The Legend of Horus of Behutet and the Winged Disk
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XII
2. In
the three hundred and sixty-third year of Ra-Heru-Khuti, who liveth
for ever and forever, His Majesty was in Ta-kens,
and his soldiers were with him; [the enemy] did not conspire (auu) against their lord, and the land [is called] Uauatet unto this day.
3. And Ra set out on an expedition in his boat, and his followers were with
him, and he arrived at Uthes-heru,
[which lay to] the west of this nome, and to the
east of the canal Pakhennu, which is called
[....... to this day]. And Heru-Behutet
was in the boat of Ra, and he said unto his father Ra-Heru-Khuti,
I see that the enemies are conspiring against their lord; let thy fiery
serpent gain the mastery ..... over
them."
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The present text translated by Budge dates to the
Ptolemaic Period.

Horus of Edfu
Courtesy Jon Bodsworth
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XIII.
1. Then the Majesty of Ra Harmachis said unto thy
divine Ka,
O Heru-Behutet, O son of Ra, thou exalted one, who
didst proceed from me, overthrow thou the enemies who are before thee
straightway."
And Heru-Behutet flew up into the horizon in the
form of the great Winged Disk, for which
reason he is called "Great god, lord of heaven," unto this day.
And when he saw the enemies in the heights of heaven he set out to follow
after them in the form of the great Winged Disk, and he attacked with such
terrific force those who opposed him, 2 that they could neither see with
their eyes nor hear with their ears, and each of them slew his fellow. In a
moment of time there was not a single creature left alive. Then Heru Behutet, shining with very many colours, came
in the form of the great Winged Disk to the Boat of Ra-Harmachis,
and Thoth
said unto Pa, "O Lord of the gods, Behutet
hath returned in the form of the great Winged Disk, shining [with many colours] ..... children;"
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Pharaoh was identified
with Horus since the beginning of history.
Heru-Khuti: Harmachis, Horakhti, Horus of the Horizon, the morning sun.
Ra-Heru-Khuti: Re-Horakhti,
the combination of Re and Horakhti which was the
main god of Heliopolis in historic times.
Ta-kens: Nubia
Uauatet: also Uaua, Wawat, Lower Nubia
Uthes-heru:
Edfu
Heru-Behutet: Horus of Edfu, came to be
identified with Re-Horakhti.
Winged Disk Source: V.Easy
Originally a pair of falcon wings were a symbol for the heaven. Under the 5th
dynasty a sun-disk was inserted between the wings, called Behedti,
He of the Colourful Feathers, and the symbol
was identified with Horus.

Two uraei surrounding the disk were added during
the late Old Kingdom.
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3
for this reason he is called Heru-Behutet unto this
day. And Thoth said, "The city Teb shall be called the city of Heru-Behutet," and thus is it
called unto this day.
And Ra embraced the ...... of Ra, and said unto Heru-Behutet,
"Thou didst put grapes into the water
which cometh forth from it, and thy heart rejoiced thereat;" and for
this reason the water (or, canal) of Heru-Behutet
is called "[Grape-Water]" unto this day, and the
........... unto this day.
4. And Heru-Behutet said, "Advance, O Ra, and
look thou upon thine enemies who are lying under
thee on this land;" thereupon the Majesty of Ra set out on the way, and
the goddess Asthertet
was with him, and he saw the enemies overthrown on the ground, each one of
them being fettered. Then said Ra to Heru-Behutet, 5
"There is sweet life in this place," and for this reason the abode
of the palace of Heru-Behutet is called "Sweet
Life" unto this day.
And Ra, said unto Thoth, "[Here was the
slaughter] of mine enemies;" and the place is called Teb unto this day.
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grapes:
drops of blood
Asthertet: Ashtoreth
?
Asthertet
Source: Naville,
Mythe d'Horus
Teb:
Edfu
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And
Thoth said unto Heru-Behutet,
"Thou art a great protector (makaa);" and
6 the Boat of Heru-Behutet is called Makaa unto this day. Then said Ra unto the gods who were
in his following, "Behold now, let us sail in our boat upon the water,
for our hearts are glad because our enemies have been overthrown on the
earth;" and the water where the great god sailed is 7 called P-Khen-Ur unto this day.
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P-Khen-Ur: the great canal
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And
behold the enemies [of Ra] rushed into the water, and they took the forms of
[crocodiles and] hippopotami, but nevertheless Ra-Heru-Khuti
sailed over the waters in his boat, and when the crocodiles and the
hippopotami had come nigh unto him, they opened wide their jaws in order to
destroy Ra-Heru-Khuti.
8. And when Heru-Behutet arrived and his followers
who were behind him in the forms of workers in
metal, each having in his hands an iron
spear and a chain, according to his name, they smote the crocodiles
and the hippopotami; and there were brought in there straightway six hundred
and fifty-one crocodiles, 9 which had been slain before the city of Edfu. Then spake Ra-Harmachis unto Heru-Behutet,
"My Image shall be [here] in the land of the South, (which is a house of
victory (or, strength);" and the House of Heru-Behutet is called Nekht-Het
unto this day.
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workers in metal: makers and users of
metal as opposed to stone weapons

Horus having in his hands an iron spear and a
chain
Source: Naville, Mythe
d'Horus
In Egypt, the oldest iron tool dates to the New Kingdom (c.1350 BCE), but the
use of iron became common only a few centuries later.
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XIV.
1. Then the god Thoth spake,
after he had looked upon the enemies lying upon the ground, saying, "Let
your hearts rejoice, O ye gods of heaven ! Let your
hearts rejoice, O ye gods who are in the earth! Horus,
the Youthful One, cometh in peace, and he hath made manifest on his journey
deeds of very great might, which he hath performed according to the Book of Slaying the Hippopotamus."
And from that day figures of Heru-Behutet in metal
have existed. Then Heru-Behutet took upon himself
the form of the Winged Disk, and he placed himself upon the front of the Boat
of Ra.
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Slaying the Hippopotamus: Since
the Old Kingdom a feast was held in Lower Egypt during which the pharaoh killed a white hippo.
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2.
And he placed by his side the goddess Nekhebet and the goddess Uatchet, in the form of two serpents, that they might make the enemies to
quake in [all] their limbs when they were in the forms of crocodiles and hippopotami in every place wherein
be came in the Land of the South and in the Land of the North.
Then those enemies rose up to make their escape from before him, and their
face was towards the Land of the South. And their hearts were stricken down through
fear of him. And Heru-Behutet was at the back (or,
side) of them in the Boat of Ra, and there were in his hands a metal lance
and a metal chain; and the metal workers who were with their lord were
equipped 3 for fighting with lances and chains. And Heru-Behutet
saw them to the south-east of the city of Uast some distance away. Then
Ra said to Thoth, "Those enemies shall be
smitten with blows that kill;" and Thoth said
to Ra, "[That place] is called the city Tchetmet
unto this day."
And Heru-Behutet made a great overthrow among them,
and Ra said, "Stand still, O Heru-Behutet,"
and [that place] is called "Het-Ra" to
this day, and the god who dwelleth therein is Heru-Behutet-Ra-imsu (or, Min).
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Nekhebet:
Nekhbet, goddess of Upper Egypt, often shown in the shape of a vulture
Uatchet: Wadjet,
goddess of Lower Egypt
two serpents: on the pharaonic crown
they symbolised the two lands of Egypt.
Wadjet on the left, Nekhbet
on the right
Source:
crocodiles and hippopotami: typhonic
animals. They had, like Seth himself, positive, protective characteristics as
well.
Uast: Waset,
Thebes
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4.
Then those enemies rose up to make their escape from before him, and the face
of the god was towards the Land of the North, and their hearts were stricken
through fear of him. And Heru-Behutet was at the
back (or, side) of them in the Boat of Ra, and those who were following him
had spears of metal and chains of metal in their hands; 5 and the god himself
was equipped for battle with the weapons of the metal workers which they had
with them. And he passed a whole day before he saw them to the north-east of
the nome of Tentyra. Then
Ra said unto Thoth, "The enemies are resting
........ their lord."
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Tentyra:
Dendera
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6.
And the Majesty of Ra-Harmachis said to Heru-Behutet, "Thou art my exalted son who didst
proceed from Nut. The courage of the enemies
hath failed in a moment." And Heru-Behutet
made great slaughter among them. And Thoth said,
"The Winged Disk shall be called.... in the name of this Aat;" 7 and is called Heru-Behutet .... its mistress.
His name is to the South in the name of this god, and the acacia and the sycamore shall be the trees of the
sanctuary. Then the enemies turned aside to flee from before him, and their
faces were [towards the North, and they went] to 8 the swamps of Uatch-ur, and
[their courage failed through fear of him]. And Heru-Behutet
was at the back (or, side) of them in the Boat of Ra, and the metal spear was
in his bands, and those who were in his following were equipped with the
weapons for battle of the metal workers.
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Nut: In the Heliopolitan tradition goddess of the heaven, mother of
the sun and the stars about which is said: They enter her mouth and
re-emerge from her womb. She received the epithet Sow devouring her
piglets.
Acacia,
sycamore
swamps of Uatch-ur: The northern part
of the Nile delta closest the Mediterranean remained swampy throughout ancient history.
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9.
And the god spent four days and four nights in the water in pursuit of them,
but he did not see one of the enemies, who fled from before him in the water
in the forms of crocodiles and hippopotami. At length he found them and saw
them. And Ra said unto Horus of Heben,
" O Winged Disk, thou great god and lord of heaven, 10 seize thou them ..... ; " and he hurled his lance after them, and he
slew them, and worked a great overthrow of them.
And he brought one hundred and forty-two enemies to the forepart of the Boat
[of Ra], and with them was a male hippopotamus 11 which had been among those
enemies. And he hacked them in pieces with his
knife, and he gave their entrails to those who were in his following,
and he gave their carcasses to the gods and goddesses who were in the Boat of
Ra on the river-bank of the city of Heben. Then Ra said unto Thoth, 12 "See what mighty things Heru-Behutet hath performed in his deeds against the
enemies: verily he bath smitten them! And of the
male hippopotamus he hath opened the mouth, and he hath speared it,
and he hath mounted upon its back."
Then said Thoth to Ra, "Horus
shall be called 'Winged Disk, Great God, 13 Smiter
of the enemies in the town of Heben' from this day
forward, and he shall be called 'He who standeth on
the back' and 'prophet of this god,' from this day forward."
These are the things which happened in the lands of the city of Heben, in a region which
measured three hundred and forty-two measures on the south, and on the north,
on the west, and on the east.
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he
hacked them in pieces with his knife: mutilation of fallen enemies
(humans as well) was common practice among the Egyptians, cf. the Narmer Palette for decapitation,
Karnak reliefs for cutting off of hands and
genitals.
the male hippopotamus: Seth.
Male hippos were devoid of the protective characteristics females had (as Toeris).
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XV.
1. Then the enemies rose up before him by the Lake of the North, and their
faces were set towards Uatch-ur which they desired
to reach by sailing; but the god smote their hearts and they turned and fled
in the water, and they directed their course to the water of the nome of Mertet-Ament, and they
gathered themselves together in the water of Mertet
in order to join themselves with the enemies [who serve] Set and who are in
this region. And Heru-Behutet followed them, being
equipped with all his weapons of war to fight against them.
2. And Heru-Behutet made a journey in the Boat of
Ra, together with the great god who was in his boat with those who were his
followers, and he pursued them on the Lake of the North twice, and passed one
day and one night sailing down the river in pursuit of them before he
perceived and overtook them, for he knew not the place where they were.
Then he arrived at the city of Per-Rehu. And the Majesty of Ra
said unto Heru-Behutet, "What hath happened to
the enemies? They have gathered together themselves in the water to the west
(?) of the nome of Mertet
in order to unite themselves with the enemies [who serve] Set, and who are in
this region, 3 at the place where are our staff and sceptre."
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And
Thoth said unto Ra, "Uast in the nome
of Mertet is called Uaset
because of this unto this day, and the Lake which is in it is called
Tempt."
Then Heru-Behutet spake
in the presence of his father Ra, saying, "I beseech thee to set thy
boat against them, so that I may be able to perform against them that which
Ra willeth;" and this was
done.
Then he made an attack upon them on the lake which was at the west of this
district, and he perceived them on the bank of the city
..... which belongeth
to the Lake of Mertet.
4. Then Heru-Behutet made an expedition against
them, and his followers were with him, and they were provided with weapons of
all kinds for battle, and he wrought a great overthrow among them, and he
brought in three hundred and eighty-one enemies, and he slaughtered them in the
forepart of the Boat of Ra, 5 and he gave one of them to each of those who
were in his train.
Then Set rose up and came forth, and raged loudly with words of cursing and
abuse because of the things which Heru-Behutet had
done in respect of the slaughter of the enemies. And Ra said unto Thoth, "This fiend Nehaha-hra uttereth
words at the top of his voice because of the things which 6 Heru-Behutet hath done unto him;" and Thoth said unto Ra, "Cries of this kind shall be
called Nehaha-hra unto this day."
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Uaset:
Waset, Thebes
Nehaha-hra: 'Stinking face'
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And
Heru-Behutet did battle with the Enemy for a period
of time, and he hurled his iron lance at him, and he threw him down on the
ground in this region, 7 which is called Pa-Rerehtu unto this day.
Then Heru-Behutet came and brought the Enemy with
him, and his spear was in his neck, and his chain was round his hands and
arms, and the weapon of Horus had fallen on his
mouth and had closed it; and he went with him before his father Ra, who said,
"O Horus, thou Winged Disk, 8 twice great (Urui-Tenten) is the deed of valour
which thou hast done, and thou hast cleansed the district."
And Ra, said unto Thoth, "The palace of Heru-Behutet shall be called, 'Lord
of the district which is cleansed' because of this;" and [thus is it
called] unto this day. And the name of the priest thereof is called Ur-Tenten unto this day.
9. And Ra said unto Thoth, "Let the enemies
and Set be given over to Isis and her son Horus,
and let them work all their heart's desire upon them."
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Ur (wr): Great, big
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And
she and her son Horus set themselves in position
with their spears in him at the time when there was storm (or, disaster) in
the district, and the Lake of the god was 10 called She-en-aha from
that day to this.
Then Horus the son of Isis cut off the head of the
Enemy [Set], and the heads of his fiends in the presence of father Ra and of
the great company of the gods, and he dragged him by his feet through his
district with his spear driven through his head and back.
And Ra said unto Thoth, 11 "Let the son of Osiris drag the being of disaster through his
territory;" and Thoth said, "It shall be
called Ateh," and this hath been the name of
the region from that day to this.
And Isis, the divine lady, spake before Ra, saying,
"Let the exalted Winged Disk become the amulet of my son Horus, who hath cut off the head of the Enemy and the
heads of his fiends."
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XVI.
1. Thus Heru-Behutet and Horus,
the son of Isis, slaughtered that evil Enemy, and his fiends, and the inert foes,
and came forth with them to the water on the west side of this district. And Heru-Behutet was in the form of a man of mighty strength,
and he had the face of a hawk, and his head was crowned with the White Crown
and the Red Crown, and with two plumes and two uraei,
and he had the back of a hawk, and his spear and his chain were in his hands.
And Horus, the son of Isis, transformed himself
into a similar shape, even as Heru-Behutet had done
before him.
2. And they slew the enemies all together on the west of Per-Rehu, on the edge of the stream, and this god hath sailed
over the water wherein the enemies had banded themselves together against him
from that day to this. Now these things took place on the 7th day of the
first mouth of the season Pert.
And Thoth said, "This region shall be called Aat-shatet," and this hath been the name of the
region from that day unto this; and the Lake which is close by it 3 hath been
called Temt from that day to this, and the 7th day
of the first month of the season Pert hath been called the Festival of
Sailing from that day to this.
Then Set took upon himself the form of a hissing
serpent, and he entered into the earth in this district without being
seen. And Ra said, "Set hath taken upon himself the form of a hissing
serpent. Let Horus, the son of Isis, in the form of a
hawk-headed staff, set himself over the place where he is, so that the
serpent may never more appear."
4. And Thoth said, "Let this district be
called Hemhemet by
name;" and thus hath it been called from that day to this.
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Festival of
Sailing: There were a number of sailing festivals. One such was the Sailing
of Hathor, celebrating the marriage of Hathor and Horus of Edfu.
hissing serpent: Seth both
protected the sungod from the serpent Apophis on his nightly journeys through the underworld
and himself endangered him in the shape of a serpent. He was at times
identified with Apophis himself.
Hemhemet: The place of the roarer. Seth was also associated with thunder.
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And
Horus, the son of Isis, in the form of a hawk
headed staff, took up his abode there with his mother Isis; in this manner
did these things happen. Then the Boat of Ra arrived at the town of Het-Aha; 5 its forepart was made
of palm wood, and the hind part was made of acacia wood; thus the palm tree
and the acacia tree have been sacred trees from that day to this.
Then Heru-Behutet embarked in the Boat of Ra, after
he had made an end of fighting, and sailed; and Ra said unto Thoth, "Let this Boat be called ......
;" and thus hath it been called from that day to this, 6 and
these things have been done in commemoration in this place from that day to
this. And Ra said unto Heru-Behutet, "Behold
the fighting of the Smait fiend and his two-fold
strength, and the Smai fiend Set, are upon the
water of the North, and they will sail down stream upon ........"
[And] Heru-Behutet said, "Whatsoever thou commandest shall take place, 7 O Ra, Lord of the gods.
Grant thou, however, that this thy Boat may pursue
them into every place whithersoever they shall go, and I will do to them
whatsoever pleaseth Ra."
And everything was done according to what he had said. Then this Boat of Ra
was brought by the winged Sun-disk upon the waters of the Lake of Meh, [and] Heru-Behutet took in his hands his weapons, his darts,
and his harpoon, and all the chains [which he required] for the fight.
8. And Heru-Behutet looked and saw one [only] of
these Sebau fiends
there on the spot, and he was by himself. And he threw one metal dart, and
brought (or, dragged) them along straightway, and he slaughtered them in the
presence of Ra. And he made an end [of them, and there were no more of the
fiends] of Set in this place at [that] moment.
XVII
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Lake of Meh: Lake
of the North
Sebau: pl. seba, rebel, i.e. Seth. The sebau
were his followers.
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1.
And Thoth said, "This place shall be called Ast-ab-heru,"
because Heru-Behutet wrought his desire upon them
(i.e., the enemy); and he passed six days and six nights coming into port on
the waters thereof and did not see one of them. And he saw them fall down in
the watery depths, and he made ready the place of Ast-ab-Heru
there. It was situated on the bank of the water, and the face (i.e.,
direction) thereof was full-front towards the South.
2. And all the rites and ceremonies of Heru-Behutet
were performed on the first day of the first month of the season Akhet, and on the first
day of the first month of the season Pert, and
on the twenty-first and twenty-fourth days of the second month of the season
Pert. These are the festivals in the town of Ast-ab, by the side of the
South, in An-rut-f. And he came into port
and went against them, keeping watch as for a king over the Great God in
An-rut-f, in this place, in order to drive away the Enemy and his Smaiu fiends at his coming by night from the region of Mertet, to the west of this place.
3 And Heru-Behutet was in the form of a man who
possessed great strength, with the face of a hawk; and he was crowned with
the White Crown, and the Red Crown, and the two plumes, and the Urerit Crown, and there were two uraei
upon his head. His hand grasped firmly his harpoon to slay the hippopotamus,
which was [as hard] as the khenem
stone in its mountain bed.
And Ra said unto Thoth, "Indeed [Heru-]Behutet
is like a Master-fighter in the slaughter of his enemies .... ."
And Thoth said unto Ra, "He shall be called
'Neb-Ahau' " (i.e., Master-fighter); and for
this reason he hath been thus called by the priest of this god unto this day.
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Ast-ab-heru:
Place of the Desire of Horus
Akhet: Shait,
Season of inundation, from mid-July to mid-November
Pert: Peret, Proit,
Season of Growth, from mid November to mid March
An-rut-f: i.e. place where nothing grows, mythological, near Herakleopolis
khenem: has been translated as
jasper, and flint
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4.
And Isis made incantations of
every kind in order to drive away the fiend Ra from An-rut-f, and from the
Great God in this place. And Thoth said [unto Ra],
"The priestess of this god shall be called by the name of 'Nebt-Heka' for this reason."
And Thoth said unto Ra, "Beautiful, beautiful
is this place wherein thou hast taken up thy seat, keeping watch, as for a
king, over the Great God who is in An-rut-f in peace."
5. And Thoth said, "This Great House in this
place shall therefore be called 'Ast-nefert'
from this day."
It is situated to the south-west of the city of Nart, and [coverethl a space of four schoinoi. And Ra-Heru-Behutet
said unto Thoth, "Hast thou not searched
through this water for the enemy?"
And Thoth said,
6 "The water of the God-house in this place shall be called by the name
of 'Heh' (i.e., sought out)."
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Ast-nefert: Beautiful place
schoinoi: (Greek) pl. of shoine - Each schoine, which
is an Egyptian measure, is equal to sixty stadia
according to Herodotus, i.e. about 11 km
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And
Ra said, "Thy ship, O Heru-Behutet, is great
(?) upon Ant-mer (?)
....."
And Thoth said, "The name of [thy ship] shall
be called 'Ur', and this stream shall
be called 'Antmer' (?)."
7. As concerning (or, now) the place AbBat (?) is
situated on the shore of the water. 'Ast-nefert' is
the name of the Great house, 'Neb-Aha' [is the name of] the priest ....... is
the name of the priestess, 'Heh' is the name of the
lake ...... , [is the name] of the water, 8 'Ain-her-net'
is the name of the holy (?) acacia tree, 'Neter het' is the name of the domain of the god, 'Uru' is the name of the sacred boat, the gods therein are
Heru-Behutet, the smiter
of the lands, Horus, the son of Isis [and] Osiris ....... 9 his blacksmiths are to him, and those
who are in his following are to him in his territory, with his metal lance,
with his [mace], with his dagger, and with all his chains (or, fetters) which
are in the city of Heru-Behutet. [And when he had
reached the land of the North with his followers, he found the enemy.]
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10.
Now as for the blacksmiths who were over the middle regions, they made a
great slaughter of the enemy, and there were brought back one hundred and six
of them. Now as for the blacksmiths of the West, they brought back one
hundred and six of the enemy. Now as for the blacksmiths of the East, among whom was Heru-Behutet, 11 he
slew them (i.e., the enemy) in the presence of Ra in the Middle Domains.
And Ra, said unto Thoth, "My heart [is
satisfied] with the works of these blacksmiths of Heru-Behutet
who are in his bodyguard. They shall dwell in 4 sanctuaries, and libations
and purifications and (offerings shall be made to their images, and 12 [there
shall be appointed for them] priests who shall minister by the month, and
priests who shall minister by the hour, in all their God-houses whatsoever,
as their reward because they have slain the enemies of the god."
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And
Thoth said, "The [Middle] Domains shall be
called after the names of these blacksmiths from this day onwards, 13 and the
god who dwelleth among them, Heru-Behutet,
shall be called the 'Lord of Mesent' from this day
onwards, and the domain shall be called 'Mesent of
the West' from this day onwards."
As concerning Mesent of the West, the face (or,
front) thereof shall be towards [the East], towards the place where Ra riseth, and this Mesent shall
be called 'Mesent of the East' from this day
onwards.
14. As concerning the double town of Mesent, the work of these
blacksmiths of the East, the face (or, front) thereof shall be towards the
South, towards the city of Behutet, the hiding-place of Heru-Behutet. And there shall be performed therein all
the rites and ceremonies of Heru-Behutet on the
second day of the first month of the season of Akhet,
and on the twenty-fourth day of the fourth month of the season of Akhet, and on the seventh day of the first month of the
season Pert, and on the twenty-first day of the second month of the season
Pert, from this day onwards.
15. Their stream shall be called the name of 'Asti', their Great House
shall be called 'Abet', the [priest (?)] shall be called 'Qen-aha,'
and their domain shall be called 'Kau-Mesent' from
this day onwards.
XVIII.
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1.
And Ra said unto Heru-Behutet, "These enemies
have sailed up the river, to the country of Setet,
to the end of the pillar-house of Hat, and they have sailed up the river to
the east, to the country of Tchalt
(or, Tchart), which is their region of
swamps."
And Heru-Behutet said, "Everything which thou
hast commanded hath come to pass, Ra, Lord of the gods; thou art the lord of
commands."
And they untied the Boat of Ra, and they sailed up the river to the east.
Then he looked upon those enemies whereof some of them had fallen into the
sea (or, river), and the others had fallen headlong on the mountains.
2. And Heru-Behutet transformed himself into a lion
which had the face of a man, and which was crowned with the triple crown. His paw was like unto a flint knife,
and he went round and round by the side of them, and brought back one hundred
and forty-two [of the enemy], and he rent them in pieces with his claws. He
tore out their tongues, and their blood flowed on the ridges of the land in
this place; and he made them the property of those who were in his following
[whilst] he was upon the mountains. And Ra said unto Thoth,
"Behold, Heru-Behutet is like unto a lion in
his lair [when] he is on the back of the enemy who have
given unto him their tongues."
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Tchalt:
Tanis in the eastern Delta.
Horus of Behutet in the
shape of a lion wearing the triple crown
Source: Naville,
Mythe d'Horus
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3.
And Thoth said, "This domain shall be called 'Khent-abt,' and it shall [also] be called 'Tchalt' (or, Tchart) from this
day onwards. And the bringing of the tongues from the remote places of Tchalt [shall be commemorated] from this day onwards. And
this god shall be called 'Heru-Behutet, Lord of Mesent,' from this day onwards."
And Ra said unto Heru-Behutet, "Let us sail to
the south up the river, and let us smite the enemies [who are] in the forms
of crocodiles and hippopotami in the face of Egypt."
4. And Heru-Behutet said, "Thy divine Ka, O
Ra, Lord of the gods! Let us sail up the river against the remainder -- one
third -- of the enemies who are in the water (or, river)."
Then Thoth recited the chapters of protecting the
Boat [of Ra] and the boats of the blacksmiths, 5 [which he used] for making
tranquil the sea at the moment when a storm was raging on it. And Ra said
unto Thoth, "Have we not journeyed throughout
the whole land? Shall we not journey cover the whole sea in like
manner?"
And Thoth said, "This water shall be called
the 'Sea of Journeying,' from this day
onward."
And they sailed about over the water during the night, 6 and they did not see
any of those enemies at all.
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Then
they made a journey forth and arrived in the country
of Ta-sti, at the town of Shas-hertet, and he perceived the
most able of their enemies in the country of Uaua, and they were uttering treason
against Horus their Lord.
7 And Heru-Behutet changed his form into that of
the Winged Disk, [and took his place] above the bow of the Boat of Ra. And he
made the goddess Nekhebit and the goddess Uatchit to be with him in the form of serpents, so that
they might make the Sebau fiends to quake in [all]
their limbs (or, bodies). Their boldness (i.e., that of the fiends) subsided
through the fear of him, they made no resistance whatsoever, and they died
straightway.
8 Then the gods who were in the following of the Boat of Heru-khuti
said, "Great, great is that which he hath done among them by means of
the two Serpent Goddesses, for he hath
overthrown the enemy by means of their fear of him."
And Ra Heru-khuti said, "The great one of the
two Serpent Goddesses of Heru-Behutet shall be
called 'Ur-Uatchti' from this day onwards."
XIX.
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country
of Ta-sti: Land of the Bow, in northern Nubia
country of Uaua: Wawat,
lower Nubia
two Serpent Goddesses: Nekhbet and Wadjet. Nekhbet, the goddess of
Southern Egypt was originally a vulture, but adopted often the form
of a serpent.
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1.
And Heru-khuti travelled
on in his boat, and landed at the city of Thes-Heru. And Thoth
said, "The being of light who hath come forth
from the horizon hath smitten the enemy in the form which he hath
made, and he shall be called 'Being of Light who hath come forth from the
Horizon' from this day onwards."
And Ra Heru-khuti said to Thoth,
"Thou shalt make this Winged Disk to be in
every place wherein I seat myself (or, dwell), and in [all] the seats of the
gods in the South, and in [all] the seats of the gods in the Land of the
North ...... in the Country of Horus, 2 that it may
drive away the evil ones from their domains."
Then Thoth made the image of the Winged Disk to be
in every sanctuary and in every temple, where they now are, wherein are all the gods and all the goddesses from this day onwards.
Now through the Winged Disk which is on the temple-buildings of all the gods
and all the goddesses of the Land of the Lily,
and the Land of the Papyrus, [these
buildings] become shrines of Heru-Behutet.
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Thes-Heru:
Apollinopolis Magna
'Being of Light who hath come forth from the Horizon': Horakhti, the rising sun
the Land of the Lily: Lower Egypt
the Land of the Papyrus: Upper Egypt
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As
concerning Heru-Behutet, the great god, the lord of
heaven, the president of the Ater of the South, he
it is who is made to be on the right hand. This is Heru-Behutet
3 on whom the goddess Nekhebit is placed in the
form of a serpent (or, uraeus). As concerning Heru-Behutet, the great god, the lord of heaven, the lord
of Mesent, the president of the Ater of the North,
he it is who is made to be on the left hand. This Heru-Behutet
on whom the goddess Uatebit is placed is in the
form of a serpent.
As concerning Heru-Behutet, the great god, the lord
of heaven, the lord of Mesent, the president of the
two Aterti of the South and North, Ra Heru-khuti set it (i.e., the Winged Disk) in his every
place, to overthrow the enemies in every place wherein they are. And he shall
be called President of the two Aterti of the South
and North because of this from this day onwards.
Source: E. A. Wallis Budge, Legends of the Egyptian Gods
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Ater
of the North: the northern half of the heaven
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Directly copied with permission from “The Legend of
Re and Isis.” An introduction to
the history and culture of Pharaonic Egypt.
2003. 17 Nov. 2003
<http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/texts/re_and_isis.htm>
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