and in the second a play upon the name ua=One, the favorite appellation given to Amen-Ra.
The following star names contained in the Brugsch texts, and which have avowedly not been satisfactorily identified, up to the present, will speak for themselves and will be found to be comprehensible and appropriate only when identified with Polaris: Seb-uati=the lone, single, only, or sole star (_cf._ t.i.tle "One" given to Amen-Ra); Seb-seta=the hidden star, in Greek texts, sebkhes, sebkhe, the sebses, anagrams of khebs, or khepdes (_cf._ "hidden" G.o.d). This star is found pictured in the astronomical texts by a turtle, the name for which is seta, sita, sit or set; in Greek texts cit.
To me it seems clear that the turtle const.i.tuted a rebus sign for the "hidden star" and concealed G.o.d, and I find that another Egyptian word could have served equally well for the same purpose, viz., seta=the vulture. What is more, the following names, mentioned in the astronomical texts, yield the sound of the first vowel of the words seb=star and seta=hidden, and attention is drawn to the fact that, as the goose and egg, for instance, were known under several names, the secrecy of the true meaning of these sacred symbols was insured: goose=se, ser, sar, seb, smen, apt, aq; egg=se, sa, ser, sar, ar, suht; nest=ses; pool of water=se; heron=sent.
A curious double similarity of sound exists between the name for turtle and one of the names for goose, inasmuch as the turtle=seta is also called aps, and the goose=se is named apt (fig. 63, 17-18). Another name for goose being aq or ak, we find that its value as a rebus must have been supreme, since it so perfectly expressed the word ak=middle. A proof that its merits were duly appreciated by the ancient scribes, is its constant and widespread employment in decorative art as a so-called "solar symbol,"
in a.s.sociation with the circle or disk and the swastika. Through its name se, the goose-symbol likewise expressed the same meaning as the egg and the first syllable of seta=hidden; perhaps also ne-se-r=flame, the synonym of khebs=luminary or star (Brugsch). Through its name ak, the goose symbol became the synonym of all ak or ka words. Finally, through its name apt, it became related to the whole series of anagrams of ptah and the synonym of the pair of horns which express ap in hieratic script.
The a.s.sociation of the syllable ap with the bull=uau and ka, is proven by the name Apis given to the living, sacred bull, under which form the supreme divinity was worshipped from earliest times, at or before the building of the pyramids at Memphis. The explanation that, just as sacred bull was merely a living rebus expressing by the sound of its names, the words "the one, the double, the middle of the central two-fold one," or "divine twain," fully explains why, in time, the bull itself came to be chosen, revered and worshipped as the living image of the "hidden G.o.d."
The marks of the sacred calf Apis, described by Herodotus, appear to become intelligible, when translated as follows and then a.n.a.lyzed: "It is black (khem or kam) and has a square (ptah) spot of white (hetet) on the forehead (tehen). On the back (of the head) (makha or at) the figure of an eagle=vulture (seta). In the tail (peh?) double (ka) hairs (anem). On the tongue (nes) a beetle (kheper)."
Feeling convinced that Egyptologists could find further phonetic elements and hidden meaning in the above material, it is with diffidence that I point out some of the meaning I am able to discern with the simple aid of "First steps in Egyptian." Besides being the image of Amen-Ra Polaris, the one and divine twain, the black (khem) skin (annu) of the sacred bull appears to contain an allusion to Egypt, known as "khem" and its central capital Annu, besides that to the nocturnal heaven and its shining city.
The square ptah of white=hetet (_cf._ hetet, and chut=light) appears to symbolize the quadriform plan of the celestial and terrestrial kingdom and its position on the head (tep) between the two horns (ap) gains in significance when it is realized that, in astronomical texts, the square (designated above as hetet=white) is as frequently pictured between a pair of horns as the pillar=tet, that both square and pillar appear thus to have expressed the same sound=tet, which signifies eternity. The bird of prey=seta on the bull"s back (makha) evidently signified the hidden=seta, centre, m-akh-a, further significance being lent to the syllable akh by the fact that it also means "to support," and that "the support of heaven"
was a divine t.i.tle contained in the hieratic texts. The double hair=anem, ka, appears as another mode of expressing the "hidden" ka=double or ak=centre. The word for tongue (nes) being the reversal of sen=two, the kheper=life, on the tongue, appears as an allusion to dual principles or powers of nature. The giving forth and drawing in of breath by the living Apis bull must doubtlessly have seemed, to the Egyptian priesthood, emblematical of the giving and taking away of breath of life, by the creator, Khepera, over whose emblem, on the tongue of the animal, each breath necessarily pa.s.sed.
An insight may thus be gained of the method by means of which primitive, nave picture-writing could have become more ingenious and intricate until, as actually stated in the hymns, the name of the supreme divinity became "hidden from his children in the name Amen" [literally=hidden], and a "myriad of names, how many are they is not known" had been invented by the scribes, to designate the King (Hak), "one among G.o.ds, in form one, the lord of eternity, stability and law."
Before making a cursory examination of the following lists of h.o.m.onyms of the names for bull=ah, uau and ka, I must revert to astronomical pictures and signs and make some statements concerning the hawk-headed human form found represented in the zodiacs in close a.s.sociation with the image of Ursa Major, the bull; (see pl. V, 1, from Denderah). The presence of the hawk=bak in the centre of the polar region, with the bull ka, a.s.sumes significance in connection with the word ak=middle and the name for "the middle of the heavens," cited by Sir Norman Lockyer; _i. e._, kabal sami, and all of these words are particularly interesting when it is remembered that the Babylonian name for north was akkad, the Akkadian t.i.tle for Ursa Major was Akanna, while Ursa Minor was named Kakkabu in Babylonia and a.s.syria. The Arabian kaaba is recalled here.
The inscriptions accompanying the zodiacs published by Brugsch (_op. cit._ I, p. 127) designate this hawk-headed personage, who, in each case, holds either a spear or a plain staff, by the following names, of which I give Brugsch"s translation, followed by my own commentary. An=he who turns or winds himself around. In this connection I point out that the name Na, given to the serpent, is the inversion of an. Kher-an=he who fights and turns or winds himself around. As kher is likewise the word for ring or circle (_cf._ Greek kirkos, Latin circus or circulus, Scand. kring), it is evident that the name Kher-an admits of being interpreted as "he who winds or turns around in a ring or circle," kher=the fighter or combatant. At the same time, the word kher likewise signifies ring or circle; moreover ker=night and rek=time. Therefore the name Neb-kher, cited by Brugsch (_op. cit._ I, 176), as one of those given to the G.o.d of the city of At-Nebes, besides signifying, as he says, the "lord of strife or fighting," clearly means "the lord of the circle or ring." This is undoubtedly one of the most appropriate of names for the G.o.d of the pole star and Ursa Major and is, besides, the Egyptian equivalent for the Hindu "lord of the wheel," the Persian "G.o.d of the ring," and the Mexican "lord of the circle and of the night"=Yaual or Yohual-tecuhtli. The other t.i.tles of the same G.o.d recorded by Brugsch are "the flame or light"=Neser, and "the lord of life"=Neb-ankh.
I merely point out here what I shall discuss more fully later on, that, in the Egyptian An, "he who turns himself around," we have the counterpart, not only of the a.s.syrian An-shar (fig. 65, 5) who shoots his darts in all directions, but also of the "North G.o.d" of the ancient Mexicans, who, fully armed is held by one foot, by the sign of the North, to the centre of the cross, the symbol of the Four Quarters, and like the Akkadian "lord of heaven," Akanna, is identified with Ursa Major.
I note, moreover, that, whereas the common name for hawk is bak, that employed by Brugsch is hru (_cf._ inversion ur=the Egyptian name for cross symbol) which is sometimes transcribed as hur, her or heru, hor or har=and translated as Horus or Ra Harmachis. An interesting image of the hawk G.o.d is found in another inscription in the temple of Denderah containing the group (pl. V, 6) consisting of a single star, the bull and hawk, transcribed by Brugsch as "Hru-Ka" and translated as "the bull (of) Horus"
(_op. cit._ I, p. 7). Another interesting case of the combination of the bull and hawk is the hawk with a bull"s head also figured by Brugsch, and which is obviously a variant of "hru-ka." A curious instance which seems to contain a reversal of these syllables is the bull, repeated in inverted positions, with the cross-sign=ur, a group which might well have been employed as a rebus expressing the sound ur-ak-ka, a combination which I shall discuss further on.
The ident.i.ty of Horus as a form of Polaris is hinted at in the following inscription in the temple at Denderah (pl. V, 10) which Brugsch translates: "Ra Horchuti (=hur-chuti) the shining Horus, the ray of light in the night" ... (_op. cit._ I, p. 16). The "G.o.d" is figured in mummy form, holding the sceptre tam (_cf._ mat=justice, truth) and the sign ankh (life), with the head of a hawk=bak or hru (_cf._ ur=four, and head=tep or tepet, also name for "chief"), the head conveying idea of four-fold chieftainship, surmounted by the horns=ap and circle or disk=ra.
[Ill.u.s.tration.]
Figure 65.
An extremely suggestive astronomical picture (pl. V, 13) contains the combination of Horus, the An, in the form of the human-headed hawk, with a serpent Na, the boat (uaa, am or makhen) and the circle enclosing a single star, duat (_cf._ ua=one). The complete group thus conveys a wealth of hidden meaning which is perfectly intelligible when interpreted as pole-star symbolism.
The reader is now invited to take a preliminary look at the columns of signs included in figs. 66, 67, 68, some of which will be recognized as primitive pole-star symbols already discussed, and which will respectively be found to contain h.o.m.onyms of ua=One and uahi=permanent; ak and kabal=centre, ka=double, an=he who turns and ankh=life, etc. Special attention is also drawn to the modes of expressing the syllable am by the h.o.m.onyms boy or child, boat and tree (fig. 63, 20-22).
Different combinations of identical phonetic elements are found in the following groups which prove to be but different ingenious figures expressing the same sounds, with more or less the same meanings: pl. V, 15, represents the boat, whose phonetic values are given above, with a flower=ankh, the h.o.m.onym of life, containing the names an and na, from which the uraeus=ara, is rising. Later on the deeper symbolism of this and fig. 12, pl. V, will be further discussed. In the latter, instead of the flower the boat contains the ara and a boy=ah or aah, whose name is the h.o.m.onym for great, mighty, powerful, etc. a.s.suming that the boat expressed its particular name uaa=ua=one, we thus have a rendering of the appellation so constantly given to Amen-Ra in the hymns and invocations: "One, great, powerful, mighty G.o.d," accompanied by a whole series of secondary meaning and symbolism. In pl. V, 9, the boat containing the bull or cow, is accompanied by stars which reproduce Ursa Major exactly, minus one star, the head of the animal occupying the centre of the four stars forming the inverted square of "the dipper." In this case the boat seems to express its name makhen, incorporating ak, the name for the sacred centre of the sky, which is repeated in the name ka=bull, whose image, like that of the boat, conveys the allusion to ua=one, by their respective double names, aua and uaa.
What appears to me to contain the most convincing proof of the ident.i.ty of Amen-Ra with Polaris is 11, pl. V, which shows us a boat in which lies a mummy, above which is a row of seven stars under an oval, containing two eyes. The oval ring is evidently the image of Amen-Ra, who united in his person the dual principles of nature symbolized by sun and moon=his "two eyes." The symbolism of the boat and mummy has already been sufficiently discussed to enable the reader to discern its a.s.sociation with the idea of oneness, of stability and centrality. Further light is thrown upon the connection of the two eyes with the sacred centre by pl. V, 14, from the Book of the Dead, where the chosen place of sepulchre for the dead person, mentioned in the text, is the temple pyramid, the apex of which is rendered prominent by being painted black and suggestively occupies a central position between two eyes. After the periods of Greek rule in Egypt, the point of the pyramid must have been a.s.sociated with the Greek words, akra=hill-top and aku=point, which recurs in the Latin name acacia, by which the th.o.r.n.y tree, originally found in Egypt, is still known. It can readily be seen how this tree would have been chosen as a symbol of the ak=middle and it is possible that its name may originally have been that also given to the olive tree=bak. The inscription on the famous obelisks erected by queen Hat-shepsut contains a special mention of the point of the obelisk, as being made of precious material: "two great obelisks of hard granite of the south, the point of each is of electrum, the tribute of the best quality of all countries" (Flinders Petrie, History of Egypt, Vol. II, p. 86).
The many variants of the constellation or star termed "the divine triangle" or "the triangle of the G.o.d" next claim attention. An extremely interesting variant of this constellation represents a hawk-headed sphinx, next to the triangle (pl. VI, 1); 2-4 represent the common form expressing the name Sopedet. As Brugsch informs us, the above name was changed at a more recent period into Sat.i.t (6-8), which he translates as "she who shoots, the archeress" or "she who causes the Nile to rise." In these cases the written name either contains an arrow (6), the pyramid symbol for earth (7), or a seated figure above whose head is a single star (8). A rarer form of representing the same constellation is 9 and 10, the group being transcribed by "Sat.i.t Hont Khabsu" which Brugsch translates as "Sothis, the Queen of the ... stars." From the feminine terminations employed in the text it is clear that it is a cow which figures here in the boat, with a single star between its horns and it appears to me to be obvious that we have to deal here with the feminine form of Polaris, with Auset=Isis, closely related to the a.s.syrian "G.o.ddess of battle," Ishtar, the female counterpart of Ausar=Osiris, the a.s.syrian Anshar, or Ashur, the "G.o.d of battle."
[Ill.u.s.tration.]
Plate VI.
This view is confirmed by further astronomical pictures published by Brugsch, which appear to me not merely to signify the constellations Orion and Sirius as Brugsch infers, but to be hieroglyphs intended to be understood by the initiated only, representing two or more of the forms under which Amen-Ra was figured. At Edfu (pl. VI, 11) the boat=au, uaa, and the mummy=sah form a fair rebus for Ausar=Osiris, while the boat alongside of it contains the cow, a form under which Isis=Hathor was worshipped in Egypt during centuries. At Denderah (12) there is a cow in one boat=Isis; and a man in another who holds the sceptre tam, emblematic of power, and turns his head around, an evident allusion to the action an=he who turns himself around, or to sah=one who turns away. Between both is the hawk=bak or Hur-chuti=Horus, standing on the sceptre named aut, composed of the lotus flower=ankh. A variant of the same group (13) also symbolizing the "Above, Below and Middle," and from Denderah, represents Isis only in the celestial boat and Osiris standing (on earth) holding, beside the tam, the whip=nekhe khu, emblematic of rule. In 14, a female figure stands in the boat under the written name Auset=Isis and bears in her hand the ankh sign and the lotus flower=ankh sceptre. In the second boat the figure of a boy (ahi) turning (an or sah) his head, holds up the ankh. In 15, we seem to have an evidence of the ascendancy of Isis worship, for the boat contains not only the cow, under the name sat.i.t=she who shoots, or the archeress, but also the standing figure of the G.o.ddess, crowned by the disk or circle between two horns.
A striking proof that the knowledge of the true, hidden meaning of the signs just discussed was regarded by those who possessed it as an evidence of an advanced stage of initiation in the mysteries of the priesthood, is furnished by the following text, which accompanies pl. VI, 16:
In the Book of the Dead (Leyden, Papyrus, p. 16), in a chapter ent.i.tled: "Chapter of the knowledge of the eastern spirits, ro en rex biu abti," the dead person utters the following words: "I know that eastern mountainous region of the heaven whose south is at the sea Kharo and the north at the river of Ro, at the place where the day-G.o.d Ra drives around amidst storm-winds. I am a welcome comrade in the boat and I row without tiring in the bark of Ra. I know that tree of emerald green brandies amongst which Ra shows himself when he goes over the layer of clouds of the G.o.d Su. I know that gate out of which Ra issues. I know the meadow of alo, whose wall is of iron.... _I know the eastern spirits, namely the G.o.d Hur-Chuti, the calf next to this G.o.d and the G.o.d of the morning_," the original text of the latter sentence being: "au-a-rekh-ku-a biu abti Hur-chuti pu behsu kher nutar pen nutar duaut pu" (Brugsch, _op. cit._, I, p. 72).
The evasion and caution with which the speaker alludes to his knowledge of the meaning of the signs, without betraying the latter, sufficiently indicate the obligation of absolute secrecy which bound him, and it may be inferred that several of the words he employed were intended to be misleading to an outsider just as the astronomical pictures, exposed to public view, were purposely made to seem to relate to the more familiar sun, moon and constellations, the mind being thus led away from the hidden but true star-G.o.d=Polaris. The circ.u.mstance that, on the body of the young bull in the boat, there are seven dots and above it a single star and that the hawk-headed seated deity behind it is crowned by the serpent circle or disk of Amen-Ra, sufficiently enlightens us as to the true, veiled significance which represents different forms of the "hidden G.o.d," of the group. A careful a.n.a.lysis of this and of the astronomical images suffices, however, to disclose the limited scope of the meaning of such groups, each one being but a different rebus containing the same phonetic elements. Let us now briefly indicate what appear to have been the essential components which all images contain and a few of the myriad of ways by which they were expressed.
_Uahi=permanent, and Ua=One. Represented by_
Fig. 66. 1. An arrow=au (_cf._ abau=to fight), an arm=a, and the numerical one=ua.
2. The cow=ah, aua, the latter name incorporating the adjective a=mighty, powerful, etc.
3. The thigh=uart.
4. The boat=uaa.
5. The numeral five=tuau.
6. The throne, seat or place=auset, which const.i.tutes the name Auset=Isis, the consort of Ausar=Osiris.
7. The bowl=au.
8 and 9. Two forms of sceptre or bent staff=au, uat, _also_ aam.
[Ill.u.s.tration.]
Figure 66.
Besides these signs, well known as sacred symbols, we find that the following names also contain the sacred t.i.tle Ua: uatet=greenstone, emerald, aut=quadrupeds, au=heir, also dog, maau=rays of light, mau=lion, also cat. The reason why certain quadrupeds, and particularly the cow, lion, and the cat, should have become sacred animals in Egypt, seems to be satisfactorily explained by the fact that each const.i.tuted a rebus and could therefore be employed as an "image" of the One G.o.d. It is obvious that locality would necessarily influence the choice of the sacred animal and that while one city might adopt the cow, another would be obliged to adopt the cat, etc, as the living rebus. The adoption of "the heir," or first-born of the sacramental union of king and queen, as the living image of the deity, throws an unexpected light on the reason why members of the royal line were treated with divine honors. While persons, animals and objects whose names contained the divine Ua=one, would thus be chosen, others containing the word Ra=G.o.d, would also be adopted.
_Ra=G.o.d._
Of these I have already pointed out the uraeus=ara, the eye=ari, face=hra and egg=ar, also se or sa and suht. To these may also be added the date palm or dates=ben-ra; grain=nepra; the vine=aarer and grapes=aarer, each of which is to be found a.s.sociated with sacred symbolism.
The veneration accorded in different localities to the pig=re-ra and the horse, may thus be accounted for, especially as the name for the latter, het-ra, consists of het=light or fair, and ra=G.o.d, and the horse is actually found a.s.sociated with the light-G.o.ds of antiquity and with so-called solar symbols and the swastika.
Food for reflection is afforded by the Egyptian name for mirror, which literally signifies to see, or the seer=maa, of the face=hra, but which furnishes, as a rebus, the word maat=law, which is usually expressed by the feather=mat, connected with hra=_i. e._ ra=G.o.d (fig. 66, 10). The employment of the mirror as an image of the G.o.d of law would thus naturally have been suggested by its name. The presence of the eye=ari (_cf._ ra) in the centre of a mirror which is being worshipped, also suggests that in ancient Egypt the mirror was employed in the temple to hold the reflection of Polaris=Amen-Ra, "the untiring watcher, the lord of eternity and the maker of law" (see fig. 66, 11). It is obvious that the habitual employment, by the astronomer priests, of a mirror so placed in the sanctuary as to catch the reflection of the pole-star through an open doorway, would lead to the discovery of the movements of the sun and the positions it a.s.sumes during the year. The flashing of a beam of sunlight once a year, at the period of the summer solstice, upon the mirror which constantly reflected the pole-star, would naturally suggest the idea of "the union of the day-sun with the night-sun" and seem particularly impressive as it was at this period that the Nile began to rise. In dealing with the religious festivals held at this period more will be said on this subject.
The word maat=law, besides being expressed by the feather=mat, could also have been indicated to those initiated in the mysteries of hieratic rebus-writing, by the lion=ma hes; the antelope=ma-het, which also contains the sacred attribute light=het, the synonym of khu, thus expresses the idea of the "light of the law." The musical instrument named mat may also have originally been, like the tam sceptre, a symbol of lawful power and conveyed an allusion to meht or maht=north. To this series the word am should be added, signifying child, tree and boat, each of which has already been treated of in connection with pole-star symbolism and Amen-Ra (fig. 63, 20-22).
_Duality=ka=double; and the Middle=ak._
The name for bull=ka (fig. 67, 1) incorporates, as has already been shown, not only duality and middle, but also, through its other names, the idea of oneness and of power. This appears to explain clearly why the bull was chosen as the image or rebus of Polaris and Ursa Major, which appear to have been regarded as a single combination of stars. The fact that in the hymns Amen-Ra is addressed as "the bull," const.i.tutes a convincing corroboration of the identification of the "hidden G.o.d" with Polaris. A line of connection seems, moreover, to exist between the Egyptian kabal sami=the middle of heaven, the image of a bull in the centre of the zodiacs, and the bull of a.s.syria, under which image Baal was worshipped.
Hieratic signs, expressing the word for middle and double appear to have been: the mummy which, although named sah or tut, also signified khat=corpse (2) and conveyed an allusion to mit=death, the h.o.m.onym of met=north.
A certain form of fish expressed the syllable kha (3). A cone-shaped object named khaker appears to have served as a rebus for the middle and double as well as night=ker and time=rek (4). In pl. VII, 12, the khaker figures behind the seated image of a deity with the head of a ram=ser or sar, holding the ankh in his hand, the whole forming a rebus for Ansar, and containing much meaning besides.