R.T. R C undle lark Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt MYTH AND SYMBOL IN ANCIENT EGYPT MYTH AND SYMBOL IN ANCIENT EGYPT R. T. RUNDLE CLARK WITH 18 PLATES 40 LINE DRAWINGS A CHART OF RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS AND A MAP THAMES AND HUDSON Any copy of this book issued by the publisher as a paperback is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent, in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published, and without a similar condition including these words being imposed on a subsequent purchaser ©1959 Thames and Hudson Ltd, London Published in the United States by Thames and Hudson Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10110 First paperback edition 1978 Reprinted 1991 All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher Library of Congress Catalog card number: 11-92262 Printed in the United States of America CONTENTS PREFACE page II CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 16 THE GODS 18 MYTHOLOGICAL SCHEME 20 map: CHIEF CULT CENTRES OF ANCIENT EGYPT 23 INTRODUCTION 25 I THE HIGH GOD IN THE OLD KINGDOM 35 II THE HIGH GOD IN THE AGE OF THE COFFIN TEXTS 68 III OSIRIS — ORIGINAL SCHEME 97 IV OSIRIS UNIVERSALIZED 124 V ESOTERIC OSIRIS 157 VI SOME MYTHS ABOUT THE GREAT GODS l8l 1 How Re left the lower world 181 2 The Delta Cycle 186 3 The Great Quarrel 195 4 Seth and Apopis 208 5 The Birth and Flight of Horus 213 VII MYTHOLOGICAL SYMBOLS 218 1 The Eye 218 2 The Waters cf Eternity 230 3 The Ka 231 4 The Djed Column 235 5 The Lotus 239 6 The Cosmic Serpent 239 6 Contents 7 The Phoenix page 245 8 The Primeval Ocean 249 9 Separation of Earth and Sky 250 10 Dawn 251 11 The Transformation of the Soul 252 CHART OF THE MAJOR RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS 257 VIII CONCLUSION 260 NOTES 269 INDEX 283 ILLUSTRATIONS Plates I The spirit of the eternal waters protects the eye of the High God facing page 112 2 Semty and Lector priests 112 3 Shu separates earth and sky 113 Horns the child sets out to avenge his father 128 4 5 Nephthys weeps for Osiris 129 6 Horus raises the Djed Column 160 7 The ibis of Thoth 161 8 The Divine Falcon 161 9 Osiris in the starry Underworld, protected by the Cosmic Serpent 176 10 The Soul rising from the Primeval Lotus 177 II The Phoenix 192 12 Sito, the Primeval Serpent 193 13 Symbols of upward movement 208 Sunrise 209 *4 15 Sunrise—alternative version 224 16 Night and morning sun 225 17 The soul bird flies through the Underworld with the sun 240 l8 Transformations of the soul 241 8 Illustrations Line Drawings Fig. Page i Representations of sunrise 3 2 2 Primeval Mound symbols 39 3 Pictures of Khopri 40 Symbolic ways of writing To-land 4 4i Offering Mayet, the World Order 5 43 6 Shu, helped by wind spirits, separates Nut and Geb 49 7 The Cosmic Serpent ‘Provider of Attributes’ 52 8 The Cosmic Serpent encircles Hermopolis 53 9 The Primeval Goose 55 10 The half-formed Self Creator and the Cosmic Flower 66 Two serpents enclose the Cosmic Form 81 ii 12 Forms of Hathor Head 89 The Eye as an independent god 13 93 H The Inundation makes the vegetation grow IOI Isis suckles Horus in the Delta Swamps 107 15 16 The Seth animal II$ 17 Isis and Nephthys mourn Osiris 129 l8 The Atef Crown 137 Forms of the Aker 19 154 20 One end of the Aker at the edge of the world 155 21 The souls of Re and Osiris meet at Mendes O O 22 Re and Osiris as one god, sustained by Isis and Nephthys 159 23 The serpent enfolds Osiris in the earth I6I 24 Seven forms of Osiris within the serpent 167 25 Osiris breaks out of the serpent’s coils 169 Illustrations 9 Fig. Page 26 Straightening out Apopis 170 27 Osiris enthroned on the Mound 171 28 Horus arises from Osiris 173 29 Falcon and human forms of the Eye 219 30 The parts of the Eye 220 31 Vicissitudes of the Eye 221 32 Onuris, who rescued the Eye 229 33 Forms of the Ka sign 231 34 A child dandled by its own Ka (good luck) 233 35 Forms of the Djed Column 235 36 Djed Columns supporting an arch 236 37 Djed Columns supporting the World Space 237 38 Time and Form emerge from the Cosmic Serpent 244 39 Serpent containing the Cardinal Points 245 40 The Phoenix 247