The Literature of Ancient Egypt: An Anthology of Stories, Instructions, Stelae, Autobiographies, and Poetry

619 Pages·2003·1.57 MB·English

by  William Kelley Simpson

THE
LITERATURE
OF
ANCIENT
EGYPT

THE
LITERATURE
OF
ANCIENT
EGYPT
AN ANTHOLOGY OF STORIES,
INSTRUCTIONS, STELAE,
AUTOBIOGRAPHIES, AND POETRY
Third Edition
Edited and with an introduction by
WILLIAM KELLY SIMPSON
With translations by
Robert K. Ritner,
William Kelly Simpson,
Vincent A. Tobin,
and Edward F. Wente, Jr.
YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS/NEW HAVEN & LONDON
Disclaimer:
Some images in the original version of this book are not
available for inclusion in the eBook.
Published with assistance from
the William K. and Marilyn M. Simpson
Endowment for Egyptology at
Yale University.
Copyright ∫ 2003 by Yale University.
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form
(beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except
by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers.
Designed by Mary Valencia.
Set in Simoncini Garamond and Michelangelo
types by Keystone Typesetting, Inc.
Printed in the United States of America by Vail-Ballou Press.
ISBN: 0-300-09920-7
A catalogue record for this book is available from the
Library of Congress and the British Library.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee
on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To the memory of sages of our own time
who have made outstanding contributions
to the study and appreciation of the literature of ancient Egypt
RAYMOND O. FAULKNER (1894–1982)
WOLFGANG HELCK (1914–1993)
GEORGES POSENER (1906–1988)

CONTENTS
List of Abbreviations xi
Introduction by William Kelly Simpson 1
PART I NARRATIVES AND TALES OF MIDDLE
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE 11
King Cheops and the Magicians 13
The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant 25
The Shipwrecked Sailor 45
The Story of Sinuhe 54
PART II LATE EGYPTIAN STORIES 67
The Quarrel of Apophis and Seknenre 69
The Capture of Joppa 72
The Tale of the Doomed Prince 75
The Tale of the Two Brothers 80
vii
CONTENTS
The Contendings of Horus and Seth 91
The Blinding of Truth by Falsehood 104
Astarte and the Insatiable Sea 108
A Ghost Story 112
The Report of Wenamon 116
PART III INSTRUCTIONS, LAMENTATIONS,
AND DIALOGUES 125
The Instruction of Hardedef (First Part) 127
The Maxims of Ptahhotep 129
The Teaching for the Vizier Kagemni 149
The Teaching for King Merikare 152
The Teaching of King Amenemhet I for His Son Senwosret 166
The Loyalist Instruction from the Sehetepibre Stela 172
The Instruction of a Man for His Son 175
The Man Who Was Weary of Life 178
The Admonitions of an Egyptian Sage 188
The Lamentations of Khakheperre-sonbe 211
The Prophecies of Neferty 214
The Instruction of Amunnakhte 221
The Instruction of Amenemope 223
PART IV FROM THE RELIGIOUS LITERATURE 245
Selections from the Pyramid Texts 247
Selections from the Coffin Texts 263
Book of the Dead 125: ‘‘The Negative Confession’’ 267
viii
CONTENTS
The Hymn to the Aten 278
Penitential Hymns 284
The Book of the Heavenly Cow 289
PART V SONGS AND ROYAL HYMNS 299
Cycle of Songs in Honor of Senwosret III 301
The Love Songs and The Song of the Harper 307
PART VI ROYAL STELAE 335
The Semna Stela 337
The Neferhotep Stela 339
The Kamose Texts 345
The Poetical Stela of Thutmose III 351
The Israel Stela 356
The Bentresh Stela 361
The Victory Stela of Piye 367
The Famine Stela 386
The Satrap Stela 392
PART VII AUTOBIOGRAPHIES 399
Three Autobiographies of the Old Kingdom 401
The Stela of Tjetji 414
Amenemhet and Khnumhotep II at Beni Hasan 418
The Stela of Iykhernofret 425
ix