In the fifth in a series of articles exploring myths and tales from ancient Egypt, Dr Joyce Tyldesley introduces us to two brothers with very different characters.
The Tale of Truth and Falsehood is preserved on theNineteenth Dynasty hieratic Papyrus ChesterBeatty II. This was purchased in Luxor, and is now housed in the British Museum (EA 10682,1). Truth and Falsehood are brothers, but they are far from friends. They have a relationship rotten with one-sided sibling rivalry reminiscent of the relationship between the god Osiris and his jealous brother Seth. Their story is an elaborate allegory dealing with the restoration of justice, or ma’at. However, several real locations are specified in the story. The copper-rich Mount El is unknown, but Coptos (modern Qift) is in Upper Egypt, Kel is a Nubian province, and ‘Amun’s Isle’ is the Delta site of Tell elBalamun.
Unfortunately the beginning of the papyrus is lost, and the opening section of the surviving text is riddled with gaps. We are therefore not able to read how the devious Falsehood lent his honest but naive brother Truth a precious dagger. Truth has failed to return the dagger, and so Falsehood has denounced him before the court of the gods. As we join the trial, Falsehood is describing his lost property in very exaggerated terms ...
The Story “... All the copper of Mount El went into its blade; all the timber in the Coptos wood went into its haft. Its sheath was the size of a rock-cut tomb; its belt was sewn from the hides of the herd of Kel. Truth has deliberately lost my valuable dagger. Let Truth now be brought before you, and let him be blinded in both eyes as punishment. Let him serve as my doorkeeper as a permanent reminder of his crime.”
この記事は Ancient Egypt の Issue 102 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Ancient Egypt の Issue 102 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
INSIDE THE STEP PYRAMID OF DJOSER
Sean McLachlan explores the recently reopened interior of this iconic Third Dynasty Saqqara monument.
PER MESUT: for younger readers
She Who Loves Silence
Highlights of the Manchester Museum 29: An Offering by Queen Tiye for her Husband
Campbell Price describes an offering table with a touching significance.
Highlights Of The Manchester Museum 28: Busts Of Jesse And Marianne Haworth
Campbell Price describes the significance of two statue busts on display in the Museum.
TAKABUTI, the Belfast Mummy
Rosalie David and Eileen Murphy explain how scientific examination of the ‘Belfast Mummy’ is revealing much new information about her life and times.
Lost Golden City
An Egyptian Mission searching for the mortuary temple of Tutankhamun has discovered a settlement – “The Dazzling of Aten” – described as the largest city ever found in Egypt (see above). Finds bearing the cartouches of Amenhotep III (see opposite, top) date the settlement to his reign, c. 1390-1352 BC – making it about 3400 years old.
Jerusalem's Survival, Sennacharib's Departure and the Kushite Role in 701 BCE: An Examination of Henry Aubin's Rescue of Jerusalem
BOOK REVIEWS
Golden Mummies of Egypt: Interpreting Identities from the Graeco-Roman Period by Campbell Price
BOOK REVIEWS
Old And New Kingdom Discoveries At Saqqara
An Egyptian team working on a Sixth Dynasty pyramid complex near the Teti pyramid at Saqqara has made a series of important discoveries.
Map Of Egypt
What’s in a name? It is easy for us to forget that the names we associate with the pyramids – such as the Meidum Pyramid, the Bent Pyramid or the Black Pyramid – would have been meaningless to their builders.
