters, ready to destroy Horus and his Followers
when the storm should wreck their boats.
And at the first cast the weapon struck deep into the head of the
great red hippopotamus and entered the brain. Thus died Set, that
great and wicked One, the enemy of Osiris and the Gods.
And to this day the priests of Horus of Edfu, and the King's
daughters, and the women of Busiris and the women of Pé chant a hymn
and strike the drum for Horus in triumph.
And this is their song: "Rejoice, O women of Busiris! Rejoice, O
women of Pé! Horus has overthrown his enemies!
"Exult, dwellers in Edfu! Horus, the great God, Lord of heaven, has
smitten the enemy of his father!
"Eat ye the flesh of the vanquished, drink ye his blood, burn ye his
bones in the flame of the fire. Let him be cut in pieces, and let
his bones be given to the cats, the fragments of him to the reptiles.
"O Horus, the Striker, the great One of Valour, the Slayer, the Chief
of the Gods, the Harpooner, the Hero, the only begotten, Captor of
captives, Horus of Edfu, Horus the Avenger!
"He has destroyed the wicked One, he has made a whirlpool with the
blood of his enemy, his shaft has made a prey. Behold ye, see ye
Horus at the prow of his boat. Like Ra, he shines on the horizon.
He is decked in green linen, in binding linen, in fine linen and
byssus. The double diadem is upon thy head, the two serpents upon
thy brow, O Horus the Avenger!
"Thy harpoon is of metal, the shaft is of the sycomore of the desert,
the net is woven by Hathor of the Roses. Thou hast aimed to the
right, thou hast cast to the left. We give praise to thee to the
height of heaven, for thou hast chained the wickedness of thine
enemy. We give praise to thee, we worship thy majesty, O Horus of
Edfu, Horus the Avenger!"