Egyptian Tales, Translated from the Papyri - First Series IVth To XIIth Dynasty

By Flinders Petrie

This early work by the British archaeologist, Flinders Petrie, was originally published in 1899 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'Egyptian Tales, Translated from the Papyri - First Series IVth To XIIth Dynasty' is a wonderful collection of stories circulating in ancient Egypt. William Matthew Flinders Petrie was born on 3rd July 1853 in Kent, England, son of William Petrie and Ann née Flinders. He showed an early interest in the field of archaeology and by his teenage years was surveying local Roman monuments near his family home. Flinders Petrie continued to have many successes in Egypt and Palestine throughout his career, most notably, his discovery of the Mernepte stele, a stone tablet depicting scenes from ancient times. His excellent methodology and plethora of finds earned him a Knighthood for his services to archaeology in 1923.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Jan 18, 2016
• ISBN: 9781473379060

Book preview

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EGYPTIAN TALES

Ivth To Xiith Dynasty

First Series

Second Edition

TRANSLATED FROM THE PAPYRI

EDITED BY

W. M. FLINDERS PETRIE

ILLUSTRATED BY

TRISTRAM ELLIS

Copyright © 2013 Read Books Ltd.

This book is copyright and may not be

reproduced or copied in any way without

the express permission of the publisher in writing

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Contents

Flinders Petrie

INTRODUCTION

TALES OF THE MAGICIANS

KHAFRA’S TALE

BAUFRA’S TALE

HORDEDEF’S TALE

IXTH DYNASTY: THE PEASANT AND THE WORKMAN

XIITH DYNASTY: THE SHIPWRECKED SAILOR

XIITH DYNASTY: THE ADVENTURES OF SANEHAT

Flinders Petrie

William Matthew Flinders Petrie was born on 3rd July 1853 in Kent, England, son of William Petrie and Ann Flinders. The young Flinders Petrie was educated at home in a devout Christian household due to his father being a member of the Plymouth Brethren.

He showed an early interest in the field of archaeology and by his teenage years was surveying local Roman monuments near his family home. This enthusiasm resulted in a visit to Egypt in 1880 to study the great Pyramid at Giza, where his analyses were the first to apply observation and logic to investigate how the pyramids were constructed. His meticulous accuracy in measurement still provides a considerable amount of the basic data still used today in the study of the pyramid plateau.

His impressive scientific approach to the field earned him the position of professor at University College London. This recognition secured Filnders Petrie the funds he needed for excavation projects, and in 1884 he returned to Egypt to continue his work.

He would often have over 150 workmen on his digs but would choose to be the foreman of the operation himself. He was popular with his workers, and by reducing the pressure on them to make quick finds, they were able to toil more carefully and unearth small but significant artefacts that would otherwise have been lost or damaged.

Flinders Petrie continued to have many successes in Egypt and Palestine throughout his career, most notably, his discovery of the Mernepte stele, a stone tablet depicting scenes from ancient times. He also developed new excavation methods which revolutionised large scale digging operations. He went on to produce a wealth of publications on his subject, including A Season in Egypt, 1887 (1888), Koptos (1896), Methods & Aims in Archaeology (1904), and many more. His excellent methodology and plethora of finds earned him a Knighthood for his services to archaeology in 1923.

In 1896, Flinders Petrie married Hilda Urlin, with whom he had two children, John and Ann. After his retirement, he and Hilda moved to Jerusalem where they lived at the British School of Archaeology. He remained there until his death in July 1942.

INTRODUCTION

IT is strange that while literature occupies so much attention as at present, and while fiction is the largest division of our book-work, the oldest literature and fiction of the world should yet have remained unpresented to English readers. The tales of ancient Egypt have appeared collectively only in French, in the charming volume of Maspero’s Contes Populaires ; while some have been translated into English at scattered times in volumes of the Records of the Past. But research moves forward ; and translations that were excellent twenty years ago may now be largely improved, as we attain more insight into the language.

For another reason also there is a wide ground for the present volume. In no case have any illustrations been attempted, to give that basis for imagination which is all the more needed when reading of an age and a land unfamiliar to our ideas. When following a narrative, whether of real events or of fiction, many persons—perhaps most—find themselves unconsciously framing in their minds the scenery and the beings of which they are reading. To give a correct picture of the character of each of the various ages to which these tales belong, has been the aim of the present illustrations. A definite period has been assigned to each tale, in accordance with the indications, or the history, involved in it; and, so far as our present knowledge goes, all the details of life in the scenes here illustrated are rendered in accord with the period of the story. To some purely scholastic minds it may seem presumptuous to intermingle translations of notable documents with fanciful illustrations. But, considering the greater precision with which in recent years we have been able to learn the changes and the fashions of ancient life in Egypt, and the essentially unhistorical nature of most of these tales, there seems ample reason to provide such material for the reader’s imagination in following the stories; it may-give them more life and reality, and may emphasise the differences which existed between the different periods to which these tales refer. It will be noticed how the growth of the novel is shadowed out in the varied grounds and treatment of the tales. The earliest is purely a collection of marvels or fabulous incidents of the simplest kind. Then we advance to contrasts between town and country, between Egypt and foreign lands. Then personal adventure, and the interest in schemes and successes, becomes the staple material; while only in the later periods does character come in as the groundwork. The same may be seen in English literature—first the tales of wonders and strange lands, then the novel of adventure, and lastly the novel of character. In translating these documents into English I have freely used the various translations already published in other languages; but in all cases more or less revision and retranslation from the original has been made. In this matter I am indebted to Mr.