The Khonsu Cosmogony

Author(s): Eugene Cruz-Uribe

Source: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt , 1994, Vol. 31 (1994), pp.
169-189
Published by: American Research Center in Egypt

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.com/stable/40000676

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 The Khonsu Cosmogony1

Eugene Cruz-Uribe

The publication of the volume dedicated to article by Parker and Lesko attempts the
The
I. E. S. Edwards stands as a lasting tribute
publication
to of two Ptolemaic Period offering
the now retired Keeper of Egyptian Antiquitiesscenes found at Karnak within the precinct of
at the British Museum. The diverse range of temple. Each scene depicts the offering
Khonsu
articles offered in this Festschrift testifiesofto
Maat
theto different combinations of deities.
wide range of interests of Edwards, as Although
well as the scenes are clearly not executed by
to the many friends and colleagues who thehave
same craftsmen, the one notable achieve-
benefitted from their association with this fine ment of the Lesko article is to suggest a con-
scholar. It is in this vein that I offer the follow- nection between the mythic records proposed
ing comments. within the inscriptions. Unfortunately Lesko's
summary and explanation of the Khonsu Cos-
1 Abbreviations follow the forms found in W. Helck and mogony do not contain the needed depth to
E. Otto, eds., Lexikon der Agyptologie VII (Wiesbaden, 1989), render a proper understanding of what is a
E. Cruz-Uribe, Hibis Temple Project, Vol. 1 (San Antonio, major mythic concept in Late Period religion:
1988) and the following:
the importance of the cult of Khonsu at Karnak.
Assmann, Funktionen: J. Assmann, "Die Zeugung des
Sohnes," in J. Assmann, W. Burkert and F. Stolz, Funktionen
Because my translation of the texts varies
und Leistungen des Mythos, OBO 48 (Gottingen, 1982). significantly from that offered by Lesko, I will
Clere, La porte. J. Clere, La porte d'Euergete a Karnak, (Cairo, first offer new translations with textual notes
1961). before attempting to discuss the Khonsu Cos-
Condon, Seven Royal Hymns: V. Condon, Seven Royal Hymns
mogony. I had the opportunity to make a brief
of the Ramesside Period, MAS 37, (Munich, 1978).
Fazzini, Egypt R. Fazzini, Egypt, Dynasty XXII-XXV, (Leiden,
collation of the hieroglyphic inscriptions dur-
1988). ing a visit to Luxor in May, 1990. The line
Frandsen, LE Verbal: P. Frandsen, An Outline of the Late Egyp- numberings used here follow those of Lesko as
tian Verbal System, (Copenhagen, 1974). numbered on the photographic plates.
Lesko, Book of Two Ways: L. Lesko, The Ancient Egyptian Book
of Two Ways, (Berkeley, 1972).
Redford, Kinglists: D. Redford, Pharaonic Kinglists, Annals
and Day Books, (Mississauga, 1986).
Reymond, MOET: E. Reymond, The Mythic Origin of the Egyp- Egypt Exploration Society, Occasional Papers 7, London,
tian Temple (Manchester, 1969). 1988. A separate, but useful, four page "Errata and Corri-
Wente, Beit el-Wali: E. Wente, The Beit el-Wali Temple of genda" accompanies the text.
RamessesII, OINE 1 (Chicago, 1967). R. A. Parker and L. H. Lesko, "The Khonsu Cosmog-
Zabkar, Hymns to Isis: L. Zabkar, Hymns to Isis in Her Temple ony," 168-75 and plates 34-37. Hereafter referred to as
atPhilae, (Hanover, 1988). 'Lesko' or 'Lesko, "Khonsu."'
I want to thank Olaf Kaper for his comments on a draft of The few corrections offered within the notes attest to
this paper. the professional efforts made by Richard Parker in provid-
2 J. Baines, T. G. H. James, A. Leahy, and A. F. Shore, eds., ing the enhanced inked photographs published with the
Pyramid Studies and Other Essays Presented to I. E. S. Edwards, article.

169

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 170 JARCE XXXI (1994)

Hieroglyphic Texts

PLATES 34-35

Above kings:

In front of the king:

mm® M^mw^mwMmms ^

Above Amen -Re:

Above Ptah:

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 THE KHONSU COSMOGONY 171

Above Ptah:

In front of Ptah:

hmfdMi^^0^Bm\' mar*
Above Hathor:

^^% p^ /WvW^Ja ^ U u?--^

In front of Hathor:

- ,, - 4 - n o ^ <r- -; ^z^ ^=^ i

Before Hehet: Before Heh: Before Naunet: Before Nun:

Before Nacuet: Before Nacu: Before Keket: Before Kek:

-»»« »±Jff» SiHfii ^Bi

Right Column:

PLATES 36-37

Above Maat Offering: In front of king: Above king:

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172 JARCE XXXI (1994)

Above Khonsu:

Above Thoth:

Above 12 Deities:

^ s^p *(f\ ^L=L -^ ^ ^^ ^^ gs ^ ja? ijfrrn IS? d ?SP ^ /

txzzr //%y _4^_ /#%P n^///

Above the 12 Deities:

Above Osiris:

& r hJ2*x& ^za ® °" ^f 6f ^r

Left Column:

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 THE KHONSU COSMOGONY 173

Translations upon earth,AI the sky will spit forth an egg, (8)
like the egg of a falcon,AJ becauseAK he is (as)
PLATES 34-35
the face [. . . Ir]ta. That is how the second
snakeAL came into being with the face of (9) a
Above king: Living bodyA of Shu,B son of
beetleAM likewise. The begetterAN in front of
Re, who causes Maat to ascend [to Amun, the
this predecessor went forthAO [. . .] Amun,
father of fathers0] , king of Egypt,D lord of the
father of the fathers of the Ogdoad in the
two lands, (. . .) ! , son of Re, lord of appear-
temple crypt (10) (in) the necropolis in the
ances, (. . .) ! . (1) May I give to youE Maat,F the
Kom Djeme. A[mun] was [. . .] first in that his
great, in your heart so that she might act for
name of Ptah, (11) called Ptah, who created the
the gods forever.
eggAP which went forth from Nun [. . .] ... as
Ptah-Tenen who created heaven and earth.AQ
In front of the king: (44) Invocation of your
son:G (O) great god at the first moment,H the (12) He ejaculatedAR at this place in the lake/
great Nun,1 who came into existence at the pool,AS who created in Tjennet,AT so that it (the
egg) might be engendered through him like
beginning, the just one more than I, without
falsehood, who dispels sin.J What is said to my those (things) which came into existence in its
ka:K May I give to you Maat with this my left (the egg's) name of 'seed',AU (13) so that he
might bring forthAV the egg and so that the
hand, the arm of (45) my right protects her, that
Ogdoad might come into existenceAW out of it
you might eat with her eyes, that you might swal-
low with her gaze, that you might anoint the in the district aroundAX Hermopolis.AY He has
docked the boat in Nun (14) as the 'Great
skin with her sight,L that you might stand before
[her], that you might [recognize] her form, thatFlood'. AZ He swallowed them so that his neck
you might come with (46) her image of Mut,M might receive them,BA so that he might travel to
Thebes in his form of Kh[onsu],BB (15) so that
that you might repelN [. . .] with her front, that
he might clear his throat of the waters of the
you might enter0 . . . with her back(?), that you
might . . . with her middle, that you might liveflood, BC so that his name of Khonsu the great
in her flesh, that you might fashion with her in Thebes, august being in Benenet,BD might
precious stone, p glistening^ on her skin, (47) come into existence. (16) He turned his atten-
that your heart might come out of the semen tion of towards this Benenet.BE It is that his great
your father, that you might breathe, R that yourfeatherBF which raised itself up as the imageBG
nose might rejoice, s (in) your formT ...[...]
from the ground,BH the neckBI (17) upon his
great, that you might desire (48) the protec-
upper body,BJ being pregnantBK likewise, who is
tion^) of the father who(?) commanded provi-brought . . . the high landBL in Nun.BM When
sions for your temple, Shu has given the breath Thebes came into existence in its name of the
(of life) (49) that one recites as her name.u Valley, (18) then Hathor, the great, who dwells
in Benenet came into existence in tha[t her]
Above Amun-Re: (2) Words spoken by Amun-
name of Naunet.BN Then he placed his body on
Re, king of the gods [august god, chief of all
her and he created her (19) in (his name of)
the gods], great god, lord of heaven, earth, the
Ptah, father of the gods.BO Then the Ogdoad
Netherworld,v water, (3) and mountains, august
came into existence [...]... as its four males
ba of Kematef,w father of the offspring, x
(and) a consort for each one. (Thus) it is this
mother of the egg, (4) who engendered all
one (Khonsu/Ptah) (20) who creates Thebes to-
living things, the ba of Amun,Y who made
gether with the four pairs of eyes within her.BP
the gods, who administered the land through
They are the men and women (21) of Tanen.BQ
his offspring,2 (5) father of fathersAA of the
Whereas BR the land belongs to Thebes;BS what
OgdoadAB in the temple crypt (= tomb crypt) in
is saidBT concerning Tatenen:BU Tatenen bore
the necropolis in the Kom Djeme,AC (6) the one
the Ogdoad (22) in Thebes.BV They swam to the
who created this place out of Nun,AD who cre- Island of Fire.BW Then his form came into exis-
ated the seed at the first occasion.AE
tence, (being) the first primeval one of (23)
Above Ptah:M (7) WhenAG the first snakeAH Mehetweret. They adored the eldest amongst
makes heaven through its desire, [. . . will . . . ] the gods in the portal of Upper Egypt,BX the

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 174 JARCE XXXI (1994)

Before existence
great god, who came into Kek: Kek. [May I] give
on to you
the yourfirst
occasion, (24) making[ton]gue.
adoration before him,
being [joyful] in Nun, while the watersBY circu-
Before Keket: Keket. The enemies/evil [has
late in their sight. (25) May he (the creator god)
fallen] at your place of execution. DH
say: your (the Ogdoad's) son will illuminate32
Before Na'u: Na['u.] [May] evil [not] appear
the land from the darkness. Then one will see

his fellow. (26) May they (the Ogdoad)ingive

your ti[me].
praise likewise, CA giving praise to Re at his go-
Before Na'uet: Na'uet. May I cause to be great
ing forth.CB
what is in your two lands.
Above Ptah: (27) Words spoken by Ptah, who
Right column: DI [. . .] their [...]... he
created the egg, who came forth fromisNun:cc
... after he created PtahDJ in his
He is the ba who is in the midst of hisCD
face ... [. . .] ... great godDK who darkene
offspring. CE
them thereof [. . .]

In front of Ptah: (28) . . . festivalCF untilCG to-

day. They have come into existence at the time 36-37
PLATES
of the daily fare.CH (He of) the twisted rope,CI
he is this god andcJ his father, the companion Above king: King of Egypt, [lord of the two
of the double snakeCK throughout the year.CL la]nds, (...)'> [son] of Re, [lord of] appear-
He will be as ... CM time [. . .] Re like theances,
moon(...)! .DM
in every . . . CN (29) doing the like as Amun-
In front of king: (1) Presenting Maat to her
Re(?)co . . . this god in this place. He unitedCP
lord that he might be content with her.
(himself) with the body of his father, that he
might make the land out of the waters.Above
The Maat offering: (2) May I give to you
heart of his father used to enter into hisMaat bodyin your time,DN hearts being righteous
in order to guide him.CR Thus what hecs uponsaid
your path.
came into existence [. . .] land (30) to him con-
Above Khonsu: (3) Words spoken by Khonsu-
cerning what happened(?) in the same manner.
in-Thebes-Nefer-hotep, Horus, the lord of joy
What is said concerning Khonsu in Thebes: he
in Karnak, the great disk who illuminates the
is the prow of the bark (of Re).CT
two lands. (4) He is Re of Upper and Lower
Above Hathor: (31) Words spoken by Hathor, Egypt. He rejuvenated himself,00 that he might
the great, who dwells in Benenet,cu eye of [Re], go forth upon the lotus (5) in the pool [. . .] like
lady of heaven, mistress of all the gods,cv the Shu, the son whom Atum spat out from withinDP
semencw which comes forth fromcx him, which the lotus in the pool.DQ (6) It is this water from
which the lotus blossom g[rows] that the two
overflows with CY him at the first time, (32) (who
dwells in the temple of) the jewel, cz Maat,DA arms might pass byDR on his cult statueDS in
the pectoral of the great judge, DB [...]. Tjaru.DT (7) He is the living body, the son of his
father,DU who goes forth upon the lotus like his
In front of Hathor: (33) May I give to you your
[...]. (8) I cause [. . .] to traverse in accordance
breast, overflowing (with) Maat, that it might
with Maat to the place where your majesty is.DV
spit out from it every day.DC
Above Thoth: (9) Words spoken by Thoth, the
Before Nun: Nun. May I give to you the
twice great, who created everything,DW who knew
feather of Re (= Maat) on your head.DD
writing,DX who created what came into exist-
Before Naunet: Naunet. May I give to you ence,DY who went forth from the heart,DZ great
Maat near your face.DE one from the body of Re, (10) great one in the
Ennead, the body, the premier one of the gods
Before Heh: Heh. May Re rage in your time.DF
and goddesses,EA who destroyed that which is se-
Before Hehet: Hehet. May I give to you your cret,EB there not being a dividingEC of the great
heart possessing Maat.DG (11) islandED from that which is in it, the land

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 THE KHONSU COSMOGONY 175

who shines
from that which is upon it.forthFY
The as the sunFZ besides
door(?) . . . whil
Benenet,GA
Ipet is assigned to (my) (26) the god in heaven, the king in
father.EE
Above the 12 Deities:the(12)
land, theSia great
is sovereign
in his in heart,EF
Igeret, who
sailsGB the great
who perceived these completely,EG powerful green (27) who goes aroundin
the valley cliffsGC
the flesh,EH who created perception. HuEI up to the limits of heaven
is asin
their lord. May the
his tongue, the milkEJ of the place of "divine great powerful one go forth,
milk"(?)EK (13) in thetraversing™
front(28) of from his breast
[...]. Iry in is
his name
in hiof
Khonsu-Osiris.GE
sight, who accomplished these things entirely,E
who caused the tongueLeft to Column: (29) Khon[su]
rejoice, EM will be in the . . . fol
(14)
midst ofis
lowing after. EN Sedjem eternity,
in his Thoth isears,
[. . .] of eternity.
who hear
the . . . EO of his heart,
Their bas who
are thereincaused
in the placeGF to writeEP
of every
without the repetitionelderofin their
the names (ka) as "united ba."GG
tongue. EQ (15) To Th
him belongfrom
DjaisuER are going forth the four divineGH
his[. .breast,
.] will be his they
being the gods of the
protectors
House
upon each of
ofhis paths
Life.ES
(and) the Ther
is no overflowET of speech.
four falconsGI will beThere is
indeed likewise, no
being as goin
forth (16) in speechEU
their without
images of what guided joy,EV
his heart.GJ that
They [he
have been the
may speak withEW them. They protection of Osiris
will goin his
aroundEX
that you might hearEYshrineGKthe speech.
[. . .] likewise their . . . , There
that he might is no
neck(?) of (17) the brother(?), tongue
place the utterances of the in add
tongue(?), power(?)
tion to them. Then there came into existence [. . .] in the tongue of his sister at his chamber
in Benenet.
(the one of) exactnessEZ of speech and distin-
guished of voices, who spoke its words, FA that
he may speak your nameFB . . . (18) upon . . .Textual Commentary
among themFC likewise, FD the heart of Re,FE
their father, who created them, their mother,FF (A) The writing with the y sign is common
his haunches, FG who bore them, (19) for the this
greatword in late texts, see Wb. 3,37, Fair-
one, whom she filledFH with gentle greetingsFI in 43 (1945): 75, n. 2, and Fairman,
man, BIFAO
her name of this Mehetweret, who is revealed ASAE 43 (1943): 278, n. 72. For hcw cnh as an
epithet of the king as the son of a god see Wb.
beside the lord of heaven. FJ (20) They liveFK in
the breast of Maat, (they being) the seven gods3,39.7 and Cauville, Theologie, 206 (index).
with Re in the northern sky,FL who raised the (B) For additional mention of the double
head™ for/to the white one with FN (21) Isis. blank cartouches as equal to Shu, see Wb. 4, 429
HathorFO conceivedFP the seven, great (ones) Fairman, BIFAO 43 (1945): 109.
and
of the two gods,FQ that they might seize by his (C) Restoration based on parallel in deWit,
Temple d'Opet I, 23.
writing, for they are the seven utterances of the
head, complete and exact,FR (22) its (her) ruler- (D) It is unclear why Lesko did not ink in the
ship^ being precise and whole in Semdet.FThieroglyphic inscriptions above the cartouches.
Seshat, the great, is in the embrace of (the) Lesko has incorrectly translated the signs as a
father together with his flower,FU (23) being ex-horizontal inscription, rather than as a pair of
vertical columns. Collation shows that we have
act and true in/by the right hand. Seshat, the
here O% a common form in the late period be-
great, is likewise (in) the grasp of Maat in/by the
left hand.^ (24) May he place her truth(?) upon fore the initial cartouche, Wb. 2, 331.13-15, and
your [heart?] and her sweetnessFW upon your A. Gutbub, Melanges Vercoutter, 128. It is tempt-
throat. ing to read the blank cartouches as Sw, "the
sun," as an analogy to the sun god Re. Assmann,
Above the twelve deities: FX Hu. Sia. Iry. Sed-
Funktionen, 24, n. 61, notes that the blank car-
jem. Neferhat. Aperpehwy. Nebdesheru. Ka
touches are indicative of the role that the king
(bull). Bik (falcon). Khakh. Sin. Seshat.
plays in the ritual scene versus the actual iden-
Above Osiris: (25) Words spoken by Osiris tity of the king himself. See now J. Quaegebeur,
(Wennefer, the justified) ! , king of the gods, GM 120 (1991): 50, n. 8.

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 176 JARCE XXXI (1994)

(E) The translation "Ior give to you"

perhaps a consonantal isfirst
m as the tenuous
letter of
on grammatical grounds. Either
the following verb. it is a prospec-
tive sdm.f "may I give(N)to Reading shnw, Wb.or
you," 4, 219.5.
it is a past/
perfect tense "I have given (O) Restoring tocq "to enter."
you," as has been
suggested for Ptolemaic (P) Or "that you might
temple create in her belly."
scenes. The dis-
cussions of Derchain, GM 110 (1989): 13-17, (Q) Reading thn.
D. Kurth, GM 113 (1989): 55-64 and Zabkar, (R) Reading snsn "to breathe," Wb. 4, 172,
ZAS 108 (1981): 141-71, and others cited versus Lesko 's reading of snsn "to unite," Wb. 4,
therein, neglect, at times, the role played in 173.18,
un- which requires a following prepositional
derstanding whether the texts found in Late phrase.
Period temples are written in Middle Egyptian (S) Reading swrhfnd.k, Wb. 4, 63.19.
or not. Because of that possibility I am hesitant (T) Reading (m) irw.k "(in) your form," Wb. 1,
113.
to postulate the existence of a bare initial sdm.f
verb form which is to be translated in the (U) Reading din Sw t?w cs.tw m rn.s, at the
"present" tense. Notwithstanding thesuggestion useful dis- of O. Kaper. (Khonsu)-Shu as the
cussions of Derchain on the role of the giverperfor-
of the breath of life is well attested, cf.
mative in the Egyptian sphere, I will "err" Clere, La inporte,
my pl. 8.
translations below more on the understanding (V) These epithets are often associated with
of these as Middle Egyptian texts with Osiris, see Zabkar, Hymns to Isis, 37 and 53.
various
later Egyptianisms having crept in. I(W) leave it
This phrase is also seen in deWit, Temple
then to those who wish to discuss the time ele- d'Opet III, 46, n. 184 and Clere, La porte, pl. 21.
ment of the Egyptian ritual vis a vis the scene For theon identification of the ba of the Kematef-
the temple wall (past-present-future or continu-serpent with Amun of Djeme, see Sethe, Amun,
ative) to those who are interested. This leaves 26. For identification with Osiris, ibid., 55 and
open the possibility for the grammar of the 59. This is cited by Zabkar, Ba, 13, n. 69. Sethe,
inscriptions to have more than one "correct" Amun, 62-63, makes clear that Amun and
interpretation. Osiris are to be jointly identified in this ser-
(F) Collation indicates the sign on the wall is pent. Horus (Tatenen) is also known as the
^f^, clearly to be read as Maat, contra the dis- "august ba of Kematef, father of the gods, god
cussion of Lesko. without [peer], who created heaven, earth, wa-
(G) Reading nis n sr.k. O. Kaper, JSSEA 17mountains," EdfouV, 202/6-7.
ter and
(1990): 151, n. 12, suggests that we should (X) The translation "semen" is adopted by
read
in for this sign. He also notes (personal Lesko
com-as a parallel to swht uegg,n though that
munication) that we would then take the stroke translation is not known to this reviewer. The

in front of the sign as .i. Another option sense

take the sign as iy and translate "I have come
your son . . . ".
(H) Reading ntr cd m sp tpy. This reading
confirmed by collation of the wall. Leskowe
ntr cd hpr m Nnw.
(Z) Following
(I) For Nnw wr "the great Nun," see Wb. 2,
215.15, where it refers to Ptah. See also Sand-
is to is close, but a translation "fledgling" or
"offspring"
as following Wb. 5, 340.10 and 14
(Beleg.) and 341.1, would be better.
(Y)isBd Imn with this determinative suggests
reads
have a word play between "ba of Amun" and
"hidden/secret ba." See Sethe, Amun, 90.
Wb. 5, 398.16. Lesko gives
"who formed the land with his semen."

man-Holmberg, Ptah, 115-16. (AA) For the writing see the comments of
(J) Reading nn (nm) iwms iwh cb. Collation Fairman, BIFAO 43 (1945): 100, n. d. At Hibis
gives an evil-bird determinative to iwms. Temple (Cruz-Uribe, Hibis Temple I, 127) the
(K) Read sr.tw "what is said," rather than Ogdoad calls Amun-Re "the father of fathers."
emend to rs. At Edfu (Edfou IV, 135) the king offering to
(L) Reading /tfr. Osiris is called "father of fathers," see S. Cau-
ville, RdE 32 (1980): 48. See also Wente, Beit el-
(M) It is unclear here due to damage on the
wall. The vulture can be Mut, as I have taken it, Wali, 30 (37b) and W. Helck "Vater der Vater,"

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 THE KHONSU COSMOGONY 177

in S. Schott, ed., Gottinger (AI) Following the break the (1965),

Vortrdge reading is most173-
76 (last reference thanks likely tptotB "on
O.earth." Lesko's translation "earth
Kaper).
(AB) See Fairman, BIFAO 43 (1945): 115 and came into existence" would argue for the resto-
Cruz-Uribe, Hibis Temple I, 32, n. 13, for com- ration of hpr tB which does not fit the traces.
ments on the writing of Hmnw as Ssnw. (AJ) "Egg of a falcon" is a reference to the
(AC) For temple crypt, see Wb. 1, 141.6, god (Horus) who emerges from the primeval
which might best describe where the Ogdoad egg in the form of a falcon. See Allen, BD, 66,
was buried. So too in lines 9-10 below. For the spell 77, Wb. 4, 73.15 (Beleg) and Morenz, Egyp-
tian Religion, 178. For discussion of the role of
Rom Djeme, see also the discussion of Leclant,
the egg and Ptah as creator, see Morenz, Fs.
Taharqa, 82. For it itw n hmnw m ct igrt see deWit,
Temple d'Opet III, 46, nn. 185 and 187. See also 8 Iff.
Schubart,
Derchain-Urtel, Thot, 70. (AK) Hr wnn.fm hr [. . .] should be translated
(AD) The seated god determinative strongly he is (as) the face (form?) [...]."
"because
suggests that we have a perfective activeLesko may be correct in suggesting that Irta is
parti-
ciple. As Nun is the primeval matter, referred
Amun to at the end of the break.
ought to have created Kom Djeme "out of" (AL) As discussed by Sandman-Holmberg,
Nun, not "in" Nun. Ptah, 186, the second snake should be iden-
(AE) This phrase parallels the preceding and tified with the second generation of gods who
continues the word play with bun. Thus in these are identified or synthesized into the form Irta.
phrases we have a place created out of Nun and (AM) If Irta is the second serpent, then a
it is declared to be the place of creation long standing puzzle has been solved. Fairman,
(Khonsu Temple) at the moment of creation. ASAE 43 (1943): 272, n. LIV, noted that it has
See E. Reymond, MOET, 64, and CdE 40 (1965):been a mystery on how the hpr-beet\e acquired
65, n. u. O. Kaper (personal communication) the value of tB or t. Our text tells us that Irta is
suggests that the city determinative should go to be found in the form of or with the face of a
with the latter bunt. beetle. Irta is literally the "creator of the land"
(AF) This section represents a clear break(ir-tB) in and, thus as creator (hpr), it takes the
the narrative as well as in the text. Lesko under- form of the creator (hpr) and in this manner of
stood that the myth narrative began withpun thethe beetle was used in cryptographic hiero-
epithets of Amun-Re. It seems clear that a sepa- glyphs for tB. For references to Irta as creator of
rate passage, detailing the Khonsu cosmogony, the world, see E. Reymond, ZAS 92 (1966): 117,
n. 11; idem., MOET, 60-65 and Holmberg,
is started here, associated with Amun, but not
entirely of him. Ptah, 185-87. Clere, La porte, pl. 4, notes that
(AG) The grammatical form wnn + hr + sdm Amun-Re "created his body (form) as Irta."
cannot be translated as a simple past. Gardiner,Derchain-Urtel, Thot, 118-19, notes that Thoth
EG, §326, suggests it should have a future trans-is found in the presence of Irta who is to be
lation in Middle Egyptian. Frandsen, LE Verbal,identified as Ptah, the ultimate creator god. See
also Clere, La porte, pl. 6, where Khonsu is cnh
184ff., notes that this construction in Late Egyp-
tian is an initial clause conjugation and trans- hpr m hpr.f n hpr.
lated as "when ..." and the following clause has (AN) Reading sti "begetter," Esna 8, 184,
a future translation. Thus we would want to n. 361. It is also possible to read hmt "cow,"
translate "When the first snake makes heaven . . . Blackman and Fairman, JEA 30 (1944): 21. This
could
[. . . will . . . ] the sky will spit forth an egg,n or possibly refer to Mehetweret, who is
"The first snake will make heaven ...[...]." I found later in the narrative.

prefer the former translation. (AO) If the text is written "in better and
(AH) The hfB sp "first snake" refers tomore the consistent Middle Egyptian than is usually
found in Twentieth Dynasty temple inscrip-
creator god who swam in Nun prior to creation.
See LA 5, 649, nn. 48 and 49. The snake also tions," (p. 169), then Lesko's translation of
acts as protector of Re and Osiris in Nun, for
iw . . . hr pr here as a circumstantial converter is
which see Allen, BD, 177, n. 274. impossible. It is possible that we have a Late

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 178 JARCE XXXI (1994)

Egyptianism, but I prefer our text: "May

to this
see Osiris
thisN appear
asin an
glory initial
as
main clause. Hnt-Tnnt (i.e., Ptah, see Holmberg, Ptah, 218).
(AP) The cryptographic writing of swht is Osiris N tie this boat at the stairway."
May this
(My translation
straightforward. /,',' = s(w), Fairman, BIFAO 43 differs from Faulkner's.) The
(1945): 77, n. 1; ^ = h, ibid., 75. Cited in a writing S does not really help in choosing
different form by Morenz, Fs. Schubart, 81, which type of boat we have mentioned. I arbi-
n. 31. trarily identified it with sint, "a bark of the sun-
god
(AQ) If we take f=* as p, 7\ as t, then Osiris" which would fit our context, see
¥'¥
must be taken as h to make Pth "Ptah." We D. Jones, Glossary of Egyptian Nautical Titles and
would then read "as Ptah-Tenen who created Terms, 143-44.
heaven and earth." For Ptah as father of all, see (BA) For the use of cm in a similar circum-
Reymond, CdE 40 (1965): 63, n. i. Lesko trans-stance, see the discussion of Derchain-Urtel,
lates "the M-gods and nnw-goddesses," of whom Thot, 52-63. The translation of iwr as "to re-
I can find no reference. ceive" is to be understood pregnantly.
(BB) I accept Sethe's reading of a crocodile
(AR) Kk "to ejaculate" is not known to me
from elsewhere, but seems probable. Whatsign fol-for Khonsu here; see Amun, 60-61. There
lows is problematic. Lesko seems to read are \ZLtraces
= of a crocodile which can be seen on
the photograph and not inked in by Lesko.
Sr • Could irf simply be the enclitic particle?
(AS) Reading r st tn m s. These traces were confirmed by collation. See
(AT) Qmi m tj-nnt (= tnnt) "who createdalso (per-LA 1, 961, n. 9. The parallel inscription
formed the act of creation) at Tjennet."cited For below in line 16 confirms the reading.
Tjennet, see Sandman-Holmberg, Ptah, 217-18 The use of hns "to travel" is clearly a word play
and H. Gauthier, DG6, 21-22. Thus I would in- on the god's name. O. Kaper (personal com-
munication) suggests that we might have here a
terpret the phrase to mean that the god created
himself at the sacred mound in Memphis and crocodile to be read hn, following Esna V,
was not a passive creation at the spot. A less
250.8, followed by traces of another sign equal
to s giving us the reading hns.
likely interpretation is to see Tnn.t as a play on
words with the god Tatenen "who created/was(BC) Reading stf s?s.f. The determinative
created as Tatenen." clearly indicates we are to read stf "pour out"
(AU) Mi riD hp(r) m rn.s bn.t. Thus therather egg isthan stp "choke." The sense of the passage
both that which is created through the creator is that the creator god (Amun/Ptah/Khonsu) has
god, but also that from which creation created
willhis heirs, swallowed them and, once he
come, i.e., both the egg and the seed. Lesko arrives is
at the Khonsu temple, he brings forth his
correct in suggesting a word play here with creation
theout of his throat. This is similar to some

name of the Khonsu temple (bnn.t). versions of the Heliopolitan creation myth. See
(AV) Literally, "beget." Faulkner, JEA 24 (1938): 41. For stf see Wb. 4,
(AW) For another reference to the creation 342. 5ff., in its various usages. The "waters of the
of the Ogdoad and its residing in the Kom flood" refers to both that which the creator god
Djeme, see Edfou I, 289. swallowed, and to the primeval matter from
(AX) M tSs hi. which all things are created. A third referent
(AY) Here Hermopolis has dual god determi- would be the crocodile Khonsu coming out of
natives, perhaps a play on the Ogdoad and the the primeval waters as the primeval mound out
area which takes its name from them. Lesko's of which creation occurs. We should also note

translation, "the Ogdoad," does not take that

into Horus took the form of a crocodile to carry
account the sense of m t?s hi. I have translatedhis father Osiris to the place of resurrection. See
bnbn, sty and hpr each as prospective sdm.f's inJunker, Abaton, 42-44.
subordinate clauses all relating back to kkn.f. (BD) So also in Clere, La port e, pl. 53A. Plate
(AZ) Gwj.n.f s(int) m Nnw m Mh-wr. For the 53B has shm sps imy bnbn.t.
reading gw? see R. Faulkner, Coffin Texts I, 254(BE) The parallel inscription given in Wb. 4,
332.4 (Beleg.), shows that Khonsu came to
(= CT IV 164). That spell is clearly related to

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 THE KHONSU COSMOGONY 179

Thebes as a crocodile (as noted above) and that of the sun-god emerging from the earth (pri-
he directed his attention to the sanctuary of meval mound) with only the head and upper
Khonsu, the bnn.t. O. Kaper (personal commu- body seen thus far. A good example of this
nication) notes the following parallels: deWit, would be the statue of Tutankhamun found in

Temple d'Opet, 23, Clere, La porte, pl. 65 andhis tomb, see D. Silverman, 50 Wonders of Tut-
Leiden Pap. T32, III/2-3 (Strieker, OMRO 31 ankhamun, 76, with discussion.
[1950]: 45-63 and 34 [1953]: 13ff.). Note the (BN) Lesko failed to note the writing of hpr
comments by Reymond, CdE 40 (1965): 65, n. u, as § & following Sethe's translation, Amun,
119. Bnn.t is clearly Khonsu temple. I have
and idem., MOET, 64. We should also note that
Opet temple was likewise referred to as thetaken these two clauses as Wechselsdtzen. Naunet
is wanted as a translation because Khonsu and
bnn.t, deWit, Temple d'Opetlll, 123, n. 18. Trau-
necker, RdE 38 (1987): 153, n. 44, notes that Hathor are identified with the creator gods
both structures shared a "temple haut" and a Ptah and Naunet. In the following Ptah is
sacred lake. clearly invoked.
(BO) The word-play on Ptah with pth "to cre-
(BF) The reading swt.fpw tfwr is not entirely
certain. Lesko translates, "It was his Maat, that ate," Wb. 1, 565.11, is one seen elsewhere, CT
great one," which does not fit the context veryVI, 267 (Faulkner, Coffin Texts III, 222). For fur-
well. For swt wrsee Wb. 4, 425. Derchain, P. Salt ther comments on pth and the sun god, see Ass-
825, 145, n. 206, reads M3ct wr and translates mann, MDAIK27 (1971): 16, esp. nn. 36 and 37.
"grande plume de Maat." Derchain notes that Thus Khonsu as Ptah created Hathor/Naunet

the figure of the crocodile is very similar to the and had sexual relations with her.
emblem of UE nome 5, the Tentyrite nome, see (BP) Niwt is perhaps a play on words with
LA I, 1060, n. 6. It is curious that pw would be Naunet? Irr must be an imperfective active par-
written o<i here, while other examples in the ticiple. I wonder if dfdf.t is to be understood as
text have r* ^ . "pairs of eyes" (= a mistake for dfd "pupil," Wb.
(BG) For shm as "divine image" see Wb. 4, 5, 572.10-573.11) as in the four pairs of gods in
244.13ff. the Ogdoad as noted in line 19, rather than as
(BH) A variant form of sltw "ground," Wb. 3, "drops," Wb. 5, 573.16. This sentence is, in a
423-24. sense, a gloss for line 19 and earlier in that it
(BI) For EE as "neck" see Wb. 4, 413.6. It is says Ptah is the one who created Thebes
possible a word-play with sSsS.t "sanctuary," Wb. (= Naunet) and out of this union comes the
4, 414.2, is involved here. Lesko translates Ogdoad (four pairs of eyes = four pairs of the
"necklace," which is also possible. His note Ogdoad).
x is The writing "^ before the noun is
incorrect concerning the determinative,typical see of Late Egyptian syntax, Cerny-Groll, LE
Goyon, Confirmation, 128, n. 388. Grammar, 85-86.
(BJ) For snc "upper body," see Wb. 4, 506.14. (BQ) St is the third person plural pronomi-
(BK) Iwr is used pregnantly to refer to the nal form, Cerny-Groll, LE Grammar, 33, intro-
conception of the sun god at night with his ducing
re- a sentence with adverbial predicate in
sultant birth the next day. See Vernus, Athribis, the present tense. This would be another Late
237, n. b, with references. Egyptianism which has crept into this Middle
(BL) Td-od is perhaps another reference to
Egyptian text. Rpw.t "women," Wb. 2, 415 and
the qSy.t qS.t "high primeval mound," Wb. W. Ward, SAK5 (1977); 266-69, has a determi-
5, 6.5,
in Hermopolis. See also Sethe, Amun, 50. native of the head of a deity wearing the red
(BM) In general two combined images are crown emerging from the hillside. This must be
expressed here. One is the idea that Khonsu,
an allusion to Hathor coming out of the hill-
side as the primeval goddess, see Bleeker,
the creator god, appears out of Nun as a croco-
dile with a feather on his head. This imageHathor
can and Thoth, 30ff. Could the men and
be seen in P. Salt 825, V. Ions, Egyptian women
My- of Tanen be the Khonsu temple version
thology, 115, and P. Derchain, P. Salt 825, of
fasc.
the "children of Tanen"? See Reymond, ZAS
II, 21. The other image brought to mind is92 that
(1966): 116ff. Could we also understand rpwt

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 180 JARCE XXXI (1994)

(CH) I am most Goyon,

to mean "images," following unhappy with this transla-
Confirma
tion, 116, n. 285? Thus
tion, but "they are
can offer nothing the
better male
at this time. a
female images of Mint is probably might
Tatenen" a play on words
be with
a min
reaso
able translation as well. "today."
(BR) Sk is used to introduce a circumstantial(CI) Mcnn "twisted rope, cord," see Wb. 2,
clause, often in initial position. 47.9, citing the Book of Gates. See Piankoff,
(BS) TS n Niwt is clearly a play on words Ramesses
with VI, pl. 47 and p. 174.
Tj-tnn. (CJ) Read Sas hnc, Wb. 3, 110.
(BT) One should not emend to rswt as did (CK) Shn "companion, friend," Wb. 4, 254.15-
Lesko. Instead we read srwt as a common late 16. Mcnn "double snake," Wb. 2, 47.8, is clearly a
writing of hr.tw "what is said," Wb. 3, 317.17.play on words with mcnn "twisted rope."
(BU) R-nty is a Late Egyptian form to intro- (CL) cb.wy literally, "horns of Re," referring
duce a statement and it is often left untrans- to the annual passage of time through the year,
lated, Erman, NG, 339 and Wb. 2, 354.19. Wb. 1, 178.5. Or read tup "(at the time of the)
(BV) For a parallel statement on the Ogdoad festival," Wb. 1, 304.12-13.
being born by Tatenen in Thebes, see Edfou I, (CM) Read hcnt or maybe hc.t "body" or simi-
289/1-2. lar. Meaning is unclear.
(BW) For mh r"to swim," see Faulkner, Coffin (CN) Collation gives W,< .
Texts, I, 69, n. 29. The Island of Fire is the place(CO) Collation shows the text reads ^A -*=
of creation, see Morenz, Egyptian Religion, 176, (|0 £ I am unaware of any reading of the city
Kees, ZAS 78 (1942): 41-53 and LA 2, 258-59. Heliopolis using an obelisk determinative. Nor-
(BX) "The portal of Upper Egypt" is also mally that city is written initially with the iwn-
seen in deWit, Temple d'Opet I, 199, in relation pillar, Montet, Geog. I, 156. We should note that
to the birth of Osiris. hw.t bnbn "mansion of the obelisk" is a name of
(BY) Kkw "waters of the inundation," Wb. the
5, sanctuary of Heliopolis, ibid., 159. More
144.15, appears to be a play on words with Kk
frequently the obelisk is a writing for the name
"darkness," one of the Ogdoad. of the god Amun, Wb. 1, 84, but that does not
assist in making sense of this passage. The
(BZ) For this spelling of shd, see Fairman,
ASAE 43 (1943): 244, n. 295. scene itself connects Amun-Re and Ptah. Could

(CA) Reading mitt-iry with hesitation. Or per- we understand something like "doing the like
haps read r-r.w "of them," or the like, see Black- as Amun-Re" for this passage?
man and Fairman, TEA 32 (1946): 78, n. (2). (CP) Reading snsn, Wb. 4, 173.9.
(CB) For ^ equal to ./ see Fairman, ASAE 43 (CR) Reading ssm "to guide," contra Lesko's
(1943): 206, n. 24. "to beget." Could this be a play on words with
(CC) Pr m nwn can refer to either Ptah or the ssm "cult image" ("heart of his father used to
enter into his body in order to become his cult
(CD) For $ equal to ./, see Fairman, ASAE 43 image")?
(1943): 205, n. 20. (CS) Collation shows a clear ./on the wall.
(CE) Zabkar, Ba, 41ff., discusses the role of (CT) For hSt as the prow of the solar bark,
the bas of gods in Late Period temples, and see Wb. 3, 19.6 and BD 126, Allen, BD, 102. So
notes the role of the bas in the Theban cos-
too frequently in the Coffin Texts, Faulkner,
mogony. See also Wente, LRL, 78-79Coffin
and n.Texts
b. III, 203. A number of deities are
known to occupy the position of being at the
O. Kaper (personal communication) suggests
that Ptah is identified with Kematef or Irta who prow of the bark of Re: Thoth (Quaegebeur, Fu-
both dwell in the mound of Djeme "in the nerary Symbols and Religion, 125, n. 105), Horus
midst of their offspring," i.e., the Ogdoad. of Behdet (Fairman, JEA 21 (1935): 29), Ptah-
(CF) Tp? "lunar festival," see Wb. 5, 271.1-3. (Sandman-Holmberg, Ptah, 27), Isis, Seth
Sokar
Questionable interpretation. and Horus (Lesko, Book of Two Ways, 128), and
(CG) Perhaps read R-c or r-dw. Neither Temetpro- or Hathor (Derchain, Hathor Quadri-
mote a good translation. frons, 26). Derchain, Hathor Quadrifrons, 36-44,

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 THE KHONSU COSMOGONY 181

discusses in detail the role of Hathor-Maat in

ligion, 112, n. 73 and Grieshammer, Jenseitsger-
icht, 78. in-
the bark of Re. To occupy the prow position
(DC) The use of qjchere suggests a model of
dicates that one leads the bark on its course and

Hathororas a creator goddess, producing crea-

protects, as well as determines the destiny
fate of the occupants. Clearly only a "chief" tiongod
out of her breast every day. Reading rc nb
would hold that position. In our cosmogony at the end eliminates the problem of word or-
Khonsu (= Ptah), creator of, and associated der suggested by Lesko in his note ah.
with, Hathor-Maat, fills that role. See teVelde, (DD) That is the Maat-feather on your head.
JEOL21 (1970): 177-78. (DE) Reading ^asa mistake for *=».
(CU) For this epithet, see deWit, Temple (DF) Reading nsn. There has been a confu-
d'Opet I, 23. sion or amalgamation of determinatives. The r+
(CV) See Zabkar, Hymns to Isis, chap. 2, n. 7, derives from ns "to spit" or the like, Wb. 2, 337.8.
chap. 4, n. 17 and Edfou I, 30 and 38. The ^ derives from its use in nsn "fish," Wb. 2,
(CW) As noted by Lesko this should be a play 340.9. We could also read the fish as n following
on words with Maat, as noted in Wb. 2, 169.4. Esna 8, 193. The evil-bird was a late period de-
(CX) For -*=*. = m, see Fairman, ASAE 43 terminative of nsn, Wb. 2, 340, bottom. For rk
(1943): 240, n. 263. and its writing, see Wb. 2, 457.14-16, Clere, La
(CY) Again reading hnc. porte, pl. 15, Urk. VIII, 36d and Esna 2, n. 33.5
(CZ) For bqs.t "jewel," see Grdseloff, ASAE 40 (last reference thanks to O. Kaper).
(1940): 185-86. This derives from bqs, Wb. 1, (DG) O. Kaper (personal communication)
480.6. Could this be related to bqs.t "nape (of suggests we read hr mjct.
the neck)," see Meeks, Annee Lex. I, 123. Restor- (DH) Compare to BD 15: Allen, BD, spell
ing hr-ib hwt bqs. t following the parallels in Edfou 15 g S3 and Cruz-Uribe, Hibis Temple I, 155,
I, 116 and 262. O. Kaper notes (personal com- n. 1002.
munication) that bqs.t, "throat," is a rare epithet (DI) Not translated by Lesko.
of Maat, Bergmann, Ich bin Isis, 185, n. 4. (DJ) Play on words between pth "create" and
(DA) The parallels in Edfou I, 116 (with cor-P^'Ttah."
rections) and 262 and deWit, Temple d'Opet, I, (DK) Collation confirms the reading ntr cd.
23, clearly suggest that we read MSct here for (DL) Snk does not normally have an eye de-
mitt. For Maat associated with the throat see Wb. terminative. The alternative is to emend to snt,
"to weep," Wb. 4, 177.9, but that is not a very
4, 413.9, Bergmann, Ich bin Isis, 182ff. and Den-
dera 8, 35. For Hathor associated with the good explanation either.
throat, see Sandman-Holmberg, Ptah, 102. (DM) Not inked in by Lesko, but confirmed
by collation. This parallels the cartouches on
(DB) The parallel inscription in Edfou I, 116/
3 (with corrections) reads iry hh n tiity s3b ss?t34 above.
plate
(DN) See above "Before Heh" for another
wr(?) wd.fnb ss hnt pr-mdS.t. See also Edfou I, 262
and Clere, La porte, pl. 22. deWit, Temple example
d'Opet of rk "time."
I, 23, reads iry hh tiyty s?b cnh.f m m?D.s. (DO)For Lit., "After he encircled his image, then
discussion of the "pectoral of the great judge"
he repeated his form," following Wb. 4,491.11-
see idem., Temple d'Opet III, 10E, n. 36-37 12.and
Grammatically these are Wechselsdtzen.
Grdseloff, ASAE 40 (1940): 185-202. This is a (DP) Reading * ft£ as m-hnw. For f\ as h, see
common epithet of Maat, see Clere, La porte, EsnaS, 160.
pls. 5, 31 and 32, Piehl, Inscription Hier. I, (DQ) Edfu texts note that the lotus emerged
pl. 186 and Sauneron, Porte Ptolemaique, pl. X from the pool. See the discussion of Reymond,
(references thanks to O. Kaper). Maat is known CdE 40 (1965): 65, n. s, and 67ff., and idem.,
to decorate the breast of Thoth, deWit, TempleMOET, 82. Note also Daumas, Mammisis, 345.
d'Opet I, 117 and Thoth-Khonsu, Clere, La porte, (DR) Reading swd with questions.
pl. 11. Derchain-Urtel, Thot, 195ff., notes that (DS) Collation shows that the stroke through
tSyty s?b is used as a common epithet of Thoth.the middle of the s is only in blue paint and not
Note also Quaegebeur, Funerary Symbols and Re-carved.

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 182 JARCE XXXI (1994)

(DT) Tjaru (Sile) represents the

(EK) Could this refer site where
to a mammisi of the
victory of Horus, see the
Cauville,
goddess (often Isis)Essai
nurses thed'Edfou,
juvenile god? 48
See the discussion of Daumas, Mammisis, 203ff .
and Montet, Geog. I, 190.
(DU) M hcw and m sd (EL)n H. it. fare LA
Altenmuller, in parallel.
3, 65, n. 8, citing S.
(DV) For this phrase Schott,
see ZAS Wb. 1,
95 (1968); 55,451.1. A par-
reads Iry as "Action"-
allel with the \p\ used as im can be found in god. M. Brunner-Traut, LA 3, 110, n. 3 and
Edfou II, 37/8. Fs. Otto, 125-42, argues for "seeing"-god, as do
(DW) For the reading qmB see Herbin, BIFAO A. -P. Zivie, Hermopolis, 232, n. g and Caminos,
84 (1984): 271, n. q, Gutbub, Le Egyptologie en 1979 Lit. Frags., 35. Baines, Fecundity Figures, 13 and
II, 89, and Drioton, ASAE44 (1944): 118-19. 64, noting Brunner-Traut' s study, allows either
(DX) Reading rh si "Action" or "Seeing" as a translation of this
(DY) For Thoth as the creator god, see LA 6, deity's name. I have adopted the former, see
513, nn. 25-28, with references. Cruz-Uribe, Hibis Temple I, 80, n. 259, with ref-
(DZ) For Thoth as the heart of Re, see LA 6, erences. Ir "to do" serves as a parallel to Iry
506, n. 122 and Derchain-Urtel, Thot, 81-94. "Action"-god. This parallels siS/sij in line 12.
(EA) Reading dt hiwty n ntrw. For hiwty, see The translation is based upon the parallel cited
Wb. 3, 29.7. We could understand this as "the by Daumas, Mammisis, 437-38, n. 1, where this
first body." The reading ns hity "tongue and phrase is used as an epithet of Isis. The phrase
indicates someone who completes a ritual act.
heart" offered by Lesko is unlikely. The first sign
is clearly a snake-sign and not a tongue-sign. In For this use of ir see also Goyon, Confirmation,
addition, "heart" does not have a walking-legs 53, n. 1 and Barguet, P. Louvre 3176, 50. We
determinative as does our word. thus understand Iry as a personification of rit-
(EB) I have not seen hbhb, Wb. 2, 488.1-2, ual action, rather than as a passive deity who
with .fti elsewhere. "sees." The nature of the creation saga suggests
(EC) Pnq, literally, "to bale out (a boat)" is "action" as a more likely understanding in the
here translated "to divide" following Condon, context. Derchain-Urtel, Thot, 147a, n. 3 and
Seven Royal Hymns, 27, n. 7. See also Vychicl, 154, n. 55 and Kakosy, AcOr Hung. 19 (1966):
Diet. Etym., 160. 353, read m?D instead of iry. Lesko takes -^- as
(ED) See BD 98 SI, Allen, BD, 78 and PT mjj "to see" in the following clause, which is
1216 "I have gone to the great island in theunlikely.
midst of the field of offering," Faulkner, Pyr.(EM) Taking the lotus as rs "rejoice," Wb. 2,
Texts, 193. 454.

(EE) The reading sb? "door" is not certain. A

(EN) The beginning of the line is perhaps to
play on words is invoked with ip - ip. t. be read r-qSb or r mhn or the like. Imy-ht "follow-
(EF) For hry-s.t "heart," see Wb. 3, 135.6 anding after" perhaps is in parallel to m-hjt of the
Junker, Gotterlehre, 46. Compare to Sethe, Lese- preceding line. Daumas, Mammisis, 317, n. 6,
stiicke, 68/14-15. For Sia and Hu as the heart suggests reading the sign as wdb = Dtp "to carry."
and tongue of Re, see Junker, Gotterlehre, 47ff. We might then translate "in order to carry fol-
(EG) Reading drw with hesitation. lowing after."
(EH) Reading shm m iwf, but compare the (EO) Lesko reads hr-ib for /ft which is pos-
passage in Edfou I, 198, n. 5, from which we sible. He cites Gauthier, ASAE 44 (1944): 119,
might then read si? m iwf for the reading hr-ib, but Gauthier, citing our
(El) The sign above the iw appears to be -4^ passage, actually argues that the sign should be
(confirmed by collation) rather than the ex- read ami "create." I am uncertain, but lean
pected w . towards the latter interpretation.
(EJ) Reading irt or hdt. We must understand (EP) Reading sphr, Wb. 4, 106.
milk here to be symbolic of life and prosperity. (EQ) Whm n ns "repetition of tongue" is per-
See Caminos, Osorkon, 23, LA 4, 126, n. 17, and haps a play on words with whm "tongue." See
Haikal, Nesmin, 64, n. 52. For the offering of milk, Wb. 1, 344.20, citing Edfou I, 16/6. This last is
note the discussion of Junker, Abaton, 9-17. also cited by Blackman and Fairman, Misc. Greg,

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 THE KHONSU COSMOGONY 183

420, n. 94. O. Kaper the notes (personal

phrase ib n before commu
the sign and it.sn follow-
cation) that ing, it becomes
"repeating of the clear that the sun-god Re isis assoc
tongue"
ated with Khonsu in Urk. VIII, 184c. meant here. See the examples in Daumas,
(ER) For the seven Djaisu, see E. Reymond,Mammisis, 325, n. 1.
ZAS 92 (1966): 116, n. 2, 118, nn. 9-12 and 124, (FF) Re is described here not only as father,
nn. 2-3, idem., ZAS 96 (1969): 43, nn. 12-13, but as mother of the gods.
and idem., MOET, 344 (Sages). See also BD 71, (FG) Perhaps a shortened version of hnt
mnt.f, Wb. 2, 68.12. Reading | as mn, Esna 8,
Allen, BD, 64, Goyon, Les dieux-gardiens, 186-
87, Sauneron, Esna V, 268-69, idem., BSFE 32 166, n. 261.
(1961): 43-48, and R. el-Sayed, RdE 26 (1974): (FH) Wrt mh.n.s is probably to be seen as a
73-82. word play on Mht-wrt.
(ES) For the pr-cnh see D. Devauchelle and (FI) Reading nd-hr im?.
M. Pezin, CdE 53 (1978): 58, A. Gardiner,yEA 24 (FJ) Collation confirms the reading snt r-gs
(1938): 157-79, Goyon, Les dieux-gardiens I, 187,nb hrt.

Derchain, P. Salt 825, 38-40, and Goyon, Confir-(FK) For the reading cnh see Urk. VIII,
mation, 104-5, n. 207. Seshat is also associated 142.1, Zivie, Deir Chelout III, 146.6 and Valeurs
with the pr-cnh, LA 5, 886. Seven "protector Phonetiques II, 390.
gods" live in the House of Life, see Y. Gourlay, (FL) For the seven in the northern sky see CT
Hommages Sauneron, 368, n. 1. IV, spell 407, Faulkner, Coffin Texts II, 58, and
(ET) For wbn, see Wb. 1, 294.12, written with the discussion of Kees, Totenglauben, 188-89.
the "spitting-mouth" determinative which is (FM) Ts tp is uncertain. Wb. 5, 400.8, cites a
more frequently found on wbn "wound," Wb. 1, passage of Khonsu separating the bones (ts) from
294.15-16. See also Wb. 1, 293.18. the head (tp), which doesn't fit our context.
(EU) For ispt see Cerny, CED, 13, citing this (FN) Taking *^ as a writing of m-di "with,"
example. See also Meeks, Annee Lex. I, 77.0454. similar to Cerny and Groll, LE Grammar, 112,
Lesko emends to sipt "inspection." n. 46. Lesko takes this as the preposition m +
(EV) So Lesko, but it lacks a determinative. sdm.n.f, a form that is rare at best.
(EW) The form of the preposition before (FO) Reading psd.t, Wb. 1, 558.5. See below
for the word play invoked here.
suffixes is im and thus m is written ^ imy, Wb.
2,4. (FP) Lesko translates iwr "give birth," which
(EX) Reading iw.sn r phr. would be ms.

(EY) Taking dj = sdm by phonetic change. (FQ) Reading wr ntr.wy with hesitation. The
The m confirms this reading. two gods would be Hathor (the white one) and
(EZ) Reading *~° for ^ by phonetic change, Isis just mentioned above.
see Fairman, BIFAO 43 (1945): 69. (FR) Reading dnnt "head," Wb. 5, 576.13-17.
(FA) Lesko again emends to sip and trans- In this case we would understand that the seven

lates here "inspection." djisw were created out of the speech of Mehet-
(FB) Reading rn.k. weret from her head. Literally the sentence
(FC) Reading n-n irw = m-m-iry, Wb. 105.1 reads "to them belong the seven utterances of
and Gardiner, EG, 88, n. 6. the head" indicating possession. In a sense the
(FD) Taking m-mitt in its normal usage as an dnnt is that from which the seven emerge and
adverb. possibly reside. This would make it possible to
(FE) Ib n Rc is a common epithet of Khonsu equate it with the word dnnt, Wb. 5, 576.12,
and Thoth, Wb. 1, 59.16-17, Boylan, Thoth, which we know is a place (the head) where
114ff., deWit, Temple dVpet I, 167, and espe- celestial beings reside and come and go. See
cially the discussion of Blackman and Fairman, Faulkner, Coffin Texts II, 198, esp. n. 2. Our ex-
Misc. Greg, 428. The reading of the baboon ampleas lacks a determinative which confuses the
Rc is not common. Fairman, ASAE 43 (1943): issue.

257, n. 29, notes that the baboon symbol is sel- (FS) Lesko suggests "measure (of grain)" for
dom used by itself as a symbol of Thoth. With hqj.t, but that makes little sense in the context.

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 184 JARCE XXXI (1994)

(GE) See Derchain,

His alternative, "rulership," La lune, 46, n. 144 and For .a
is preferred.
Daumas, Mammisis,
equal to q, see Cruz-Uribe, Hibis 437. Temple I, 119,
(GF) Assuming
n. 638. The ~t> is perhaps & is for bw "place."
a mistake.
(FT) Semdet, smdt, is (GG)
the O. Kaper
15th notes day
(personalofcommunica-
the lu-
nar month when the moon is full. It is clear tion) that the "united ba" is actually an im-
portant
that several word plays are in play here. In line theme in the theology of Benenet. It
21 Hathor (psd.t) conceives (iwr) the dlisw.appears
That in four places in Clere, La porte (pls. 22,
alludes to the first day of the lunar month26, 40 and 59). The term refers to the union of
(psdtiw) when the moon god (Khonsu/Thoth) two gods,
is often Re and Osiris (cf. Hornung, Son-
conceived (iwr or bk?). On the 15th day of nenlit.,
the 99, n. 16 and Assmann, Lit. Lieder, 103,
month (smdt), the moon is full (wdj), justnn.as 70-71),
is but in Karnak also in connection
with Montu-Re (Urk. VIII, 30b). Which union is
the rulership of the god. See Parker, Calendars,
meant
12. Clere, La porte, pl. 16, behind Khonsu andin relation to Khonsu is not clear from all
Hathor, noted that Tanen (= Khonsu?) is "in texts. La porte, pl. 40, seems to refer to the union
Semdet glittering and dazzling." of Khonsu-Horus with Khonsu-Thoth.

(FU) Reading m hpt (or qni) it hnc cdt.f or m (GH) Could these be the four kas who pro-
hpt.f. . . "in his embrace. ..." I am uncertainvide benefits? See Otto, Gott und Mensch, 53,
as to the reference to the flower. Lesko reads n. 87. See also deWit, CdE32 (1957): 25-39.
simply hrr.t. (GI) Compare to Edfou I, 412. Note the four
(FV) The writing is most peculiar. Wrt is falcons who protect Re, Borghouts, Ancient
missing the o and ** normally written with Egyptian Magical Texts, 10.
that word. If m mitt is an adverbial, im (= 3mm, (GJ) Taking ssm as "to guide." ^ = .sn.
"grasp") must be an old perfective construction (GK) Or perhaps "sarcophagus." Dbj, Wb. 5,
or some like adverbial construction. The *~* 562.7-9, is an epithet of both Osiris and
Khonsu.
must be a part of the preposition m. t must be a Thus we may have a word play invoked
here. is a
strange writing of drt. None of the above
satisfactory explanation.
(FW) Or read sndm.s, "that she might re- A Hypothetical Interpretation
pose," Wb. 4, 186f.
(FX) Cf. Edfou I, 295 and Edfou IV, 315.It As
is tempting to assign a date to the two
scenes on the basis of other Late Period dated
described in detail in the inscription above,
we have four primeval deities (Hu, Sia, Iry decorations
and found within the same chamber.

Sedjem) along with the seven Djaisu and Seshat. These decorations date to the reigns of Ptolemy
(FY) Reading wbn, Wb. 1, 292. VIII and Augustus Caesar.5 As the decoration of
(FZ) Or "in brightness." Augustus also contains a scene of offering
(GA) See the comments of Drioton, ASAE Maat,
44 it would appear then that our inscrip-
(1944): 131, n. cc. tions would date to prior to that time, that is,
(GB) HSy, Wb. 3, 12.12, is a rare word which sometime within the Ptolemaic dynasty. Lesko
Faulkner, CDME, 161, translates "go ashore, suggested that several of the walls of this cham-
run aground," and followed by Jones, Anc. Egyp- ber in Khonsu temple remained uninscribed
tian Nautical Titles, 217, n. 49. Neither of these for 900 years. Considering the amount of build-
translations fits here. My translation derives ing done in and around the Khonsu temple
from h?y "to flood," Wb. 3, 13.5-8. complex and adjacent Opet temple, this seems
(GC) Reading tn.wy, Wb. V, 372, often used most peculiar. Inspection of our chamber does
in reference to the enclosure walls of the
not reveal any evidence for clear cut remodel-
ing by the Ptolemies and the wall apparently
temple. Lesko read wjd.wy "two deserts."
has not been recut.
(GD) Hnst, Wb. 3, 299. Note Edfou I, 269/12,
where Khonsu is "son of Osiris, born of Isis,
who traverses the two lands ... in his great 5 See PM II, 239-40.
name of Khonsu." 6 "Khonsu," 169.

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 THE KHONSU COSMOGONY 185

The fact that we have to the cult during the

two Amarna Period
major prove
religious in
scriptions, probably only
oftransitory and the Restoration
different begun by
dates, in ou
chamber and each describes a different phase Tutankhamun revitalizes, at least temporarily,
of the development of the cult of Khonsu, the Amun-Re cult.

makes these two inscriptions important for the
understanding of the cult of Khonsu during the
Late Period at Karnak. It is safe to say that,
while other major temples from the Ptolemaic
Period developed independent cosmogonies,
Khonsu temple utilized the Theban cosmogony
of Amun-Re developed for the most part dur-
ing the New Kingdom. What is interesting
about the Theban cosmogony is that it is a bla-
tant borrowing of earlier traditions combining
elements of the Heliopolitan, Memphite, and
Hermopolitan cosmogonies.
In our myth creation takes place, not neces-
sarily at Khonsu temple, but elsewhere in Egypt
involving the god Ptah, Re, the Ogdoad of Her-
mopolis, and others. Ptah then arrives at the
The gradual undermining of the power of the
royal family from the end of the Nineteenth
Dynasty through the end of the Twentieth, pro-
vokes a crisis within the theocracy of Upper
Egypt. The premise of a universal god, Amun-
Re, is now undermined by the political reality of
a divided country, loss of political prestige,
and the assumption of military rule by the
Theban priesthood. The reaction to the under-
mining of the primacy of Amun-Re is borne out
in two separate threads that in part are joined
within the inscriptions we have just translated.
The first is the notion of the absorption of the
efficacy of Osiris into the Amun cult. The sec-
ond is the development of the cult of Khonsu
the child.

future site of Khonsu temple, metamorphoses
into Khonsu, creates and mates with Hathor,
and creates the primeval place, the Benenet.
The religious gerrymandering involved in our
myth makes one wonder why such a convoluted
As discussed by Otto,10 the connections be-
tween the cults of Amun and Osiris are many
and varied. From early in the supremacy of
Amun, we find evidence of the "invasion" of
Osirian forms and notions into the Karnak

creation process was needed. The answer, I be- temple. Thus, as far back as the reign of Tuth-
lieve, lies in the nature of the religious cults mosis
at I, we find large "mortuary" Osiride statues
the Karnak temple complex as a whole over the adorning the Karnak colonnade of that king.
last millennium B.C. and the changes that took In many ways these statues are reminiscent
place within those cults. This article cannot more of the mortuary temples of the New King
dom found on the west bank than a cultus
suffice to be a complete discussion of that prob-
lem, but several items of importance need to temple
be on the east bank. The universal image o
mentioned. Amun-Re demanded a universal approach to all
One may see the cult of Amun-Re at Karnak aspects of the universe. Thus the realm of the
during the New Kingdom as one of political
dead and its chief god were drawn into the
expediency. The rise of a strong ruling family sphere of Amun-Re. No later than the Third
from Thebes in Dynasty 18 provoked the Intermediate
need Period these developments had
for the legitimization of a provincial family progressed
now to a high point whereby Amun-R
in charge of a reunited Egypt. The local performscult of the ritual of visitations to the graves o
Amun-Re was thrust to the forefront of the reli- his ancestors at Kom Djeme and was revitalized
gious sphere to mirror the successes of the
political realm in military and foreign affairs.
9 As evoked, for instance, in the tale of Wenamun.
The temple estates are expanded and the 10 Osiris und Amun. Kult und heilige Stdtten, Munich, 1966.
priesthood of Amun-Re begins to acquire a See also K. Bosse-Griffiths, Egyptian Art: the Cults of Osiris an
place within the political sphere. The setbacks Amun, London, 1968.
11 See PM II, 80.
7 It might be argued that the cosmogonies 12at ForEdfu
example, the Osiride courts at the Rammesseum,
(Reymond, MOET), Esna (see Sauneron, Esna PM
5) II,
or435, and Medinet Habu, PM II, 503.
Philae
13 In
(see Zabkar, Hymns to Isis) are equally confusing the evi-
and same manner the cult of Amun-Re followed
dence elements of borrowing from other earlier myths.
that of the Amarna diversion by incorporating the Osiride
For example, Yoyotte, La naissance, 67. themes. See Hornung, Conceptions, 245.

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 186 JARCE XXXI (1994)

tance. During
in ritual and reborn like the New Kingdom and
Osiris-Resudja toThird
con-
Intermediate and
tinue his reign in heaven Period Khonsu
upon acquires several
earth.14
specific syncretic aspects.
This process was transmitted during One is the
the Khonsu-
Saite
Thoth
Period to Hibis temple for identifications.
future This is especially appar-
speculation15
and separately continued
ent as both at Karnak
deities where
evoke aspects of the moon. we
The next temple
again see them at Khonsu aspect is the equation
and of Khonsu with
elsewhere
in the Karnak complex. Horus.2 While this notion is well known from
the Third
This integration of the Intermediatethemes,
Osiris Period, it continues
includ-
ing the multiplicity ofinto the Ptolemaic played
roles Period. This identification
by Isis and
Horus, into the Amun-Reworks in two myth
ways. On the is oneplayed out
hand we have an
emphasis on
against a political backdrop of the continued
rejuvenated child loss who acts
of as
heir and savior
influence and eventually the of the world. On the other hand
transformation of
it allows a political input into the religious
the Amun-Re cult back into a local Theban cult.
sphere of Khonsu. The god's-wife of Amun
While other local Amun cults continue into
or the by
later periods,19 they are no longer overseen queen is identified with Isis/Mut and
the Theban temple; and this process acquires
probably the title, especially during Dynasties
dates to the Third Intermediate Period.21The
to 25,
po- of "God's-Mother."27 We also know
litical adoption of Nitocris, daughterthat all of these notions (Khonsu-Thoth-Horus-
of Psam-
metichus I, clearly indicates that the primacy of thought of as being unified during
moon) were
the Amun cult at Thebes had ceased the
byThird
the Intermediate Period.
beginning of the Saite Period. The Saite Re-
Thus, by the time both of our inscriptions are
composed and inscribed in Khonsu temple, a
vival extended the role of Osiris throughout
largeThus
Egypt at the expense of other deities.21 amount of theological background has
been
the images of Amun-Re at Karnak in the elaborated upon. As can be seen by my
Ptole-
maic Period are more reminiscent of past glory
brief synopsis, a variety of mythic threads have
than expressions of current reality. been woven and come together, thus allowing
The cult of Khonsu22 the child is well known
presentation of our two inscriptions involving
from the early New Kingdom. As Amun-Rethe creation of the world by Khonsu, as well as
the elucidation
expands into a universal deity, he absorbs, as of additional actors within the

noted above, many aspects of the Osirian tradi-

creation saga.
tion. One of these is the parallel with the Ourtriad
inscriptions are two separate scenes. The
of Osiris-Isis-Horus. Thus the role of the The- first scene (west wall; Lesko, pls. 34-35) consists
ban triad, Amun-Mut-Khonsu, gains in impor- of the standing king offering Maat. The offer-

14 See the discussions of Goyon, Taharqa, 80-86 and 23 The oracular amuletic decrees, which have numerous
Fazzini, Egypt, 23. references to Khonsu, note that Khonsu is the "greatest god
15 To be discussed by this author in a later study on Hibisof the great gods," Edwards, Oracular Decrees, 76.
24 See Derchain, La Lune, 36-44. See also Montet, Kemi
temple. These thoughts were touched on briefly in a paper
presented to the annual meeting of the Society for the12 (1952): 59ff., Fazzini, Egypt, 19, Quaegebeur, Shai, 103,
Study of Egyptian Antiquities, Toronto, 1986. and Leclant, Mon. Thebains, 250, nn. 2 and 3. For Khonsu-
16 Sandman-Holmberg, Ptah, 146-47, notes the syncre-Iah, see LA 1,962, n. 28.
tism of Osiris and Ptah, especially at Karnak temple. 25 See E. Hall, JARCE 14 (1977): 55-58, Redford, JSSEA 9
17 Note the large number of instances in the hypostyle (1979): 34-36 and idem., Kinglists, 312. For Ptah = Horus =
hall at Karnak where Amun-Re and Isis are joined, Chris- king, see the discussion of Sandman-Holmberg, Ptah, 80ff.
tophe, Divinites, 85. 26 See Traunecker, Karnak VIII, 347-53, where he dis-
18 See Redford, Orientaliabb (1986): 10-13. cusses a shrine to Khonsu-Horus at Karnak built by Alex-
19 Such as at Diospolis Parva and el-Hibeh, see Griffith, ander the Great. See also Sandman-Holmberg, Ptah, 112.
Cat. Demotic Pap. Ill, 37ff. 27 See M. Smith, Dem. Pap. BM3, 39, lines 14-15, J. Berg-
20 See L. Kakosy, AcOr Huns, 19 (1966): 343. man, Ich bin Isis, 132-37 and Berlandini, Hommages Sauneron
21 See Fazzini, Egypt, 7, llff. and 21ff. For comments on I, 100-109, esp. 102-3.
Osiris' importance in Ptolemaic temples, see Junge, Aspekte 28 See Goyon JSSEA 13 (1983): 2-7, esp. 7.
der Spdtdg. Religion, 99f. 29 See the comments of Assmann, Funktionen, 25.
22 For bibliography see LA 1, 960-63.

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 THE KHONSU COSMOGONY 187

understanding
ing text in front of the king individual
doesscenes in
nottermsinvok
of
Amun-Re, but rathertheir contexts. great god at the first
"the
moment, the great Nun."
The gods represented
Before in our scenes
the are king w
find Amun-Re seated
clearlyupon his
the numerous throne
ancestor/primeval deitieswith
series of epithets above
who are his head.
buried at Djeme. It isThen we
important to re- have
Ptah seated on a throne
member holding a staff.
that during the Ptolemaic and Roman Above
Periods creation
Ptah begins the major it appears that Khonsu of Benenet is
hymn. Behind
Ptah we have the Ogdoad,
the deity who followed
is substituted for Amun-Re
by aand stand-
performs the rites for the ancestor gods at the
ing figure of Hathor.
The other scene (east
mound wall;
of Djeme.35 Lesko,
The unity of thepls.
rituals at36-37)
the temples
shows a kneeling king offeringon the east and west banks
Maat to at Khonsu
seated on a throne, Thebes
followed by
is preserved in this Thoth also
manner.
seated. Behind Thoth It
inis bythree
using the manyregisters we have
threads of myth dis-
twelve deities: Sia, Hu, Iry
cussed above that weandare thenSedjem,
able to explain the
seven Djaisu and Seshat. why each ofLastly we have
the deities are included in this au- Osiris
Wennefer seated upon a Ifthrone.
gust group. we view the deitiesAbove
simply as the all of
the figures are seriesancestors in general, we give them each a role
of epithets.
The simplest explanation for these two within the creation of the world. Some of the
scenes I think reflects their use as scenes mak-
connections are very straightforward. Amun-Re
ing offerings to the ancestor gods. As noted as chief
by deity of the Theban pantheon acquired
Reymond, the ancestor gods played a specific the role as creator god at least as far back as the
role in the creation of the physical templeNew afterKingdom. Ptah is well known as the creator
they had been involved in general withgod thefrom the Memphite tradition. Hathor must
creation of the world out of Nun. The passage acquire some attributes to deserve being an "an-
cestor" from her connection with Ptah and
from the Book of the Dead, 17 S10 reads: "Ances-
tors, give me your hands. It is I, who came identification
into with Maat. Khonsu acquires cre-
being through you.' The vignette for that ator attributes principally in our myth and by
scene shows a cow labelled "the great Nun, eye virtue of his role as chief deity of this section of
of Re," that is, Mehetweret, whom we have the Karnak temple complex. Thoth himself is
described as "the one who created every-
noted above within the inscription above Ptah.
In a variant vignette it is Thoth who offers thing."
the Seshat is added to the inscription, in a
eye to the cow. We should note line 23 of sense,
our as consort of Thoth, and as balance to
Hathor
inscription above Ptah: "they adored the eldest on the west wall. Osiris-Wennefer in

amongst the gods in the portal of Upper his name as Khonsu-Osiris acts as the final com-
Egypt." Thus the worship of the ancestor gods bination of the Heliopolitan cosmogony with
is contained within the myth of creation itself. Osiris as the last generation before Horus, tied
As Baines notes, it is not so important what
specific figures are represented here (be it 34 Derchain, Hathor Quadrifrons, 34-35 and 48, notes that
Thoth, Seshat, the personifications and/or the Hathor is a creative force in the world and this has much to
Ogdoad), it is what they represent. To Baines do with her sexuality.
the presence of Hathor/Maat would not have a 35 See Traunecker, Achoris II, 130ff., idem., Karnak VII
sexual connotation, but rather a symbolic one. (1978-1981): 339-54, esp. 347-48, and idem., Karnak VIII
(1982-1985): 347-53, esp. 351-52. See also M. Doresse,
In light of our text's explicit sexual union RdE 31 (1979): 36-65.
between Ptah/Khonsu and Hathor, we must 36 See for example Sandman-Holmberg, Ptah, 191 and
modify his understanding to allow variation226.
in
See inscription above Hathor.
38 See inscription above Thoth.
30 CdE 40 (1965): 49-70. Jy For the connection of Thoth and Seshat see LA 5, 886,
31 See Allen, BD, 28 and Sandman-Holmberg, Ptah, n.44.
32.
32 Fecundity) Figures, 300-302. See Derchain-Urtel, Thot, 73. Note also the discussion
33 Fecundity Figures, 29. of Derchain, BiOrS2 (1975): 352, n. 14.

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 188 JARCE XXXI (1994)

in with the Khonsu child who is the ideal of Valley'VThebes, the creation of Benenet, the
rejuvenation. creation of Hathor, and finally the actual for-
I have left out the two groups of smaller
mationdei-
of the Ogdoad.43
ties. On the west wall we have the Ogdoad,
It is the
clear that the cycle of myth attempts to
primeval ancestors from Hermopolis unify
who ahavevariety of creation sagas. The Memphite
tradition
been transported to Thebes for eventual burialwith Ptah leads the way.44 The Her-
mopolitan
at Kom Djeme. On the east we have twelve dei- tradition with the Ogdoad appears.
ties. Seshat we have mentioned already. Hu,
The reference to the egg of a falcon is reminis-
Sia, Iry and Sedjem represent the fourcent of the Edfu tradition. The Myth of the Di-
primeval
beings/personifications which played avine
roleCow,
es-Mehetweret, is alluded to. In the
pecially in the Heliopolitan cosmogony.41 action of
The the creator swallowing the seed and
seven Djaisu, known especially fromlater the spitting
Edfu it out, we hearken back to the role
texts, derive from the Myth of the Sacred of Atum in the Heliopolitan traditions. What is
Cow, where Mehetweret speaks and the seven interesting is that Amun-Re, who lacked his
come into existence. They are thus also crea- own original creation myth, basically plays no
tures from the primeval times. role in the saga. One could argue that the myth
The scenes stand in parallel. The west wall presented in Khonsu's name is simply a restruc-
was probably inscribed first as a description of turing of the Amun-Re creation myth devel-
the creation of the world v is a vis the role and oped in Thebes. The extent of the borrowing
does not deny that, but the parallel scene from
importance of Khonsu, as well as to commemo-
rate the honor placed upon the ancestors the
of east
the wall shifts our attention.
On the east wall the god Khonsu leads the
temple. Amun-Re as chief god of the Karnak
complex leads the way because he was the oneand he evokes images of his being the fal-
scene
for whom the myth was first emended. conOur
Horus. Could this be a tie-in with the Edfu

myth then names Ptah as the creator. Ptah

falcon myth? It is also possible that we are in-
comes to Thebes (in his name as Khonsu) cre- tended to note the connection to the Osiris-
ates Hathor, has intercourse with her and thus Isis-Horus myth. Thoth appears because of his
creates Benenet, the Theban temple of Khonsu. importance in recording creation, but espe-
It is interesting to note that Khonsu is not con-cially for his role in recording the creation of
ceived as an androgynous creator, like in many the divine heir (Horus-the king) for the gods.
of the creation myths, but rather as a male Sia, Hu, Iry and Sedjem invoke a mixture of
deity who impregnates a female consort, herecreation roles, as do the Djaisu, though the lat-
Hathor. Hathor's connection to Ptah makes her ter are best known from the Edfu tradition, and
possibly derive from an earlier tradition con-
a convenient female mythic figure to utilize.
nected
The main inscription on the west wall in- with the Divine Cow. Seshat combines

structs us in the cycle of the myth. Nun with the role of Thoth as recorder of the royal
existed.
birthin
The first snake (= Ptah = Kematef = Amun-Re and as balance to Hathor. Osiris, as
Thebes) creates. Irta (= Ptah = the greatKhonsu-Osiris,
Nun = completes the circle by refer-
the second snake) comes into existence. The ence to the Osirian literature as well as the

primeval egg (of a falcon) is formed in Her-parallel development and combination of th

mopolis. The creator sails upon Nun, now Amun-Mut-Khonsu triad with the Osiris-Isis-

known as Mehetweret. The creator then goes to Horus group.

Thebes in his transfigured state of Khonsu, the Our scenes from Khonsu temple serve as the
crocodile. The crocodile has swallowed the egg/ synthesis of the mythic threads which were
seed in order to spit out creation. At Thebes a
series of events takes place: the creation of "the 43 It is slightly confusing to have the text state that the
Ogdoad will come into existence in Hermopolis and then
have them created or spat forth in Thebes.
41 For a discussion on the role of these personifications, 44 It is possible to compare the theologic development of
see Baines, Fecundity Fibres, 13ff., 29, 64-65 and 300-302. our inscriptions at Khonsu temple with those of Ptah as ex-
42 See above Textual Commentary ER. pressed in the Shabako inscription.

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 THE KHONSU COSMOGONY 189

developed starting
for in the
the idea New
of a Ptolemaic Kingdom
interpretation of
were further formulated mythic history.46 This includes the
during the statement
Third I
mediate Period and Saite era. The importance that the texts are "in Middle Egyptian and more
of the universal god, Amun-Re, has waned, prin- consistent than is usually found in the Twenti-
cipally due to the political nature of the rise of eth Dynasty." My discussion above asserts that
his cult. Lacking sound theologic origins, an the texts are solely the original workings of a
alternative theology is developed emphasizing Ptolemaic Period priest-scribe who wished to
and combining the Amun and Osiris myths. emphasize the importance of Khonsu and his
The child Khonsu is presented as the creator. temple as reflected in the current beliefs from
Khonsu the child serves as the energetic and his locality. As cited in the notes, the texts
rejuvenated leader of today, as well as the hope themselves were written in a brand of Middle
for the future. This last is tied to the role that
Egyptian which utilizes a number of Late Egyp-
Khonsu derives from the Osirian program
tianfor
grammatical forms. To this we add the or-
the death and rebirth of the godhead. Thus
thographic peculiarities found only from the
Khonsu assumes the role of Amun-Re in the Late Period.

festivals at the mound of Djeme, honors The the

Khonsu Cosmogony, as written, centers
ancestors and becomes rejuvenated. The onrejuve-
Khonsu, but is the result of ten centuries
nation is simply a closing of the cycle worth of interpretation, reinterpretation and
of crea-
tion, death and recreation. Khonsu the moon synthesis of a variety of mythic traditions. The
parallels Khonsu the falcon, the sun and the
scribe wrote in the tradition of his era. His local

moon, aspects of day and night. The cycle pro- temple and his local deity were the center of the
vides for all aspects of nature. In the end Maatworld.
is The world was created at Thebes,
preserved and thus we have the figures of the Khonsu was the creator god, and his temple
king presenting Maat back to the gods. stands as the physical proof of that theological
One of Lesko's arguments on grammatical discourse.

grounds was that the text must have been a

Ptolemaic "translation" of a mythic tradition
Northern Arizona University
deriving from the New Kingdom, but allowing

45 So noted by Otto, Gott und Mensch, 87. 46 Lesko, "Khonsu," 169.

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