Page 1	The Egyptian Texts By E A WallisBudge		Page 2
	Ebooks Home Page	Web www.Ithon.com
	Page 1

                  LEGENDS OF THE GODS

       The Egyptian Texts, edited with Translations

                 by E. A. Wallis Budge

                     London, 1912





PREFACE


The welcome which has been accorded to the volumes of this Series, and
the fact that some of them have passed into second and third editions,
suggest that these little books have been found useful by beginners in
Egyptology and others.  Hitherto the object of them has been to supply
information about the Religion, Magic, Language, and History of the
ancient Egyptians, and to provide editions of the original texts from
which such information was derived.  There are, however, many branches
of Egyptology which need treatment in a similar manner in this Series,
and it has been suggested in many quarters that the time has now
arrived when the publication of a series of groups of texts
illustrating Egyptian Literature in general might well be begun.
Seeing that nothing is known about the authors of Egyptian works, not
even their names, it is impossible to write a History of Egyptian
Literature in the ordinary sense of the word.  The only thing to be
done is to print the actual works in the best and most complete form
possible, with translations, and then to put them in the hands of the
reader and leave them to his judgment.

With this object in view, it has been decided to publish in the Series
several volumes which shall be devoted to the reproduction in
hieroglyphic type of the best and most typical examples of the various
kinds of Egyptian Literature, with English translations, on a much
larger scale than was possible in my "First Steps in Egyptian" or in my
"Egyptian Reading Book."  These volumes are intended to serve a double
purpose, i.e., to supply the beginner in Egyptian with new material and
a series of reading books, and to provide the general reader with
translations of Egyptian works in a handy form.

The Egyptian texts, whether the originals be written in hieroglyphic or
hieratic characters, are here printed in hieroglyphic type, and are
arranged with English translations, page for page.  They are printed as
they are written in the original documents, i.e., the words are not
divided.  The beginner will find the practice of dividing the words for
himself most useful in acquiring facility of reading and understanding
the language.  The translations are as literal as can reasonably be
expected, and, as a whole, I believe that they mean what the original
writers intended to say.  In the case of passages where the text is
corrupt, and readings are mixed, or where very rare words occur, or
where words are omitted, the renderings given claim to be nothing more
than suggestions as to their meanings.  It must be remembered that the
exact meanings of many Egyptian words have still to be ascertained, and
that the ancient Egyptian scribes were as much puzzled as we are by
some of the texts which they copied, and that owing to carelessness,
ignorance, or weariness, or all three, they made blunders which the
modern student is unable to correct.  In the Introduction will be found
brief descriptions of the contents of the Egyptian texts, in which
their general bearing and importance are indicated, and references
given to authoritative editions of texts and translations.




E. A. WALLIS BUDGE.



BRITISH MUSEUM,
November 17,1911.





CONTENTS





CHAPTER

   I.  THE LEGEND OF THE CREATION

  II.  THE LEGEND OF THE DESTRUCTION OF MANKIND

 III.  THE LEGEND OF RA AND THE SNAKE-BITE

  IV.  THE LEGEND OF HORUS OF EDFU AND THE WINGED DISK

   V.  THE LEGEND OF THE ORIGIN OF HORUS

  VI.  A LEGEND OF KHENSU NEFER-HETEP AND THE PRINCESS OF BEKHTEN

 VII.  THE LEGEND OF KHNEMU AND A SEVEN YEARS' FAMINE

VIII.  THE LEGEND OF THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF HORUS

  IX.  THE LEGEND OF ISIS AND OSIRIS ACCORDING TO CLASSICAL WRITERS






LIST OF PLATES AND ILLUSTRATIONS ON OR FOLLOWING PAGE:


The History of Creation

    I.  Horus holding the Hippopotamus-fiend with chain and spear

   II.  Horus spearing the Hippopotamus-fiend

  III.  Horus spearing the Hippopotamus-fiend

   IV.  Horus and Isis capturing the Hippopotamus fiend

    V.  Horus on the back of the Hippopotamus-fiend

   VI.  The slaughter of the Hippopotamus-fiend

  VII.  Horus of Behutet and Ra-Harmakhis in a shrine

 VIII.  Horus of Behutet and Ra-Harmakhis in a shrine

   IX.  Ashthertet in her chariot

    X.  Horus holding captive foes and spearing Typhonic animals

   XI.  Horus spearing human foes

  XII.  Horus spearing the crocodile

 XIII.  Horus in the form of a lion

  XIV.  The Procreation of Horus, son of Isis.

   XV.  The Resurrection of Osiris.

  XVI.  The Bekhten Stele

 XVII.  The Metternich Stele--Obverse

XVIII.  The Metternich Stele--Reverse





INTRODUCTION


I.

Page 1	The Egyptian Texts By E A WallisBudge		Page 2
	Ebooks Home Page	Web www.Ithon.com
	Page 1

NOTE, THAT WHILE THIS EBOOK IS PROVIDED WITHOUT COPYRIGHT IN THE UNITED STATES, YOU MUST CHECK WITH THE LOCAL LAWS OF THE COUNTRY YOU LIVE IN TO DETERMINE THE COPYRIGHT STATUS OF THIS EBOOK UNDER THE LAWS OF THE COUNTRY YOU LIVE IN. THIS EBOOK IS PROVIDED TO YOU "AS-IS". NO WARRANTIES OR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE USE OF THIS EBOOK OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE TO YOU ON THIS WEBSITE OR ANY MEDIUM THIS EBOOK MAY BE ON, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF ACCURACY, MERCHANTABILITY, AND FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.