#RAMESSES 2014

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

DID THE BEST PARTS OF THE WIZARD CALL IT A DAY IN 2003? IS CLASSIC WIZARD UNTOUCHABLE?

PIC(S) INFO: Resolution at 1048x1210 -- Mega spotlight on the rhythm section from cosmic hell, Mark Greening and Tim Bagshaw, the former original rhythm section for the mighty ELECTRIC WIZARD, and who later worked together for nine years in Stoner/DOOM/Sludge overlords, RAMESSES.

These photos were taken during rehearsals in 2014, in the band's post-WIZARD era.So, I'm not a big fan of post-power trio WIZARD in any way, shape, or form, and those dudes lost me in a big way after their "Let Us Prey" album, which I later warmed up to in a big way some years back. New WIZARD, on the other hand? Thanks, but no thanks.

Sources: www.pixnoy.com/post/6871554750315521673458 (Pixnoy 2x).

[afam24]

12

Yehia Z. Gad et al. Africa (Cruciani et al. 2010, 800–807), yet it is geographically widespread among the European populations making up to 50-60% of the genetic pool of the modern Europeans (Arredi et al. 2004, 338–345; Cinnioǧlu et al. 2004, 127–148; Karafet et al. 2008, 830–838; Myres et al. 2011, 95–101; Klyosov 2012, 87–105). The introduction of this Y-chromosomal signature may be due to old introgression of lineages to the European gene pool from the Near East during the Neolithic spread of farming (Myres et al. 2011, 95–101). The phylogeographic analysis of the R1b haplogroup distribution provided strong support to the back-migration theory from Asia to Africa (Cruciani et al. 2010, 800–807). The R1b group was estimated to have an age of ca. 16,000 years before present (YBP) (Klyosov 2012, 87–105), and its suggested expansion time nearly approximates that of the G2a haplogroup (Cinnioǧlu et al. 2004, 127–148). Less than 7% of the contemporary Egyptians share the R1b Y-chromosomal fingerprint (Cruciani et al. 2010, 800–807; El-Sibai et al. 2009, 568–581). Haplogroup G2a The great-grandfather of Tutankhamun, Yuya, carries a Y-chromosomal signature that could be assigned to the haplogroup G2a. Haplogroup G is an F-affiliated clade (Luis et al. 2004, 532–544; Wood et al. 2005, 867–876), and it is defined by the mutation M201 (Cinnioǧlu et al. 2004, 127–148; Luis et al. 2004, 532–544; Wood et al. 2005, 867–876; Karafet et al. 2008, 830–838). This clade is not globally abundant, and its prevalence is mainly in the Middle East (highest in Druze), the Mediterranean basin and Caucasus Mountains where it exhibits its maximum frequency (Cinnioǧlu et al. 2004, 127–148; Karafet et al. 2008, 830–838; Balanovsky et al. 2011, 18255–18259; Lacan et al. 2011, 2905–2920). The pattern of this haplogroup distribution in the Caucasus suggests a Near Eastern origin (Cinnioǧlu et al. 2004, 127–148; Balanovsky et al. 2011, 18255–18259). The genetic share of the F-affiliated groups (G, H, I, J) is around 40% of the modern Egyptians, with G-M201 representing approximately 9% of the population (Luis et al. 2004, 532–544). Haplogroup L One of the male control mummies, an unidentified 18th Dynasty royal, previously thought to be Thutmose I (TT320-Cairo CG 61065), was proposed to belong to haplogroup L. This haplogroup is mainly defined by the M20 mutation, with additional markers to further confirm the clade definition (Sengupta et al. 2006, 202–221). It is found at low frequencies in some parts of the Middle East and Mediterranean Europe, and is mainly observed in southern, western and central Asia (highest in Indian subcontinent) (Kivisild et al. 2003, 313–332; Cordaux et al. 2004, 231–235; Sengupta et al. 2006, 202–221; Thanseem et al. 2006, 42; Karafet et al. 2008, 830–838). In Y-chromosome studies on modern Egyptians, no haplogroup L findings were reported (Arredi et al. 2004, 338–345; Luis et al. 2004, 532–544; El-Sibai et al. 2009, 568–581). Haplogroup E1b1a The father-son pair, Ramesses III and Unknown Man E/Pentawere, was found to have the haplogroup E1b1a (Hawass et al. 2012, e8268) that shows its highest frequencies in modern populations from

Guardian of Ancient Egypt

13

West Africa (~80%) and Central Africa (~60%). It is less than 10% among North Africans and nearly absent in East Africa, which is where it was hypothesized to have originated (Trombetta et al. 2011, e16073). Alternatively, an earlier origin of around 20,000-30,000 YBP, was hypothesized in West Africa due to its very high diversity and frequency in that location (Rosa et al. 2007, 124). Although the frequency of haplogroup E among contemporary Egyptians is 39.5%, that of the E1b1 subclade was only 1.4% (Cruciani et al. 2004, 1014–1022; Luis et al. 2004, 532–544; El-Sibai et al. 2009, 568–581). Implications from mitochondrial DNA: Haplogroup K Haplogroup K most likely belonging to a Near Eastern lineage (Brandstätter et al. 2008, 191; Fernández et al. 2014, e1004401), is a subcluster of the macrohaplogroup U (Richards et al. 1998, 241–260; Kivisild et al. 1999, 1331–1334; Macaulay et al. 1999, 232–249; Maca-Meyer et al. 2001, 13). The age estimate of the K cluster is ~15,500–25,500 YBP (Richards et al. 2000, 1251–1276). The K haplogroup has been found to be present in 4.7% of contemporary Egyptian populations (Saunier et al. 2009, e97–e103). Haplogroup H The haplogroup of one of the studied mummies (Amenhotep III) was proposed as being H2b. Haplogroup H displays a sequence in the hypervariable region I (HVRI) identical to that of the Cambridge Reference Sequence (CRS) (Torroni et al. 1996, 1835–1850; Macaulay et al. 1999, 232–249; Richards et al. 2000, 1251–1276; van Oven & Kayser 2009, e386–e394). It is believed that the HVRI 16311 transition is an emerging subclade of the H-CRS and named as H2b (Roostalu et al. 2007, 436–448; Brandstätter et al. 2008, 191). The age estimate of cluster H in Europe can be dated to 19,200–21,400 YBP; however, it is older in the Near East and can be dated back to 23,200– 28,400 YBP. Haplogroup H is substantially prevalent in Europe as it is in the Near East but with a lower frequency (Torroni et al. 1996, 1835–1850; Richards et al. 2000, 1251–1276; Tambets et al. 2000, 219–235; Malyarchuk et al. 2008, 1651–1658). This indicates that, although this cluster might have its roots in the Middle East, the significant evolution of this mitochondrial signature occurred in Europe (Richards et al. 1996, 185–203), probably in the late Upper Paleolithic expansions (14 500 YBP) (Richards et al. 1998, 241–260; Richards et al. 2000, 1251–1276). The frequency of haplogroup H was, respectively, 3.6 and 5.94% among modern Egyptians (Saunier et al. 2009, e97–e103; Elmadawy et al. 2013, 338–341). Concluding remarks: This study reconfirms and complements the previously published family pedigree of the King Tutankhamun (Hawass et al. 2010, 638–647). It also presents the plausible mitochondrial and Y-chromosomal signatures of the family members. The data suggest geographical and temporal

[witchbitchheadedtoaditch]

The Basics of Kemetic Philosophy (without the appropriated shit from Judaism)

I'm starting a series on Kemetic philosophy because a lot of my readings on it have included things like Kabbalah (Kabala, Kabbala, Qabala, etc.) which is directly appropriated from Judaism, and definitely would not have been included in ancient Kemetic philosophy.

This series relies heavily on the following books/independent publications (this continues to be updated as the series continues):

The Instruction of Ptah-Hotep and the Instruction of Ka'Gemni: The Oldest Books in the World translated by John Murray

Teachings of Ptahhotep

Maat: The 11 Laws of God by Ra Un Nefer Amen (somewhat, this book literally has the Kabbalistic tree of life on its' cover so I don't take a lot from it--it's really just a good jumping-off point because it covers so much)

Maat: The Moral Idea in Ancient Egypt by Maulana Karenga

The Literature of Ancient Egypt: An Anthology of Stories, Instructions, and Poetry edited with an introduction by William Kelly Simpson. Authors include Robert K. Ritner, Vincent A. Tobin, and Edward F. Wente.

I Am Because We Are: Readings in Africana Philosophy by Fred Lee Hord, Mzee Lasana Okpara, and Johnathan Scott Lee.

Ancient Egyptian Literature: Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms by Miriam Lichtheim (2006 Edition)

Current Research in Egyptology 2009: Proceedings of the Tenth Annual Symposium by Judith Corbelli, Daniel Baotright, and Claire Malleson

Old Kingdom, New Perspectives: Egyptian Art and Archaeology 2750-2150 BC by Nigel Strudwick and Helen Strudwick

Current Research in Egyptology 2010: Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual Symposium by Maarten Horn, Joost Kramer, Daniel Soliman, Nico Staring, Carina van den Hoven, and Lara Weiss

Current Research in Egyptology 2016: Proceedings of the Seventeenth Annual Symposium by Julia M. Chyla, Joanna Dêbowska-Ludwin, Karolina Rosińska-Balik, and Carl Walsh

Mathematics in Ancient Egypt: A Contextual History by Annette Imhausen

The Instruction of Amenemope: A Critical Edition and Commentary by James Roger Black

"The ancient Egyptian concept of Maat: Reflections on social justice and natural order" by R. James Ferguson

The Mind of Ancient Egypt: History and Meaning in the Time of the Pharaohs by Jan Assmann

Transformations of the Inner Self in Ancient Religions by Jan Assmann and Guy G. Stroumsa

Of God and Gods: Egypt, Israel, and the Rise of Monotheism by Jan Assmann

Death and Salvation in Ancient Egypt by Jan Assmann

Cultural Memory and Early Civilization: Writing, Remembrance, and Political Imagination by Jan Assmann

From Akhenaten to Moses: Ancient Egypt and Religious Change by Jan Assmann

Book of the Dead: Becoming God in Ancient Egypt edited by Foy Scalf with new object photography by Kevin Bryce Lowry

It also relies on the following journal articles/book chapters:

"A Modern Look at Ancient Wisdom: The Instruction of Ptahhotep Revisited" by Carole R. Fontaine in The Biblical Archaeologist Volume 44, No. 3

"The Teaching of Ptahhotep: The London Versions" by Alice Heyne in Current Research in Egyptology 2006: Proceedings of the Seventh Annual Symposium

"One Among Many: A Divine Call for Gender Equity" by Sandra Y Lewis in Phylon (1960-) Volume 55, No. 1 & 2.

"A Tale of Semantics and Suppressions: Reinterpreting Papyrus Mayer A and the So-called War of the High Priest during the Reign of Ramesses XI" by Kim Ridealgh in Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur

EDITORIAL: African Philosophy as a radical critique" by Alena Rettová in Journal of African Cultural Studies Volume 28, No. 2

"Sanctuary Meret and the Royal Cult" by Miroslav Verner in Symposium zur Königsideologie / 7th Symposium on Egyptian Royal Ideology: Royal versus Divine Authority: Acquisition, Legitimization and Renewal of Power. Prague, June 26–28, 2013

"The Ogdoad and Divine Kingship in Dendara" by Filip Coppens and Jiří Janák in Symposium zur Königsideologie / 7th Symposium on Egyptian Royal Ideology: Royal versus Divine Authority: Acquisition, Legitimization and Renewal of Power. Prague, June 26–28, 2013

"The Egyptian Temple as a Place to House Collections (from the Old Kingdom to the Late Period) by Roberto A. Diaz Hernández in The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology Volume 103, No. 1

"Death and the Sun Temple: New Evidence for Private Mortuary Cults at Amarna" by Jacquelyn Williamson in The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology Volume 103, No. 1

"Mery-Maat, An Eighteenth Dynasty iry '3 pr pth From Memphis and His Hypothetical Family" by Rasha Metawi in The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology Volume 101, 2015

"A New Demotic Translation of (Excerpts of) A Chapter of The "Book of the Dead" by Joachim Friedrich Quack in The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology Volume 100, 2014

"The Shedshed of Wepwawet: An Artistic and Behavioural Interpretation" by Linda Evans in The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology Volume 97, 2011

"(De)queering Hatshepsut: Binary Bind in Archaeology of Egypt and Kingship Beyond the Corporeal" by Uroš Matić in Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory Volume 23, No. 3 "Binary Binds": Deconstructing and Gender Dichotomies in Archeological Practice.

"Egyptian Maat and Hesiodic Metis" by Christopher A. Faraone and Emily Teeter in Mnemosyne Volume 57 Fasc. 2

"Maat and Order in African Cosmology: A Conceptual Tool for Understanding Indigenous Knowledge" by Denise Martin in Journal of Black Studies Volume 38, No. 6

"Memphis and Thebes: Disaster and Renewal in Ancient Egyptian Consciousness" by Ogden Goelet in The Classical World Volume 97, No. 1

"A Radical Reconstruction of Resistance Strategies: Black Girls and Black Women Reclaiming Our Power Using Transdisciplinary Applied Social Justice, Ma'at, and Rites of Passage" by Menah Pratt-Clarke in Journal of African American Studies Volume 17, No. 1

"Emblems for the Afterlife" by Marley Brown in Archaeology Volume 71, No. 3

"Human and Divine: The King's Two Bodies and The Royal Paradigm in Fifth Dynasty Egypt" by Massimiliano Nuzzolo in Symposium zur ägyptischen Königsideologie/8th Symposium on Egyptian Royal Ideology: Constructing Authority. Prestige, Reputation and the Perception of Power in Egyptian Kingship. Budapest, May 12-14, 2016

"The Block and Its Decoration" by Josef Wegner in The Sun-shade Chapel of Meritaten from the House-of-Waenre of Akhenaten

"The African Rites of Passage and the Black Fraternity" by Ali D. Chambers in Journal of Black Studies Volume 47, No. 4

"Review: Translating Ma'at" by Stephen Quirke in The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology Volume 80, 1994

"Additions to the Egyptian Book of the Dead" by T. George Allen in Journal of Near Eastern Studies Volume 11, No. 3

"Types of Rubrics in the Egyptian Book of the Dead" by T. George Allen in Journal of the American Oriental Society Volume 56, No. 2

"Book of the Dead, Book of the Living: BD Spells as Temple Texts" by Alexandra Von Lieven in The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology Volume 98, 2012

"Fragments of the "Book of the Dead" on Linen and Papyrus" by Ricardo A. Caminos in The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology Volume 56, 1970

"Herodotus and the Egyptian Idea of Immortality" by Louis V. Z̆abkar in Journal of Near Eastern Studies Volume 22, No. 1

"Theban and Memphite Book of the Dead Traditions in the Late Period" by Malcolm Mosher Jr. in Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt Volume 29, 1992

"The Conception of the Soul and the Belief in Resurrection Among the Egyptians" by Paul Carus in The Monist Volume 14, No. 3

"It's About Time: Ancient Egyptian Cosmology" by Joanne Conman in Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur Volume 31, 2003

"Egyptian Parallels for an Incident in Hesiod's Theogony and an Episode in the Kumarbi Myth" by Edmund S. Meltzer in Journal of Near Eastern Studies Volume 33, No. 1

"The Book of the Dead" by Geo. St. Clair in The Journal of Theological Studies Volume 6, No. 21

"The Egyptian "Book of the Two Ways"" by Wilhelm Bonacker in Imago Mundi Volume 7, 1950

"The Papyrus of Nes-min: An Egyptian Book of the Dead" by William H. Peck in Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts Volume 74, No. 1/2

[whattolearntoday]

A bit of May 31st history...

1279BC - Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the Great, becomes Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt (19th Dynasty) 

1790 - US copyright law enacted

1884 - Dr John Harvey Kellogg patents “flaked cereal”

1909 - National Conference on the Negro holds 1st meeting in NY (earlier form of NAACP)

1970 - 7.75 Ancash earthquake off the coast of Peru kills 66-70,000 and sets off world’s deadliest avalanche

1976 - The Who set record for loudest concert of all time (pictured)

2008 - Usain Bolt breaks world record in 100 meter sprint in 9.72 seconds 2014 - Psy’s “Gangnam Style” becomes 1st video to reach 2 billion views on youtube

[bestkeptsecretreferences]

BEST KEPT SECRET References

Digital reproduction of Melanasian children. "The Fascinating History Of Black People With Naturally Blonde Hair" by Yewande, 12 Feb. https://historyofyesterday.com/the-fascinating-history-of-black-people-with-naturally-blonde-hair-c36b0b58d99e 

Map of both intercontinental and transatlantic slave trade in Africa. "Map 1 from Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade (New Haven 2010)" by KuroNekoNiyah, 15 Feb. 2021. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:African_Slave_Trade.png 

Digital copy of a 1769 advertisement of the sale of 94 African-Americans in Charleston, SC. "South Carolina Slavery - Buying And Selling Human Beings" by SCIWAY. https://www.sciway.net/afam/slavery/flesh.html 

Digital copy of An Intriguing Narragansett & Wampanoag Image from 1925 by Laurie Coleman (HISTORIC PICRURES), 14 March. 2015. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/312085449155397027/ 

Digital reproduction of the Ohlone Indians of California. "Legends of America" by Kathy Weiser-Alexander, 12 Nov. https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ohlone-indians/ 

Digital reproduction of Indigenous South Americans. "history" by Anael Raawban. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/501307002273388237/ 

 Ivan Van Sertima, The African Presence in Early Europe, 1985. 

Digital reproduction of Jan Mostaert's Portrait of a Moor (1520-1530). "Jan Mostaert's Portrait of a Moor (1520-1530)" by John K. Brackett (BLACKPAST), 23 Aug. 2011 https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/perspectives-global-african-history/jan-mostaert-s-portrait-moor-1520-1530/ 

Digital reproduction of the Castelo dos Mouros (Castle of the Moors) Sintra. "HD wallpaper: Castle, View, Air, Architecture, Moors, holiday, sintra, mountain"

Ivan Van Sertima, They Came Before Columbus, 1976.

Frank Joseph, The Evidence of Africans in America before Columbus, 25 Mar. 2003.

Alex Abad-Santos (vox.com), Hollywood likes to pretend that Ancient Egypt was full of white people, 4 Aug. 2014. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/2014/8/4/5955253/Hollywood-egypt-white-people-exodus-gods-and-kings 

James O'Byrne (nola.com), Egypt whitewashed by European history, 15 Aug. 1993. https://www.nola.com/news/politics/article_3c188202-3a5c-5d8d-926b-c6f259179c32.html 

Digital picture of the head of the sphinx. "Head of the Sphinx" by Vincent Brown, 15 Apr. 2006. https://www.flickr.com/photos/pyramidtexts/39741616383/in/photostream 

Digital image of the Gizah Pyramids. "File: All Gizah Pyramids.jpg" by Ricardo Liberato, 19 Jun. 2006. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:All_Gizah_Pyramids.jpg 

Digitally reproducted image of Heru. "Tasting Life Twice" by Joan Lansberry, 30 Jul. 2015. Heru 

Digital image of a painting representing Jesus. "Healing of the Paralytic, Dura Europos (c.235 AD) by Fr Silouan Thompson, 26 Nov. 2008. https://silouanthompson.net/2008/11/healing-of-the-paralytic-dura-europos/ 

Digital image of a Ramesses III statue. "Ramesses III" by Ancient Egypt Wiki (Fandom), https://ancientegypt.fandom.com/wiki/Ramesses_III 

Acts 1:9, English Standard Version. (2004-2021). Bible Hub. https://biblehub.com/acts/1-9.htm 

2 Kings 2:11, New International Version. (2004-2021). Bible Hub. https://biblehub.com/2_kings/2-11.htm 

A digital picture of wheels used in Mesopotamia. "Digging into Mesopotamia" by https://pmsancientmesopotamia.weebly.com/the-wheel.html 

Digital reproduction of the asteroid belt. "The asteroid belt: Wreckage of a destroyed planet or something else?" by Joshua Rapp Learn, 9 Mar. 2021. https://astronomy.com/news/2021/03/the-asteroid-belt-wreckage-of-a-destroyed-planet-or-something-else 

Reed Business Information. "Comets tell of planet that exploded into asteroids."   NewScientist (Vol. 81 No. 1135) 4 Jan. 1979. p.22 New Scientist

Tom Van Flandern (1993). Dark Matter Missing Planets and New Comets. Berkeley California: North Atlantic books, pp 155-236.

Digital reproduction of an Anunnaki tablet. "File:Anunnaki-gods-on-Earth.jpg" by Wikimedia Commons, 21 Oct. 2019. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anunnaki-gods-on-Earth.jpg 

Digital reproduction of a picture of Osiris. "Atlantis and Osiris" by Cihangir Gener (thewisemag), 2012. https://www.thewisemag.com/mystery/atlantis-and-osiris/ 

Digital image of native woman from India. "Original woman of India (Dravidian)" by Curtis Huggins (Pinterest)https://www.pinterest.com/pin/631137335258276098/ 

Digital image of Khoudia Diop. "This model is taking the world by storm with her incredibly dark skin." by indiatoday.in https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/lifestyle/photo/melanin-goddess-khoudia-diop-senegal-darkest-fashion-model-unique-beauty-lifest-20401-2016-10-03 

[history-today]

Today In History:

A bit of May 31st history… 1279BC - Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the Great, becomes Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt (19th Dynasty) (pictured) 1790 - US copyright law enacted 1884 - Dr John Harvey Kellogg patents “flaked cereal” 1909 - National Conference on the Negro holds 1st meeting in NY (earlier form of NAACP) 1976 - The Who set record for loudest concert of all time  2008 - Usain Bolt breaks world record in 100 meter sprint in 9.72 seconds (pictured below) 2014 - Psy’s “Gangnam Style” becomes 1st video to reach 2 billion views on youtube 

[aboutanancientenquiry]

Herodotus and the Egyptian historical tradition-III

“THE EGYPTIAN PRIESTS AS SOURCE FOR HERODOTUS

 With so much of Herodotus’ information on Egyptian history coming directly or indirectly from the priests, one must consider the importance of them as a source of Egyptian historical memory and the influence they had on not only Herodotus’ narrative, but also the works of Diodorus and Manetho. As noted above, the priests read to Herodotus from a list 330 kings “all of them Egyptians except eighteen, who were Ethiopians” (II.100). If Herodotus had access to the Turin Canon through an Egyptian proxy, then why was the chronology so garbled? For instance Rhampsinitus (Ramesses) is listed as the king who immediately preceded the Fourth Dynasty king Cheops (Khufu) (II.124), while the chronology of the Twenty Fifth and Twenty Sixth Dynasty kings is fairly accurate. With the post-Ramesses II kings one must assume that his information was derived from a list no longer extant, or as yet undiscovered, since the Turin Canon ends with the reign of Ramesses II. Loprieno believes that the inconsistencies in Herodotus’ “king-list” has more to do with the cultural shift in Egypt that took place during the First Millennium, as was discussed above, than any apparent problem with Egyptian chronology or historiography.48 Loprieno’s theory also implies that Herodotus’ chronological problems were the result of an unconscious view of the past by the Egyptians collectively rather than a conscious effort by the priests to omit or amend the deeds of certain kings, according to their opinions, when they related the king-list to Herodotus. A good example of the Egyptians relating their own nuanced view of Egyptian history to Herodotus, and thereby influencing his work, concerns the account of Khufu.

Khufu is described by Herodotus as a terrible and unpopular king who closed the temples, forced his subjects to build his pyramid, and even prostituted his own daughter in order to acquire funds needed to finish the project (II.124-26). So then, why does Herodotus dedicate so much negative attention to Khufu? The answer to this question and the problem with the chronology lies not with Herodotus, and goes beyond the idea of a cultural and political break with the past as argued by Loprieno, but can be found with the priests who gave him that information. In his account of Egyptian chronology, Herodotus was merely an intellectual pawn of  the Egyptian priests who dictated either directly or indirectly not only what kings he would write about, but how they were to be remembered. For reasons yet to be determined, which are outside of the scope of the current paper, Khufu was not a popular king with the Egyptian priests in the fifth century BC49 and Herodotus, not being able to read Egyptian, had no choice but to report what they told him. The Egyptian priesthood transferred their historical memory and historiography, which was based on their opinions and politics, into Herodotus’ narrative and with it part of the Egyptian sense of history also seeped into The Histories.”

Jared Krebsbach- The University of Memphis  Herodotus, Diodorus, and Manetho: An Examination of the Influence of Egyptian Historiography on the Classical Historians, New England Classical Journal 41.2 (2014) 88-111  

file:///C:/Users/USer/Downloads/Herodotus_Diodorus_and_Manetho_An_Examin%20(2).pdf

I find this article very interesting, that’s why I have reproduced large excerpts from it. However, I think that the author’s thesis that Herodotus was just an “intellectual pawn” in the hands of the Egyptian priests is extreme and should be rejected (the other extreme is the outlandish and now discredited in the scholarly community thesis of some that Herodotus never spoke to Egyptian priests and never visited Egypt). 

And this because first of all Herodotus expresses directly or indirectly some scepticism about what the Egyptian priests had told him on the pre-Saite history of Egypt, secondly because his Greek mindset plays for sure a role in the interpretation of what he had been told by the Egyptian priests (via interpreters).

But the question of the Egyptian historical consciousness of the Late Period, of the historical agendas of the Egyptian priests of that era and their reflection in Herodotus’ work is a very important one, and I will return to it, presenting the different points of view of eminent Egyptologists on these topics.

[glassdollreviews-blog]

Admin Cade’s June ‘18 Wrap Up

I was supposed to post this last night, and I suppose I could have put it in the queue now that I think about it...but I was dead tired after my first day at work. Here it is now, though! Lmaoo...my July TBR should be up today as well. Btw, Admin Inky is currently on vacation, so she may or may not be able to upload for a little while. Thanks for understanding! As a general warning, this post could possibly include spoilers, so ya know, spoiler alert.

The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchinson (The Collector #1)

Year: 2016

Genre: Horror/ Psychological thriller

288 pages

Goodreads rating: 4.07/5

Personal rating: 4/5

   **WARNING- this book is very graphic and disturbing, and I do not recommend it being read by anyone underage or easily triggered by any form of abuse.

The Butterfly Garden is written in changing POVs of FBI agent Victor Hanoverian and an 18 year old female victim known as 'Maya'.

When I say that the POV changes, boy does it CHANGE- there are no actual 'chapters', only page breaks. It flows back and forth seamlessly from the interrogation room after the discovery of the 'Garden' and Maya's flashbacks of her time before and during her kidnapping.

The 'Garden' is a place where the kidnapped victims of the Gardener are held- essentially a greenhouse with rooms. As the girls are taken in, the Gardener tattoos each of their backs with intricate butterfly wings.

I was up until 3am trying to finish this book, because it reads in such a way that I HAD to know what was coming next. I'd recommend for anyone that likes reading books with (extremely) darker themes, and who can stomach some really twisted sh*t.

Quote: “Some people stay broken. Some pick up the pieces and put them back together with all the sharp edges showing.”

The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey (The 5th Wave #2)

Year: 2014

Genre: Science fiction/ Dystopia

320 pages

Goodreads rating: 3.92/5

Personal rating: 3/5

   **I'm going with slight spoilers because I suck at writing reviews

Let me just start with this: if you've read The 5th Wave, chances are you're already aware of the COMPLETELY ANNOYING point of view changes. Personal opinion, of course, but seriously?? It was so frustrating to me trying to read this simply because when I felt that I'd finally built up to a point where some new plot info was about to be divulged- IT STARTS OVER IN A WHOLE DIFFERENT CHARACTERS POINT OF VIEW.

That aside, I did enjoy this book. I read The 5th Wave last year (it was 1 out of 2 that I read the entire year), and I had The Infinite Sea sitting in my closet collecting dust since around winter of last year.

I love that this book focuses more on Cassie being with the group, however I found that Cassie was slightly more nausea inducing than in the last book. Not inherently bad, but I felt that Cassie and Evan's relationship was maybe a little too...prioritized? Considering it's literally supposed to be an alien apocalypse (side note: the movie casting of Evan was a big no for me, just not what I had in mind). I also have to note that the pace of The Infinite Sea is different from The 5th Wave. More violence and revelations seem to happen back to back in this one when compared to the first book.

I'd recommend (obviously) to anyone that enjoyed The 5th Wave as well as anyone partial to dystopian settings.

Angelfall by Susan Ee (Penryn & the End of Days #1)

Year: 2012

Genre: Paranormal (Angels)/ Dystopia

288 pages

Goodreads rating: 4.18/5

Personal rating: 5/5

Where do I even start with this one?? Angelfall is one of those books that I thought would be a nice concept in synopsis but poorly executed in reality. I was SO WRONG.

It isn't a new concept that Angels are darker and meaner in spirit than what people assume from biblical stories- I can't think of any titles, but there are several movies and books portraying them as such. While the Angels in Angellfall are as far from guardian angels as you can get, they're also at times sarcastic bundles of fluff (ok that might be stretching things a bit, sue me if you like pocket lint).

Exhibit A: Raffe. While it's apparent from the beginning that the general census of Angels is that they're evil, murderous creatures (seriously, who kidnaps a disabled child from a wheel chair?), Raffe shows that they don't all share the same opinion of humans. As Penryn and Raffe interact on their way to save Penryn's sister from the evil, kidnapping Angels, you can observe the humor and care Raffe shows (albeit in a backhanded way at times) that helps to prove that point.

I'd recommend to pretty much anyone. It's a relatively short read and absolute oddness of some of the characters paired with humor helps break up the serious bits.

Quote: “Sometimes, as we’re stumbling along in the dark, we hit something good.”

I chose not to use so many good ones simply because I feel that the humor of them would be diluted if read before reading the book.

The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran

Year: 2008

Genre: Historical Fiction

383 pages

Goodreads rating: 4.21/5

Personal rating: 5/5

This books follows Nefertari, the niece of the heretic queen Nefertiti. From a young age Nefertari has to face the ridicule and hate that comes with being the last living relative of a queen that turned away from the ancient Egyptian deities for the monotheistic views of her husband. She grows up with the kindness of only her nurse and two friends, Asha and Ramesses (Ramesses II, the crown prince and future Pharaoh of Egypt). Nefertari leaves for a period of 12 months after Ramesses comes of age and marries his first wife, both with sadness and a determination to better herself.

The detail that the author put into writing this book is obvious, and I feel that it must mean extensive research or an intense love of history. The way that she describes the day to day interactions of the people and the items and customs of the society is mind blowing. The attention to detail is absolutely lovely and paints what I feel is the perfect backdrop and visual of the time period.

I'd recommend for anyone that enjoys detailed writing and historical fiction.

Note: while there aren't any 'scenes' necessarily, there are blatant allusions to sexual themes.

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

FUZZ BASS & FX -- ASSAULT & BATTERY -- CONJURING DARK RHYTHMS IN THE DEEP.

PIC(S) INFO: Spotlight on English musicians Tim Bagshaw and Mark Greening, former original rhythm section for British stoner/DOOM metal band, ELECTRIC WIZARD, c. late '90s

Both later worked together for nine years in Stoner/DOOM/Sludge metal outfit, RAMESSES. The second photo was taken during rehearsals in 2014, during their post WIZARD era.

Source: www.picuki.com/media/3274778661994641746.

[athenskid]

In time of sickness like this, memory takes me back to those beautiful holidays in Rome, 2014. My first time visiting the great city of the Romans.

These pics were taken in Piazza del Popolo. The Egyptian obelisk, known as Flaminio Obelisk, stands tall and high, splitting the piazza between two giant ladies: Santa Maria in Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Miracoli. It was originated from the time of Seti I, father of Ramesses the Great, who erected the obelisk as his monument at Heliopolis, the city of pillars. Octavian August took it during his Egyptian campaign together with other treasures. In the ancient time, Egypt was the source of wealth and prosperity for the Roman empire. Winning Egypt was like receiving a jackpot for Octavian.

During the Fall of Rome by the Visigoths, Flamino obelisk was broken into three pieces. It was not until the 16th century under the command of Pope Sixtus V that the obelisk was restored and put in the Piazza del Popolo. This obelisk survives the changing of time. Civilizations rise and fall, people come and go, but it stays there witnessing what human have done to the world.

[daniel11ryan]

Black Adam

Dwayne Johnson was cast as the supervillain Black Adam way back in 2014. However, there was no news on the official release date for quite some time until in 2019 Black Adam got an official release date for December 2021. The feature film in the DC Extended Universe will also feature Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher, a member of the Justice Society of America.

Dwayne Johnson said that the character of Hawkgirl would not be included in the Black Adam movie. In DC’s virtual FanDome event, the Hollywood actor talked about a concept art-based trailer focusing on the origins of Black Adam. He further said that other characters to be included in the film would be Doctor Fate, Cyclone, and Hawkman. All three characters are also a part of the Justice Society of America.

Dwayne Johnson Does not Elaborate on the Reason Behind Hawkgirl’s Absence from Black Adam

Responding to a fan’s question, Dwayne Johnson said that even though Hawkgirl was a part of the original Justice Society of America team, she was not part of the movie because of a few things that happened behind the scenes and stopped her from being a part of Black Adam. However, Johnson did not elaborate on that statement. He said that Cyclone would be a part of the film, further adding that whatever happened was maybe meant to be.

As of now, Dwayne Johnson and Noah Centineo have been confirmed for Black Adam. There is still no clarity who would play the characters of the JSA members. DC’s FanDome event would have been the perfect opportunity to introduce other characters of the film, but the fans will have to wait till there is an official statement. Jaume Collet Serra will direct the movie.

Noah Centineo to Star as Atom Smasher in Black Adam

Albert “Al” Rothstein also known as Atom Smasher first featured in All-Star Squadron #25 in September 1983. The fictional character is the grandson of supervillain Cyclotron. In his life as a superhero, he inherited Cyclotron’s superpowers and Justice Society of America founder The Atom’s quality of morality, and he went on to become one of the founding members of Infinity Inc. This group of superheroes comprised children and students of the Justice Society of America.

Black Adam: DC Comics Anti-Hero

Black Adam is an antihero appearing in DC Comics. Otto Binder and CC Beck created it. The fictional character has been portrayed as an enemy of Shazam. Black Adam first featured in December 1945 in the first edition of Fawcett Comics’ The Marvel Family Comic Book. Black Adam was later brought back to life after DC Comics acquired the license of the Fawcett characters and began publishing stories in the 1970s.

Black Adam: Shazam’s Evil Enemy

Black Adam was introduced to the DC Comics Universe in 1994 in The Power of Shazam! He is portrayed as an evil and dangerous character in the ongoing Power of Shazam series. The evil character is the son of an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II. He goes on to impress the wizard Shazam and receives the gift of becoming a “superhero” by speaking out the word Shazam. Shazam is an acronym for Adam’s powers. Shu (Stamina), Heru (Swiftness), Amon (Strength), Zehuti (Wisdom), Aton (Power), Mehen (Courage). The character has appeared in cinematic ventures such as a short animated film Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam. He has also appeared in Lego DC: Shazam!: Magic and Monsters.

Black Adam has been a playable character in DC Unchained, Injustice: Gods Among Us and Injustice 2, a fighting video game based on the DC Universe. Injustice 2 is available on Android, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and iOS.

DC tastes success with Shazam and Aquaman. So, it is a matter of time before Black Adam comes to a cinema near you and tries to create the same magic amongst the movie-going audience.

Zoila Sims is a modern personality who has been writing blogs and articles about cyber security. She writes about the present day updates involving mcafee.com/activate and how it can beautify the work experience of users. Her articles have been posted in many well-known e-magazines, blogs and websites.

Source:https://mcafee5.uk.com/black-adam-dwayne-johnson/

[whattolearntoday]

A bit of May 31st history...

1279BC - Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the Great, becomes Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt (19th Dynasty) (pictured)

1790 - US copyright law enacted

1884 - Dr John Harvey Kellogg patents “flaked cereal”

1909 - National Conference on the Negro holds 1st meeting in NY (earlier form of NAACP)

1976 - The Who set record for loudest concert of all time 

2008 - Usain Bolt breaks world record in 100 meter sprint in 9.72 seconds (pictured below)

2014 - Psy’s “Gangnam Style” becomes 1st video to reach 2 billion views on youtube

[gamehayapkmod]

Egyptian Senet (Ancient Egypt Game)

Egyptian Senet (Ancient Egypt Game)

Game Egyptian Senet (Ancient Egypt Game) là dòng game Board

Giới thiệu Egyptian Senet (Ancient Egypt Game)

Start your mysterious afterlife journey to pass through the underworld realm of Osiris The Favorite Pastime Of The Pharaoh Tutankhamun. The Artifact Of The World's Oldest Board Game Found In King Tut's Tomb, Beside The Golden Coffin & Sarcophagus. ====== Awards ====== ◆ 1st Winner Of Egypt e-Content Award 2013. ◆ Silver Winner in 2013 W3 Awards. ◆ 3rd Winner Of Gaming Egypt Contest 2012 organized by iTi. ◆ Nominated for the World Summit Award 2013 in e-Entertainment & Games from Egypt. ◆ Nominated for Top 20 Mobile Apps in Mobily KSA Developers Award 2014. After performing opening of the mouth ceremony on your mummy by Anubis, you start your afterlife journey protected by Eye of Horus(Wadjet) to pass through the underworld realm of Osiris, challenging an invisible adversary inside an Egyptian hidden tomb in The Valley of the Queens located near the better known Valley of the Kings, on the west bank of the Nile river across from Thebes (Luxor) Senet is a board game from predynastic and ancient Egypt, it is the earliest known record of a backgammon , checkers and chess like games. The oldest hieroglyph representing a Senet game dates to around 3500 BC.The full name of the game in Egyptian was meaning "The game of passing". Games have been around for thousands of years, but none are older than the ancient game of Senet, invented by the Egyptians roughly 3500 or 5000 years ago. It is believed that this two-player board game originated as a popular form of recreation with both royalty and peasantry. But by the mid-13th century BC, Senet had evolved into a more religious ritual. Some depictions from this time period forward show the game being played not by two people, but rather as a deceased player competing against an invisible adversary, interpreted by some to symbolize the deceased players own soul. The board has become a metaphor for the afterlife with pawns moving across the board just as a soul moves through layers of the netherworld after death. Reaching the final space and leaving the board is the goal of the game, just as reaching Horus and leaving the netherworld was the goal for the Egyptians after their death for attaining rebirth with the gods Isis & Osiris, Sekhmet & Bastet holding the Egyptian Ankh or the papyrus scepter. The game board consists of 30 squares or slots, arranged in 3 horizontal rows of 10. Pawns move from left to right through row 1, then drop down and move from right to left through row 2. Dropping down again, pawns move from left to right along row 3 and finally, off the board. The game uses the rules of timothy kendall in his game, Passing Through the Netherworld :The Meaning and Play of Senet,an Ancient Egyptian Funerary Game. The game includes five special squares, governed by their own rules, each containing a hieroglyphic. Square 15 is the House of Rebirth; square 26 is the House of Beauty; square 27 is the House of Water: square 28 is the House of the 3 Truths; square 29 is the House of 2 Truths; and square 30, the last, is the House of Horus,the Egyptian falcon-god and lord of the sky. Egyptian Senet is a pharaonic challenging game that combines luck,strategy,and magic features authentic photos of ancient Egyptian temples,plus artistically crafted graphics and animation of an ancient stone game board and pieces,set in an echoing,tomb-like chamber.Ritualistic music plus sound effects of stone pieces moving recreate the atmosphere of predynastic Egypt.The App's Icon shows the Egyptian Queen Nefertari playing Senet in her tomb,she was the great wife of the pharaoh Ramesses II(Ramses)Rio. Also many Egyptian Queens have a similar photos playing Senet such as Cleopatra,Nefertiti the great royal wife of Akhenaten,and the Queen Hatshepsut the wife of Thutmose II. Recommended for everyone interested in Egyptology, Archeology, and Mummification. Supported Languages in 2018 - 2019 : (English Arabic French Spanish German Italian Dutch Russian Japanese Korean Chinese Portuguese-Brazil). System Update

Download APK

Tải APK ([app_filesize]) #gamehayapk #gameandroid #gameapk #gameupdate

[toneburst]

Magma (Paris, 🇲🇫) — Zëss : Le jour du néant (Seventh, 2019).

Magma образована в 1969 барабанщиком с классическим образованием Кристианом Вандером (Christian Vander), знаменита созданием нового направления прогрессивной музыки — #zeuhl (genre is a mixture of musical genres like Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Modernism and Fusion) и изобретением вымышленного «кобайского» (Kobaïan) языка, на котором написано большинство композиций коллектива.

Читал про них и наткнулся на малоизвестный французский сатирический (и антибуржуазный, какой же ещё в те годы) фильм-манифест

Moi y'en a vouloir des sous (Jean Yanne, 1972) https://www.youtu.be/kBo2qcvNvJg

с Nicole Calfan — https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0129885

и Bernard Blier — https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Блие,_Бернар

из «La Chasse à l’homme» с Françoise Dorléac в роли продажного профсоюзного босса

[кстати, его сын Bertrand Blier — ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Блие,_Бертран, известный режиссёр, параллельно в том же году снял свой главный хит — «Вальсирующие / Les Valseuses», а чуть позже «Сколько ты стоишь? / Combien tu m’aimes?» с Monica Bellucci]

так вот, на отметке 1:14:44 в фильме Moi y'en a vouloir des sous можно увидеть фрагмент реального выступления группы Magma на заре их карьеры

Magma — Moi y'en a vouloir des sous (Jean Yanne, 1972) https://www.youtu.be/_Hc02vaxDow

почти как

Yardbirds с Jimmy Page и Jeff Beck в Blow-Up (Antonioni, 1966) https://www.youtu.be/jqh03zFRx2w

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds в Der Himmel über Berlin (Wim Wenders, 1987) https://www.youtu.be/VNHY_X-0nyI

или

Medicine в The Crow (Alex Proyas, 1994) https://www.youtu.be/DorLHLxvrFM

...

В 2014 Magma пригласили на фест Roadburn, куратором тогда был известный адепт прога — Mikael Åkerfeldt из Opeth (он их и позвал)

Magma - Félicité Thösz @ Roadburn, April 11th, 2014 https://www.youtu.be/UHW-yraZA5Y

#Roadburn2014

D1: True Widow, Conan, Bong, The Cult of Dom Keller, Regarde Les Hommes Tomber, Whitehorse, Beastmilk, Mühr, Corrections House, ASG, Napalm Death

D2: Terra Tenebrosa, Nicklas Barker (Anekdoten) + Reine Fiske (Dungen), Claudio Simonetti (Goblin), Änglagård, Promise and the Monster, The Body, Comus, Opeth, Papir, Tyranny, Procession, Candlemass, Obliteration

D3: Windhand, Loop (Robert Hampson), Inter Arma, Obelyskkh, Papir, E-Musikgruppe Lux Ohr, Horse Latitudes, Mansion, Old Man Gloom, Carlton Melton, 11 Paranoias (Bong+Ramesses), Horse Latitudes, A Storm Of Light

D4: Avatarium, Aqua Nebula Oscillator, Lumerians, New Keepers of the Water Towers, Papir + Electric Moon, YOB, Morne, Selim Lemouchi & His Enemies (tribute to The Devil's Blood)

https://flic.kr/s/aHsm223Ztk

#magma #spiritual #orchestral #epic #apocalyptic #ritualistic #concept #mythology #occult #france #progressive #avantprog #thirdstream

[momentsinhistory]

Today In History: May 31

A bit of May 31st history…

1279BC - Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the Great, becomes Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt (19th Dynasty) (pictured)

1790 - US copyright law enacted

1884 - Dr John Harvey Kellogg patents “flaked cereal”

1909 - National Conference on the Negro holds 1st meeting in NY (earlier form of NAACP)

1976 - The Who set record for loudest concert of all time 

2008 - Usain Bolt breaks world record in 100 meter sprint in 9.72 seconds (pictured below)

2014 - Psy’s “Gangnam Style” becomes 1st video to reach 2 billion views on youtube 

[aboutanancientenquiry]

A very interesting paper on the schemes of Egyptian history,  the building of the Pyramids, and the ideology of the Saite Renaissance in Herodotus, Hecataeus of Abdera, and Diodorus Siculus

“Schemes of Egyptian History in the Works of Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus:

A History-Writing of Renaissance?

 Ladynin Ivan Andreevich

Faculty of History, Lomonosov Moscow State University,

National Research University “Higher School of Economics”

 The paper I am going to present is, in fact, not so much new compared to some things I have already stated; I hope, however, it will be successful as a sort of re-grouping this earlier material and re-placing some accents in its interpretation. Four years ago, in early September 2014, I presented at a conference organized by the Perm’ branch of the Higher School of Economics a paper entitled “The ‘Crisis of the Pyramid-Builders’ in Herodotus’ Book 2 and Diodorus’ Book 1, and the Epochs of Egyptian History”. My aim was to investigate the reasons that led both Herodotus’ and Diodorus’ following Hecataeus of Abdera to place the reigns of the great pyramid builders belonging, as we know, to Dynasty IV in the mid-Third Millennium B.C. between the reign of king with a name derivative from the name “Ramesses” (Herodotus’ Rhampsinitus and Diodorus’ Rhemphis) and the time of the Ethiopian domination. Translating this relative chronology into real figures is, of course, an implausible and illogical operation; however it would bring us to conclude that these Greek authors placed the building of the great pyramids sometimes between the 13th and the 8th centuries B.C. This false chronology contradicts not only the present knowledge but also the knowledge of the Egyptian historiographers of the Late Period: one can see from the work of Manetho that they were able to place the pyramid building rightly in time. One might conclude that the anachronism of Herodotus and Hecataeus/Diodorus is due either to their blatant ignorance or to the ignorance of their informers: and it has once been assumed that Herodotus had fallen victim to the services of ordinary tourist guides. But an attentive look discerns in the narrations of both Herodotus and Diodorus a rather elaborate scheme of Egyptian history; so a more plausible option is that this anachronism resulted not from ignorance but from a conscious manipulation. In my idea, this manipulation was backed by the authentic Egyptian notion that the pyramid building preceding and probably provoked a great catastrophe: this notion can be detected more explicitly in the Westcar Papyrus and more vaguely in the Prophecy of Neferty. In real history this catastrophe was the First Intermediate Period; but for one or another reason the informers of Herodotus and Hecataeus/Diodorus must have taken the Ethiopian advent and subsequent shortcomings, including the conflict with Assyria and the anarchy before Psammetichus I (the alleged “dodecarchy”), for an unrivaled disaster and placed the pyramid building before it.

Beside this conclusion I made in my paper of 2014 a number of observations that seem important. To begin with, one can say there is a coincidence of the sequences of kings given by Herodotus and Hecataeus/Diodorus for the early Egyptian history (i.e. the period before the Ethiopian conquest). Certainly, the account of Hecataeus/Diodorus is longer, it has a more detailed and better discernible structure, and it enumerates a greater number of kings than Herodotus does; but the important point is that it neither omits a figure of a king known to Herodotus nor changes its relative place in the sequence. Besides Dr. Askold Ivanchik has once observed in his research of the tradition about Sesostris that the accounts of Herodotus and Hecataeus/Diodorus about this king develop similar subjects; but they are narrated differently, so that there is no question of Hecataeus taking his information from Herodotus; he rather used an Egyptian tradition known to him independently and heavily influenced by folklore. This means that the Egyptian tradition Herodotus knew and used was still circulated more than a century later, when Hecataeus of Abdera was compiling his work on Egypt at the court of the Satrap Ptolemy. Let us say that this specific tradition was by no means unrivalled as a source of information available to Hecataeus: apart from it there was, to say the least, the “academic” version of the Egyptian history represented probably some 40 or 50 years after Hecataeus in the work by Manetho. If Hecataeus choose another tradition he did it not just following Herodotus: he not only told much more than the latter but also confronted him in a number of points [Priestley, 2, 128 ff, 138 ff] (skepticism about Herodotus is indeed a well-known trend in the Classical writing). Thus, Hecataeus’ preference must show that in Egypt of the late 4th century this tradition, quite independently of the Greek historiography, was prominent enough to serve a base for the work by Hecataeus, who was probably writing an “official” Ptolemaic history of Egypt addressed to an early Hellenistic Greek-speaking reader!

What are the features of this tradition basically common to the narrations of Herodotus and Hecataeus/Diodorus? To begin with, they both give to Egyptian history a certain structure, much easier to notice with Hecataeus/Diodorus. These authors show three sequences of Egyptian kings: first started with the founder-king Menas is not attached to any specific place; the second including Osymandias is Theban; and the third, started with the king Uchoreus, is Memphite. Dr. Arkadiy Demidchik, a researcher of the First Intermediate Period in the history of Egypt, assumed probably fairly that Uchoreus is a replica of Khety WAH-kA-Ra of Dynasty X (mid-21st century B.C.), probable author of the Teaching to the King Merikare, who tried to resume pyramid building and transferred his residence and capital from Herakleopolis to Memphis in an attempt to restore the state of the Old Kingdom. Dr. Demidchik also turned my attention privately to the fact that 12 kings between separating Uchoreus from Moiris, according to Hecataeus/Diodorus, is a highly likely number of kings between the historical Khety WAH-kA-Ra and Amenemhat I at the start of Dynasty XII. Thus, the start of the third sequence of kings in the scheme of Hecataeus/Diodorus is obviously a replica of the late First Intermediate Period and the early Middle Kingdom. The Theban sequence before it is a reflection of the New Kingdom and a rather notorious interpolation, which does not prevent the reminiscences of the same period from reappearing in the third sequence. That sequence comprises in fact the replicas of the Middle and the New Kingdom and of the Late Period; and Hecataeus/Diodorus say that the capital of Egypt remained in Memphis all the way to the foundation of Alexandria (Diod. I. 50.6-7).

As for the work of Herodotus, I believe that our guest Roberto Gozzoli was one of the few researchers of his evidence to indicate in it “few separate blocks” corresponding to the epochs of Egyptian history [Gozzoli 2006, p. 172-173]. The best-marked boundary between such blocks is defined by the sum of 330 or 341 generations of kings from the reign of Min at the start of history and to the rule of a “priest of Hephaestus” named Sethos: his rule followed Ethiopian conquest, and after it the reigns of the Saite kings went. Thus, this reign actually marked the boundary between the “ancient” and “modern” history of Herodotus’ Egyptian informers. The final boundary of the first period of Egyptian history (as well as the very existence of such period in Herodotus’ narration) is less discernible. This period is opened by the reign of the king-founder Min: after the story of his reign Herodotus says that 330 other kings followed him and tells at length about the only female among them, the queen Nitocris. Completing her story Herodotus says: “But of the other kings they related no achievement or act of great note, except of Moiris, the last of them” (101.1: τῶν δὲ ἄλλων βασιλέων οὐ γὰρ ἔλεγον οὐδεμίαν ἔργων ἀπόδεξιν καὶ οὐδὲν εἶναι λαμπρότητος, πλὴν ἑνὸς τοῦ ἐσχάτου αὐτῶν Μοίριος). Formally the “other kings” mentioned in this phrase must be those 330 kings summed at the start of the preceding chapter; however, Moiris in Herodotus’ narration is by no means the last of them, and the historian tells a lot about those who ruled after him. Judging from this Moiris must be the last in the elusive first sequence of Egyptian kings: Herodotus told nothing of its members except Nitocris and probably did not quite understand the principle of its definition, as he made an obvious mistake when speaking of its last king. However, this principle is obvious: the Royal Canon of Turin and Manetho’s evidence makes it clear that Nitocris was thought to belong to the late Old Kingdom, and Moiris, the builder of two pyramids near the lake he ordered to dig, definitely marks the start of Dynasty XII. Thus, the boundary between the sequences of kings in Herodotus’ narration is very much the same as drawn by Hecataeus/Diodorus between the Theban and Memphite epochs in Egyptian history.

Notably, all these boundaries are oddly bloodless and unproblematic. For the early history of Egypt before the pyramid building and the Ethiopian conquest Herodotus would notice the individual faults of some kings, like the greediness of Rhampsinitus, but he does not know crises that would shatter the foundations of the Egyptian state. In the narration of Hecataeus/Diodorus the start of the second, Theban, period of Egyptian history as well as the transition from it to the third, Memphite, period are not marked by any catastrophe. Thus, the informers of Hecataeus/Diodorus somehow forgot is the First Intermediate Period, though Manetho must have known it well enough. Neither Herodotus, nor Hecataeus/Diodorus know the Hyksos conquest that Manetho described perfectly at length: Hecataeus/Diodorus narrate a suspicious story of a cruel king Amasis, whose reign someplace in the middle of the Memphite period was followed by a short Ethiopian conquest of Egypt under King Actysanes. The place of this episode evidently after the reigns of the historical Middle Egyptian kings calls for an association with the Hyksos conquest: however, the episode is very brief, and Actysanes is depicted as a good Egyptian ruler, so this is also not a lasting crisis of the Egyptian state. Herodotus and Hecataeus/Diodorus tell about King Proteus, or Cetes, who lived in the time of the Trojan War and received in Egypt Alexander and Helen; but they know nothing about the wars with the Sea Peoples, which were probably reflected in Manetho’s story about the Hyksos and the lepers seizing Egypt at the end of Dynasty XIX. Herodotus tells a lot about the wars of Sesostris and Hecataeus/Diodorus about the wars of Osymandias and Sesoosis: the expansion under those kings ultimately failed, but this was only natural for the attempts to get hold of the entire world and did not affect in any way the life inside Egypt. To sum up, the Egyptian informers of Herodotus and Hecataeus/Diodorus ignored (to be sure, not of ignorance) all major crises and military catastrophes in the early history of their country: they represented it as a structured but basically uninterrupted process that continued without any considerable turmoil till the time of pyramid building.

Another omission of both Herodotus and Hecataeus/Diodorus not often discussed by scholars is their ignoring the Lybian time. For a contemporary Egyptologist this epoch, especially its start is certainly the cradle of the Late Egyptian society with its specific social order and somewhat weakened royal power. The Egyptians of the Late Period seem to have not forgotten this: in the late 4th century B.C., closely to the time of Hecataeus, Aristotle’s pupil Dicaearchus called the most ancient Egyptian king-founder with the name Sesonchosis, probably taking this knowledge directly or indirectly from the Egyptian tradition; and some decades later Manetho gave this name to the first king of his Dynasty XII, the historical Senwosret I, renowned as a great king-founder of his time. It is hardly needed to prove that the name Sesonchosis is derived from the Lybian-Egyptian name Shoshenq, and the reason to transfer this name on the rulers of much earlier past was probably the notion that the first Lybian king of Egypt at the start of Dynasty XXI Shoshenq I was a king-founder himself. Again, a look at Manetho’s kings’ list shows that in the early Hellenistic time Lybian dynasties were remembered not in all details but quite distinctly; and probably at the same time the Demotic Epic of Petubastis with its specific setting in Late Lybian Egypt was codified. Some more than a century ago Eduard Meyer suggested, probably, rightly that Diodorus’ account about the creation of a specific class of warriors-landholders by King Sesoosis must correspond to the real activities of Shoshenq I. However, the image of King Sesoosis obviously amalgamates the reminiscences of the historical Senwosret I and III, so ascribing to this king the innovation of the historical Shoshenq I is somewhat similar to transferring his name on the historical Senwosret I in Manetho’s kings’ list. Herodotus did not describe such reform explicitly: but he spoke about the privileges of Egyptian warriors, who held the land plots of 12 arouras free of taxation (168), and in other context he said that the distribution of land in equal plots was carried out by King Sesostris (109), i.e. by the historical Senwosret III. It is logical that the privilege of warriors had to be introduced simultaneously with the all-embracing distribution of land; but then, in Herodotus’ idea, the privileged military class was also created by a historical king of Dynasty XII. Thus, the founding activities of the early Lybian time happen to be detached from it and assigned to much earlier epochs of Egyptian history.

As for the Lybian time as such, Herodotus, indeed, mentions a King Asychis, who ruled after Mycerinus, built the forecourt of the temple of Hephaestus, gave a law “allowing a man to borrow on the security of his father's corpse” and erected a pyramid of bricks (136). A parallel to Asychis in the narration of Hecataeus/Diodorus seems to be Sasychis, a second greatest lawgiver of Egypt, who codified ritual and invented geometry (Diod. I.94.3). The position of these rulers before the Ethiopian conquest corresponds to that of the historical Lybian time; and the building of Asychis, according to Herodotus, might be seen as a replica of archeologically attested activities of Shoshenq I at Memphis. This led Alan Lloyd to equate both Asychis and Sasychis with Shoshenq I and to see in this image the reflection of the early Lybian time. Two things, however, allows doubting that such equation is quite true and that it was thought of by the creators of this image. First, both Herodotus and Hecataeus/Diodorus on this king do not tell that this king created the military class, though this doing would have been legitimately connected with the personality of the first Lybian king. Second, no convincing argument has been given so far as to which Egyptian royal name underlies the name Asychis, or Sasychis. So far the most consistent interpretation was to see in it a Hellenization of the Egyptian name aSA-xt – “rich (lit. many, multiple) of things”; but none king bore it. However, the founder of Dynasty XXIV Tefnakhte had Horus’ and Two Ladies’ names %iA-Xt “Wise with his belly”; moreover, these names are quite significant, as, according to Robert Ritner, they allude to the Old Kingdom royal protocol (Ritner did not make his idea more clear, but he probably meant the two-partite Horus’ names with the second component –Xt belonging to Djoser, Sekhemkhet, Menkaure and Shepseskaf)[1]. The transformation of the Egyptian name %iA-Xt into the Greek Sasychis is plausible, while the form Asychis in Herodotus’ account might be its corruption (anyway, the connection between them seems likely to most students). There is another reason to see Tefnakhte in Asychis/Sasychis: Hecataeus/Diodorus tell that Menas had once been a founder of “luxurious life” but later King Tnephachthus experienced great hardships during his war against Arabia, “denounced luxury and pronounced a curse on the king who had first taught the people their extravagant way of living” and wrote down his curse in the temple of Zeus. Tnephachthus is called the father of Bochoris, so his identity with Tefnakhte is certain. According to this statement Tnephachthus formulated some basic principles of life, and this is also comparable with Sasychis’ codifying rituals, introducing the fundamental law on borrowing on the security of mummy and inventing geometry. In fact it is significant that the founder of the Saite royal house is portrayed as a sort of cultural hero; however, if my interpretation is correct, the images of Lybian kings and any notion of their founding activities are absent from the narrations of Herodotus and Hecataeus/Diodorus.

Still more importance to the Saite house in the traditions discussed is given by the image of King Bocchoris, which is presented by Hecataeus/Diodorus, though absent in the narration of Herodotus. A label of Bocchoris is his wisdom, which made him a famous law-giver; however, his image is not entirely positive and he is shown not just wise but also as cunning person. Similar image was given by Herodotus to Rhampsinitus, whose wisdom provided to Egypt the best laws but who was also greedy and cunning; symptomatically, his reign is the eve of the great trouble of pyramid building. The reign of Bocchoris also precedes the trouble of the Ethiopian conquest, though Hecataeus/Diodorus say somewhat oddly that the Ethiopian Sabacon ruled much later than Bocchoris. In fact, such saying wants some explanation: not only the advent of the Nubian king Shabaka must have fallen in the time of the real King Bocchoris but also Manetho says that he was burnt alive by the invader. Beside Manetho there is rather a good deal of evidence about Bocchoris in the tradition of the Late Antiquity: Plutarch says that the goddess Isis put on his head a snake, which caused him to decide different matters fairly and prevented his cruelties; and Claudius Aelianus ascribed to him an intention to have an ordinary bull fight the sacred bull Mnevis. However, two evidences are crucially important: first, the famous Oracle of Lamb dates to the reign of Bocchoris the prophecy of miraculous lamb about hardships of Egypt under foreign rule, and similar statement is given by Manetho. Second, according to Lysimachus of Alexandria quoted by Josephus and Tacitus Bocchoris sent to desert a mass of ritually impure suffering from skin diseases, which eventually gave origin to the people of Jews. The latter statement has an easily recognizable parallel in Manetho’s story about similar iniquity of King Amenophis at the end of Dynasty XIX, which provoked the downfall of Egypt to the power of the Hyksos allied with Egyptian lepers. These evidences definitely state that in the time of Bocchoris not only the later turmoil of foreign conquest was predictable but also it was caused by his own misdoings. Probably, the statement of Manetho about the predictions of lamb registers the existence of this considerably negative image of Bocchoris by the early Hellenistic time; however, its negative message can hardly be inspired by some tendency of this time and must come back to earlier epoch, when it could be more or less topical. Traces of the same attitude are seen in the evidence of Hecataeus/Diodorus about the cunning Bocchoris; but here his negative features are softened greatly, to the degree of some ambivalence in his image. Perhaps, this softening might explain why Hecataeus/Diodorus made of Sabacon a remote successor of Bocchoris: a distance between them would not let to hold Bocchoris responsible with his iniquities for the trouble of the Ethiopian conquest! For some reason the inspirers of the tradition represented by Hecataeus/Diodorus wanted not only to make of Tefnakhte a sort of cult figure but also to create an unblemished image of his son.

The observations I have made seem sufficient to sum up and to derive some conclusion. As I have just shown, the tradition represented by Herodotus and Hecataeus/Diodorus is highly loyal to the Saite royal house at its very origin. It is a triviality that the evidence of both narratives is especially detailed and trustworthy as far as the history of Dynasty XXVI is concerned; and Herodotus drew a rather taking image of Amasis, a trickster on the throne though an able ruler. However, Dynasty XXVI had been the last dynasty and Amasis had been the last king before Egypt lost its independence to Persians; so their generally positive presentation could be explained by the intention to contrast this reminiscence of lost independence to the foreign rule. Such explanation would not work for Dynasty XXIV: that its rulers Tefnakhte and Bocchoris are deliberately idealized is likely to be explained with loyalty towards the Saite royal house as a matter of principle, independent of any contrast to what followed later. Another important point is the omission of the Libyan time in the tradition discussed. Incidentally, there was an urge to idealize it and to present it as the great heroic past of Egypt; this urge brought to life the Demotic Epic of Petubastis, probably, first codified in the early Hellenistic time but likely to emerge earlier. The partisans of this tradition must have been those who had once flourished in the Libyan time, i.e. the Libyan princes and, in due course, their descendents; however, the contrary urge to forget the Libyan time and even to ascribe its important doings to much earlier epochs had to come from the foes of the Libyan princely hierarchy, i.e. from the Saite rulers fighting for Egypt’s unification since Dynasty XXIV. This deliberate oblivion is not merely a sign of hostility: if the Libyan time were represented in the scheme of Herodotus and Hecataeus/Diodorus in its own right, it would inevitably have become a certain reference point, a Neubeginn that started the “modern” history of Egypt separated from the great antiquity. Probably, the creators of this tradition were willing to keep in their mind only two reference points, or rather a reference period and reference point: the great antiquity ending with pyramid building and Ethiopian conquest; and the start of the Saite Dynasty XXVI as a restoration of normal order of things. Finally, quite tell-tale is the very desire to represent the Ethiopian conquest of Egypt and its aftermath as the major turmoil in the history of Egypt, the preceding epoch of the pyramid building as an iniquity causing in a way that turmoil and still earlier history of Egypt as a structured but virtually uninterrupted and unproblematic time of the great rulers! This tendency fits excellently with the notable aspiration to resurrect the idealized great past merging together both the Old and the Middle Kingdom, which was characteristic for the time of the Saite Dynasty XXVI often denoted as the epoch of Renaissance.

Thus, the conclusion, which I feel legitimate to make, is that the scheme of Egyptian history reproduced in the narratives of Herodotus and Hecataeus/Diodorus was backed and largely formed by the ideological trends of the Saite Renaissance. It is rather natural that the informers of Herodotus fed to him exactly this scheme: after all, the Renaissance was the motto of the period that immediately preceded the Persian rule. It is not so clear why the scheme retained its importance still in the 4th century B.C. and why Hecataeus made use of it at a time when the Renaissance ideology was hardly topical and this scheme obviously had alternatives (to say the least, the one represented in the work of Manetho). I must confess that at present I do not know the answer to this question and should welcome suggestions about it.

[1] Djoser – nTry-Xt; Sekemkhet = sxm-Xt; Menkaure – kA-Xt; Shepseskaf – Sps-Xt. It was the idea of old Egyptologists (Hall, Ancient History of the Near East, p. 127; Laut, ZAeS 6 (1868), 4-44) that Diodorus’ Sasychis has to be identified with Shepseskaf; partly it was resumed by Kenneth Kitchen, who thought this image to be a confusion of Shoshenq I with Shepseskaf, due to Herodotus’ ascribing to Asychis a pyramid of bricks = “Pharaoh’s Mastaba”. However, shall the idea of such confusion be true, it might be rather a confusion of Shepseskaf and %i A-Xt-Tefnakhte, whose Horus’ names are really similar with their component -Xt.”

Ivan Ladynin is Russian historian and Egyptologist

Source: https://hist.hse.ru/data/2018/09/30/1156686309/Renaissance.docx