Cartouche of King Unas ("wnis").
(ca. 2378 - 2348 BCE)

The Royal Ritual of
Rebirth & Illumination

by Wim van den Dungen

COMMENTARY ON THE TEXT

1 Short introduction.
2 Central plan of the tomb of King Unas.
3 Hieroglyphs of the text.
4 Table of contents of the Pyramid Texts of Unas.
5 The sarcophagus chamber.
6 The passage-way.
7 The antechamber.
8 The corridor.

General Introduction l The Complete Text l Bibliography

Short Introduction

Besides the general introduction and additional remarks concerning the present English text, following short introduction to this commentary seems in place.

Ex hypothesi, the pyramid complex was the place of the royal cult, involving regeneration (rebirth) and ecstatic unity with Re. These two steps, the Lunar, Osirian rebirth or regeneration of the divine king and his Solar, Heliopolitan ascension were not yet integrated, but the two themes are clearly present as is the urge to stress Re in Osirian contexts and emphasize Osiris in Heliopolitan spells, pointing to an awareness of the inevitability of both poles.

Perhaps this royal cult was at hand as soon as the new king was crowned ? The Heb Sed ritual has Osirian connotations (the king assuming the dramatic role of Osiris to regenerate), whereas the daily service of the king, or his representatives, in the inner sanctum of later temples dedicated to the deities, involving opening the doors of the horizon and facing the deity in the "naos", is reminiscent of the companionship with Re which befell the divine, ascended king in the sky. The representative of the king assumed the divine, for in principle, only the high priest faced the cult statue.

Reading the text in terms of a spiritual drama (a mystery-play - cf. Sethe, 1928) calls for an editorial format in which the expressive, exclamatory style is used to boost the narrative. Mindful of what is not at our disposal when translating Old Egyptian, what can we do more than make an intelligent guess ? This presupposes constant revision and the study of new source material.

In my opinion, the texts do follow a single story-line focused on the spiritual experience of the divine king, albeit interrupted by emotional appeals and statements, and ruled by the "logic of the cardinal points", associating different semantic fields with different directions in space.

conjectured symbolism of the compass points

Another important fact : the text continue to emphasize the Solar nature of the divine king, despite his long and difficult experiences in the Duat. Even if his Duat-experience transforms him into the Living Osiris himself, he does not belong there and has to emerge from it, to enter the horizon, the Akhet (cf. the presence, both on the South Wall, of commendations to Re in the Osiris room and elaborate Osiris rituals in the Re chamber, as it were to balance the overall meaning of the two chambers). Connecting Western sarcophagus, passage-way, antechamber and Eastern serdab forms the "exit" vector, whereas a circular movement from West to East is at work in both chambers. By making all hieroglyphs read from left to right but facing right instead of left, the North Wall of the antechamber, leading to the corridor, the physical exit to the Imperishables, and dealing with the actual ascension of the divine king, introduces an important symmetry-break.

But even in the horizon, the power of Osiris is not to be denied and the Duat not to be given a negative connotation, for Osiris purified the divine king (in the Books of the Netherworld, he accompanies Re well into the 12th Hour, but does not emerge from the Duat). The horizon is the place of ascension. The divine king is given many methods to fly up to his divine father, the sole creator-god. When the spirits in Re's sky see him coming, they fear him. Most of them he indeed gulps down, to affirm himself in the sky of Re as the "image of images" and the "power of powers" ...

Which general story-line can be discerned ?

Ex hypothesis, and conform comparative religious studies, the sacred rituals were initiated by purifications and magical devices to repel negative forces and condition the area for what is about to take place. Following Spiegler, Allen & Naydler, the present text starts in the sarcophagus room, with the protective texts on the West Gable, just above the sarcophagus.

To enter the magical West, the netherworld or the Duat, the living ecstatic or the deceased (as a mummy) is laid to rest in the sarcophagus, heading North. Maybe the accompanying rituals were elaborate ceremonies, of which the Offering Liturgy recorded the skeleton ? The Offering Liturgy on the North Wall is the earliest known liturgy in recorded history, and contains the traditional list of offerings found in earlier tombs, but also offerings presented to the divine king, as seen in coronation rituals (cf. the Dramatic Papyri) and in renewal ceremonies like the Sed festival. Although we do not know when this liturgy was employed, Naydler (2005, p.186) conjectures that during the liturgy, the divine king underwent rituals bringing him near to the direct experience of the spirit world (of the dead) while he was himself alive.

The jump from the North Wall to the South Wall is suggested by the unity formed by the twelve South-to-East-Wall texts. They contain the ritual of the Osirian rebirth of the divine king, the son of Re-Atum. They begin with the king entering the Duat and going through the regenerative rituals of Osiris, reminiscent of the later Amduat-texts, in particular the dynamics of the 6th Hour of the night (cf. the midnight mystery). A kingly prayer is introduced and followed by three priestly statements. On the East Wall, he is crowned as the living Osiris, the king of the Duat himself, but by nature he remains the son of Re, and he is not destined for the Duat. He is called back and receives, as the East Gable texts explain, food & refreshments after his ecstatic ordeal (or after his postmortem vindication by Osiris).

The North passage-way finalizes the "offering" themes, while the South passage-way preludes the king entering the horizon.

In the antechamber, the West Gable explains how the divine king emerges from the Duat as an Akh, a spirit, away from Osiris as headed towards Re, his father. Although the Duat purified the king, his is on his way to the spirits of Re and the horizon provides him with the means to do so.

The West Wall describes the reborn Horus-king, whereas on the South Wall, the career of the son of Re comes to the fore. To finally merge with Re by way of the horizon, the necessity of Osiris and the Duat are stressed.

The North Wall depicts the ascension of the divine king.

The East Gable describes his arrival in heaven, while the East Wall are protective spells, closing the protective circle, opened with the protective spells on the West Gable of the burial-chamber.

Finally, outside the tomb proper, the West Corridor confirms the horizon was opened for king Unas, while the East Corridor ends by saying the king escorts Re in the sky. Indeed, via this North passage, the divine king ascended to the light of the Imperishable Stars.

CENTRAL PLAN OF THE TOMB OF KING UNAS

"<" from right to left or ">" from left to right
"<" or ">" between numbers = sequence of the text
"<" (face left) or ">" (face right) underneath / above numbers = direction of the signs

Burial-Chamber l Passage-way l Antechamber l Corridor l Serdab

HIEROGLYPHS

Burial-chamber or Sarcophagusroom (I, II, III, IV, V) l Passage-way (VI)
Antechamber (VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII) l Northern Corridor (XIII) l Serdab (XIV)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Burial-chamber :

1.1 West Gable : protecting the West.
1.2 North Wall : Offering Liturgy.
1.3 South Wall : the king enters the Duat.
1.4 East Wall : the king is a Living Osiris.
1.5 East Gable : the king receives food.

II. Passage-way :

2.1 North Wall : end of Offerings.
2.2 South Wall : the king enters the horizon.

III. Antechamber :

3.1 West Gable : the king emerges from the Duat.
3.2 West Wall : the reborn Horus-king
3.3 South Wall : life, work & death of the living Horus-king.
3.4 North Wall : the king ascends to Re.
3.5 East Gable : the king enters the sky.
3.6 East Wall : protecting the East.

IV. Corridor :

4.1 West Wall : opening the horizon for the king.
4.2 East Wall : the king escorts Re.

BURIAL-CHAMBER :

PROTECTION (I) - OFFERING LITURGY (II)
DUAT-VOYAGE, CORONATION & RETURN (III, IV & V)

I

BURIAL-CHAMBER / West Gable (226 - 243)

PROTECTING THE SARCOPHAGUS & THE WEST

Protection of the Sarcophagus Room (West)

all by the priest, except 5 and 15

1 (226)

To say the words :
Entwined is a Plait-snake¹ by another Plait-snake, (and this)
toothless calf which came forth from the pasture has been entwined.

Earth, swallow up what has emerged from You !
Monster, lie down !
Crawl away !

The Majesty of the Pelican has fallen in the water.
Snake, turn over, that Re may see You !

2 (227)

To say the words :
"The head of the great black bull has been cut off."

Henepu-snake, I say this against You !
God-repelling scorpion, I say this against You !
Turn over, slide into the Earth, for I have said this against You.

3 (228)

To say the words :
One face has fallen on another face !
One face has seen another face !
The coloured knife, black and green, has gone against it.
It has swallowed the one it has licked.

4 (229)

To say the words :
This here is the fingernail of Atum, pressed on the knot of the vertebrae of Nehebu-Kas (the serpent deity), the one which stilled the turmoil from Hermopolis.

Fall down !
Crawl away !

5 (230) the two spells of Elephantine

by the priest :

To say the words :
Your two <poison-fangs> into the Earth !
Your two ribs into the hole !
Shoot liquid while the Two Kites will stand up.
Your mouth will be closed by the instrument of punishment, and the mouth of the instrument of punishment will be closed by Mafdet.
The one made <weary> will be bitten by the plait serpent.

by the King :

O Re, I, King Unas, have bitten the Earth. I have bitten Geb. I have bitten the father of him who would bite me. This one is the one who would bite me, I did not bite him. He bit me at the instant after seeing me. It was he who came against me, I did not go against him.

If You bite me, I will cause You to be alone ; (but) if You (only) look at me, I will permit You to have your companion.

by the priest

The plait serpent has been bitten by a serpent, a serpent has been bitten by the plait serpent. The sky will entwine, the Earth will entwine. The male who turns around the people will entwine, the god Blind-is-his-head will entwine, and You yourself, scorpion, will be entwined.

These are the two spells of Elephantine which are in the mouth of Osiris, which Horus has cast on the backbone (of the snake).

6 (231)

To say the words :
Your bone is a harpoon and You are harpooned. The hostile hearts are <held off>, and the pillars who are in the kiln's place are felled.

That is Hemen !

7 (232)

To say the words :
Vascular one, vascular one !
Seminal one, seminal one !
You long one of his mother, You long one of his mother !
Fluid one, fluid one !
The desert shall be washed for me.
Do not ignore me !

8 (233)

To say the words :
Fall, serpent that came forth from the Earth !
Fall, flame that came forth from Nun !

Fall down !
Crawl away !

9 (234)

To say the words :
On your face, You on his coil !
Get down on your backbone, You in your undergrowth !
Turn back because of me, You rejoicing with her two faces.

10 (235)

To say the words :
You long one, beaten flank, beaten flank !
You have copulated with the two female guardians at the threshold of my praised sovereign.

11 (236)

To say the words :
Earthen One of the Courtyard, <Trampled Porphyrite>, Foot-trampled, Cord, son of Hifeget - that is your name !

12  (237)

To say the words :
The spittle is ended, what is in the (poison) sacs has fled to the house of its mother.

Monster, lie down !

13 (238)

To say the words :
The bread of your father is yours, You whose attack has missed !
Your own bread of your father is for You, You whose attack has missed !
The Gold of Jubilation, Apparent in Heat (as the Sun), that is your bull, the strong one against whom this is done.

14 (239)

To say the words :
The White Crown has emerged and swallowed the Great One.
The tongue of the White Crown gulped down the Great One, but the tongue was not seen.

15 (240)

by the King

To say the words :
Serpent, to the sky ! The centipede of Horus, to the Earth !
The cowherd, Horus, is stepping.
I, King Unas, have trodden on the path of Horus,
unknowingly, not knowing.

On your face, You in his undergrowth !
Be dragged away, You who are in his cavern !
Meat for the pot of Horus, which pervades the Earth !

O let the monster be off !

16 (241)

To say the words :
Spit of the wall !
Vomit of the brick !
What comes out of your mouth has been turned back against yourself !

17 (242)

To say the words :
The flame has been extinguished !
No lamp can be found in the house where the Ombite is.
The biting snake is all over the house of him whom it would bite, hiding in it.

18 (243)

To say the words :
Two Hetes-sceptres,
two Hetes-sceptres,
belong to two Djema-ropes,
two Djema-ropes,
as trampled bread.
Lion, go away !
Whether You are here or whether You are there, servant, spit out !

Commentary

In the burial-chamber, a total of 155 spells are found : 18 are protective (West Gable), 118 constitute the Offering Liturgy (North Wall), 12 describe the Osirian experiences of the king (South-to-East-Wall) & 7 discuss his nourishment in the Duat (East Gable).

Spells 1 - 18 may be classified as prophylactic (defensive). The exact reason why they work eludes us today, but besides the specific rhythm caused by the language itself (lost in translation), reminiscent of the trance-inducing "barbarous words" used in later Greek spells, each spell must have evoked a whole network of connotations specific for the Egyptian situation and mentality. Their short, exclamatory style confirms this and adds to their Sa-energy. The latter, contrary to the all-embracing aspect of the Heka-field of magic, is dynamical and local. It needs, like in irrigation, proper channels to flow and fructify. Unfortunately, it is rather difficult to understand their meaning, and they surely belong to the mythical register of the composition.

Their overall meaning is clear : the King must be protected against evil serpents. The spells are meant to drive the "monster" away, making sure the sarcophagus is free from any possible danger. In Egypt, serpents were not all malefic and some protected houses and store-rooms.

The positioning of this section confirms this. The West Gable directly overlooks the West half of the burial-chamber, i.e. the direction of the Duat entered through the false door. It seems as if they were placed there to make sure the divine king, when rising as a Ba out of his sarcophagus, would not be hindered by biting snakes (black magic ?) to enter (or return from) the netherworld of Osiris. Apparently, these spells relate to similar spells at the other end of the tomb, namely on the East Wall of the antechamber.

The West Gable records the Great Speech of the divine king in two instances. In the first (5), he addresses Re, and in the second (15) he affirms to step like Horus.

register 1 : 23, 25, 32 - 57

Commentary

The Offering Litany to the divine king has following structure :

I. Six Preliminary Purifications (19 - 24).

II. Opening of the Mouth Rituals.

1. Ritual of Opening the Mouth (25 - 31).
2. Mouth-opening meal (32 - 46).
3. Anointment with Seven Oils (47 - 53).
4. Presentation of Eyepaint (54).
5. Presentation of Linen (55).
6. Royal Libation & Cleansing (56 - 57).

III Offering Banquet

1. Preparation of the Offering Table (58 - 72).
2. Cleansing the mouth (73 - 75).
3. Bread & Onions (76 - 90).
4. Beef & Poultry (91 - 105).
5. Bread (106 - 109).
6. Drinks (110 - 122).
7. Fruits (123 - 133).
8. Vegetables (134 - 135).
9. Dedication of Offerings (136).

In the Offering Litany, the divine king utters not a single word. This ritual is entirely dedicated to him and although the ritual implies a complicated social setting to perform, the divine king is entirely silent. As a witness of what is happening, he accepts the trappings of the rubrics and prepares to enter the Duat, the kingdom of Osiris.

In the litany, three royal purification rituals are recurrent. In spell 19, water is poured to cleanse the name of king Unas, in spell 20, his Ka is offered incense and in spell 21, water is poured under his feet. These repeated purifications end with the canonical dedication to the Eye of Horus : "O Osiris, I give You the Eye of Horus ! Provide your face with it, spread through." Indeed, everything is effectuated through the Eye of Horus, at work on three registers :

1. sum total of offerings : all possible stuff placed on the table of offerings ;

2. offer of offerings (offertorium) : the Eye as the standard for all possible offerings ;

3. offer of communion (canon) : the "embrace" as communion with the Eye.

The rituals of this second part focus on the preparation of the king, making him ready to depart, magically activating his inner senses by "opening his mouth", which will allow him to communicate with the invisible netherworld. Here, the fine-tuning of the awareness of the divine king is at hand, making it clear-clean to him he is about to transform. Purity is the main factor. By eliminating all gross elements, the divine king prepares for the transference of his consciousness to another state. After his mouth has been opened, the divine king enjoys the mouth-opening meal.

The Ritual of Opening the Mouth is a canonical rubric. It summarized the Ancient Egyptian way to "activate" magical objects, the divine king included. Its "full version", found in the New Kingdom, was codified into 75 separate acts (cf. the tomb of the vizier Rekhimira). It is an assemblage of various rituals (cf. Budge, E.A.W. : The Book of Opening the Mouth, Blom - New York, 1972). It involves purification, censing, anointing, incantations, touching the mummy with different objects, restoring the senses, in particular the mouth, so the statue or the mummy might eat & speak. Eyes, ears, nose and other bodily parts were also touched. Central in the rite were the "peseshkef", probably a flint knife with bifurcated, fish-tail blade, excavated from Predynastic tombs and most likely used to cut the umbilical cord, the netjeru-blades, usually made from meteoric iron, and a pair of magical staves, the Seb-Ur & Ur-Hekau. The right leg of a specially slaughtered ox was also extended toward the statue (or mummy), to pass on the Sa-power of the ox. The fact it was also used outside the funerary context (namely to activate statues), begs the question whether it also might have been used to allow the living diving king to freely move in his forthcoming trance-state ? The Ritual of Opening the Mouth ends with a royal purification ritual (spell 21).

The Mouth-opening Ritual is a remarkable set of spells involving a ritual meal taken by the king, surrounded by offerings and befriended by Re & Osiris alike, ruling over a pacified Egypt. The presentation of offerings equipped the divine king with a massive amount of Sa-energy (of the Kas), helping him to overcome the forthcoming arduous rite of Osiris. After this presentation, the "hetep" meal, or "offering" meal took place (cf. Ramesseum Dramatic Papyrus, Heb Sed festivals, etc.). After having had bread, wine & beer, Re is glorified (spell 39) :

O Re !
Your dawning, You in the sky, your dawning,
for King Unas, Lord of All Things !
As all things belong to yourself,
let all things belong to the Ka of King Unas,
let all things belong to himself !
-the lifting up before him of a sanctified offering-
spell 39 (50)

After glorification, the meal continues. In a way, these rituals are reminiscent of the canon of the Eucharist (especially the early format, as in the Didache), with "king Unas", and all divine kings, as the prototypes of Jesus Christ, and His presence in the offerings as every offering as the Eye of Horus, while the latter's consumption (mystical embrace with Osiris through the Eye of Horus) points to communion.

The magic at work in the Lunar, horizontal cult of Osiris is sympathetic and communal, and is Predynastic. The offerings in the Offering Liturgy are dedicated to Osiris, the king who receives the Ka & Ba and checks, on the basis of what is in the "heart" or mind, whether the ritualist may proceed to the horizon and transform to ascend to Re.

Osirian faith involves a three-tiered dynamics of offering, starting with an endless variety of superb goods to be offered, and culminating in the Eye of Horus as the standard of the act of offering (the first two registers mentioned above, of which the second is the offertory). The latter, the canon, is a rejuvenating communion (a mystical embrace) with the Eye of Horus itself and this by consumption, for the Eye represents the power of healing and wholeness (the third register).

1. all possible offerings : first register : offered by the living Horus, the gods only consume the "kas" of the various stuff placed on the table of offerings ;

2. offer of offerings (offertorium) : second register : the Eye of Horus represents all possible offerings (the "ka" of the act of offering) ;

3. offer of communion (canon) : third register : the consumption of the Eye of Horus restores Osiris and enables him to send out his Ba.

The first step in the magic of offering, is the presentation and consecration of physical stuff (first register). These are then set apart from all other things (cf. "sacrum"). Both physically (they are placed on a table of offerings), as temporally (they "exist" in the "First Time"), the offerings are a reality on their own, a piece of reality wholly and freely consecrated and returned to the deity. The act of daily offerings is double. On the hand, the best produce of Egypt is offered & set apart, on the other hand, ritual words & actions empower these goods. This ritual intends only to offer the double of these foodstuffs to the deities, for the latter only consume their vitality, life-power or "ka". After having enjoyed this, the food can be eaten by the priests and distributed among the people, called the "reversion of offerings".

Sublimation, typologization, subtilization or semiotic transference of offerings (the second register), are at work in both spiritual economies. In the Solar economy, which is an eternalization of the recurrent cycle of all photonic things, the divine king offers Maat to Re, and "Maat" becomes "all good things". Osirian faith is a linear approach of the cycle of life of every living thing. In his Lunar role, the living Horus, entering the Duat, offers his father his Eye of Wellness, the archetype of "healing". Henceforward, the latter will give his son a "good Nile". So Maat and the Eye of Horus, at times equated, replacing all possible offerings, represent the synthesis of offerings. They operate on two different levels of reality, encompassing the Two Lands. Maat returns all to Re, the day, whereas the Wedjat is a gift to Osiris, the night. Both the Eye of Horus and Maat are, like Pharaoh, the "image of images", and the "power of powers" (cf. Cannibal Hymn). No longer dependent on the physical quantity of the offerings (the individual "kas" of the foodstuffs), Osiris receives the synthesis of all possible vital energy, visualized as the Eye of his son, destroyed (as he was) by Seth, but restored (as he was) by Thoth (who assisted Isis). The Eye of Horus is therefore the "ka" of all possible offerings, the offertory of Egyptian religion.

Indeed, to the excellent quantity of the first register, a qualitative connotation or sublimation is added : each and every act of offering is conceived as the likeness of Horus giving his Eye to Osiris (or of the divine king offering Maat to Re). The variety of excellent physical offerings are so many manifestations of the same filial principle : as Horus, a son vindicates and restores his father, i.e. the effect returns to the cause to perpetuate the generative cycle, for a spiritual father will effectively co-effect the success of his son, etc. ...

The canon, or third register, explains the final task of the Eye. Osiris, becoming one with the Eye of Horus, eats the body of Horus as well as its vital Ka-power, namely the Eye as "offer of offerings" (cf. the second register), with bread and beer as the best of the first register. Each time the king assumes the role of Osiris, he embraces the Eye, which is "body" and "Ka" of Horus, consumes the Eye and restores his soul, now ready to be spiritualized. This level is related to the soul, the "Ba", the principle of movement and effective change. Because Osiris consumes the Eye, he is able to set himself in motion, i.e. his spiritual principle of motility and transformation (or soul) is activated. This last effect of the Eye allows Osiris to transform his Ba into an Akh, and rise as a luminous spirit in his own sky (of the Duat). As an Akh, Osiris is able to send his Ba and cause a "good Nile", for he rules all fertility (as does the Moon). He also becomes the "judge" of the dead, for all, even divine kings, enter his Duat, while only Pharaoh is absolutely certain to rise from the Duat, enter the horizon and ascend to his celestial father Re and his Imperishable Stars.

The Mouth-opening Rituals end with the royal purification rituals (spells 20 - 21). The texts accompanying the Offering Banquet thematize the conflict between Horus and Seth and the fact the Eye of Horus was pulled out & cut off (by Seth), but healed (by Thoth) and given to Osiris (by Horus), restoring him. The offerings are all done in the spirit of this story and the fundamental fact of the restoration of the Eye and the restoration of Osiris. For the divine king, being Osiris, participates in this and so the offerings to the king restore him as they restored Osiris, each offering being done as if it were the Eye of Horus.

Dramatically, one may conceive the Offering Banquet as happening simultaneously with the Opening of the Mouth Rituals, making the Offering Litany end either with the royal purification rituals (spells 20 - 21) of the second part, or with the dedication of offerings (spell 136) of the third part.

The King enters the Duat

137 (213)  the King on the throne of Osiris

by the priest

O King Unas !
You have not gone away dead !
You have gone away alive !

Sit upon the throne of Osiris.
Your Power-scepter in your hand,
that You may give orders to the living.
Your Lotus-bud scepter in your hand,
that You may give orders to those whose seats are hidden.

Your lower arms are of Atum.
Your upper arms are of Atum.
Your belly is of Atum.
Your back is of Atum.
Your rear is of Atum.
Your legs are of Atum.
Your face is of Anubis.
The Mounds of Horus shall serve You.
The Mounds of Seth shall serve You.

138 (214) at the Head of the Westerners

by the priest

O King Unas, beware of the Lake (of Fire) !
-to say the words four times-

The messengers of your Ka come for You.
The messengers of your father come for You.
The messengers of Re come for You, (saying) : "Go after your Sun and cleanse yourself, for your bones are those of the divine falcon-goddesses who are in the sky. May You be beside the god. May You leave your house and ascend to your son."

May You <fetter> anyone who shall speak evilly against the name of King Unas !
Go up, for Geb has committed him to a low estate in the town of the pregnant one, so that he may flee and sink down weary.

But You shall bathe in the cool water of the stars !
You shall board (the Sunboat) upon ropes of iron, on the shoulders of Horus in his name of "Him who is in Sokar's boat". The Sun-folk will cry out to You once the Imperishable Stars have raised You aloft.

Ascend to the place where your father is, to the place where Geb is, that he will give You that which is on the brow of Horus, so that You shall come an Akh thereby, take control thereby and that You shall be at the head of the Westerners thereby.

The King is protected in the Duat by Atum

139 (215) healing the Rivals and becoming completed (an Atum) to every god

by the priest

O King Unas, your messengers have gone, your heralds have run to your father, to Atum (to say for You) :

"Atum, raise him up to You, enclose him within your arms.
There is no star-god who has no companion : I am your companion.

Look at me, as You have seen the shapes of the children of their fathers, who know their spell, who are Imperishable Stars ! See (in me) the two who are in the Palace - that is, Horus and Seth.

Spit on the face of Horus for him, that You may remove the injury against him ! Pick up the testicles of Seth, that You may remove his mutilation. That one has been born for You, this one has been conceived for You, for You have given birth to Horus, in his name of 'Him at whom the Earth quakes and the sky trembles'. This one has no mutilation, that one has no injury. That one has no injury, this one has no mutilation. You (Unas) have no injury, You have no mutilation."

You have been born, O Horus, for Osiris, and You have more Ba than he. You have more power than he. You have been conceived, O Seth, for Geb, and You have more Ba than he. You have more power than he.

There is no own seed of a god that has gone (from life), and You, his own, will not go. Re-Atum will not give You to Osiris, and he will not claim your mind, nor have power over your heart. Re-Atum will not give You to Horus, and he will not claim your mind, nor have power over your heart.

O Osiris, You cannot control him, your son cannot control him !
O Horus, You shall never have power over him, nor shall your father have power over him !

You belong, So-and-so, to that god of whom the Twin Children of Atum said :
"You are distinguished", say they, "in your identity of a god".

You shall become completed to every god ! :
your head is Horus of the Duat, O Imperishable Star.
your face is Eyes-Forward, O Imperishable Star.
your ears are the Twin Children of Atum, O Imperishable Star.
your eyes are the Twin Children of Atum, O Imperishable Star.
your nose is the Jackal, O Imperishable Star.
your teeth are Sopdu, O Imperishable Star.
Your hands are {Hapy} and Duamutef.
When You demand to ascend to the sky, You ascend !
Your feet are Imseti and Qebsenuf.
When You demand to descend to the Lower Sky, You descend !
Your limbs are the Twin Children of Atum, O Imperishable Star.
You will not perish, your Ka will not perish : You are a Ka !

The Midnight Mystery

140 (216) King Unas in the Nightboat of the Sun, encircled by the Duat

by the King

To say the words :
I have come to You, O Nephthys !
I have come to You, O Nightboat !
I have come to You, O Pilot-covered-in-Red !
I have come to You, O Place-where-the Kas-are-remembered !
May You remember me, this King Unas !

Orion has become encircled by the Duat,
as the Living One became pure in the horizon.
Sothis has become encircled by the Duat,
as the Living One became pure in the horizon.
I, this King Unas, has become encircled by the Duat,
as the Living One became pure in the horizon.

I have become Akh for them !
I have grown cool for them !
Inside the arms of my father,
inside the arms of Atum !

141 (217) King Unas gathering with Atum in darkness

by the priest

To say the words :
Re-Atum, this King Unas has come to You, an imperishable Akh, Lord of <the Affairs> of the Place of the Four Papyrus Pillars. Your son has come to You, this King Unas has come to You. You shall both traverse the sky, after gathering in the darkness (of the Duat) ! May You rise from the horizon, from the place in which You have both become Akh !

Seth and Nephthys, go, and proclaim to the gods of the Nile Valley as well as their Akhs : "This King Unas has come, an imperishable Akh. If he wishes You to die, You will die ! If he wishes You to live, You will live !"

Re-Atum, this King Unas has come to You, an imperishable Akh, Lord of <the Affairs> of the Place of the Four Papyrus Pillars. Your son has come to You, this King Unas has come to You. You shall both traverse the sky, after gathering in the darkness (of the Duat) ! May You rise from the horizon, from the place in which You have both become Akh !

Osiris and Isis, go, and proclaim to the gods of Lower Egypt and their Akhs : "This King Unas has come, an imperishable Akh, as one to be worshipped, (Osiris) who is in charge of the inundation. Worship him, You Akhs who are in the waters ! Whom he wishes to live will live ! Whom he wishes to die will die !"

Re-Atum, this King Unas has come to You, an imperishable Akh, Lord of <the Affairs> of the Place of the Four Papyrus Pillars. Your son has come to You, this King Unas has come to You. You shall both traverse the sky, after gathering in the darkness (of the Duat) ! May You rise from the horizon, from the place in which You have both become Akh !

Thoth, go, and proclaim to gods of the West and their Akhs : "This King Unas has come indeed, an imperishable Akh, arrayed on the neck as Anubis at the head of the Western Mountain, that he may claims minds, he control hearts. Whom he wishes to live will live ! Whom he wishes to die will die !"

Re-Atum, this King Unas has come to You, an imperishable Akh, Lord of <the Affairs> of the Place of the Four Papyrus Pillars. Your son has come to You, this King Unas has come to You. You shall both traverse the sky, after gathering in the darkness (of the Duat) ! May You rise from the horizon, from the place in which You have both become Akh !

Horus, go, and proclaim to Bas of the East and their Akhs : "This King Unas has come indeed, an imperishable Akh. Whom he wishes to live will live ! Whom he wishes to die will die !"

O Re-Atum, your son has come to You, King Unas has come to You. Raise him up to You, enclose him in your arms, for he is the son of your body for ever !

Osirian rebirth of the King

142 (218) King Unas presented to Osiris and empowered

by the priest

To say the words :
O Osiris, this King Unas has come indeed, the <fledgling> of the Ennead, an imperishable Akh. He will claim minds, take away Kas and bestows Kas, as what he reckons, including whomever he summons to his side or appeals to him. There is none who will be excluded without his bread, without his Kas bread, deprived of his bread.

Geb has spoken and it has come from the mouth of the Ennead : "O falcon who succeeds (his father) in acquiring (the throne)", they said : "You are a Ba and in control !"

This King Unas has come indeed, the <fledgling> of the Ennead, an imperishable Akh, who surpassed You and surpasses You, wearier than You and greater than You, sounder than You and more acclaimed than You, and your time here is no more. It is what Seth and Thoth have done, your two brothers who do not mourn You.

Isis and Nephthys, come together, come together ! Unite, unite ! This King Unas has come indeed, the <fledgling> of the Ennead, an imperishable Akh.

The Westerners who are on Earth belong to this King Unas : this King Unas has come indeed, the <fledgling> of the Ennead, an imperishable Akh.

The Easterners who are on Earth belong to this King Unas : this King Unas has come indeed, the <fledgling> of the Ennead, an imperishable Akh.

The Southerners who are on Earth belong to this King Unas : this King Unas has come indeed, the <fledgling> of the Ennead, an imperishable Akh.

The Northerners who are on Earth belong to this King Unas this King Unas has come indeed, the <fledgling> of the Ennead, an imperishable Akh.

Those who are in the Lower Sky belong to this King Unas : this King Unas has come indeed, the <fledgling> of the Ennead, an imperishable Akh.

143 (219) Litany of identification with the Living Osiris (King Unas)

by the priest

To say the words :
Atum, this Osiris here is your son, whom You have caused to be restored that he may live :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

Shu, this Osiris here is your son, whom You have caused to be restored that he may live :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

Tefnut, this Osiris here is your son, whom You have caused to be restored that he may live :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

Geb, this Osiris here is your son, whom You have caused to be restored that he may live :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

Nut, this Osiris here is your son, whom You have caused to be restored that he may live :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

Isis, this Osiris here is your brother, whom You have caused to be restored that he may live :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

Seth, this Osiris here is your brother, who has been caused to be restored that he may live and punish You :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

Nephthys, this Osiris here is your brother, whom You have caused to be restored that he may live :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

Thoth, this Osiris here is your brother, who has been caused to be restored that he may live and punish You :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

Horus, this Osiris here is your father, whom You have caused to be restored that he may live :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

Great Ennead, this one here is Osiris, whom You have caused to be restored that he may live :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

Lesser Ennead, this one here is Osiris, whom You have caused to be restored that he may live :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

Nunet, this Osiris here is your son, of whom You said : "Someone has been born to me.", You said, and You wiped his mouth for him after his mouth had been parted by his beloved son Horus and his limbs numbered by the gods :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

In your name of Dweller in Heliopolis, who endures in his necropolis :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

In your name of Dweller in Busiris, chief of his nomes :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

In your name of Dweller in the Mansion of Selket, the Ka At Rest :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

In your name of Dweller in the divine booth, who is in the censing, the one of the coffer, the chest and the sack :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

In your name of him who is in the White Palace of Laurel wood :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

In your name of Dweller in Orion, with your season in the sky and your season on Earth :

O Osiris, turn your face and look on this King Unas, for your seed which issued from You is effective :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

In your name of Dweller in Buto, may your arms be about the meal, your daughter,

Commentary

The first and last three spells are said by the priest, while in between we find a prayer said by the king.

Spell 137 confirms the departure of the divine king. He is not gone dead, but alive ! In trance, or in the "sah" or "noble body" after death, he enters the Duat seated on the throne of Osiris. Assuming the latter's role, the divine king confirms his power in the kingdom of darkness and death.

Spell 138 makes clear the king has entered the domain of Sokar, traveling on the Solar boat (from the Lake of Fire, the blessed drink cool water, but for sinners it is like fire). He is the foremost of the Westerners, not because he belongs to Osiris (in who's realms he entered), but to Re.

Spell 139 powerfully confirms this by allowing Atum, in this dangerous passage through the Duat, to protect the divine king. Vivid language depicts how the king assimilates the deities so Osiris cannot control him. Indeed, the separate jurisdiction of Osiris is feared, even by the king. He must make sure he is not heading towards the sky of Osiris, for he is not a spirit of the realm of darkness, but of light. A strong invocation of the protective deity of the king (Re-Atum) is at hand, and often repeated.

Re-Atum will not give You to Osiris, and he will not claim your mind, nor have power over your heart. Re-Atum will not give You to Horus, and he will not claim your mind, nor have power over your heart.

O Osiris, You cannot control him, your son cannot control him !
O Horus, You shall never have power over him, nor shall your father have power over him !
spell 139 (215)

In spell 140, on the Nightboat of the Living One (Re), completely encircled by the Duat, the king prays :

I have come to You, O Nephthys !
I have come to You, O Nightboat !
I have come to You, O Pilot-covered-in-Red !
I have come to You, O Place-where-the Kas-are-remembered !
May You remember me, this King Unas !

Orion has become encircled by the Duat,
as the Living One became pure in the horizon.
Sothis has become encircled by the Duat,
as the Living One became pure in the horizon.
I, this King Unas, has become encircled by the Duat,
as the Living One became pure in the horizon.

I have become Akh for them !
I have grown cool for them !
Inside the arms of my father,
inside the arms of Atum !
spell 140 (216)

With this prayer, the midnight mystery begins. The divine king, fully lucid in the Duat or "night-world" of Osiris, anticipates his final transformation into a spirit inside the arms of his luminous father, and, on the Nightbark upon which he travels, invokes the powers of the Duat to assist his ascension. Orion & Sothis are Osiris & Isis, but the king is pure as the Living One, i.e. Re-Atum.

In spell 141, the king actually unites with Atum in darkness, reminiscent of the unio mystica between the "ba" of Re and the "body" of Osiris in the Amduat, taking place at midnight. The darkness alluded here is the "body of Osiris", remaining invisible but primordial in terms of the everlastingness of matter. The divine king (as will the Ba of Re in the Books of the Netherworld) unites with Atum "in darkness" and then rises "as an Akh" in/on the horizon (suggestive of the dynamics of the 12th Hour of the night, with Osiris remaining behind in the everlasting darkness of the Duat).

So the encounter with the darkness of matter & night (Osiris) allows the divine king to merge with the primordial light-ground (Atum). This is clearly an ecstatic experience, "outside" the "normal" trappings of the Duat, and the privilege of the king, by nature meant to be Solarized (an Akh in the sky of Re) rather than Lunarized (an Akh in the sky of Osiris).

Spell 142 serves as a kind of "formal session" in which the divine king is presented to Osiris and confirmed as the fledgling of the Ennead, an imperishable Akh. All quarters and all skies confirm his status. Can Osiris have good reason to keep the king in the Duat and hinder his emergence from it to ascend to Re in the Eastern horizon ?

A literary break happens again. Spell 143 is a very long and interesting litany which spills over to the Eastern Wall, inviting us to read the sequence South-to-East-Wall. It starts by presenting the divine king to twelve deities as "this Osiris here". Identified with Osiris, he is said to "live", an affirmation repeated twenty-four times :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !
spell 143 (219)

This is first repeated to Atum, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Isis, Seth, Nephthys, Thoth, Horus, the Great Ennead & the Lesser Ennead and then again repeated to twelve different manifestations of Osiris : Nunet (personification of the tomb or the place where Osiris was buried), Dweller in Heliopolis, Dweller in Busiris, Dweller in the Mansion of Selket, Dweller in the divine booth, Him in the White Palace of Laurel wood, Dweller in Orion, Dweller in Buto, Dweller in the Mansion of the Eldest of Bulls, Dweller in Hermopolis of the South, Dweller in Hermopolis of the North & Dweller in the Town of Lakes.

These two times twelve identifications of the divine king with deities reminds of the double Heb Sed run of the divine king (one for the Delta & one for the Valley), presenting himself as Osiris to the deities assembled in their naos around the Heb Sed court. By doing so, he rejuvenated himself, while bringing down the Solar power of Re-Atum, inviting the other deities to make their souls & doubles inhabitants of their statues.

"... it is possible to confirm that the Early Dynastic kings developed a special enclosure, which was used not only as a funerary temple, but also as an area in which some festivals related to the kingship were performed. (...) royal enclosures also had two different uses : during the lifetime of the king enclosures were used as sacred places where certain ceremonies were celebrated. (...) When the king died, his enclosure became his funerary temple, as well as the public part of his tomb. (...) The Egyptian kings developed a complex system of ceremonies and rituals that served them as a form of expression before society. As we have seen, the ways were also complex and varied, but so effective that most of these festivals continued to be performed during a period of more than three thousand years."
Serrano, 2002, pp.100-101.

In the Sed festivals of the Late Predynastic and the First Dynasty, the king ran between the Stone Markers and held a container in his hand with a document called "that which founds the house". He stopped before the shrine of Horus (Behedetite). Royal statues were made, signifying his rebirth, the whole ceremony happening in an enclosure containing two marked courtyards and numerous chapels with internal statue niches (Serrano, 2002, pp. 48 - 49).

In the royal cult, both Osiris and Re played vital roles, one for everlasting night and one for eternal light.

143 (219) Litany of identification with the Living Osiris (continued)

provide yourself with it :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

In your name of Dweller in the Mansion of the Eldest of Bulls, may your arms be about the meal, your daughter, provide yourself with it :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

In your name of Dweller in Hermopolis of the South, may your arms be about the meal, your daughter, provide yourself with it :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

In your name of Dweller in Hermopolis of the North, may your arms be about the meal, your daughter, provide yourself with it :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

In your name of Dweller in the Town of Lakes. What You have eaten, an Eye, your belly shall grow round from it, your son Horus releasing it for You (so) that You may live from it.

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !

Your body is the body of this King Unas, your flesh is the flesh of this King Unas, your bones are the bones of this King Unas : You will go (from life) should this King Unas go. Should this King Unas go, You will go !

Service of the Crown

144 (220) opening of the shrine

The doors of the horizon has been opened, its bolts have drawn back.

by the priest to the crown

He has come to You, Red Crown !
He has come to You, Fiery Serpent !
He has come to You, Great One !
He has come to You, Great of Magic, pure for You and fearing You !

May You be pleased with him, may You be pleased with his purity, and may You be pleased with his speech when he says to You : "How fine You look, content, renewed, and rejuvenated, for the god who is the father of the gods has given You birth !"

He has come to You, Great of Magic : he is Horus, encircled by the protection of his Eye, the Great of Magic !

145 (221) opening of the shrine

prayer by the King

O Red Crown !
O Curl !
O Great Crown !
O Crown Great of Magic !
O Fiery Serpent !

Grant that the dread of me be like the dread of You !
Grant that the fear of me be like the fear of You !
Grant that the acclaim of me be like the acclaim of You !
Grant that the love of me be like the love of You !
Set my Aba-scepter at the head of the living, (set) my {Power-scepter} at the head of the Akhs, and grant that my sword prevails over my foes.

O Curl !
{You} have emerged {in me, so have I emerged in You.}

reply by the Red Crown

The Great Thing {has given You birth},
the Firstborn's Cobra Goddess Thing has adorned You,
the Firstborn's Cobra Goddess Thing has given You birth,
the Great Thing {has adorned You},
for You are Horus, encircled by the protection of his Eye !

Commendations to Re

146 (222) joining the ongoing circuit of Re

by the priest

To say the words :
You shall stand up on it, this Earth {which issued from Atum, this spittle}, which issued from Kheprer. Evolve on it, become exalted on it, and your father will see You, Re will see You !

prayer by the King

I have come to You, my father, I have come to You, O Re.
I have come to You, my father, I have come to You, O Downcast.
I have come to You, my father, I have come to You, O Fertilizer.
I have come to You, my father, I have come to You, O Rager.
I have come to You, my father, I have come to You, O Great Wild Bull.
I have come to You, my father, I have come to You, O Great Reedfloat-user.
I have come to You, my father, I have come to You, O Sopdu.
I have come to You, my father, I have come to You, O Sharp-teeth.
Grant that I, King Unas, may seize the Cool Waters and receive the horizon.
Grant that I may rule the Nine and provide for the Ennead.
Place the Crook in my hand, that the head of the Delta and the Nile Valley may be bowed.

I charge my opponent and stand up over the Great One as his greater,
(as) the one Nephthys has blessed, for I have captured my opponent, (saying) :
"You have provide yourself with the Great of Magic, (as) Seth dwelling in Ombos, Lord of Upper Egypt. Nothing has been is lost to You, nothing has been <wanting> to You. For see, You are more Ba and more in control than the gods of Upper Egypt and their Akhs, You whom the Pregnant One ejected, and You have <illumined> the night, equipped as Seth, whose raw (testicles) were pulled off."
(As) one Isis has blessed, (saying) :
"You have provided yourself as Horus the Youthful ! Indeed, nothing is lost to You, nothing has <ceased> for You ! For see, You are more Ba and more in control than the gods of the North and their Akhs."

by the priest

Cast off your impurity for Atum in {Heliopolis and go down with him.} Assign the <needs> of the Lower Sky and succeed to the thrones of Nun.
You shall come into being with your father Atum, You shall go up on high with your father Atum, You shall rise with your father Atum, and may (your) <needs> be released from You.
Head to (Nut), the Lady of Heliopolis in the sedan chair. Go up, open your way by means of the bones of Shu, that the inside of your mother Nut's arms may enfold You.
You shall become pure in the horizon and get rid of your impurity in the Lakes of Shu.

Ascend and descend !
Descend with Re, one of the dusk with the One Who Was Cast Down.
Ascend and descend !
Ascend with Re, rise with the Great Float-user.
Ascend and descend !
Descend with Nephthys, sink into darkness with the Nightboat.
Ascend and descend !
Ascend with Isis, rise with the Dayboat.

You shall have power over your body, for You have no hindrance.
Having been born to (be) Horus, and conceived to (be) Seth.
Having become pure in the Western nome, having received your purification in the Bubastite nome with your father, with Atum.

You have come into being, You have gone up on high, and You have become effective. It has become pleasant for You inside your father's arms, inside Atum's arms.

Atum, elevate this King Unas to You, encircle him inside your arms, for he is your son of your body, forever.

Calling the King to return from the Duat

147 (223) the King is called back

by the priest

Hey !
Turn around !
Ah ! Ah !

O King Unas !
Stand up and sit down to a thousand of bread, a thousand of beer, roast meat, your rib-meat from the slaughterhouse, and pulled bread from the broad hall.
As the god is provided with a divine offering, King Unas is provided with this his bread.
You have come to your Ba, Osiris, Ba among the Akhu, in control in his places, whom the Ennead tend in the Mansion of the Prince.

O King Unas !
Elevate yourself up to me, betake yourself toward me :
do not be far from me, tomb-dweller, and turn toward me.
I have given You the Eye of Horus.
I have allotted it to You, may it <endure> for You with You.

O King Unas !
Arise, receive this your bread from my hand !
O King Unas !
I will be an attendant for You !

148 (224) happy & changed

by the priest

To say the words :
Hey, You King Unas !
Turn about, You King Unas !
You have gone, that You may govern the Mounds of Horus !
You have gone, that You may govern the Mounds of Seth !
You have gone, that You may govern the Mounds of Osiris !

An offering which the King grants to all your insignia wherever You may be : your Lotus-bud scepter at the head of the living, your staff at the head of the Akhs, as Anubis at the fore of the Westerners, as Andjeti at the fore of the eastern nomes.

How happy is your condition as You become Akh, O King Unas, among your brothers the gods !
How changed !
How changed, You whom your child tended.
Beware of your limit in the Earth.

"Put on your body and come to them !"
-four times-

Commentary

Spell 143, the theme is restoration by Osirification. The divine king is presented to the gods as Osiris. They, who will restore the king as they restored Osiris. Osiris king Unas lives as Osiris and escapes judgement, for the kingdom of Osiris is ruled by Osiris alone. Although in spell 142, the divine king is first presented to Osiris, albeit as a divine Akh heading to Re, he is immediately identified with the king of the Duat and enjoys the restoration brought by the Eye of Horus. He is therefore the judge of the dead and cannot be destroyed (like those with too heavy hearts, who are eaten by Ammut, the Great Devouress).

The Weighing of the Heart
Papyrus of Ani, Plate 3 - ca. 1250 BCE - 19th Dynasty - British Museum

The identification with Osiris is complete :

Your body is the body of this King Unas, your flesh is the flesh of this King Unas, your bones are the bones of this King Unas : You will go (from life) should this King Unas go. Should this King Unas go, You will go !
spell 143 (219)

During the Sed festival of the Late Predynastic Period & the First Dynasty, the king wore the Red Crown (Serrano, 2002). In this period, this crown did not yet indicate a region (Nile Valley, Upper Egypt), but "ritual valour" (p.48). During the pivotal Wepwawet ritual of this festival, the king runs the ritual course under the auspices of Wepwawet or Sed, who's standard is carried before the king.

In spell 144 - 145, we find a short service of the crown. The priest announces the coming of the divine king to the crown, called "Great in Magic". The Festival Hall & the Stone Markers were the two fundamental elements of every Sed festival. The divine kings ran the markers, but was dressed in the Palace. The Festival Hall contained the Great Throne and the Palace. Here, he changed costume & insignia, which was a ritual on its own, involving the face-à-face between the divine king and the divine crown, a deity in its own right.

The divine king merges with the crown and a direct link with the Cobra Goddess of the Crown is made.

In spell 146, these rituals reminiscent of the Sed festival end by a splendid hymn to the king joining the eternal, cosmic circuit of Re. Although the divine king is clearly a living Osiris in the Duat as well as a living Horus on Earth, his final aim is to join his divine father on his Solar Boat and be his companion forever and ever, participating in his eternal recurrent pattern of dusk, rebirth, dawn and dominion. Isis affirms of the king "You are more Ba and more in control than the gods of the North and their Akhs". In a certain way, this colorful hymn to the Solar king preludes the "cannibal hymn" on the East Gable of the antechamber, when the king finally arrives in the sky of Re.

Because the sarcophagus room is Osirian, the majority of texts involve offerings and the identification of the king with this deity of the night. Because the king is divine, he gathers with Atum in darkness and experiences the midnight mystery : light-out-of-darkness or regeneration. The Osirian journey is followed by the ascension of the king to Re, solarizing him as an Akh, a spirit. Likewise, the antechamber (representing the solarizing horizon), contains Osirian funerary rituals. The cosmic travel of the king returns as a feature in Hellenistic mysteries, in Platonism, the Hermetic tradition, Plotinus and Hermeticism. It also prefigured the ascension-myths of monotheism (cf. the Chariot-mystics in Judaism, the Ascension of Jesus Christ and the ascent of Mohammed to Heaven).

Balancing the foregoing Osirian identification of the king, this section (142 - 146) ends with :

Atum, elevate this King Unas to You, encircle him inside your arms, for he is your son of your body, forever.
spell 146 (222)

Spells 147 & 148 give a twist to the story, and suggest, as Naydler (2005) rightly points out, the awakening of the king "from what would appear to be a trancelike state, and ensuring the return of his spirit into his body" (p.216).

"One way of understanding the position of this utterance immediately after the mystical experiences described in the previous utterances is that the latter actually took place while the king was lying in trance on the lion bed in 'the tomb'. These mystical experiences might then have been subsequently enacted in outwardly performed ceremonies. But however we understand the relationship between the rituals performed and the mystical experiences undergone, there is little doubt that both the location and the mood of this utterance have shifted dramatically from what has gone before. The location is no longer cosmic, the mood has an unfamiliar urgency."
Naydler, 2005, p.217.

Spell 147 ends with a formal instruction to each quarter :

Put on your body and come to them !
spell 147 (223)

The South-to-East-Wall section (a total of 12 spells), started with :

O King Unas !
You have not gone away dead !
You have gone away alive !

Sit upon the throne of Osiris.
Your Power-scepter in your hand,
that You may give orders to the living.
Your Lotus-bud scepter in your hand,
that You may give orders to those whose seats are hidden.
spell 137 (213)

The last spell (148), calling & awakening the king, also brings in the insignia of his worldly & netherworldly authority, one extending over the living, the spirit-world and the dead.

Hey, You King Unas !
Turn about, You King Unas !
You have gone, that You may govern the Mounds of Horus !
You have gone, that You may govern the Mounds of Seth !
You have gone, that You may govern the Mounds of Osiris !

An offering which the King grants to all your insignia wherever You may be : your Lotus-bud scepter at the head of the living, your staff at the head of the Akhs, as Anubis at the fore of the Westerners, as Andjeti at the fore of the eastern nomes.
spell 148 (224)

Begin & end seem to form circle.

V

BURIAL-CHAMBER / East Gable
(204 - 205, 207, 209, 210 - 212)

FOODSPELLS TO REPLENISH THE KING AS A LIVING HORUS

The King eats the food of the gods

149 (204) nourishment by Osiris

by the priest

The hoers rejoice, the heart of those who cleanse the breast became fully uplifted, when they swallowed the Eye of Horus, the healthy one which is in Heliopolis.

The little finger of King Unas, pulls out what is in the navel of Osiris.
King Unas will not thirst, he will not hunger : it will not be against the heart of King Unas. His arms drive away his hunger.

Become awash (with joy) !
Make the hearts full !

150 (205) the Great Bull cared for today

by the priest

To say the words :
O You who preside over the baked foods.
O You who belong to the flood.
Commend King Unas to Fetekte, the cupbearer of Re, whom Re has commended to himself, that Re may commend him to the one in charge of provisioning for this year, that they may seize barley and give him beer, that they may grasp emmer and give him bread.

For to King Unas, his father is the one who gave barley and beer, Re is the one who gave emmer and bread.

For he is the Great Bull who smote Kenzet.
For King Unas is he who has the five portions of bread, drink and cakes in the enclosure : a triad is for the sky with Re and a pair is for the Earth with the Two Enneads.
He belongs to the one who was set loose : he is the one who was let loose. He belongs to the one who is seen : he is the one who is seen.

O Re, it is better with him today than yesterday !
For King Unas has mated with moisture.
King Unas has kissed dryness.
King Unas has joined with fertility.
King Unas has copulated with the young girl of his care when grain and <fluids> were absent, and the young girl of the care of King Unas is the one who will give bread to King Unis and make it better for him today.

151 (207) King Unas calls to the Eye for a meal

by the King

To say the words :
A meal for me, O knife-sharpener !
A meal for me, O knife-sharpener !
A meal, You in Re's Eye !
A meal for me, You with access to (Re's) boat, You in the God's-Eye (boat) !
O cupbearer, bring water !
Light the fire (for) a joint among the roast meat !
-4 handfuls of water-

152 (209) King Unas is provided with bread

by the priest

To say the words :
Shu is fresh !
King Unas does not acquire his things.
King Unas is fresh !
Shu does not acquire his things.

The eastern fetchers shall repeat :
"It is your bread."

153 (210) King Unas is protected against inversion

by the King

To say the words :
Awake, O Parter !
Be high, O Thoth !
Awake, You sleepers !
Rise up, You dwellers in Kenzet, who are before the Great Heron that comes from the {garden}, Path-Parter who comes from the tamarisk.

My mouth is pure, the Two Enneads have censed me, and pure indeed is this tongue which is in my mouth.

What I, King Unas, detest is faeces.
I reject urine.
I detest my own abomination.
What I detest is these two : I will never eat the abomination of these two, just as Seth rejects the two <companions> that cross the sky.

Re and Thoth, take me with You, that I, King Unas, may eat of what You eat, that I may drink of what You drink, that I may live on what You live on, that I may sit on what You sit on, that I may be strong through that whereby You are strong, that I may sail in that in which You sail.

My pavilion is plaited with reeds, my drink-supply is in the Field of Offerings, my food-offerings are among You, gods ; my water is wine like that of Re, and I go round the sky like Re, I traverse the sky like Thoth.

154 (211) King Unas is the source of food

by the King

To say the words :
My detestation is hunger, and I, King Unas will never eat it !
My detestation is thirst, and I will never drink it !

It is indeed I who will give bread to those who exist, for my foster-mother is the milk-goddess, and she will make it possible for me to live it is indeed she who bore me.

I was conceived in the night.
I was born in the night.
I belong to the Followers of Re,
who are before the Morning Star.
I was conceived in Nun.
I was born in Nun.
I have come and I have brought to You the bread of those I found there !

155 (212) King Unas eats & drinks what Horus lives on

by the King

To say the words :
The Eye of Horus drips on the bush of the Denu-plant and Foremost of the Westerners came for it, having fetched provisions to Horus, foremost of the houses.
What he (Horus) lives on, I, King Unas live on !
What he eats of, I eat of !
What he drinks of, I drink of !
A joint of roast meat, that is my offering !

Commentary

The theme of these seven spells is the nourishment of the king (after his Osirian ordeal ?). Spell 153, dealing with inversion, reveals an interesting feature of the Duat : the netherworld is an inverted world, an idea also found in Shamanism (Eliade, 1964) and in the Western Tradition (in the astral world, objects are also reversed). The presence of spell 153 may indicate these meals were netherworldly rather than actual, although this is not certain.

PASSAGEWAY :

OFFERINGS - TO AKHET (VI)

VI

PASSAGEWAY / North Wall
(199, 32, 23, 25, 200)

OFFERING OF OFFERINGS : WATER, FIRE, KAS

156 (199) reversion of offerings

by the priest

O Osiris King Unas, {turn yourself to this your bread, accept it from me.}

To say the words four times :
"May the Eye of Horus {endure} with You."
{the reversion} of divine offering-

157 (32) pouring of libation under the feet

by the priest

This is your libation, Osiris.

This is your libation, O King Unas, have gone forth -libation & two pellets of natron- to your son, have gone forth to Horus.

I have come and I bring You the Eye of Horus, that your heart may be refreshed with it. I bring it to You under your feet.

Take the outflow that comes out from You. Your heart will not be weary with it.

To say the words four times :
"Come, (for) You have been invoked !"

158 (23) purification by water

by the priest

Osiris, seize all those who hate King Unas -pour water- and who speak evil against his name. Thoth, go, seize him for Osiris. Bring him who speaks evil against the name of King Unas. Put him in your hand.

To say the words four times :
"Do not let go of him !
Beware, do not let go of him !"
-pour water-

159 (25) censing Ka-rite

by the priest

Someone has gone with his Ka.
Horus has gone with his Ka.
Seth has gone with his Ka.
Thoth has gone with his Ka.

O King Unas, the arm of your Ka is before You !
O King Unas, the arm of your Ka is behind You !
O King Unas, the foot of your Ka is before You !
O King Unas, the foot of your Ka is behind You !

O Osiris King Unas, I have given You the Eye of Horus !
May your face be adorned with it !
May the perfume of the Eye of Horus diffuse over You !

160 (200) glorification of the incense as the Eye of Horus

by the priest

Salutations to You, incense !
Salutations to You, brother of the god !
Salutations to You, Great So-and-so in the limbs of Horus !

You of great purity, spread yourself in your identity of the cake (of incense) :
let your scent be on King Unas and purify King Unas.
O Eye of Horus, be high and great toward King Unas !
-incense-

Commentary

The texts on the North Wall of the passage-way may well "close" the offering sequence of the North Wall proper, while those of the South Wall may be seen as belonging to the texts of the South-to-East-Wall. As the direction of the texts reads from West to East, they underline the momentum from the region of death (the West and the sarcophagus room) to the region of ascension (the East and the antechamber).

On the North Wall, the royal purification rituals return, while the glorification of incense closes this section. Indeed, the act of rendering something divine happened by censing it ("snTr" is a causative meaning "to cense" but also to "consecrate"). The incense is identified with the Eye of Horus.

161 (244) smashing the vessels of offering

by the priest

This is the {firm} Eye of {Horus} !
It has been set for You that You may become strong and he may become afraid of You !
-smashing the redware-

162 (245) the King is a star escaping Osiris

by the King

I, King Unas, have come to You, O Nut !
I have come to You, O Nut, having left my father on Earth, having left Horus behind me, having grown wings as a falcon, feathered as a hawk, my Ba having fetched him, his magic having equipped me.

by Nut

(O King Unas), You shall split open your place in the sky among the stars of the sky, for You are the Lone Star, the companion of Hu. May You look down upon the head of Osiris as he governs the Akhs, while You yourself stand far from him.

You are not of them and You will not be of them !

163 (246) standing at the door of the horizon

by the priest

This King Unas stance as a ram with two wild-bull horns on his head has been seen. For You are a black ram, (King Unas), the son of a black ewe, whom a white ewe bore and four teats suckled.

Blue-eyed Horus has come against You (gods) : beware of red-eyed Horus ! The one with painful wrath - his Ba cannot be barred !

His messengers have gone, his couriers have run, and they bear tidings to the One with sweeping shoulders in the East : "The one of yours has gone, of whom the god says that he will govern the gods' fathers. The gods shall grow silent for You, the Ennead having put their hands to their mouth, before this one of yours, of whom the god says that he will govern the gods' fathers."

Stand at the doors of the horizon, (King Unas), open the doors of the Cool Waters, and stand at the head, like Geb at the fore of his Ennead.

They go in, they will smite down evil.
They come out, they will lift up their face and see You as Min at the head of the Two Shrines.

Someone has stood up behind You, (Re) : your brother has stood up behind You, the one You summoned has stood up behind You.
You will not perish, (King Unas) !
You will not cease !
Your name will <endure> among men,
even as your name comes to be with the gods !

Commentary

The South Wall begins with the ritual of smashing the "red jars", symbolical of the destruction of the enemies of Horus (namely Seth, associated with the color red). In spell 425 of the later Coffin Texts, this smashing prepares a path for the deceased "to the place where the great god is". In spell 160 (as in spell 139), the word "so-and-so" indicates this spell had an "open" format, with the name of the recipient to be "filled in". Apparently, the scribe forgot to personalize it by filling in the name of king Unas. In spell 162, king Unas affirms he leaves behind Osiris to reach for the stars, which is about to happen when he emerges from the Duat.

(O King Unas), You shall split open your place in the sky among the stars of the sky, for You are the Lone Star, the companion of Hu. May You look down upon the head of Osiris as he governs the Akhs, while You yourself stand far from him.

You are not of them and You will not be of them !
spell 162 (245)

ANTECHAMBER :

HORUS REBIRTH (VII & VIII) - TO THE SKY (IX - X)
ARRIVAL IN HEAVEN (XI) - PROTECTION (XII)

VII

ANTECHAMBER / West Gable (247 - 253)

OSIRIS KING UNAS IS SOLAR

The King emerges from the Duat

164 (247) Osiris King Unas risen by Horus : making an Akh emerge from the Duat

by the priest

To say the words :
"Your son Horus has done this for You !"

The Great Ones will tremble,
having seen the knife which is in your hand,
when You ascend from the Duat !

Greetings to You, O Wise One !
Geb has created You !
The Ennead has borne You !

Horus has become pleased with his father !
Atum has become pleased with his years !
The gods of East and West have become pleased with the great thing which came into being in his embrace : the birth of the god !

by Horus

O King Unas, O King Unas, see !
O King Unas, O King Unas, look !
O King Unas, O King Unas, hear !
O King Unas, O King Unas, be (there) !
O King Unas, O King Unas, raise yourself from your side !

So do as I command !
You who hate sleep, but who were made limp.
Arise, You in Nedit !
Your good bread has been prepared in Pe !
Take your control of Heliopolis !

It is Horus (who speaks), having been commanded to help his father.
As for the Lord of Storm,
the one with spittle near him, Seth -
he will bear You : he is the one who will bear Atum !

The true destiny of the King is Solar

165 (248) King Unas' stellar destiny revealed

by the priest

To say the words :
King Unas is a Great One !
King Unas has come out between the thighs of the Ennead.
King Unas was conceived by Sekhmet, and Shezmetet bore the King,
a star with a sharp front and far-travelling,
who brings what the above has for Re daily.
King Unas has come to his throne with the Two Ladies on it.
King Unas has appeared as a star.

166 (249) the Living Horus is the Solar Child Nefertem

by the King

To say the words :
O You two fighters, tell the Noble One, whoever he may be, that I, King Unas, am this water-lily which sprang up clean from the Earth.
I have been received by him who prepared my throne.
I am at the nose of the controlling power.
I have come from the Island of Fire.
I have set Maat in it in the place of disorder.
I am on my way to the linen garments which the Uraei guard on the night of the great flood which came forth from the great goddess.
I appear as Nefertem, as the water-lily at the nose of Re, as he emerges from the horizon daily, the one at the sight of whom the gods become cleansed !

167 (250) the King as understanding and wisdom in the Sunboat

by the priest

To say the words :
This is King Unas who is in charge of Kas, who unites hearts for the Great One in charge of wisdom, the one who bears the divine scroll - Sia, at the West of Re.

by the King

I, King Unas, have come to my throne which is in charge of Kas.
I will join hearts, You in charge of wisdom, (being) great !
I will become Sia who bears the divine scroll,
who is at the West of Re, tended by my hand.
I say what is on the mind of the Great One on the Festival of the Red Linen.

That is King Unas, I am Sia who is at the West of Re,
<reserved> of heart,
at the fore of the Cavern of Nun.

Final goodbye to the Duat

168 (251) address of the King to the stars & gods of the Duat

by the King

To say the words :
O You who are in charge of the hours, who precede Re, make way for me so that I, King Unas, may pass within the Circuit of Warlike-Face.

I am off to this throne of mine, foremost of thrones, (as) one who is behind the <great> god, with a set head adorned with a sharp strong antelope horn, as one who carries a sharp knife which cuts throats, (a horn) that removes severs strife from head of the bull and makes those in darkness quiver, a strong horn behind the great god.

I have subdued those who were caught, I have smitten their heart.
My arm cannot be opposed in the horizon.

The King merges with Re

169 (252) the King united with Re

by the priest

To say the words :
Lift up your face, You gods in the Duat,
for King Unas has come
that You might see him changed into the great god.

King Unas is ushered in trembling.
King Unas is robed as Lord of You All !
King Unas will govern the people.
King Unas will judge the living within the shore of Re.
King Unas will speak with Him who judged between the two gods at the clean shore in which he has made his dwelling.
King Unas has (the icon of) power on his head.
King Unas wields the Ames-staff and it causes respect for King Unas.
King Unas will sit with the rower of the bark of Re.
When King Unas commands what is good, he will do it.
King Unas is the great god.

The Duat purified the King

170 (253) the title of the King lifted up by Shu

by the priest

To say the words :
Someone has become clean in the Field of Reeds !
Re has become clean in the Field of Reeds.

Someone has become clean in the Field of Reeds !
This King Unas has become clean in the Field of Reeds.
The title of this King Unas is given by Re.
O Nut, take his title !
O Shu, lift it up !
O Shu, lift it up !

Commentary

The antechamber represents a totally new state of affairs, and its spells should therefore be read against this hermeneutical background. At the end of the 12th Hour of the night, the new light of the emerging Sun is already seen, heralding a triumphant dawn. The Eastern horizon is a special place, where the transformation (by ascension) of the Ba into an Akh occurs. This immortalizes the spirit. The whole atmosphere breathes expectation, freshness, and the elation felt when, at the end of a long, cold, dark night, luminosity & warmth slowly return.

In the antechamber, a total of 60 spells are found : 7 spells discuss the cosmic, Solar appearance of Osiris king Unas emerging from the Duat (West Gable), 15 West-to-South-Wall texts dealing with the Horus-king in the horizon (5 West Wall texts) and the ascent of the king via Osiris (10 South Wall texts). The ascension texts on the North Wall call for 11 spells, while the 3 texts on the East Gable have the "Cannibal Hymn" and one protective spell introducing the East Wall. The antechamber texts end with the 24 protective spells of the East Wall, forming a magical circle with the West Gable of the burial-chamber.

The 7 spells of the West Gable (164 - 170) summarize the wisdom the divine king acquired during the dark hours of travelling the Duat. He is a master magician and so "an Osiris" in his own right. This is the case because he is Solar and not Lunar, although the latter cannot be avoided. Just like the Dynastic kings assimilated the power of the Great Goddess (cf. the Two Ladies on the brow of his Nemes-crown), king Unas integrates the Duat in himself. So although king Unas is "an Osiris", he is more : Osiris king Unas is the son of Re and the living Horus-king.

In spell 164, king Unas emerges from the Duat as a living Osiris. This is somewhat strange, for Osiris never leaves the Duat. Clearly this indicates the king has assimilated the godform of Osiris, pointing to the particular nature of the words "Osiris king Unas" (not mentioned here). Although the god Osiris never leaves the Duat, king Unas does and so, as "an Osiris", integrates the regeneration (rebirth) phase of his spiritualization. As Naydler (2005, p.234) indicates, "Osiris could here be understood as the king's own experience of himself as having journeyed into the spirit world".

Like Osiris, king Unas is awakened by Horus. Before Horus brought Osiris his eye, the latter had been reconstituted by Isis & Thoth, but was "sleeping" in the Duat. "Awakened" by his son Horus, he could rise to the sky of the Duat as an Akh. The same event is associated with king Unas. Osiris king Unas awakens from the "sleep" of the Duat, to be reborn as a Solar "Horus-child".

Spells 165- 167 explain why king Unas has that privilege : he is the son of Re ! He is Horus, the living power of his father (Osiris) on Earth. He is a Great One, appearing like a star. He transcends the old order of the two rivals, the battle between Seth & Horus (reminiscent of the Predynastic battles between the Southern nomes and between the unified South and the North), and unites the land.

O You two fighters, tell the Noble One, whoever he may be, that I, King Unas, am this water-lily which sprang up clean from the Earth.
I have been received by him who prepared my throne.
I am at the nose of the controlling power.
I have come from the Island of Fire.
I have set Maat in it in the place of disorder.
I am on my way to the linen garments which the Uraei guard on the night of the great flood which came forth from the great goddess.
I appear as Nefertem, as the water-lily at the nose of Re, as he emerges from the horizon daily, the one at the sight of whom the gods become cleansed !
spell  166 (248)

This direct, filial association with Re-Atum is then linked to the divine mind :

I, King Unas, have come to my throne which is in charge of Kas.
I will join minds, You in charge of wisdom, (being) great !
I will become Sia who bears the divine scroll,
who is at the West of Re, tended by my hand.
I say what is on the mind of the Great One on the Festival of the Red Linen.
spell  167 (250)

In spell 168, the divine king leaves the Duat behind and nothing can oppose him in the horizon.

Lift up your face, You gods in the Duat,
for King Unas has come
that You might see him changed into the great god.
King Unas is ushered in trembling.
King Unas is robed as Lord of You All ! (...)
King Unas is the great god.
spell  169 (252)

Finally, in spell 170, the divine titulary of the king ends this section. The Duat has purified king Unas, he has become clean in the Field of Reeds of Osiris.

VIII

ANTECHAMBER / West Wall (254 - 258 & 260)

THE HORUS-KING ACQUIRES THE HORIZON

The King as Horus of the South (Hierakonpolis)

171 (254) Horus the King confirmed at the entrance of the horizon

by the priest

The Great One will be censed for the Bull of Nekhen, and
the flame of the blast will be toward You who are around the shrine.

by the King

O great god whose name is unknown !
A meal in place for the Sole Lord !
O Lord of the Horizon, make ready a place for me, King Unas !
For if You fail to make ready a place for me, I will lay a curse on my father Geb, (saying) : "The Earth will speak no more. Geb has no <guard>."
Whoever I find in my way, I will devour.
The pelican will prophesy !
The Sunshine bird will go up !
The Great One will arise !
The Enneads will speak (saying) :
"The Earth being entirely dammed up, for the mountain ranges on either side of the river have been joined together and the river-banks have been united, the roads have been made impassable to travellers, and the slopes have been destroyed for those who would go up !"

by the god with the great plow

The rope has been guided, the <beaten path> crossed and the ball struck at the mouth of the Apis's canal.

Oho ! Your fields are in fear, You Climbing Star, before the Pillar of the Stars, for they have seen the Pillar of Kenzet, the Bull of the Sky, and the Oxherd shall be overwhelmed upon its stem.

Oho ! Fear and trembling shall descend upon the Knife-Bearers before the storm of the sky, for he has parted the Earth by means of what he knew, on the day when he wished to come - so says the god with the great plow who is in the midst of the Duat.

by the Beautiful West

See, she comes to meet You, the goddess of the Beautiful West, meeting You with her lovely tresses !

She says: "Here comes he whom I gave birth, whose horn is upstanding, eye-painted pillar, the Bull of the Sky ! Your shape is notable ! Pass in peace, for I have protected You." - so says the Beautiful West to King Unas.

by Thighs-Forward

"Go, row to the Field of Offerings and travel to Him who is on his high tree.", so says Thighs-Forward. "You plow into the Earth to your thickness, to your middle, to your shoulders. You shall see Re in his fetters, You shall praise Re in his loosing from fetters by means of the aegis of the Great One, which is in its red linen. The Lord of Peace is giving You your {title}."

by the King

O You apes who cut off heads, I, King Unas, will pass by You in peace, for I have tied my head to my neck, and my neck is on my torso in this my name of Head-Tier, by means of which I tied the head of Apis on that day when the longhorned bull was lassoed.

Since I have allowed them <to eat> from their cups and drink from their inundation, so shall I be protected in the same by those who see me.

The jubilation uraeus, Tefnut of King Unas, who supports Shu, is on her electrum staff, widening my place in Busiris, in Mendes, and in Djedut, erecting dual standards in front of the Great Ones, excavating a pool for me in the Field of Reeds, and confirming my farmland in the Field of Offerings.

I will give judgment between the two contestants in the Great Immersion, for my power is the power of the Eye of Tebi, my strength is the strength of the Eye of Tebi.

I have protected myself from those who would do this against me, who would take away my food from me, who, when it was there, would take my supper from me and who, when it was there, would take the breath from my nose and who would bring to an end my days of life.

My force will be against them, when he is apparent on my shore. Their hearts will fall to my fingers, their entrails are for the denizens of the sky, their red parts are for the denizens of the Earth ! Their heirs are to be poor, their houses to conflagration, and their courtyards to the high Nile !

But my heart is sweet, my heart is sweet, for I am the unique one, the Bull of the Sky, for I have crushed those who would do this against me and have annihilated their survivors.

That which appertains to my throne, (that) which I have taken and lifted up, is this which my father Shu gave me in the presence of Seth !

172 (255) the King subdues the Hateful One

by the priest

To say the words :
The horizon will be censed for Horus of Nekhen !
A meal for the Lords !
The horizon will be censed for Horus of Nekhen !
The flame of <its> blast will be <toward You> who are around the shrine !
The outburst of its blast will be toward You who raise up the Great One !
The horizon will be censed for Horus of Nekhen !
A meal for the Lords !

by the King

{O You Hateful One}, hateful of character and hateful of shape, remove yourself from your place and lay your insignia of rank on the ground for me.

If You do not remove yourself from your place {and lay your insignia of rank on the ground} for me, then I, King Unas, will come, my face being that of this Great One, the Lord of Power who is strong through the injury which was done to him.

I will put {flame in my Eye}, and it will encompass You and set storm among the doers of (evil) deeds, gushing its (fiery) outburst among these primeval ones. I will smite away {the arms of Shu which support the sky} and I will thrust my shoulder into that rampart on which You lean.

The Great One indeed will rise within his shrine {and lay his insignia on the ground for} me, for I have assumed authorative speech and have power through understanding.

173 (256) the King on the throne of Horus

by the King

To say the words :
I, King Unas, have succeeded to Geb !
I have succeeded to Geb !
I have succeeded to Atum !
I am on the throne of Horus the first-born !
His Eye is my strength !
I am protected from what was done against him.
The flaming blast of my Uraeus is that of Renenutet on my head.
I have set the fear of me in their hearts by making strife with them.
I have seen the gods naked and bowing to me in adoration.
Row me, O mother of mine !
Tow me, O abode of mine !
Haul your cable !

174 (257) the King breaks through the canopy of the sky

by the priest

To say the words :
There is excitement in the sky :
"We saw something new !", say the primeval gods.
O You Ennead, Horus is in the Sunlight !
Let the Lords of Forms terrorize for him.
Let Atum's Dual Ennead serve him as he sits on the throne of the Lord of All.

King Unas will acquire the sky, and cleave its iron.
King Unas will lead <on> the roads to Kheprer.
When King Unas rests in life in the West,
those of the Duat attend him.
When King Unas shines anew in the East,
he who settled the dispute will come to him bowing.

The gods will terrorize for King Unas,
since he is older than the Great One and belongs to the control of his throne.
King Unas will assume authorative speech.
Eternity shall be brought to him.
Understanding shall be placed for him at his feet.
Haul (the sky-boat) for King Unas,
for he has acquired the horizon.

The King as a Living Osiris

175 (258) the Horus King is an Osiris headed to the sky of Re

by the priest

To say the words :
King Unas is Osiris in a dust-devil.
Earth is his detestation !
King Unas will not enter into Geb, lest his bones perish and lest he sleep in his mansion upon Earth ; his bones are {made strong}, his ills are removed.
King Unas has become pure through the Eye of Horus.
His ill has been removed by the two Kites of Osiris.
King Unas has shed his outflow to Earth in Qus.

It is his sister (Wadjet), the Lady of Pe, who laments him, (saying) :
"King Unas goes to the sky !
King Unas goes to the sky !
On the wind !
On the wind !
He shall not be turned away, and there is none who will turn away from him.
He shall not sit in the tribunal of the god."

King Unas is the one who is <on his own>, the eldest of the gods : his bread-offering is for above with Re, his feast is from Nun !
King Unas is the one who goes to and fro, coming and going with Re and embracing his mansions.
King Unas will bestow Kas and take away Kas.
He will impose an obstacle and remove an obstacle.
King Unas will spend day and night appeasing the Two Adzes (Horus & Seth) in Hermopolis.
His foot will not be opposed, his heart cannot be barred.

The King is a Living Horus

176 (260) the King is a Living Horus vindicated by the Two Truths

by the King

To say the words :
O Geb ! Bull of Nut !
I, King Unas, am Horus, the heir of my father.
I have gone and came back, the fourth of these four gods who have brought water, who have administered purification,

Commentary

The section defined by spells 171 - 174, deals with the living Horus and its funerary connotations are meager.

In spell 171, the longest spell on the West Wall, the king is referred to as the Bull of Nekhen. Hierakonpolis, situated to the South of Abydos, was a major center of Horus worship. He demands to enter the horizon and threatens, if he receives no place by the Lord of the Akhet, to lay a curse and cause calamities. Apparently, because of his understanding & Great Speech, the king is also a powerful magician able to cause havoc.

The stars urge him to travel to Re's Field of Offerings (or Field of Peace). He is the bull of the sky, and the Lord of Peace (Re) himself gives king Unas his title. Both the Duat as the Lord of the Horizon welcome him and allow him entrance and safe passage.

Spell 172 also begins by affirming to horizon is censed for king Unas, Horus of the South. Next, the king threatens to cause cosmic mayhem if he is opposed. The context of Horus is clearly confrontational and offensive. The Horus-king is powerful because of the injury done to him and because he has understanding (Sia) and speaks with authority (Hu).

Next, in spell 173, the triumphant enthronement of the Horus-king happens. The sky is personified by Re-Atum, the Earth by Geb. The gods are completely known by the king (naked) and only he is able to unite heaven & Earth, the above & the below. In spell 174, king Unas triggers the excitement of the citizens of the sky, the primeval deities. It is clear the king has to travel by way of the Duat, but those of the netherworld attend him. He enters the Duat in the West, to emerge renewed in the East (cf. the Amduat). The "eternity" brought to him, is the eternal recurrence  ("neheh") which defines the cycle of Re (to be distinguished from the everlastingness -djedet- of Osiris), and of which the king becomes part. Together with his father, he descends & ascends (cf. supra).

There is excitement in the sky :
"We saw something new !", say the primeval gods.
O You Ennead, Horus is in the Sunlight !
Let the Lords of Forms terrorize for him.
Let Atum's Dual Ennead serve him as he sits on the throne of the Lord of All.
King Unas will acquire the sky, and cleave its iron.
King Unas will lead <on> the roads to Kheprer.
When King Unas rests in life in the West,
those of the Duat attend him.
When King Unas shines anew in the East,
he who settled the dispute will come to him bowing.
The gods will terrorize for King Unas,
since he is older than the Great One and belongs to the control of his throne.
King Unas will assume authorative speech.
Eternity shall be brought to him.
Understanding shall be placed for him at his feet.
Haul (the sky-boat) for King Unas,
for he has acquired the horizon.
spell  174 (257)

In spell 175, the scene changes. The king is no longer identified with Horus, but again with Osiris. In fact, this spell summarizes the spiritual Duat-journey of king Unas while he has not yet entered Geb, i.e. still on Earth ! The king is able to transfer his consciousness to the Duat, is not judged there and immediately moves to Re. He returns from this "Osiris-experience" (Naydler, 2005, p.251), and bestows or takes away vital powers (the Kas), again proof of the king's extended magical powers ("Sia", "Hu", "Heka" and "Maat" are the four aspects of the divine mind of the supreme creator-god Re-Atum, the Lord of All, in which king Unas participates). The aspects of transfer, non-judgement, acquiring the horizon and ascension are typical for the "ideal" process of spiritualization. Whenever he wants, the king returns from Re's mansions ...

... King Unas is the one who goes to and fro, coming and going with Re and embracing his mansions.
spell  175 (258)

The West Wall ends with the beginning of spell 176, spilling over to the South Wall.

IX

ANTECHAMBER / South Wall (260 - 263, 267 - 272)

ON HIS WAY TO THE SKY

176 (260) the King is a Living Horus vindicated by the Two Truths (continued)

who have rejoiced in the strength of their fathers, one who desires to be vindicated by what he has done.

For judgment between the orphan and the orphaness has been made for me. The Two Truths have heard (the case), while Shu was witness and the Two Truths commanded that the thrones of Geb revert to me, so that I raise myself to what I have desired, my limbs -which were in concealment- join, I unite those who are in Nun and put a stop to the affair in Heliopolis.

Now that I go forth today in the real form of a living Akh, I shall break up the fight and punish strife. I have come forth for Maat, (so) that I may bring her, she being with me. Wrath will depart for me and those who are in Nun will assign life to me.

My refuge is my Eye !
My protection is <my> Eye !
My strength is my Eye !
My power is my Eye !

O You southern, northern, western, and eastern gods, honour me and fear me, for I sat down in the <pavilion> of the dual courtyards. That effective uraeus Djenenutet will burn for You, and strike your hearts.

O You who would come against me in obstruction, come to me, come to me !
I am the very person of my father, the bud of my mother.
I detest travelling in darkness, for then I cannot see those who are upside down.
I go forth today that I may bring Maat, for she is with me.
I will not be given to your flame, O You gods.

177 (261) the King is a Lightning Flash

by the priest

To say the words :
King Unas is woe to the heart, the son of the heart of Shu, extensively extended and with a terrible brilliance !
King Unas is a flame (burning) before the wind, to the end of the sky and to the end of the Earth, when the hand of the lightning bolts have become empty of King Unas.
King Unas will traverse Shu, travel the horizon, and kiss the Red Crown as one hurled by a god.
Those who are in <the firmament> will open their arms to him.
King Unas will stand up on the eastern side of the quartz of rain, and there is brought to him a way of ascent to the sky.
It is he who does the mission of the Stormy One (Seth).

The Horus-king in the afterlife

178 (262) the King remind the deities he knows them

by the King

To say the words :
Be not unaware of me, O god,
since You know me, I know You.
And I know You !

Be not unaware of me, O Re.
Know me, for I know You.
Be not unaware of me, O Re.
I call You : "Great of Provision, Lord of All !"

Be not unaware of me, O Thoth.
Know me, for I know You.
Be not unaware of me, O Thoth.;
I call You : "He Who Sets Alone !"

Be not unaware of me, O Sharp Horus.
Know me, for I know You.
Be not unaware of me, O Sharp Horus.
Know me, for I know You.
I call You : "The Difficult One !"

Be not unaware of me, O Dweller in the Duat.
Know me, for I know You.
Be not unaware of me, O Dweller in the Duat.
I call You : "He Who Wakes Sound !"

Be not unaware of me, Sky Bull.
Know me, for I know You.
Be not unaware of me, O Bull of the Sky.
I call You : "This One Who Endures !"

Behold, I have come !
Behold, I have come !
Behold, I have emerged !

I have not come of my own accord, a message having come for me. I have passed by my House of my Ba, the striking power of the Great Lake has missed me.

There is no one who requires my fare for the great ferry.
There is no one who bars me from the White Palace of the Great Ones at the Beaten Path of Stars - for look, I have reached the height of heaven.

I have seen the cobra in the Nightboat, and it is I who row in it. I have recognized the uraeus in the Dayboat, and it is I who bail it out. The Sun-folk have testified concerning me. The hailstorms of the sky have taken me (so) that they might raise me up to Re.

179 (263) the spirits of the dead meet the King

by the King

To say the words :
The two reed floats of the sky have been set in place for Re,
that he might cross on them to the horizon.
The two reed floats of the sky have been set in place for Horus of the Horizon,
that Horus of the Horizon might cross on them to Re.
The two reed floats of the sky have been set in place for me,
that I, King Unas, might cross on them to the horizon, to Re.
The two reed floats of the sky have been set in place for me,
that I might cross on them to Horus of the Horizon and to Re.

It has become well with me and my Ka !
I will live with my Ka !
My panther-skin is on me.
My Ames-staff is on my arm.
My Aba-scepter is in my hand.

Those who have gone way have missed me. They will bring me these four Akhs, the Elders who are at the head of the wearers of the side-lock, who stand in the eastern side of the sky and who sweep away with their electrum staves, that they may tell my good name to Re and announce me to Kas-Assigner, (saying) : "Greet this King Unas' entrance into the North of the Field of Reeds. Let King Unas across the Winding Canal. He is ferried over to the eastern side of the horizon ! He is ferried over to the eastern side of the sky ! His sister is Sothis ! His female sibling is the Morning Star !"

180 (267) leaving Osiris behind and crossing he horizon

by the King

To say the words :
You have your heart, O Osiris !
You have your legs, O Osiris !
You have your arms, O Osiris !
(So too) my heart is my own !
My legs are my own !
My arms are my own !

A stairway to the sky is set up for me that I, King Unas,
may ascend on it to the sky.
I will ascend on the smoke of the great censing.
I will fly up as a bird and alight as a beetle.
When I will fly up as a bird and alight as a beetle,
it will be in the empty throne in your bark, O Re !

Stand up, remove yourself, O You who do not know the thicket of reeds (of the horizon), that I may sit in your place.
I will row in the sky in your bark, O Re.
I will push off from the land in your bark, O Re !

When You are emerging from the horizon, I, with my scepter in my arm, will be the one sailing your bark, O Re, (so) that You may ascend to the sky and (I may) go away from the land, away from wife and kilt.

181 (268) the Royal Ka of the King comes to him

by the priest

To say the words :
This King Unas will wash himself when Re appears and the Elder Ennead shines.
Should he of Ombos become high at the head of the conclave, (then) this King Unas will take over the nobles as a limb of himself, and this King Unas will seize hold of the Great White Crown from the hands of the Two Enneads.

Isis {will nurse him.
Nephthys will suckle him.}
Horus {will accept him} beside him at his two fingers,
purify this King Unas in the Jackal Lake, and
release the Ka of this King Unas in the Lake of the Duat.
He will purge the flesh of the Ka of this King Unas and of his body by means of that which is on the shoulders of Re in the horizon, which he receives when the Two Lands shine and he opens the faces of the gods.
He will conduct the Ka of this King Unas to his body at the Great Mansion.

The portals will act for him, the Curl (of the Red Crown) will be tied on for him and this King Unas will guide the Imperishable Stars !
He will ferry across to the Fields of Reeds with those who are in the horizon rowing him and those who are in the firmament sailing him.
This King Unas will become truly efficient, and his arms will not fail.
This King Unas will become truly excellent, and his Ka will reach him !

182 (269) censing prayer, ascension and sweet milk

by the King

To say the words :
The fire is laid, the fire shines.
The incense is laid on the fire, the incense shines.
Your scent has come to me, O incense,
may my scent come to You, O incense.
Your scent has come to me, You gods,
may my scent come to You, You gods.

I, King Unas, shall be with You, gods ;
You shall be with me, gods.
I, King Unas, live with You, gods ;
You shall live with me, gods.
I, King Unas, shall love You, gods ;
love me, gods.

ascension

The wafer has come, the cap that comes from the knee of Horus has come :
the ascender has come, the ascender has come ;
the climber has come, the climber has come ;
he who flew up has come, he who flew up has come !

I will ascend upon the thighs of Isis !
I will climb up upon the thighs of Nephthys !
My father Atum will seize my hand for me,
and allot me to those excellent and wise gods :
the Imperishable Stars !

sweet milk

My mother Ipy, give me that breast of yours, that I may apply it to my mouth and suck this white, gleaming, sweet milk of yours.

As for yonder land in which I walk, I will neither thirst nor hunger in it, forever !

183 (270) summoning Osiris as the celestial ferryman

by the priest

To say the words :
Awake in peace !
Face Behind Him, in peace !
Sees Behind Him, in peace !
Ferryman of the sky, in peace !
Ferryman of Nut, in peace !
Ferryman of the gods, in peace !

by the King

I have come to You that You may ferry me across in this ferryboat in which You ferry the gods.
I have come to his side, just like a god coming to his side.
I have come near to his side, just like a god coming near to his side.
There is no one living who makes accusation against me.
There is no one dead who makes accusation against me.
There is no duck which makes accusation against me.
There is no longhorned bull which makes accusation against me.
 
So, if You should not ferry me over, I will leap up and put myself on the wing of Thoth, and he will ferry me over to yonder side.

184 (271) raising the Djed-Pillar

by the King

To say the words :
I, King Unas, am the land-swimmer that came forth from the lake.
I am a fresh water-lily.
It is I, be satisfied, Two Lands.
It is I, unite, Two Lands.
It is I, join together, my mother the great wild cow, on the hill of grass and my mother, the female wild cow on hill of the stork.

Stand up, You two Djed-pillars, and descend, You crossbars, that I may ascend on this ladder which my father Re made for me.

Horus and Seth shall take hold of my arm and take me away from the Duat.
You with the eye-injury, beware of him with the command ;
You with the command, beware of him with the eye-injury.

The face of the god is open to me,
and I sit on the great throne beside the god.

185 (272) opening the Gate of Nun

by the King

To say the words :
O Height that will not be penetrated, Gate of Nun, I, King Unas, have come to You, have this opened to me !

by the gate

Is King Unas the little one in it ?

by the King

I am at the head of the Followers of Re !
I am not at the head of the gods who make disturbance !

Commentary

The living Horus-king

This South Wall section (spells 176 - 185) brings into perspective both life (spells 176 - 177) & afterlife (spells 178 - 184) of the Horus-king (with spell 185 acting as transition to the crucial North Wall). Clearly, on Earth, his role was to end strife and bring Maat to Egypt. This he did with the help of his Eye, the Left Eye of Horus restored by Thoth. He goes forth (on Earth, as a king) in the real form of a living Akh, intended to end & punish strife. As a magician, he is in touch with those in Nun, the everlasting, primordial & abiding ground of everything.

Now that I go forth today in the real form of a living Akh, I shall break up the fight and punish strife. I have come forth for Maat, (so) that I may bring her, she being with me. Wrath will depart for me and those who are in Nun will assign life to me.
My refuge is my Eye !
My protection is <my> Eye !
My strength is my Eye !
My power is my Eye !
O You southern, northern, western, and eastern gods, honour me and fear me, for I sat down in the <pavilion> of the dual courtyards. That effective uraeus Djenenutet will burn for You, and strike your hearts.
spell  176 (260)

In spell 177, his terrible brilliance and power are again invoked.

Those who are in <the firmament> will open their arms to him.
King Unas will stand up on the eastern side of the quartz of rain, and there is brought to him a way of ascent to the sky.
spell  177 (261)

The Horus-king in the afterlife

Ex hypothesis, the litany of spell 178 is spoken by the king in the afterlife. The deities are reminded not to forget him. This time, he enters not in the godform of Osiris, but with his "noble body", i.e. his ritual, mummified body activated by the funerary ceremonies. After physical death, the "net" of the body (cf. The Discourse of a Man with his Ba), is broken, and the various subtle components of the king (his Ka & Ba, but also his shadow, name & "Ib" or heart) are released and should not be lost ...

In this process, Ka, Ba & Ib are essential.

The king is divine. So what happens to him after his net is broken is extraordinary. Propelled towards the sky, he encounters opposition, but is able to overwin. He leaves the Duat and is spiritualized in the Akhet, the horizon. His afterlife circumstances are very optimistic. The divine nature of the king assists him in every way to ascend to his father, being transformed, in the Akhet, into an Akh by merging Ba and Ka.

Regarding the Ib, the king is not judged. Hence, his heart balances Maat from the beginning. The king is one with Re who is before the beginning, before Maat came into being (she does not exist in the Nun nor in the Zep Tepi, the first time). Re withdrew in his own (Solar) order, making creation exists separately, mostly ruled by a Osirian (Lunar) jurisdiction (cf. The Heavenly Cow). In the later texts (cf. supra) we read how the heart of the deceased is placed on one of the scales of the balance of Maat. The heavy heart will tilt it, destroying the heart. Without coordination, will & mind, the Ka and Ba of the deceased wander aimlessly and become less and less efficient. Eventually, they perish. King Unas will never face this. Because of his divine status, his heart will never be annihilated.

The Ba of the divine king is his power of migration, his dromomania, the power of momentum and movement. The Ba initiates the process of transformation, seeks it out, will try to move upward, up to the Northern sky by way of the Eastern horizon (reached from the North of the Field of Reeds), encountered at the end of the night. In the Old Kingdom, only the divine king had a Ba, a principle of spiritual transformation. Not an entity, the Ba indicates a dynamical process, a wandering and moving from here to there, albeit conform the eternal recurrent Solar cycle of descending & ascending. The regeneration of the Ba (midnight mystery) is the great mystery of Osiris, his restoration by the Eye of Horus, and the power of the Horus-king, stronger because of the injury done to him. As it was done to Horus when Seth tore out the Left Eye of Horus and crushed it, king Unas will also be restored and restore Osiris as Horus did. The power of the Eye of Horus is the ultimate magic.

In the horizon, the Ba (moving from the West of the burial-chamber to the East of the antechamber) & Ka (moving from the East of the Ka-chapels to the West of the antechamber), meet and merge in the middle of the antechamber (positioned directly below the apex of the pyramid). Igniting the renewed (reinstated) Ba, with the Kas of the divine king (activated by the rituals performed in sanctuary of the temple), achieves greater momentum to flawlessly ascend. This is the transformation of the Ba into an Akh, for that what has been a Ba arrives in heaven as an Akh. The capacity of the divine, wise & magical king to ever ascend to his father and return to Earth (either in his body -while in life- or to his mummy -while in the afterlife-) is evidenced by the "horizon" of the shrine of his daily prayers (to Re), evidencing the face-to-face confrontation, in the remote twilight of the Temple, of the king with the cult statue.

King Unas repeats "Know me, for I know You.", reminding them of his former spiritual work with them. With great confidence king Unas enters the dark realm of the afterlife. He has skill and understanding, and commands with great authority all magical powers of creation, also in the Duat. He is not worried the forces of Osiris will try to overthrow him. All opposition has long gone, for Unas is very clear :

There is no one who requires my fare for the great ferry.
There is no one who bars me from the White Palace of the great ones at the Beaten Path of Stars - for look, I have reached the height of heaven.
spell  178 (262)

The spirits of the dead meet king Unas (spell 179), in particular his Ka, which brings him great spiritual joy. This first encounter with the Ka, exactly in the middle of the South Wall, opposing the North Corridor, gives strength, joy, life and wellness to the Ba, propelling it evermore to rise.

It has become well with me and my Ka !
I will live with my Ka !
My panther-skin is on me.
My Ames-staff is on my arm.
My Aba-scepter is in my hand.
spell  179 (263)

The spirits welcome king Unas with great respect & reverence and make it clear he moves from the North of the Field of Reeds (of Osiris) to the East of the horizon & the sky (of Re) :

Greet this King Unas' entrance into the North of the Field of Reeds.
Let King Unas across the Winding Canal.
He is ferried over to the eastern side of the horizon !
He is ferried over to the eastern side of the sky !
His sister is Sothis !
His female sibling is the Morning Star !
spell  179 (263)

In spell 180, he affirms being distinct from Osiris. Various metaphors try to catch the upward movement, but the most remarkable affirmation is :

When I will fly up as a bird and alight as a beetle,
it will be in the empty throne in your bark, O Re !
spell  180 (267)

The "empty throne" indicates Re expects Unas and, insofar as he is his incarnation, the king sits on the Solar throne ! What an optimism. But the voyage is a solitary one. Nobody is as this king Unas : a Living Osiris, a Horus-king in this life and in the afterlife and by nature the unique, sole "son of Re". In 181, king Unas again celebrates the presence of his Ka.

This King Unas will become truly efficient, and his arms will not fail.
This King Unas will become truly excellent, and his Ka will reach him !
spell  181 (268)

Thanks to the Ka, the Ba of Unas, or Unas himself, transforms to become omnipotent ("truly efficient"), unfailing. The Ka of king Unas is fed by millions of recurrent offerings, and his magic is sustained by the everlasting efficiency of the sacred spells. Even if the offerings in the temple above stop, and the Ka cannot derive power from these rituals, the "heka" of the hieroglyphs is unfailing and lasts as long as they exist. By itself, the Ka is a field of power, an accumulation of efficient magical (unstoppable) energy. On its own, this Sa-field of power is quite useless, but to feed the deities and to interact with their Bas, it allows the latter to become very efficient.

During life, the Ka (or vital principle) is linked with the Khat or physical body. Death releases the Ka and initiates the journey of the Ba in the Duat. The energy of the Ka derived from the spirit world, held by the ancestors. The Ba is gratified by the offerings made to the Ka, and these offerings temporarily substitute the body and allow the Ka to remain near the mummy. Then, encountering the Ka in the afterlife, the transformation of the Ba happens.
 
In the last spells of this section (182 - 184), the ascension of the king is likened to incense moving upward. In Ancient Egypt, and also later in Greco-Roman Paganism as well as in the Divine Cult of the Emperor, incense was the key ingredient of worship. The Catholic Empire established, it was also introduced in the Catholic Ritual, for like incense, prayers ascend before the Throne of the Most High.

Receiving the milk of the goddess is another image conveying the divine status of the king. The hippopotamus goddess Ipy had a strong association with the northern stars and with protected childbirth. The suckling of Unas takes place at the point around which the celestial sphere turns. The goddess is usually portrayed with her left hand resting on the Sa symbol of protection, but in the form of the constellation of the celestial hippopotamus, and because of her cosmic centrality, her left hand rests on a mooring post, symbolical of the stability of the whole universe (the constellation corresponds to the modern constellation Draco, which in Ancient Egyptian times corresponded to the North Celestial Pole). Unas' suckling preludes his illumination or celestial transformation and shows he is about to become a "child" of the Imperishables.

The king calls for the ferryman and is clear about his own status :

I have come to his side, just like a god coming to his side.
I have come near to his side, just like a god coming near to his side.
spell  183 (270)

In spell 184, an alternative is offered : the Djed Pillars are used as a ladder. The Djed Pillars are a combination of (a) the four "world" pillars supporting the four corners of the Earth, (b) a tree with lopped branches, and (c) a human spinal column. It probably depicts a bundle of papyrus stalks tied together, and represented Hathor, "pregnant" of the king. Its origin was forgotten and later Egyptians though it to be the backbone of Osiris.

The ritual of the Raising the Djed Pillar, took place at Memphis on the eve of the coronation of the kings and at their Sed festivals. Aided by a number of priests, the king raised a Djed pillar from the ground with ropes and placed it in an erect position. The significance of the ceremony is indicated by the word "djed", meaning "stability", "duration", "everlastingness", etc. the idea being that the king and his kingdom gained stability and duration from the performance of the ceremony. It also symbolized the revival of the kingship after it had "died" with the demise of the previous king. Raising the Djed was a preliminary to his final ascent to the sky. Here, Seth & Horus assist King Unas, making this spell multilayered.

Spell 185 provides a transition to the next wall. The divine king opens the "gate of Nun" so to enter the domain of his father (in the Coffin Texts, we learn Re-Atum hatched out of his egg while "floating in Nun"). At the end, King Unas is brought to the threshold of the fount and origin of the deities (cf. Atum's autogenesis, the First Time and the forthcoming of the Ennead).

X

ANTECHAMBER / North Wall (302 - 312)

BOOK OF ASCENSION

King Unas flies away, ferries over & climbs ladders

186 (302) the King flies away to Re

by the King

To say the words :
The sky has been bled (at dawn) and Sothis lives, because I, King Unas, I am a living one, the son of Sothis, for whom the Dual Ennead have cleaned the imperishable Striker. My house in the sky will not end. My throne of the Two Lands on Earth will not end.

Men hide, (but) the gods fly away !

Sothis has flown me to the sky into the company of my brothers the gods. Nut the great has uncovered her arms for me. The Two Bas, who are at the head of the Bas of Iunu (Heliopolis), who attend on Re, have bowed themselves, they who spend the night making this mourning for the god.

My seat is with You, O Re, and I will give it to nobody else. I will ascend to the sky to You, O Re, for my face is that of falcons, my wings are those of birds, my talons are the fangs of Him of Atfet.

There is no word against me on Earth among men, there is no accusation in the sky among the gods. For I annulled the word against me, which I destroyed in order to mount up to the sky.
 
Paths-Parter (Wepwawet) has flown me up to the sky among my brethren the gods. I use my arms as a Nile goose, I flap my wings as a kite.

The flier has flown !
O men, I have flown away from You !

187 (303) the King ferries over to the sky

by the King

To say the words :
O western gods, eastern gods, southern gods, and northern gods ! These four pure reed-floats which You set down for Osiris when he ascended to the sky, so that he might ferry over to the Cool Waters with his son Horus at his fingers, so that he might foster him and cause him to appear as a great god in the Cool Waters - set them down for me, King Unas !

by the gods

Are You Horus, son of Osiris ?
Are You, King Unas, the god, the eldest one, the son of Hathor ?
Are You the seed of Geb ?

by the King

Osiris has commanded me, King Unas, to appear as the counterpart of Horus, and these four Akhs who are in Heliopolis have written (it) on the record of the two great gods who are in the Cool Waters.

188 (304) opening of the sky to the King : a ladder in the necropolis

by the King

To say the words :
Hail to You, daughter of Anubis, who is at the windows of the sky, the companion of Thoth, who is at the uprights of the ladder ! Open my way that I, King Unas, may pass.

Greetings to You, ostrich at the lips of the Winding Canal ! Open my way that I may pass !

Greetings, bull of Re who has four horns : a horn of yours in the West, a horn of yours in the East, a horn of yours in the South, and a horn of yours in the North ! Bend down for me this western horn of yours, (so) that I may pass.

by the Bull of Re

Are You a pure Westerner, for You have come forth from Falcon City ?

by the King

Greetings to You, Field of Peace !
Greetings to the vegetation {that is in You !
Greetings to} my vegetation that is in You,
the clean growth therein is pleasant !

189 (305) a Ladder is made for the King

by the King

To say the words :
A ladder has been is knotted together by Re, face to face with Osiris.
A ladder has been knotted together by Horus, face to face with his father Osiris when he goes to his Akh, one of them being on this side, one of them being on that side, while I, King Unas, am between them !

by the gods

Are You a god whose places are pure ?

by the King

I have come forth from a pure (place). 

by Horus

"Stand up, King Unas !", says Horus.

by Seth

"Sit down, King Unas !", says Seth.

by Re

"Take his arm !", says Re.

by the priest

Akh, to the sky !
Corpse, to the Earth !

What people receive when they are buried, their thousand of bread and their thousand of beer, is from the offering table of the Foremost of the Westerners.

Poor is the heir who has no writing.
So King Unas writes with his big finger and does not write with his little finger.

190 (306) the King mounts up the Ladder

by the priest

To say the words :
"How lovely to see ! How pleasing to behold," say they, namely the gods "of this god's going forth to the sky, of King Unas going forth to the sky, with his Bas atop him, his terror about him, and his magic at his feet."

Geb has acted for him just like he was acted for in the same event.

There have come to You the divine Bas of Pe, the divine Bas of Nekhen, the gods who belong to the sky, and the gods who belong to the Earth, (so) that they might make support for You, upon their arms.
So, ascend, King Unas, to the sky and mount up on it in this its identity of "Ladder".

"The sky will be given to King Unas, and the Earth will be given to him.", says Atum.
It is Geb is the one who argues for it, (saying) : 
"The mounds  praised are the Mounds of Horus and the Mounds of Seth, and the Fields of Reeds shall adore You in this your name of Morning God, as Sobek under his mangroves."

Has he (Seth) slain You, his heart having said that You would die because of him ? But look, You have become a more enduring bull of the wild bulls than he !

Endure, endure, O enduring bull, (so) that You, King Unas, may be enduring at the head of them, at the head of the Akhs forever !

Except for Re, King Unas rules everybody & everything

191 (307) the King is the Bull of Heliopolis

by the King

To say the words :
There is a Heliopolitan in me, O god !
Your Heliopolitan (nature) is in me, O god !
There is a Heliopolitan in me, O Re !
Your Heliopolitan (nature) is in me, O Re !
My mother is a Heliopolitan, my father is a Heliopolitan.
I, King Unas, am a Heliopolitan myself, born in Heliopolis when Re was ruler of the Dual Ennead and above the plebs, Nefertem without peer, heir of my father Geb.

As for any god who will thrust out his arm (to hold me off), when my face turns to worship You and to call to You about my body, O god, and about my nose, O god, he will have no bread ;
he will have no wafer in the company of his brothers the gods ;
he will not send (messengers) ;
he will not leap <the barrier> in the company of his brothers the gods ;
the doors of the Nightboat will not be opened to him ;
the doors of the Dayboat will not be opened to him ;
he will not be judged as a citizen ;
the doors of provisioning will not be opened to him !

I have come to You !
For I am the wild bull of the savannah, the great-faced bull who comes from Heliopolis. I am both the one who gave You birth and the one who can continue to give You birth.

192 (308) the gods invoke the King naked

by the King

To say the words :
Greetings to You, Horus on the Mounds of Horus !
Greetings to You, Seth on the Mounds of Seth !
Greetings to You, Reeds in the Field of Reeds !
Greetings, You two reconciled gods, twin children of the four foremost gods of the Great Mansion, You who invoke me naked !

I, King Unas, have looked on You as Horus looked at Isis.
I have looked at You as Ka-Assigner looked on Serket.
I have looked at You as Sobek looked at Neith.
I have looked at You as Seth looked at the two reconciled (gods).

193 (309) the King is the servant of Re

by the King

To say the words :
I, King Unas, I am <the secretary> of the god, in charge of the Mansion of Re, born of Prayer-of-the-gods, who is in the prow of the Boat of Re.

I shall sit before him, I shall open his boxes, I shall break open his edicts, I shall seal his dispatches, I shall send out his unwearying messengers, and I shall do what he says to me.

194 (310) the King warns the gods

by the King

To say the words :
If I, King Unas, should be cursed, then will Atum be cursed.
If I should be reviled, then will Atum be reviled.
If I should be smitten, then will Atum be smitten.
If I should be hindered on this road, then will Atum be hindered.
I am Horus !
I have come in the wake of my father !
I have come in the wake of Osiris !

O You (ferryman), who faces forward and backward,
bring this (ferryboat) to me ! 

by the ferryman

"Which ferryboat should I get for You ?"

by the King

Bring me : "Whenever It Flies It Lands !"

195 (311) the King wants to be seen by Re and sees Re

by the King

To say the words :
See me, O Re !
Recognize me, O Re !
I, King Unas, belong to those that know You, so he knows his Lord will emerge.
I will not forget the blessing of the given offering,
(so that) she who maroons whom she would maroon will open the doors of the horizon at the ascent of the Dayboat.
I know the Hall of the Baldachin in the middle of the Platform of Izken from which You go forth when You board the Nightboat.

Commend me, commend me, commend me, commend me -to say the words four times without pause- to those four of yours who go down behind You, and who see with two faces and who argue with fierce <roaring> about the first-born with those who will have trouble, along with those whom they would destroy, (so that) they will not cross (him with) their arm when I turn to You, when I come to You and tell You this name of yours of "Great Flood which came forth from the Great One".

I will not become blind if You put me in darkness.
I will not become deaf even though I do not hear your voice.

You should take me with You, with You !
He who will drive away storms for You, who will dispel the clouds for You, and who will break up the hail for You.
I will make genuflection after genuflection for You !
I will make adoration after adoration for You when You set me on the body of the vulture !

196 (312) the King as ascending bread

by the King

To say the words :
The bread has flown !
The bread has indeed flown,
toward my mansions, the Mansions of the Red Crown !

Commentary

To underline the connection between North and East, the normal reading direction of the hieroglyphs is reversed. Although read, as on the South Wall, from West to East, they should face West, but face East. Both walls take their starting point from the West end of the antechamber. This is a remarkable situation, suggesting this section is an independent grouping.

The underlying theme of these 11 spells is the actual ascension of the divine king. Various ways are described, and the power propelling him cannot be stopped. Spell 194 makes this perfectly clear. If King Unas is cursed, the supreme god himself is cursed !

Spells 186 - 190 summarize the ways of ascension : he flies away like a Nile goose or a kite, ferries over or makes use of a ladder. The latter is invoked several times. This theme returns in later Mediterranean spirituality (cf. the Hermetic, Qabalistic (Jacob's Ladder), Mithraic and Gnostic Ladders). The ladder is not only a means of ascent, but also something bringing about a connection between sky and Earth.

In spell 186, the exclusive nature of the divine king is heard :

Men hide, (but) the gods fly away !
spell  186 (302)

The king is divine precisely because he is an Akh on Earth.

The spiritualization of the divine king (the transformation of his Ba into an Akh), is the return to his natural state (being the companion of Re). In that sense, it is not yet a "transformation" proper, for he was a god on Earth and returns as one in the afterlife. He alone flies away while commoners "hide". They do not ascend and remain in the darkness of the underworld, the Duat.

Only after the Middle Kingdom, when everybody had a Ba, did the change from "commoner" to "god" become pertinent. Indeed, when non-royals were deified they, while becoming deities, lost their "human" form. Their possession of a Ba implied the loss of humanity for the sake of acquiring divinity. We have to wait for Christianity to integrate humanity into the concept of Godhead, a notion foreign to Antiquity (Judaism included).

In the Amduat, the major netherworld book of the New Kingdom, the Ba of Re needed to be replenished daily. He did so in 12 Hours. To receive his warmth & light when Re travels through, the spirits of the dead, bound to the kingdom of Osiris, anxiously awaited him. Without Re, the kingdom of Osiris is a dangerous, dark and dreadful place.

So even in those more "democratic" days, everlastingness under the aegis of Osiris was still a sad fate, although better than utter annihilation. The elite however, travelled in the retinue of the Bark of Re, enjoying the eternal recurrence of Re's light.

But in Unas's time, only the king, as son of Re, had a soul to be transfigurated into an Akh. However, such logical subtleties did not worry the pre-rational mind of our authors, and would later be "solved" when Egyptian thought acquired the proto-rational mode of cognition (Osiris becoming the "night Sun" and everyman having a Ba or principle of spiritualization, i.e. "akhification").

King Unas ascends to his father Re because he is a god. His Ba is indicative of the dynamism of this process of ascension. It "transfigurates", becoming an Akh in the sky of Re.

My seat is with You, O Re, and I will give it to nobody else.
spell 186 (302)

In spell 190, in his identity of "Ladder", the divine king realizes the connection between heaven and Earth, suggestive of the mystical union between both realms :

The sky will be given to King Unas, and the Earth will be given to him.", says Atum.
spell 190 (306)

Spells 191 - 196 make it clear the king, except for Re, has nobody above him.

Spell 191 identifies Unas with the Bull of Heliopolis, known as Mnevis ("menwer") bull. By identifying with the bull, a strong symbol of the union of earthly & spiritual domains is invoked. The omnipotence of the divine king is underlined. He is a Living Osiris (cf. the tail of a bull hung from the hilt during the dedication of the field during the Sed festival), a Horus-king and the son of the creator-god. In himself he unites the whole of creation and this in all its various aspects and planes of manifestation. Here, in spell 191, his Solar nature is again emphasized :

There is a Heliopolitan in me, O god !
Your Heliopolitan (nature) is in me, O god !
There is a Heliopolitan in me, O Re !
Your Heliopolitan (nature) is in me, O Re !
My mother is a Heliopolitan, my father is a Heliopolitan.
I, King Unas, am a Heliopolitan myself, born in Heliopolis when Re was ruler of the Dual Ennead and above the plebs, Nefertem without peer, heir of my father Geb.
spell 191 (307)

Situating himself at the core of Solar creativity, he dares to say to Re :

I am both the one who gave You birth and the one who can continue to give You birth.
spell 191 (307)

Apparently, even now, when the divine nature of the king is culminating and the whole of creation is integrated by him, there may still be jealous deities thrusting out their arms to oppose him. He makes sure they do not receive their offerings and cannot participate in the eternal cycle of Re.

Spells 193 & 195 is the only text affirming the humility & service of the divine king. It makes clear Re alone is entitled to tell Unas what to do. It is part of this triumphant "book of ascension" to remind king Unas of his ultimate origin & goal : Re-Atum-Kheprer. This proximity is explained in terms of "knowing" and "seeing" :

See me, O Re !
Recognize me, O Re !
I, King Unas, belong to those that know You,
so know me.
spell 195 (311)

The humility of this powerful magician before his divine father stands out :

I will make genuflection after genuflection for You !
I will make adoration after adoration for You when You set me on the body of the vulture !
spell 195 (311)

This section ends by identifying the divine king with the most important of offerings : bread. He is "ascended bread" because his return to his father is the ultimate offering blessing Egypt and its Nile. For ascended, the king will send a "good Nile" to his son, perpetuating the eternal & everlasting cycles ruled by Sun & Moon. This reminds us of the Catholic Credo, identifying Jesus Christ as "the living bread" ...

XI

ANTECHAMBER / East Gable (273 - 276)

ARRIVAL IN & RETURN FROM HEAVEN

197 (273-274) the Cannibal Hymn

by the priest

The sky rains down.
The stars darken.
The celestial vaults stagger.
The bones of Aker tremble.
The <decans> are stilled against them,
at seeing King Unas rise as a Ba.
A god who lives on his fathers and feeds on his mothers.

King Unas is Lord of Wisdom whose mother knows not his name.
The glory of King Unas is in the sky, his might is in the horizon.
Like his father, Atum, his begetter.
Though his son, King Unas is mightier than he.

The Kas of King Unas are behind him.
His guardian forces are under his feet.
His gods are over him.
His Uraeus-serpents are on his brow.
The guiding-serpent of King Unas is on his forehead :
she who sees the Ba (of the enemy as) good for <burning>.
The neck of King Unas is on his trunk.

King Unas is the Bull of the Sky,
who <shatters> at will,
who lives on the being of every god, 
who eats their <entrails>,
even of those who come with their bodies 
full of magic from the Island of Fire.

King Unas is one equipped, 
who assembles his Akhs.
King Unas appears as this Great One,
Lord of those with (Helping) Hands.
He sits with his back to Geb,
for it is King Unas who weighs what he says, 
together with Him whose name is hidden,
on this day of slaying the oldest ones.

King Unas is Lord of Offerings, who knots the cord,
and who himself prepares his meal.
King Unas is he who eats men and lives on gods,
Lord of Porters, who dispatches written messages.

It is "Grasper-of-the-top-knot", <who is> Kehau,
who lassoes them for King Unas.
It is "Serpent Raised-head",
who guards them for him and restrains them for him.
It is "He-upon-the-willows",
who binds them for him.
It is Courser, slayer of Lords,
who will cut their throats for King Unas,
and will extract for him what is in their bodies,
for he is the messenger whom King Unas sends to restrain.
It is Shezmu,
who will cut them up for King Unas,
and cooks meals of them in his dinner-pots.

(274)

It is King Unas who eats their magic and gulps down their Akhs.
Their big ones are for his morning meal,
their middle-sized ones are for his evening meal,
their little ones are for his night meal,
their old men and their old women are for his incense-burning.
It is the Great Ones in the North of the sky,
who light the fire for him,
to the cauldrons containing them,
with the thighs of their eldest (as fuel).

Those who are in the sky serve King Unas,
And the butcher's blocks are wiped over for him,
with the feet of their women.

He has revolved around the whole of the two skies.
He has circled the two banks.
For King Unas is the great power that overpowers the powers.
King Unas is a sacred image, the most sacred image 
of the sacred images of the Great One.
Whom he finds in his way, him he devours <bit by bit>.

The place of King Unas is at the head of all the noble ones who are in the horizon.
For King Unas is a god, older than the oldest.
Thousands revolve around him, hundreds offer to him.
There is given to him a warrant as a great power by Orion, the father of the gods.

King Unas has risen again in the sky.
He is crowned as Lord of the Horizon.
He has smashed the back-bones,
and has seized the hearts of the gods.
He has eaten the Red Crown.
He has swallowed the Green One.
King Unas feeds on the lungs of the wise.
And likes to live on hearts and their magic.

King Unas abhors against licking <the Coils of the Red Crown>.
But delights to have their magic in his belly.
The dignities of King Unas will not be taken away from him.
For he has swallowed the knowledge of every god.
The lifetime of King Unas is eternal repetition. 
His limit is everlastingness.
In this his dignity of : 
"If-he-likes-he-does. If-he-dislikes-he-does-not."
He who is at the limits of the horizon,
forever and ever.

Lo, their Ba is in the belly of King Unas.
Their Akhs are in the possession of King Unas,
as the surplus of his meal <out of> the gods.
Which is cooked for King Unas from their bones.

Lo, their Ba is in the possession of King Unas.
Their shadows are removed from their owners,
while King Unas is this one who ever rises and lasting lasts. 

The doers of ill deeds have no power to destroy,
the chosen seat of King Unas,
among the living in this land.
Forever and ever.

198 (275) the King opens the double doors of the horizon

by the priest

To say the words :
King Unas has come to You, falcons, for your Horus-mansions become peaceful to King Unas, with his bent tail, of the intestine of baboon, at his rear.
King Unas will open the double doors.
King Unas will attain the limit of the horizon.
King Unas has laid down his tailed kilt there.
King Unas will become the Great One who is in Crocodilopolis.

Protection of the East of the Tomb

199 (276)

by the priest

To say the words :
Do against yourself what You can do against yourself, You Zekzek-snake who are in your <hole>, You hindrance !

Commentary

The Cannibal Hymn has been the object of a separate translation & commentary.

Its position on the East Gable is very symbolical. The East is the place of Solar emergence, and the Eastern horizon the realm of transformation (of Ba into Akh). Towering above the Ka-chapels, this hymn to the divine king is well to underline his supreme power :

King Unas is Lord of Wisdom whose mother knows not his name.
The glory of King Unas is in the sky, his might is in the horizon.
Like his father, Atum, his begetter.
Though his son, King Unas is mightier than he.
spell 197 (273)

In these and other unmistaken superlatives, the truly exceptional nature of the king, who was an Akh on Earth and now is an Akh in heaven, is affirmed. Both Osiris & Re are integrated in his spirit, more powerful than powerful, more sacred than sacred :

He has revolved around the whole of the two skies.
He has circled the two banks.
For King Unas is the great power that overpowers the powers.
King Unas is a sacred image, the most sacred image 
of the sacred images of the Great One.
Whom he finds in his way, him he devours <bit by bit>.
spell 197 (273)

The apotheosis of the spiritualization of the divine king, his Osirian rebirth and Solar ascent all lead to his seemingly foreboding entrance into heaven :

The sky rains down.
The stars darken.
The celestial vaults stagger.
The bones of Aker tremble.
The <decans> are stilled against them,
at seeing King Unas rise as a Ba.
A god who lives on his fathers and feeds on his mothers.
spell 197 (273)

To "rise as a Ba" is to rise with great force & stamina, i.e. enduring strength and energy. As a spirit Unas enters heaven, but he is propelled by extraordinary dynamical power (Ba). In heaven, Unas eats the magic and gulps down the spirits of the deities, promoting his intrinsic principles : unity, witnessing & transcendence.

Spell 198 opens the doors of the horizon, so the king may move to the Imperishables.

King Unas will attain the limit of the horizon.
spell 198 (275)

Spell 199 introduces the East Wall, containing the protection of the East.

XII

ANTECHAMBER / East Wall (277 - 301)

PROTECTING THE EAST

Commentary

Like the East Gable spells in the burial-chamber, these spells, except the last one, are protective. Spell 223 does not belong to this collection and "closes" the antechamber texts. This is a remarkable spell.

It begins with the presentation of bread-offerings to the creator-gods of Hermopolis and Heliopolis. This is, ex hypothesi, done by the king. Nun and Naunet represent the primordial waters, undifferentiated & dark. Amun and Amaunet, the hidden ones, point to the remote, mysterious and unseen nature of this deep stratum of divine existence, whereas Atum and Ruti, the double-lion god, symbolize its completeness and totality. The latter are identified with Shu & Tefnut, the originator of the deities, and outside the primeval pairs.

The first two pairs (Nun - Naunet & Amun - Amaunet) refer to the Hermopolitan Ogdoad, presided by Thoth.

The actual names of the primordial deities of Hermopolis, the so-called list of the "paut" of Thoth are mentioned at Edfu, Dendera, Karnak, Philae etc. The oldest pictorial evidence of their form date from the reign of Seti I (ca. 1290 - 1279) in the Early Ramesside Period of the New Kingdom (Early 19th Dynasty). The list below is of the Late Period, taken from the texts of the walls of the temple the Persian Darius II (424 - 404 BCE) built in the Oasis of Khârga (Hebet).
 
Nun and Naounet : primordial waters ;
Hou and Haouet : boundless, undefined ;
Kouk and Kaouhet : total darkness, potential light ;
Gereh and Gerhet : absence, negation, potential creation.

The "inert" qualities of Nun are associated with the even pairs of gods & goddesses which form the primordial Ogdoad. Created "companies" are usually trinities or trinities of three (or enneads, nine being the original number to which a "head" is added), i.e. uneven, essentially unbalanced or dynamical. Nun & its ogdoadic matrix is without duality, split, generation, time, life, death. All is absolutely undifferentiated, finished & complete. In physical terms, we could say the world before creation is understood as absolutely chaotic, i.e. the measure of entropy is infinite (implying homogeneity and with no flux). In Nun there is no heterogeneity between objects. The asymmetrical balancing-principle (the two moving scales of the balance) characterizing creation is lost. Symmetry is maximal. The head of the Ennead of Hermopolis is Thoth, the god of writing, learning, magic, time, medicine & wisdom.

The last pair (Atum & Ruti) is Heliopolitan. Our authors depict precreation in terms bridging both Heliopolitan (Re) and Hermopolitan (Thoth) theologies.

The deities of precreation are nothing less than the self-creating sources of the divine as such. Here, glorifying the creator-god of Heliopolis, they are said to have a father ! This overstating view is thus in conflict with the uncreated nature of the primordial state. Indeed, on the one hand, nobody creates Nun for it represents "djedet", everlastingness devoid of beginning & end and, on the other hand, bi-sexual Atum autogenitor creates him/herself without a consort. Instead of being a theology, the spell apparently serves devotional purposes and/or is an overstatement bringing to the fore the specific unitary streak of Heliopolitanism.

The father of the "chaos-gods" (Faulkner's name for these preexistent deities) is called "the eternal" ("nehi") called "Horus who is over the stars of the sky". It is this aspect of Atum which brings Re, as well as the divine king, to life every day. If the primeval deities are the sources of the deities, then this "Horus" is the source of sources. In the mind of the Heliopolitans, ultimately, a single divine principle lies at the origin of both darkness (Nun) and light (Re). This monotheist core of Heliopolitan henotheism, present in its founding texts, vigorously manifests in the drastic New Kingdom Atenist reforms of Akhenaten (ca. 1353 - 1336 BCE), which will indirectly influence the rise of monotheism in Antiquity (first in Egypt by the theologies of Amun & Ptah and later in Judaism). Only two players are left : the sole God (Aten, Amun, YHVH, Abba & Allah) and His divinely inspired "intermediaries" (Akhenaten, prophets, son of God & Mohammed).

In this spell, the king knows the secret name of the supreme father-god, more profound even than the precreation, preexistent, primordial deities generating the gods & goddesses of creation. This supreme god is the power within both Re and himself !

The third and final part of the spell has a prayer :

Arise, great reed float, as Paths-Parter (Wepwawet), filled with your Akh and emergent from the horizon ! Take the crown from the great and mighty <foreigners> who preside over Libya as Sobek, Lord of Bakhu.

When You travel to your fields and course the interior of your mangroves and your nose smells the sweet savours of Shezmet, You should make my Ka ascend for him beside him, just like that coursing of yours ascends for You.

So, clean me !
So, brighten me bright in this Jackal Lake of yours, (O) Jackal, in which You cleanse the gods - powerful for You and sharp for You !
O Horus, Lord of the Malachite !
spell 223 (301)

CORRIDOR :

THRESHOLD TO THE IMPERISHABLES (XIII)

Commentary

These spells, like those on the opposite wall of the corridor, read from South to North, toward the exit of the tomb. Their function is likewise. The divine king has been tranfigurated in the horizon, in the place of Solar illumination, and enters the divine world.

Babi is a guardian of the threshold between both realms. First he draws back the bolt locking the doors of the sky at the limit of the horizon and then the king identifies with Babi to ascend to the sky.

In spell 228, we read how the sexual power of the king participates in the cosmic libido of Re.

"The integration of the spiritual and the instinctual level - the heavenly and the earthly - of spiritual power and overwhelming sexual fecundity is central to the religious consciousness that comes to expression in the Pyramid Texts."
Naydler, 2005, p.304.

CORRIDOR / East Wall (318 - 321)

THE PHALLUS OF BABI SAILS THE KING

229 (318)

by the priest

{To say the words :
King Unas is a Plait-snake, the bull who leads}, who swallowed his seven uraei and his seven neck-vertebrae came into being, {who gives orders} to the seven Enneads which hear the word of the monarch.

King Unas will come so that he may inhale myrrh and become beautiful with myrrh, (for) King Unas fingernail is full of myrrh.

King Unas will take away your power, You gods !
Serve King Unas who will assign your Kas.

230 (319)

by the priest

To say the words :
King Unas is a bull with radiance in the midst of his eyes :
the mouth of King Unas is hale with the fiery blast and the head of King Unas has the horns of Horus, the Lord of the Nile Valley.
King Unas will lead the god.
King Unas will control the Ennead.
King Unas will cultivate lapis-lazuli.
King Unas will plant the acacia of the Nile Valley, for
King Unas has tied the cords of the peppergrass,
King Unas has united the skies, and
King Unas has power over the southern and northern lands - the god of those in (his) presence, for
King Unas has built the city of the god in accordance with its proper due.
King Unas is the third in his appearance (with Horus and Re).

231 (320)

by the priest

To say the words :
Now that King Unas has cleared the night, and
King Unas has sent off the hour-stars,
the controlling powers will appear and privilege King Unas as Babi.
King Unas is the son of her who does not know him :
she bore King Unas to yellow-face, Lord of the Night Skies.

(He is) your greater, You Lords !
Hide yourselves, You common folk, from before King Unas !
King Unas is Babi,
Lord of the Night Sky,
the bull of baboons,
who lives on those who do not know him.

232 (321)

by the priest

To say the words :
O You (ferryman) with the back of his head behind him, bring to King Unas Seferet-hetepet which is on the back of Osiris, (so) that King Unas may ascend on it to the sky and King Unas may escort Re in the sky.

Commentary

These last spells see the return of the image of the bull :  the leading snake-bull, a bull with radiance in the midst of his eyes, Babi, the bull of baboons.

Finally, in spell 232, a celestial ferryboat is brought to the divine king. It is placed on the back of Osiris to allow king Unas to ascend to Re. A very strong image. An ascent by bark was already given preference in the book of ascension (the antechamber North Wall texts) and is consistent with Egyptian iconography throughout the dynasties.

In the Middle Kingdom Coffin Texts, the mast of the ferryboat, transporting the celestial travelers across the heavens, was called the "phallus of Babi" (cf. spell 231). Here, this boat is called "seferet-hetepet". These two words do not occur anywhere else in Ancient Egyptian literature and so the concept conveyed is confused. "Seferet" could be derived from "sefet", meaning "sweet" and "friendly". But "sefer" is also indicated, meaning "fabulous animal". "Hetepet" derives from "hetep", meaning "satisfaction" or "peace". In the sapiental texts, "hetep" or "hotep" is related to the inner truth of conduct, i.e. a life in harmony with Maat. If "seferet" points to outward mildness & kindness, then "seferet-hetepet" could mean something like kindness-in-peace or mildness-with-satisfaction.

"Seferet-hetepet" enables Unas to ascend.

Placing this ferryboat "on the back of Osiris", refers to the Duat and its Lunar spirituality. Are outward mercy and inner peace the result of a Solar illumination (in the horizon) facilitated by Lunar offerings, purifications & rebirth ? In the horizon, Unas acquired these and they allow his ascension and final role as protector & escort of Re ...