Social, Cultural, and Political Hierarchies in “The Tale of Sinuhe”
Mattias Karlsson
Social, Cultural, and Political Hierarchies in “The Tale of Sinuhe”
ii Abstract Karlsson, Mattias. 2016. Social, Cultural, and Political Hierarchies in “The Tale of Sinuhe”. vi+53 pp. Länna: utgivare Karlsson, Mattias. ISBN: 978-91-637-8243-5.
This study focuses on “The Tale of Sinuhe”. Its overarching aim was to discuss different kinds of hierarchies in the tale, while the precise aim was to describe how (power) relationships between the officials, the deities, the king, the people, “the foreign lands” (high and low), and women (high and low, and of all ethnicities) are portrayed in the tale and in other, related primary sources. The analysis was made through a philological investigation and with the aid of certain keyconcepts (such as status, function, and theme) and theories (such as gender- and postcolonial theory). As for the power relationships where the official is the active part, Sinuhe displays blind loyalty towards the king and submission towards the deities. In his relation to the foreign lands, Sinuhe develops from being helpless to governing. In the power relationships where the king is the active part, the king displays a duty to provide towards Sinuhe, he is both pictured as an equal and as a human being (although a very special one) in relation to the deities, and he appears as both a universal and regional ruler in relation to the foreign lands. In the power relationships where the deities are the active part, the deities are described as paternalistic and thus superior to the king. The deities decide Sinuhe’s destiny, but they are the actual rulers of the foreign lands only here and there, testifying more of a regional than universal claim of power. Regarding the power relationships where the foreign lands are the active part, the picture is similar and divided into two parts in relation to Sinuhe and the king. On the one hand the foreign lands are imagined as hopelessly degenerated and culturally inferior, while on the other hand the foreign lands are described as inferior but not beyond salvation, provided that there was an Egyptian influence. The almost non- existent contact from the foreign lands to the deities tells of cultural subordination and relativism. As for the Egyptian people, they are expected to be obedient and loyal towards the officials and the king, while they in their turn are the beneficiaries of “vertical solidarity”. Concerning the power relationships of women, women appear as subordinate to men. Goddesses and court women make up special cases, but even they can be seen as subordinate in comparisons with their male equivalents. Moving from sex to gender, the masculine dominates the feminine. By contrast, the latter symbolizes anonymity, passivity, physical weakness, and (passive) reproduction.
Keywords: Sinuhe, literature, ideology, propaganda
Mattias Karlsson, Master of Arts in Egyptology at Uppsala University
© Mattias Karlsson 2016
ISBN: 978-91-637-8243-5
iii Table of Contents
Preface v List of illustrations vi
1. Introduction 1 1.1 Sinuhe and his times 1 1.2 Aims of the study 2 1.3 Earlier research 2 1.4 Material 4 1.4.1 Résumé of The Tale of Sinuhe 4 1.4.2 The Tale of Sinuhe, literature, and ideology 6 1.4.3 Other primary sources 7 1.5 Method and theory 8
2. Social, cultural, and political hierarchies in The Tale of Sinuhe 11 2.1 Sinuhe/the Egyptian officials in relation to the others 11 2.1.1 The being and doing of Sinuhe/the officials in relation to the king 11 2.1.2 The being and doing of Sinuhe/the officials in relation to the deities 13 2.1.3 The being and doing of Sinuhe/the officials in relation to the foreign lands 14 2.1.4 Summary 16 2.2 The Egyptian king in relation to the others 16 2.2.1 The being and doing of the king in relation to Sinuhe/the officials 16 2.2.2 The being and doing of the king in relation to the deities 18 2.2.3 The being and doing of the king in relation to the foreign lands 20 2.2.4 Summary 22 2.3 The Egyptian deities in relation to the others 22 2.3.1 The being and doing of the deities in relation to Sinuhe/the officials 22 2.3.2 The being and doing of the deities in relation to the king 24 2.3.3 The being and doing of the deities in relation to the foreign lands 25 2.3.4 Summary 27 2.4 The foreign lands in relation to the others 27 2.4.1 The being and doing of the foreign lands in relation to Sinuhe/the officials 27 2.4.2 The being and doing of the foreign lands in relation to the king 29 2.4.3 The being and doing of the foreign lands in relation to the deities 30 2.4.4 Summary 31 2.5 The Egyptian people and women in relation to the others 31 2.5.1 The being and doing of the people in relation to Sinuhe/the officials 31 2.5.2 The being and doing of the people in relation to the king and the deities 33 2.5.3 Hierarchy and sex 34 2.5.4 Hierarchy and gender 35 2.5.5 Summary 37
3. General summary 38
4. List of references 41
5. Index and appendix 47 5.1 Discussed lines of The Tale of Sinuhe 47 5.2 Additions to the “Sinuhe-bibliography” 51
6. Illustrations 52
iv Preface
This work is a revised edition of the book (with the same title) that was published in 2015. The revisions in question are of three different types. One type is that of corrections, mostly of language. A second type is that of clarifications, in the sense of changing uncertain parts of the text in order to clarify a point. A third type is that of polishing. I have made some stylistic changes, e.g. in the arrangement of the table of contents, the removing of underlined headings, and the reformatting of the list of references. In the same pursuit of polishing the first edition, I have also added some illustrations, and I have (quite logically) translated my Swedish abstract into English.
v List of illustrations
Figure 1: An excerpt from Papyrus Berlin 3022 Figure 2: A picture of Senwosret I Figure 3: The pyramid of Amenemhat I Figure 4: A picture of Amenemhat I with the gods Figure 5: A map of Sinuhe’s movements
vi 1. Introduction
This book centres on the famous literary piece The Tale of Sinuhe and the different kinds of power relations (social, cultural, political) expressed in it. The first chapter of this thesis begins with some notes on the literary hero Sinuhe, it goes on with stating the aims of the study, and continues with an overview of earlier research. Therefter, some sections deal with the material of the study, while giving a résumé of the tale, discussing the literary status and nature of the tale, and presenting other related primary sources. The chapter ends with a section on method and theory.
1.1 Sinuhe and his times
The Tale of Sinuhe is generally considered a masterpiece of Egyptian literature (Simpson 1984, Lichtheim 2006: 222, Parkinson 2009: 2). It belongs to those texts from ancient Egypt which are known also by a wider public, albeit in an indirect, adapted form. The award-winning novel “Sinuhe, The Egyptian” by Mika Waltari (1990) is based on the character of Sinuhe, although being placed in a later period in Egyptian history. His book was later the basis of the high-budget Hollywood movie “The Egyptian” from 1954.1 Although the two Sinuhe (the one in the ancient sources and the one in Waltari’s adaptation) differ quite a lot, the character of Sinuhe remains legendary. Also the Egyptian Noble prize-winner Naguib Mahfouz (2002) has found inspiration from the ancient tale, and written a piece on the basis of it. Some biblical scholars compare Sinuhe with the patriarchs of the Old Testament (e.g. Bárta 2003). Sinuhe is “a resourceful man of his times, a prototype of the proper official at a time of rising prosperity in Egypt and its relations abroad” (Simpson 2003: 54). In the ancient tale, Sinuhe describes in first person himself as a courtier working for king Amenemhat I and the princess Nefru.2 After overhearing a message regarding the death of the king not meant for his ears, he flees from Egypt, and makes a name for himself in the Levant, experiencing foreign customs. In his mature age, he longs for his homeland, and his urgings are fulfilled when receiving a royal amnesty from the new king Senwosret I which makes it possible for him to return to Egypt as a respected person. As noted by Parkinson (2009: 21-26), the tale and Sinuhe’s actions are full of tensions between the ideal and the actual, it changes freely from one literary genre to another, and it even contains inner monologues. The tale is in other words a much complex and multi-faceted work well worthy of yet another study.3 The Tale of Sinuhe is dated to the early Middle Kingdom (2010-1875)4, to a time when Egypt underwent major socio-cultural changes, reflected not the least in the preserved literature, and telling of an emerging “middle class” in life and of a “democratization of the afterlife” in death (Parkinson 1996).5 Historic-politically, it was a time of change too, with the 12th dynasty-kings reestablishing royal authority throughout Egypt after the politically decentralized First Intermediate period (2125- 2010) (Quirke 1991b). The founders (and co-regents) of this dynasty, Amenemhat I (1938-1908) and Senwosret I (1918-1875), created a new political capital at El-Lisht,
1 This movie was nominated for an Oscar. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Egyptian_(film). 2 For a fuller résumé of the tale, see subsection 1.4.1. 3 For a presentation of earlier research, see section 1.3. 4 All dates given in this thesis follow the chronology and king list presented in Wilkinson 2010b: xvii- xxiv. They all of course signify “Before the Common Era” (BCE) and are all approximate. 5 As for the relevant dating, it may be noted though that the earliest preserved manuscripts of the tale are dated as late as to the reign of Amenemhat III (1818-1770) (Parkinson 2009: 21).
1 far away from the new centre Thebes but close to the old capital Memphis (Wildung 1984). The social, cultural, and political hierarchies were renegotiated from Old Kingdom-times (2650-2125), as a result of the troubled experiences of the First Intermediate period, bringing in “a dark side to perfection” (Parkinson 2002).
1.2 Aims of the study
In an initial and surveying stage of this thesis process, I noticed that The Tale of Sinuhe focuses a lot on (power) relationships of various kinds. Most prominently, Sinuhe’s relationships with the foreign lands (high and low) and the Egyptian king are focal points, but also the divine sphere’s bonds to and interactions with Sinuhe and the Egyptian king are often centred on. Two other groups of people, i.e. women (high and low) and the Egyptian people, and their relationships with Sinuhe and the others are also told of in the tale, although sparingly. The low profile of these groups is of course telling and interesting in itself. The much debated issues of royal deification, Egyptian “nationalism” or xenophobia, and the status of women in Egyptian society are highlighted in this dimension of the tale, focusing on power relationships. Deriving from this reasoning, the overarching aim of this book is to identify and discuss social, cultural, and political hierarchies in The Tale of Sinuhe. The narrower aim of this study, functioning as a means to fulfill the overarching one, is to describe how the relationships (in terms of power) between Sinuhe/the Egyptian officials, the Egyptian deities, the Egyptian king, the Egyptian people, “the foreign lands” (high and low), and women (high and low and of all ethnicities) are portrayed in The Tale of Sinuhe and in the context of other related primary sources.6 As will be apparent below, the disposition of the discussion chapter (see ch. 2) follows this narrower aim which focuses on the six agents, or “units of analysis”, in question.
1.3 Earlier research
The Tale of Sinuhe has been much studied by Egyptologists,7 something which the extensive Sinuhe-Bibliographie gathered by Lüscher and Lapp (2014-10-08) tells of. Several scholars have centred on publishing the text (e.g. Koch 1990), and/or on translating the text (e.g. Simpson 2003, Lichtheim 2006, Parkinson 2009). Some scholars have tried to understand the tale as a whole, others have focused on individual aspects of it. The former approach has been pursued e.g. by Baines (1982), Kitchen (1996), and Spalinger (1998) in their respective articles on hermeneutic methodology concerning this specific tale, as well as seemingly in the recently published anthology on The Tale of Sinuhe edited by Hays et al. (2014). As for the works which target specific aspects of the tale, not so few have had a philological angle, focusing on the narrative’s language (e.g. Foster 1982-83). Others have highlighted the structure of the text, focusing on the literary aspects of the tale (e.g. Assmann 1983). These works are generally not interested in the tale per se. Regarding works which target specific areas of the tale and which are indeed interested in the tale per se, the topic of Sinuhe’s relationship with the divine sphere
6 For these other related primary sources and the methodology of this book, see 1.4.3 and 1.5. 7 The following presentation of earlier research is nowhere from complete, but is simply meant to give an overall picture, suitable for this delimited study. For a fuller overview, see the Sinuhe-Bibliographie, and notably Loprieno 1988 (on Egyptian “nationalism” or xenophobia), Robins 1993 (on the status of Egyptian women), and O’Connor and Silverman 1995a (on royal deification).
2 belongs to those topics which have been well covered in earlier research (e.g. Parant 1982, Donadoni 1986, Barta 1990, Blumenthal 1998, Goedicke 2000). The related aspect of the pantheon pictured in the tale has also been discussed (Yoyotte 1964). A related topic focuses on the transformation which Sinuhe undergoes while leaving the foreign lands and returning to Egypt (e.g. Westendorf 1977). Goedicke (1990) even refers to a “self-realization” on the part of Sinuhe. Not far away from this topic, Stadnikow (1993) highlights the aspect of free will, and in the anthology edited by Hofmann et al. (2003) the aspect of altruism in the tale is investigated. Other scholars have centred on Sinuhe’s relationship with various foreigners. Allam (1986) and Goedicke (1984-85) e.g. discuss the foreign wife whom Sinuhe was given, while Derchain (1985) and Schneider (2002) focus on Sinuhe’s relationship with the Palestine ruler who adopted him, and Kitchen (1994) highlights Sinuhe’s relationships with foreigners in general. Yet other works have paid attention to the tale’s geographic (e.g. Morenz 1997b, Moers 2001) and ethnographic (e.g. Vandersleyen 1974, Westendorf 1986) descriptions of the foreign lands. Linked to the topic of Sinuhe’s relations with the foreign lands is the frequently discussed fight between Sinuhe and a Palestinian giant fighter. Numerous scholars, many from outside the discipline, have tried to understand this duel, among them Behrens (1981), Blumenthal (1983), Goedicke (1984a), and Fischer-Elfert (1996). Parallels to the fight between David and Goliath have been made (e.g. Bárta 2003). The interaction between Sinuhe and the Egyptian king has also been discussed frequently. Goedicke (1965) and Barns (1967) have both centred on Sinuhe’s reaction to the royal pardon which he receives in Palestine. The lyrical praising of the Egyptian king which Sinuhe gives in front of various people has also been subject of analysis (e.g. de Buck 1939, Goedicke 1985). The sayings and happenings when Sinuhe, after having returned to Egypt, faces the Egyptian king (with his queen and princesses) at court have also been much researched on from various angles (e.g. Brunner 1955, Derchain 1970, Théodoridès 1984, Morenz 1997a, Goedicke 1998). Related to the topic of Sinuhe’s relations with the Egyptian king is the much debated issue of the sudden and somewhat inexplicable flight of Sinuhe after accidently hearing of the death of Amenemhat I. Several scholars have attempted to explain why Sinuhe fled in this hasty manner or at all (e.g. Wessetzky 1963, Goedicke 1984b, Tobin 1995, Obsomer 1999, Morschauser 2000, Feder 2003). The Tale of Sinuhe has influenced some major works on the culture, literature, and history of (Middle Kingdom) Egypt. It is often referred to in the classical work on m3‘t by Assmann (1990), and it is also frequently referred to in the influential work on poetry and culture in the Middle Kingdom by Parkinson (2002). The tale has also been used to elucidate the early political history of Middle Kingdom Egypt, focusing on the transfer of authority from the murdered king Amenemhat I to his son (who is on the throne in the tale) Senwosret I (e.g. Wildung 1984, Jansen-Winkeln 1991). Leaving the narrow research field of The Tale of Sinuhe, a few words on earlier research in relation to the issues of royal deification, Egyptian “nationalism” or xenophobia, and the status of women in ancient Egypt need to be said, naturally because of this book thesis’ preoccupation with these hotly debated issues.8 As for royal deification and earlier research, the notion that the Egyptian king presented himself as a divine being was long held in Egyptology (e.g. Frankfort 1948). Now Egyptologists have arguably paid more attention to how much the chosen
8 The below presentation of earlier research in these areas is meant to give an idea of the ongoing discussions, and I do not claim that this presentation is exhaustive in any way.
3 type of sources directs the results in this research area. Earlier on, religious and monumental inscriptions were highlighted, but now many scholars tend to look at more mundane sources, and these paint another picture (Silverman 1995: 49-50). Goedicke (1960) and Posener (1960) belong to those who represent this shift, focusing much on literature and archival texts. Although looking at propaganda material, Barta (1975) still talks of the temporary, derived, and conditional nature of the king’s divinity as Horus on the throne. Nowadays, the discussion tends to focus on aspects and degrees, questioning the binary dichotomy of human/divine, as expressed in various anthologies (O’Connor and Silverman 1995a, Hill et al. 2013a). The idea that the king was regarded as a god when dead seems however generally accepted, being an important component of the myths of kingship (Goebs 2010: 284-85). As for Egyptian “nationalism” and xenophobia, these phenomena have also been “truths” in Egyptological research (Loprieno 1988: 1-13). It is possible that, once again, the tendency of looking at religious and monumental inscriptions has distorted the image. In propaganda texts, it is only natural for the king to belittle his opponents. Assmann (1996a), who looks at a broad range of and not so high-profiled texts, rather see family, city, and nome as the main identities of Egyptians. Arguably, in this unfortunate emphasis on propaganda texts with their unbalanced picture (Tyson Smith 2010), modern notions of “nationalism” and “racism” may also have played a role. As for the status of Egyptian women and earlier research, the notion that Egyptian women enjoyed a comparatively high status in Egyptian society has emerged as another kind of accepted “truth”. This notion relates both to women in general (Robins 1993) and queens specifically (Troy 1986). Nevertheless, the idea that Egyptian women, evaluated as “good” or “bad”, after all lived in a male-dominated society and operated under its laws has simultaneously been recognized (Troy 1984).
1.4 Material
In this section, I will firstly present the tale in résumé form, then discuss it in terms of a literary and political piece, and finally present other relevant primary sources.
1.4.1 Résumé of The Tale of Sinuhe
The Tale of Sinuhe has been preserved on numerous but fragmentary pieces of papyri and ostraca, arguably attesting to its great popularity in ancient Egypt. Departing from the eldest manuscripts dated to the reign of Amenemhat III around 1800 BCE, the youngest copies indicate that it was read for at least 750 years (Parkinson 2009: 21). Combining all these fragmentary sources, the tale has luckily been preserved in full. There are two main manuscripts for The Tale of Sinuhe. Firstly, there is Papyrus Berlin 3022 (abbreviated B) which dates to the twelth dynasty and which lacks the beginning of the story but contains a total of 311 lines. Secondly, there is Papyrus Berlin 10499 (abbreviated R) which dates to the end of the Middle Kingdom and which has the beginning of the story preserved but contains a more modest number of 203 lines. A third major copy has been preserved on a large ostracon from Oxford, referred to as “The Ashmolean Ostracon of Sinuhe”, which provides 130, partly incomplete, lines. This copy is however regarded as inferior in quality, and is dated to the 19th dynasty (1292-1190). Additionally, small portions of the tale are preserved on papyrus fragments and on numerous pieces of ostraca (Lichtheim 2006: 222-23). Regarding the structure of The Tale of Sinuhe, the manuscripts consist of 335 lines (R1-24, then B1-311), and these are then further divided into fourty “stanzas” and into
4 five “concentric groups” or parts (Assmann 1983, Parkinson 2009: 22). The tale is also contentwise structured, based on the shifting of genre, developing out of a “funerary autobiography” to “narratives of conquest and combat”, “eulogies of the king”, “a royal decree”, “meditiative prayers”, “ceremonial lyrics”, and in the end returning to the mortuary, autobiographical sphere (Parkinson 2009: 21-22). The first portion of the tale, and the beginning of the first part, starts with the titles and self-presentation of Sinuhe (R1-5), followed by a reference to the death of the reigning king Amenemhat I (R5-11). Then a narrative starts which places Sinuhe on a royal expedition (led by the crown prince Senwosret I) in Libya. The heir is informed and rushes back to the palace to take up the throne, while Sinuhe accidently overhears the news of the king’s death from the mouth of a royal messenger (R11-B5). Sinuhe embarks on a panicing flight without a clear direction (B5-21). Eventually he ends up, after having sneaked through the Egyptian border, in the Palestinian desert where he collapses out of thirst but is rescued by a nomadic, Asiatic chief who provides for him (B21-28). Sinuhe then travels in the Levant from city to city, whereupon he is taken by force to “the ruler of upper Retjenu9” Amunenshi10 and his court (B28-34). The second part focuses on the conversation between Sinuhe and Amunenshi. Amunenshi asks Sinuhe why the latter had went into exile, and Sinuhe gives a cautious answer of “half-truths”11 (iwms)12 as for the events in Egypt (B34-43). Upon Amunenshi’s question on the new reigning king, Sinuhe bursts out in a long, praising euology of Senwosret I (B43-75). Amunenshi’s brief, diplomatic answer is followed by Sinuhe’s narrative of how he was installed as ruler of one of Amunenshi’s main tribes, given Amunenshi’s daughter as wife, and granted a luxurious life (B75-91). The third part of the tale centres on the life of Sinuhe in this new environment. He raises a family, and is sent out on successful military missions by his new overlord (B91-109). Eventually “a hero of Retjenu”, appearantly a great fighter, comes along and triggers Sinuhe to engage in a duel, defending his new community. Sinuhe comes out as the victor and is embraced by Amunenshi (B109-147). Then what seems like an inner, prayer-like monologue is expressed, in which Sinuhe is longing to return to his homeland and be pardoned (even if stating his innocence) by Senwosret I for his flight away from the court (B147-173). A statement that the king miraculously heard of Sinuhe’s condition and sent a message to him ends this part (B173-177). The fourth part of the tale highlights the correspondence between Sinuhe and the Egyptian king. Firstly, a “copy of the decree brought to this humble servant (Sinuhe) about his being brought back to Egypt” is given in which the king welcomes Sinuhe back home, stating the latter’s innocence, stressing that the exile of Sinuhe was self- inflicted, and that Sinuhe should age and die in Egypt (B178-204). Sinuhe jubilates, and a “copy of the reply to this decree” is given in which he praises the king in a lengthy and highflown manner while stating his own innocence (B204-238). The concluding portion of this part tells of his heading for Egypt (B238-243). The concluding, fifth part of the tale focuses on Sinuhe’s return to Egypt. Firstly some notes on the arrival in Egypt and to the capital of El-Lisht are given (B243-247). Sinuhe is summoned to court and meets the king, the queen, and the royal children.
9 This locality refers to a part of Palestine and Syria (Simpson 2003: 57, n. 8). 10 This name is an Egyptianized version of an Amorite name (Simpson 2003: 56, n. 7). 11 Speaking generally, if not stated otherwise, I out of convenience follow the translation of Parkinson (2009: 27-43). Philological notes will be made in the footnotes throughout the thesis. Lichtheim (2006: 225) has the same translation of this term, while Simpson (2003: 57) uses the word “equivocally”. 12 A clear indication of this word’s negative connotations is the occasionally attested (Hannig 2009: 33) so-called “bad bird”-determinative (i.e. sign G37 in the standard sign list of Gardiner).
5 He is assured of his innocence in the eyes of the king who is encouraged in his stance by the rest of the royal family whose female members even make a performance which appearantly seeked to fill the king with mercy (B248-279). The story ends with Sinuhe’s telling that he was granted high titles, a luxurious life-style, and great burial preparations by the orders of the king (B279-309). His final words articulate well the tale’s happy ending: “I was in the favours of the king’s giving until the day of landing (i.e. death) came” (iw.i ẖr ḥswt dit nsw ḫr iwt hrw n mnit°)13 (B309-310).
1.4.2 The Tale of Sinuhe, literature, and ideology
According to Parkinson (2009: 3, 21-22), who have studied Middle Kingdom writings extensively, Egyptian literature can be distinguished from other texts, such as e.g. autobiographies, and historical inscriptions, due to its component of fiction. This of course places The Tale of Sinuhe firmly within the domain of literature, while the clearly fictive parts of it reveal its status of a pseudo-funerary autobiography. Among other identified hallmarks of literature are (lack of) function (Allen 2010) and intertextuality (Loprieno 1996c), similarly confirming this tale’s status as literature. After having stated that the issue of literary genres in ancient Egypt is complex and culturally specific, Parkinson (2009: 7-8) comes to the conclusion that the Middle Kingdom literary canon consisted of three main genres, namely of the narrative (or “tale”), and of two distinct sorts of “wisdom texts”, namely the “teaching” (sb3yt) and the “discourse” (mdt).14 As for the teachings, they are didactic and prescriptive, while discourses, which also include e.g. “dialogues”, are more reflective in character. There was “a great interweaving” of genres within texts. As for classifying texts, Parkinson (2009: 12) also sees a distinction between a “culturally central, high tradition” (represented e.g. by The Teaching of the Vizier Ptahhotep) and a “culturally peripheral, low tradition” (represented e.g. by The Tale of King Cheops’ Court). As for the genesis of this Middle Kingdom literature, Parkinson (1996, 2009: 6) argues that it evolved through social changes which created the class of “free commoners” who were wealthy and had a respect and interest for intellectual, literary feats. The “secular mode of discourse” and the “physical mobility” (as evidenced through excavations) of the literary works arguably underline this idea that wealthy and intellectual individuals sponsored literary creation, out of their own amusement, and largely irrespective of state interference (Parkinson 2009: 3, 13-17). At the same time, this literature activity was a thing for the real, traditional elite. Wisdom texts e.g. were both written by and meant for members of this elite (such as viziers), and all literature had to some extent the status of “court poetry” (Parkinson 2009: 7, 13-14). Regarding the nature and function of this Middle Kingdom literature, there are varying stances. On the one hand, there are scholars who have noticed the loyalistic tendencies of the works and therefore talk of propaganda (e.g. Posener 1957), and on the other hand, there are those who focus on the works as purely literature (e.g. Parkinson 2009). Talking of his studying of “cultural poetics” and dismissing what he refers to as “old historicists”, Parkinson (2009: 13-17) argues that the propaganda angle is “reductive”, and notices the differences between the relevant works and royal inscriptions, e.g. by claiming that the latter never refer to a king’s fallability while the
13 In the transcriptions of this book, I sometimes dare to “correct” the ancient scribes, i.e. when there are obvious scribal errors. These corrections are marked with the sign °. When papyrus B has lacunae or when it lacks elaborations, other relevant manuscripts (papyri R and AOS) are referred to. I use the clearer, smoother, and traditional transcriptional style, attested e.g. in Englund 1995. 14 As for The Tale of Sinuhe, Simpson (2003: 4) regards it more as a teaching than as a tale.
6 former do so, and that while royal inscriptions strive for “permanent perfection to eternity”, the literature instead looks for “eternity through humanity”. At the same time, Parkinson (2009: 6-7, 16) admits that Middle Kingdom literature was court poetry and a thing for the elite, and he also arrives at the conclusion that “nowhere is there any trace of intellectual rebellion or dissent”. Although containing descriptions of chaos, the social norms and order (revolving around m3‘t) are always confirmed. A similar approach is taken by Assmann (1996b) who regards the Middle Kingdom literature as “cultural texts” and as expressing the self-image of the Egyptians. Although the questioning of the relevant works as propaganda is surely legitimate, the circumstance that these were a thing for the elite as well as ultimately reassuring the existing societal norms do in itself tell of their propagating character. They were both written from, and had the perspective from, “above”. Consequently, it is not far- fetched to talk of propaganda and state ideology, especially since every state, whether ancient or modern, has a ruling class (not only consisting of the leader) which has a great interest in affirming and naturalizing the socio-economic-political order which works for their benefit (Althusser 1971). Perhaps, Middle Kingdom literature had the function of complementing royal inscriptions and iconography in that the former could “contain” the criticism which inevitably follows the act of governing. In any case, there should be agreement on the stance that the contents in Middle Kingdom literature represent only a small portion of the population, unsurprisingly those in positions of power.15 Seeing the textual works under study here as pure literature is just as bad and reductive as regarding them solely as pieces of propaganda. As recognized also by Simpson (1996), the preserved high-end literature from ancient Egypt should not be classified as either belles lettres or propaganda. This text corpus had propagating motives just as well as estethic considerations. Thus, it is surely legitimate to talk of a “literature of propaganda” (Simpson 2003: 5).
1.4.3 Other primary sources
Other related literary pieces can naturally aid in understanding The Tale of Sinuhe. These sources are here considered as “minor” while the latter is a “major” primary source. Regarding the selection of these minor primary sources, I found that Parkinson had already made a selection suitable also for my purposes. In his book “The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems, 1940-1640 BC”, he translates and comments on twelve other tales, discourses, and teachings (and gives fragments of other, less well-preserved works). The texts chosen are “those literary works from Middle Kingdom Egypt that are not too obscured by problems of preservation, textual corruption, or philological difficulties” (Parkinson 2009: ix). As for these other tales, “The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant” deals with a robbed peasant’s search for justice and good government (Parkinson 2009: 54-88), “The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor” focus on the adventures of a sailor tied to the Egyptian court (Parkinson 2009: 89-101), and “The Tale of King Cheops’ Court” is a cycle of tales, focusing on “wonders from the fabulous past” (Parkinson 2009: 102-27). These literary pieces are all characterized by their adventures and eventual happy endings. Regarding dicourses, “The Words of Neferti” is a prophecy delivered by an Old Kingdom wise man named Neferti (Parkinson 2009: 131-43), “The Words of Khakheperreseneb” is “a reflective monologue spoken by a priest to his own
15 Probably less than one percent of the Egyptian population is estimated to have been literate. However, as also noted by Parkinson (2009: 7), an oral background of stories can be presumed, even though he himself believes that the works under study here were restricted to writing and the court.
7 unresponsive heart” (Parkinson 2009: 144-50), “The Dialogue of a Man and His Soul” is “an internal dialogue between a living man and his own soul” (Parkinson 2009: 151-65), and “The Dialogue of Ipuur and the Lord of All” is a description of social woes to “a generalized representative of authority” (Parkinson 2009: 166-99). These literary pieces are all marked by a reoccuring sceptical, pessimistic tone. Turning to the teachings, “The Teaching of King Amenemhat” is a posthumous teaching spoken by the said king to his son and successor Senwosret I (Parkinson 2009: 203-11), “The Teaching for King Merikare” is a teaching spoken by a king Khety of the tenth Heracleopolitan dynasty to his son and designated heir Merikare (Parkinson 2009: 212-34), “The ‘Loyalist’ Teaching” is a teaching of an anonymous man to his children focusing on how to be in Egyptian society (Parkinson 2009: 235- 45), “The Teaching of the Vizier Ptahhotep” is purportedly spoken by a fifth dynasty vizier of the same name to his son regarding how to be as a human being and as an official (Parkinson 2009: 246-72), while “The Teaching of Khety”, sometimes referred to as “The Satire on Trades”, is a teaching by a man named Khety to his son regarding the great value in the scribal profession (and the low value of any other profession), a teaching later much used in scribal schools (Parkinson 2009: 273-83). Common to these teachings is their prescriptive and reconfirming tone. Some fragmentary literary works may also be relevant for this study (Parkinson 2009: 287-96). Among these are “The Tale of Neferkare and Sasenet” focusing on a homosexual relation between the king and one of his generals, “The Teaching for Kagemni” communicated between Old Kingdom viziers, and “The Account of the Sporting King” parts of which are related to “actual royal praise songs”.
1.5 Method and theory
Turning to the methodology of this book, some notes on definitions need to be made. The so-called “units of analysis” of this work (Sinuhe, the Egyptian deities, the Egyptian king, and so on) were identified in a surveying stage of the study, based on their frequent occurences in the tale, except in the case of women and the Egyptian people which I thought needed to be added in order to get a fair and fuller picture. I refer to “power” in its traditional sense, focusing on any individual’s or group’s formal and institutionalized chance of influencing political decision-making, and I also refer to “hierarchy” in its traditional sense, seeing it as a pyramid-shaped social structure, as opposed to the evasive notion of “heterarchy”. My subdiving into “social, cultural, and political” hierarchies covers my discussion on relationships, focusing on issues such as royal deification, Egyptian “nationalism”, and intersex power relations, thus paying attention to power structures both inside and outside the state proper. Regarding the actual carrying out of the analysis, the identified units of analysis are discussed in terms of their relationships with one another. When discussing these relationships, I centre on “status” (what someone is/are in relation to another) and “function” (what someone does/do in relation to another). Ideological, literary “themes”, such as “the king as the deities’ priest” or “the king offering to the deities”, emerge in the implementing process of “close reading” which consists of a careful reading through of the whole tale, paying full attention to philological (Englund 1990, Hannig 2009) and cultural historical (e.g. Assmann 1990, Quirke 1991a) details. Some words on the delimitations of this study also need to be said. Arguably, The Tale of Sinuhe is an enough long and complex piece to work as the basis of a book thesis. Other related works are however also relevant. A distinction between major and minor primary sources is here made. As evident in subsection 1.4.3, there are a
8 number of similarly dated, well-preserved literary works which can be brought into the discussion. Iconographical and archaeological data can of course also be relevant, but these had to be left out considering the restrictive premises of this assignment. As noted by the literary theorist Newton (1990), the interpretation of literary texts is not an easy task, and is full of pitfalls. Texts never “speak for themselves” as some anti-theoretical scholars seem to claim, but they need to be interpreted, with the premise that a made interpretation can never be considered final. New material can emerge, or the Zeitgeist (implying a shift in what “common sense” is) can change, with the result that the made interpretation is deemed obsolete. The humility with which one needs to approach a literary text is demonstrated e.g. by Spalinger (1998) who in his article gives an outline of the various Sinuhe-interpretations over time. Both Baines (1982) and Kitchen (1996) in their articles focus on the interpretation of The Tale of Sinuhe, and both seems to arrive at the conclusion that all ideological baggage must be removed before interpreting. Kitchen critically juxtaposes “scholarly method” and “trendy fashion” and calls for a return to the text themselves. The false notion that the texts can speak for themselves seems to be expressed here. Simpson (2003) earlier on labelled this minimalistic approach as characteristic of what he refers to as “the new British school” of Egyptian literary studies, to which Parkinson (2009: x) explicitly adhers, stating in the introduction to one of his works that he sought “the basic literary meaning” (whatever that is) in his translations.16 He also recommends “a suspension of modern attitudes” when reading Egyptian literature (Parkinson 2009: 17), a position which is obviously impossible to enact, since we can not change ourselves into ancient Egyptians or severe ourselves from our own time. Generally, claims of having interpreted ancient texts completely objectively,17 without interference from the thinkings of the modern world can not be taken seriously. As observed by Simpson (2003: 7) regarding many aspects of the translating of Egyptian texts, that “frequently, a translation is little more than an informed guess”. In line with a postmodern view on knowledge and research, I would instead defend the right of existence for theories to be used in the interpretation of also ancient literary works, provided of course that these theories are suitable (or “valid”) for the relevant research. To pretend that you are unbiased just because you do not use theories seems like an outmoded and positivistic idea to me. Furthermore, the caution that we should not apply modernity upon the ancient world is of course legitimate, but the distance between ancient and modern times need not let us capitulate and hinder us from coming as close to the ancient Egyptians as we possibly can. After all, they were humans like us, they lived on the same planet, and we need not over-relativize. Accordingly, I will take help from some theories in order to understand the tale better.18 In light of its focus on literature and power, critical theory (sociological branch) seems appropriate. It views texts as containing signs which tell of the agenda of the author. All morphemes (philology) and literary phenomena count in this type of analysis, which highlights the author-reader dynamics (Barthes 1967). Another theory which I will use is postcolonial theory, much justifyable in light of the topic of Egyptian-foreign relations. Established as a discipline by Said (1978), but drawing
16 This declaration of Parkinson is especially noteworthy considering his extensive and often quite far- fetched and figurative comments on the Middle Kingdom literary pieces. For example, the messengers reaching Senwosret I “at nightfall” tells of the symbolic chaos laden in a king’s death, according to Parkinson (2009: 43, n. 6). By contrast, Lichtheim (2006) both is and claims to be minimalistic. 17 In defence of Parkinson (2009: 17), I must add that he also talks of varying degrees of objectivity. 18 The following characterization of the chosen theories is quite sketchy, but I hope that their basic ideas will be more apparent to the reader in their usages in the discussion chapter of this study.
9 heavily on literary theory, it sees a stereotyping of “the Other” in a colonialist context, having the driving force to subjugate the described one. A final theory which I will use is gender theory. This theory is diverse, carrying several historical “waves”, normally counted to three. I here subscribe to the third, postmodern wave which highlights gender (or even sex itself) as a social construction (Bahrani 2001: 14-25). In my centering also on gender relations, the use of this theory seems self-evident.
10 2. Social, cultural, and political hierarchies in The Tale of Sinuhe
This chapter carries discussions closely deriving from the narrower aim of this study which focuses on the relationship between the identified six units of analysis. The chapter is subdivided (2.1-5) in line with this identifying. The focusing on women and the Egyptian people are made together, in a separate section (2.5), due to the relative scarcity of references to these units of analysis. In the first four sections (2.1-4), the discussions are each subdivided into four subsections. To exemplify, when focusing on Sinuhe and the Egyptian officials, I firstly discuss their “beings” (status) and “doings” (function) in relation to the king, then to the deities and the foreign lands, and the section then concludes with a short summary. Repetitive discussions are avoided through consistently reasoning from the perspective of the unit of analysis who is highlighted in the relevant section. In other words, the centred unit of analysis is active/agent, not passive/client. The last section on the relationships of women and the Egyptian people is due to its poorer data organized somewhat differently.
2.1 Sinuhe/the Egyptian officials in relation to the others
In this first discussion section, the relationships of Sinuhe/the Egyptian officials with the other units of analysis, in which the former are the active part, are identified. I will argue that there is a fundamental hierarchy between Sinuhe/the Egyptian officials and the king focusing on loyalty, and that there is a vast and essential hierarchy between the former and the Egyptian deities. By contrast, the relationship and hierarchy between Sinuhe/the Egyptian officials and the foreign lands are fluid and complex, although the main trend is to portray the former as the “bigger” and “better” part.
2.1.1 The being and doing of Sinuhe/the officials in relation to the king
The power relationship between Sinuhe/the officials and the king, in which the former is the active part, is fundamental and to the advantage of the latter. Sinuhe and the Egyptian officials are expected to be absolutely loyal and to exercise loyalty without a moment’s cease. The bonds between the king and his officials are described as very strong in the sources preserved from ancient Egypt (Parkinson 2002: 64-85). On the socio-political arena, their relationship is marked by a Konnektive Gerechtigkeit which prescribed mutualness in the interaction between the two parts, not the least expressed in the shape of loyalty from the officials (Assmann 1990: 58-91). Turning to the primary sources, before the death of the reigning king Amenemhat I, Sinuhe was a “follower” (šmsw) (R2), and he claims that “I was a follower who followed his lord” (ink šmsw šms nb.f) (R2-3). The mythological and state ideological concept of the “followers of Horus” (šmsw ḥr) may be alluded to here,19 explicitly expressed when it is said that “the falcon (i.e. the king) flew off with his followers” (bik ‘ẖ.f ḥn‘ šmsw.f)20 (R21-22). Sinuhe also claims the status of a “servant of the royal chambers (and of the queen)” (b3k n ipt nsw)21 (R3), of a “servant of the palace” (b3k ‘ḥ) (B204), or just of a “servant” (b3k) (B202). He explicitly states that he is
19 A title originally connected to the biannual royal tour throughout the country (Goebs 2010: 287-88). Parkinson (2009: 43, n. 1) however seems to view this Sinuhe-title as modest and unsymbolic. 20 It is interesting that the verb has the sḏm.f-form, thus expressing present tense. Plausibly, this may be an indication of the late dating of the B-manuscript, heralding Late Egyptian with its perfect sḏm.f (Foster 1982-83). It is less likely that it here is a matter of the Old Egyptian past narrative tense. 21 It is perhaps telling that the determinative of the first noun is the simple “seated man”-sign (A1).
11 willing to serve the queen and her children once again (B171-72). In Sinuhe’s communication with the new king Senwosret I, he starts to refer to himself as a “humble servant”22 (b3k im) quite frequently (e.g. B236). His words are “a prayer from a humble servant to his lord” (nḥ pw n b3k im n nb.f) (B213-14). In spite of his emphatically declared inferiority to the king, Sinuhe looks back on the life he fled from with longing (Goedicke 1965, 1985, Barns 1967). As articulated in the tale, loyalty was well-paid in terms of wealth given by the king (B174-75). This in a way emphasizes the great role which the officials, or “the elite”, enjoyed in “real life” during the third millennium BCE and beyond (Bárta 2013, Moreno García 2013). This loyalty was expected to be maintained in death. After the ruling king’s passing away, the palace is appropriately described as closed, quiet, and grieving (R8- 11). Still, the way that the king died, namely through murder by the hands of one of the palace guards (Jansen-Winkeln 1991), and the just described reactions to it, speak of the horror with which this breach of loyalty to the king was regarded. The effects from this sacrilegious act are enacted in the palace with its almost cosmic implications of emptyness, deep calm, and utter purposelessness, as indicated above. At the same time, Sinuhe is declared innocent in all this “dirty business”. The king says of Sinuhe that “you (i.e. he) had not cursed” (n w‘3.k) (B183), nor been put to trial in the officials’ council (B184), while Sinuhe in his turn claims that he was not “presumptuous”23 (ḳ‘ s3) before (B230), but rather that he was “acknowledged” (rḫ) in the land (B230-31), undoubtedly as an “upright” individual. He flees from the court not out of guilt but from fear of the king (B277-78) or out of a divine plan (see 2.3.1). When hearing of the king’s death, Sinuhe physically collapses (B2-3). After his recovery, he then flees like “a ruderless barge” (wsḫt nn ḥm.s) and passively gets “blown by the west wind” ([m] swt n imnty) (B13-14). The crucialness of the king and of kingship in Egypt (Dodson 2010), at least according to the official sources, is expressed in Sinuhe’s statement that “I (i.e he) did not think of living after him” (n ḏd.i ‘nḫ r-gs.f)24 (B7), almost as if the world had ended with the king’s death. As for loyalty and Sinuhe’s homecoming, Sinuhe “touches the ground” (dhn t3)25 between the sfinxes and in front of the royal children at the entrance to the palace in El-Lisht (B249-50), clearly telling of an effort to demonstrate humility. When coming to the audience hall, and facing the king sitting on his throne, Sinuhe prostrates and explains that he feels “unconscious” (ḫm)26 of himself in front of the king (B252-56), reminiscent of how he felt when he heard of the previous king’s death. It is as if the presence of the king affects Sinuhe in a physical, bodily manner, which naturally calls to mind the episode in which an official by accident touches a royal insignia and gets severely sick from this (Strudwick 2005). Anyway, Sinuhe proceeds by excusing his behaviour in front of the king through explaining to him that he did not collapse out of disrespect but because of the king’s pervading “terror” (ḥrw)27, like the one he felt when fleeing from Egypt (B262). Sinuhe repeatedly declares that he places his life in the hands of the king (e.g. B263). The end of the tale clearly reveals that Sinuhe’s function of loyalty is rewarded plentifully, both in his life and death (B279-310).
22 Simpson (2003: 63) and Lichtheim (2006: 231) propose the translation of “this servant”. 23 Literally, “high of back”. Lichtheim (2006: 231) here translates “haughty”, while Simpson (2003: 63) prefers the translation “stubborn”. In any case, the relevant personal quality is a bad one. 24 Once again, the Late Egyptian perfect form seems to be the one used (Foster 1982-83). 25 The verb can have the meaning of “to touch with the forehead” (Hannig 2009: 1057). 26 The determinative of this verb, i.e. the “negation arms” (D35), clearly expresses Sinuhe’s collapse. 27 A determinative of this term, i.e. the “man with the stick” (A24), tells of its coercive nature.
12 As for the relevant theme (i.e. loyalty) in other, related literary works, it may be problematized in “The Dialogue of Ipuur and the Lord of All” (Parkinson 2009: 166- 99), while it is certainly confirmed in “The ‘Loyalist’ Teaching” where the king is praised by an official (Parkinson 2009: 235-45), as well as in “The Account of the Sporting King” with its royal praise songs (Parkinson 2009: 293-95). “Loyalist instructions” form a vital component of Egyptian literature (Loprieno 1996b). In sum, loyalty is the key-concept concerning the officials’ active interaction with the king.
2.1.2 The being and doing of Sinuhe/the officials in relation to the deities
Turning to the power relationship between Sinuhe/the officials and the Egyptian deities, in which the former is the active part, it is clear that Sinuhe does not speak of his “personal piety” very much. Actually, only a few textual passages reveal the attitude of worship and profound inferiority on the part of Sinuhe in relation to his divine masters. Generally though, the relationship between the officials and the deites is often discussed in Egyptian sources (Parkinson 2002: 129-46). The overall picture tells of the officials as loyal devotees in relation to the latter (Quirke 1992: 7-19). Turning to the primary sources and the firstly attested example of the worship and profound inferiority in question, Sinuhe offers “praises” (ḥknw) to the falcon-headed wargod Montu after his defeating the giant fighter from Retjenu (B141-42). In Sinuhe’s subsequent longing for Egypt, he asks “the God” (nṯr) who triggered Sinuhe’s flight to be “gracious” (ḥtp)28 and take him home (B156-57), in “my (i.e. his) prayer for help” (mi m s3)29 (B160). It needs to be said here that the apparent singularity of the term nṯr should not be understood as expressing the belief in “one true god” in a monotheistic fashion, but rather as denoting the collective of gods and goddesses (Hornung 1996). Anyway, Sinuhe also prays to the Egyptian deities on behalf of the king, notably when answering the decree with the royal pardon. In this context, Sinuhe exclaims that he wants to serve the “Lady of All”30 (nbt r ḏr) (B171- 72), i.e. the queen in her role as the goddess Hathor or Sekhmet (Parkinson 2009: 48, n. 43), and be buried in the “cities of eternity” (niwwt nt° nḥḥ) (B171), i.e. the necropolis, implying his active links to an otherworldly, divine sphere of influence. Sinuhe is in other words clearly represented as being dependent on the Egyptian deities, positioning himself in a role of worshipper. The good standing with the deities was not only thought of as beneficial to an individual in his/her life but also in his/her death, with the ideas of the security of the tomb and of an otherworldy court headed by Osiris being present (Assmann 1990: 92-159). Partly being an autobiography in which the tomb owner calls out to the afterworld (Purdy 1977), the tale tells of the strong link between this and the next life (Parkinson 2009: 25). It also talks of the alleged “personal piety” of Sinuhe (Blumenthal 1998), a concept which generally is more associated with the later periods of Egyptian history and its understanding of the key-concept m3‘t (Assmann 1990: 252-72, Gahlin 2010). In any case, Sinuhe centres on worship and deep devotion when speaking of his “givings” to the deities.
28 The sacred dimension of this act is indicated in this word’s semantic and ortographic link to the act of making offerings, e.g. in its illustration of a loaf on a mat (R4) (Hannig 2009: 610-12). 29 Despite this translation, the first word is clearly a finite verb in an imperative mood (Hannig 2009: 341). Also the basic meaning of s3 as “back” (against which the worshipper can lean?) is noteworthy. 30 Literally, “mistress to the limit”, thus conveying a sense of the omnipotence of this goddess.
13 2.1.3 The being and doing of Sinuhe/the officials in relation to the foreign lands
The power relationship between Sinuhe/the officials and the foreign lands, in which the former is the active part, is much more complex than is the case with the two earlier ones discussed so far (see 2.1.1-2). At times the foreign lands emerge as culturally inferior, and at other times they can be much improved by “Egyptian civilization”. At times Sinuhe is dominated by various elements of the foreign lands, at other times it is he who dominates them. The relationship between the Egyptian officials and the foreign lands is also much expressed in autobiographies. Both in these and in the royal propaganda, the foreigners and their lands come across as alien to the Egyptian socio-cultural milieu (Loprieno 1988: 14-21, Assmann 1990: 237-52). Once again turning to the primary sources, in the first stage of the relevant relationship, Sinuhe flees in panic to the foreign lands (B5-21), and upon coming there, he is completely left out to their generosity and good will (B25-28). Sinuhe is then said to be “given from country to country” (rdi.n wi ḫ3st n ḫ3st) (B28-29), just as if he was passively moved around between different places. Also Amunenshi, the ruler of upper Retjenu who came to adopt Sinuhe, “carries off” (in)31 Sinuhe (B30), supposedly against the latter’s own will. For a long time, Sinuhe therefore comes across as somebody who is under the spell or mercy of the foreign lands. This kind of relationship drastically changes when Sinuhe is appointed by Amunenshi to be his main official, governing much of the relevant polity, in his getting “the ruler of a tribe of the choicest of his (i.e. Amunenshi’s) country” (ḥḳ3 wḥyt° m stp n ḫ3st.f)32 (B86-87). The shifting loyalty of Sinuhe is legitimate in his condition of exile (Pérez-Accino 2011). Sinuhe becomes the “commander of his (i.e. Amunenshi’s) army” (ṯsw n mš‘w.f)33, in which capacity he defends his new land from Syrians (B97-101), and in which position he attacks hostile, neighbouring countries in a ruthless way (B101-6). He also governs in a peaceful manner, e.g. by helping travellers who have experienced trouble within his country (B96-97). Sinuhe alludes to the possibility that he helped not only Asiatics but also fellow Egyptians, in the latters’ delivering their messages between the Syrian and Egyptian courts (B94). In all these activities, Sinuhe comes across as directing the foreign lands. His sons in their turn are each said to be “subjugating his tribe” (m d3ir wḥyt.f)34 (B92-94), and later on it will be announced that these will inherit the office of Sinuhe in Syria (B234-35). The role of Sinuhe as in charge of the foreign lands reaches its climax in his combat with the giant fighter of Retjenu. The latter emerges as somebody who dominates much of the neighbouring lands and who threatens Sinuhe with conquering what the latter has at his disposal, in terms of human and material resources (B109- 47). Sinuhe naturally comes out as the victor out of this duel, and he consequently seizes the people and goods which the pacified giant fighter of Retjenu had in his possessions (B143-47), thus extending Sinuhe’s authority and wealth (Behrens 1981, Blumenthal 1983, Goedicke 1984a). Although Sinuhe formally is under the authority of Amunenshi, the latter, as well as all the people of upper Retjenu, turn in unison to Sinuhe when facing the threat of the giant fighter of Retjenu (B113-34). In some way,
31 This verb also and tellingly carries the meaning of “installing someone in an office” (Hannig 2009: 84), an act which of course Sinuhe is the recipient of later on in the same passage. 32 It should be noted here that the word for “ruler” has the simple “seated man” determinative (A1), indicating that Sinuhe’s position of power overseas did not have a sacred status. 33 The semantics of ṯsw also include that of transportation- and garrison leader (Hannig 2009: 1036). 34 The coercive nature of this act is indicated by the “man with a stick”-determinative (A24).
14 Sinuhe’s victory over his duel challenger manifests him as the ruler of the Levant. As noted by Loprieno (1988: 41-59), Sinuhe here has the identity of being an Asiat. A yet new relationship is evolving after the duel when Sinuhe thinks of home, saying that Egypt is still the place where his heart beats (B158-59), and that “he has roamed the earth” (ḥw.n.f t3)35 and needs to stop this by returning to Egypt (B163-64), not the least because he states that it is vital for a man to get buried in the place where he was born (B159-60). This sudden rejection of the foreign lands may speak of a belief in the cultural superiority of Egypt. Following this insight, his eldest son is made to take over, while he himself prepares to return to Egypt (B238-41). Sinuhe will soon no longer be addressed by the Egyptian king like “any ruler of a country” (ḥḳ3 n ḫ3st nbt) (B175-76), but shortly he will be a part of the Egyptian community again. On his way to Egypt, Sinuhe is accompanied by some Syrians whom he greatly rewards and calls by name in thanksgiving after having returned successfully to Egypt (B245-46). Xenophobia is thus not conveyed even with his return to the homeland. At the audience in the royal palace of El-Lisht, Sinuhe is actually mistaken for a Syrian, when the queen and the royal children shriek at seeing him, apparently him still looking a lot like a Syrian (B266-68). The king thus introduces Sinuhe with the words: “Look, Sinuhe has returned as an Asiatic, an offspring of the Syrians!” (m‘t s3nht iw m ‘3m ḳm3m n sṯtiyw)36 (B264-65), while the queen refers to Sinuhe as “the North Wind’s son” (s3 pn mḥyt)37 and as “a barbarian born in the Homeland”38 (pḏty msw m t3 mri) (B276). After the audience, Sinuhe receives his own place of stay, and after getting there he is transformed into an Egyptian by his changing of clothes, hair- style, and so on (B290-95). It is much telling that Sinuhe describes himself as weak and “near to dying”39 (tk.n wi wḏ3) when he prays to the deities and the king for a homecoming to Egypt from Syria (B167-71), while he is by contrast described as strong and rejuvinated after having experienced the successful audience at court (B290). This process signifies Sinuhe’s “rebirth” and his return to his ethnic origins and true identity of being an Egyptian (Westendorf 1977, 1986, Parkinson 2009: 25), and manifests his own virtual and final “self-realization” (Goedicke 1990). As for this final development, Egypt is quite obviously recognized and portrayed as culturally superior in the long run for Sinuhe, even though it is doubtful that this stance ever gets accompanied with any xenophobic expressions. Admittedly, some sort of “national” identity can be extrapolated from Sinuhe’s narration. What is definitively clear is that the foreign lands are essentialized and subsumed into an “Other”. Tellingly, Sinuhe is made to bear the title of “governor of the sovereign’s domains in the Syrian lands”40 (s3b ‘ḏ-ḏ3wt ity m t3w sṯtiyw) in his reinstalling as courtier (R1), meaning that Sinuhe in a way keeps his status and function of superior
35 The destructiveness of this life-style is illustrated by the “arm with knife(?)”-determinative (D40). Also, the verb in question normally refers to the act of beating (Hannig 2009: 547). 36 Tellingly, all the last three nouns are determined by the throwstick-sign (T14), arguably expressing a notion of the genuine Otherness of the foreign agents in question. People of Syria and Palestine are spoken of either as sṯtiyw, pḏtiyw, or as ‘3miyw in the tale (Simpson 2003: 55, n. 1). 37 In manuscript B, the demonstrative pronoun pn is included. The north wind is seemingly deified through the writing of the word with the divine determinative which portrays a seated god (A40). 38 Simpson (2003: 65) and Lichtheim (2006: 232) talk more literally of “Bowman” instead of “barbarian”, presumably taking note of the word’s throwstick-determinative (T14), picturing a foreign type of weaponry. What Parkinson freely translates as “Homeland” literally says “the beloved land”. 39 Literally, “crossing (i.e. death) approached me”. The crossing in question of course refers to the funerary transportation of the mummy from the east- to the west bank (Quirke 1992: 141-72). 40 The translation of the first word is difficult, and “judge” and “civil servant” have also been suggested (Hannig 2009: 712). Lichtheim (2006: 223) also proposes “governor” in her translation, while Simpson (2003: 55) comes up with the translation “warden and district officer of the estates…”.
15 in relation to the foreign lands from his position in Egypt. Finally, Sinuhe has managed to reach his true “voice” and identity (Parkinson 2002: 149-68).
2.1.4 Summary
This section has discussed the power relationships between Sinuhe/the officials and the other three focused units of analysis, with the former as the active part. It was found that Sinuhe is represented as clearly inferior both in relation to the Egyptian king and to the Egyptian deities, although the latter is not spoken of so much. Sinuhe’s and the Egyptian officials’ duty was to be loyal and act loyally in relation to their king, while they also had the obligation to worship the Egyptian deities. As I will discuss later, this would naturally pay off for Sinuhe and his fellow officials, by them being provided for and by them being looked after, from the hands of their earthly (see 2.2.1) and divine (see 2.3.1) masters. As for Sinuhe’s relationship with the foreign lands, the situation is more complex. In the beginning of the tale Sinuhe comes across as completely in the hands of the foreign lands, only to be transformed into the one ruling this territory, an area theoretically under the authority of the Egyptian king (see 2.2.3) and ultimately under that of the Egyptian deities (see 2.3.3). Cultural superiority on the part of Egypt can be traced in the end of the tale, although xenophobia is difficult to detect at any stage of the tale. It is telling and significant that the aged Sinuhe comes out of the tale as directing the foreign lands from Egypt.
2.2 The Egyptian king in relation to the others
In this second discussion section, the relationships of the Egyptian king with the other units of analysis, in which the former is the active part, are identified. I will argue that there is a clear hierarchy between the king and Sinuhe/the officials focusing on the king’s giving of wealth. In relation to the deities, the king at times emerges as merely a human priest and servant in a divine office, while he at other times comes across as one of the deities, being on the same level on the hierarchical ladder. In relation to the foreign lands, the king variously claims to be a universal and “nationalistic” ruler. In either case, there is a fundamental hierarchy imagined between the two.
2.2.1 The being and doing of the king in relation to Sinuhe/the officials
As already stated, in the relationship between the king and Sinuhe/the officials, in which the former is the active part, the royal function of giving of wealth is very much in focus. This circumstance of course tells of a basic reciprocal relation in which the king gives material wealth to his officials while the latter provide absolute loyalty and support. The socio-political bond between the king and his officials is very strong in Egyptian sources (Parkinson 2002: 64-85). It is also very clear that if the latter are supposed to give loyalty, the former is expected to give provisions and security, in an atmosphere of reciprocity (Assmann 1990: 58-91). Reciprocity is a fundamental theme in the Egyptian concept of justice (Parkinson 2009: 49, n. 56). Turning to the primary sources, Sinuhe is manifested as favoured by the king in his two titles of “true acquaintance of the king” (rḫ nsw m3‘)41 (R2) and “friend(s) (of the
41 The use of the verb “to know” (rḫ) here links an official’s power to his closeness to the king. The following adjective of m3‘ of course brings to mind the pivotal concept of m3‘t.
16 court)” (smrw nw stp-s3)42 (R17). The king here blesses the official with his knowing of him, in some sense equating political influence with proximity to the king (Strudwick 2005). Sinuhe is also someone whom the king is said to “love” (mr) (R2), and the king is generally, in relation to his officials, kind and pleasant, as exemplified in the royal epithets of “lord of kindness, great of sweetness” (nb im3t pw ‘3 bnit)43 (B65-66). The explicit giving of material wealth is spoken of when the king is said to “make those born with him plentiful” (s‘š3w pw msywt ḥn‘.f) (B69). The royal children and the children of the high officials were tied together early on in the court, growing up together, in this way forming a strong bond of togetherness (Parkinson 1996, 2002: 64-66). Also royal children were involved in the actual governing of the state, as exemplified in the narrative of the Libyan campaign where the king’s eldest son (the future Senwosret I) is the commander (R11-13) and where other royal children are said to accompany (R23). Sinuhe however emerges as a non-royal offspring, simply being a part of the class of high officials (but see below and 2.5.1). As for the theme of royal providing for his officials after Sinuhe’s flight, in the prayer of Sinuhe directed at least partly to the king, the latter is asked to be “gracious” (B165), just like “the God” (see 2.1.2). The king’s royal pardon gives promises of a “bounty of royal giving” (3wt-‘ nt nsw)44 (B175), with the ambition “to gladden the heart of this humble servant” (ḫr s3w.f ib n b3k im) (B175). Later on, also the queen and her children are pictured as royalties who will tend to Sinuhe’s material needs (B187). In his decree, the king orders: “Return to Egypt!” (ir n.k iwt r ḳmt) (B188), and promises a rejoining of Sinuhe with the friends at court (B189), as well as a subsequent good burial in an exclusive location (B189-99). As for the latter, it is clear that the king was supposed to provide for his officials not only in life but also in their death. In this function, the king’s “kindness” (w3ḥ-ib) and the royal k3 save Sinuhe from a second death (B202-4) or from a negative reception in the West (B214).45 At this message from the Egyptian court in his exile, the humble servant of Sinuhe is in the king’s hands once again, although it is stated that the king “veils (Sinuhe’s) horizon” (ḥbs 3ḫt) wherever he may be (B232-33). The decree about Sinuhe being brought back to Egypt is only a reaffirmation in this regard (B178). The message of the royal decree in a way forms the core of the tale (Théodoridès 1984). Turning to the duty of royal providing and the actual homecoming of Sinuhe, the king gives Sinuhe a warm welcoming after him having entered Egypt (B243-47). While at court, the king addresses Sinuhe “amicably”46 (ḫnmw) (B253-54), and says that Sinuhe has come home and no longer bear the risk of getting buried by “barbarians” (B257-59). After Sinuhe’s words that his life is there to keep and take (B263), the king reassures Sinuhe of his good intentions by saying that Sinuhe should be a “friend” among the “officials” (srw) and be appointed as one of the “royal entourage”47 (ḳ3b šnywt) (B280-81). The king in this way proves Sinuhe of his good
42 The first word is a court title (Hannig 2009: 765). The respected status of the individuals who were privileged to bear this title is indicated by the “old man with staff”-determinative (A21). 43 Also the word im3t can tell of “friendliness” given from the king to his officials (Hannig 2009: 79). Lichtheim (2006: 226) in her translation rather talks of “grace” and “kindness” respectively, while Simpson (2003: 58) uses the words “well-favored” and “very gentle” in his translation. 44 The literal translation of 3wt-‘ as “extending (the arm)” gives a concrete picture (Hannig 2009: 3). 45 The royal k3 was considered to be a potent force in the royal inscriptions (Bell 1986). 46 Or (again) “friendly” (Hannig 2009: 649), telling of a personal bond between the king and his officials. Simpson (2003: 64) indeed uses the translation “in friendly way”. The translation of Lichtheim (2006: 231), i.e. to “greet pleasently”, provides another version. 47 Literally, “the inner of the courtiers”, again expressing the idea of proximity to the king. Both šnywt and earlier on srw give the picture of the high official as powerfully holding a staff (A21).
17 will (Derchain 1970). The queen in her turn gives her support in this decision-making by her performance (B268-79), while her children also show their support for Sinuhe by taking his hands, leading Sinuhe to the inner palace and his new home (B283-85). After Sinuhe having survived this ordeal in the audience hall, the king is said to grant Sinuhe “a house of a prince” (pr s3 nsw)48, containing luxury items and a number of servants, among them the most trusted royal officials (B286-90). Later on, a house worthy of a “governor”49 (nb š) and “friend” is being prepared for Sinuhe, a structure being built of exclusive material and by the most skilled craftsmen and architects in the land (B295-97). A “pyramid of stone” (mr m inr) is constructed, situated among the royal pyramids, and no expenses are spared in its making (B300- 5). Donations for a mortuary estate of Sinuhe, in the shape of e.g. lands and mortuary priests, are given amply, worthy of a “chief friend” (smr tpy) (B305-7). A costly “image” (twt)50 of Sinuhe, made out of gold and electrum, is fabricated for the mortuary sphere (B307-8), and Sinuhe is stated as “being in the king’s favour until the day of landing came” (B309-10), surely implying a continuous flow of material wealth. The hierarchically based providing role in relation to Sinuhe is thus much expressed. This royal role is also materially expressed in the town-planning and cemetery layouts of the Middle Kingdom, telling of a “provider state” (Kemp 1989: 109-80), although the uniformity and centralization of the period may be exaggerated (Bourriau 1991). In any case, the role of royal providing is a key-element in the tale.
2.2.2 The being and doing of the king in relation to the deities
The relationship between the king and the deities, in which the former is the active part, is quite complex. At times the king appears to be merely a primus inter pares, while at other times the king and the deities seem to be on the same hierarchy level. This is of course symptomatic of the thorny and hotly debated issue of royal deification in Egypt. The picture of the Egyptian king as a divine being was long an established truth in Egyptological scholarship. In recent years, the binary dichotomy of human/divine underlying this truth has been called into question, and the focal point now rests on variation, degrees and aspects in this complicated and multi- faceted topic (O’Connor and Silverman 1995b, Hill, Jones, and Morales 2013b). On one point, the primary and secondary sources seem to agree in the issue of royal deification, namely that the deceased Egyptian king were indeed regarded as having been deified. This general consensus finds support also in this literary piece. The death of Amenemhat I is described as: “The god ascended to his horizon, RN mounted to heaven, and was united with the sun, the divine flesh mingling with its creator” (‘r nṯr r 3ḫt.f RN sḥr pt ẖnm m itn ḥ‘ nṯr 3bḫ m ir sw)51 (R6-8). Later in the tale, the deceased king is also described as having “gone to the horizon” (wḏ3.w r 3ḫt)52 (B36). In other words, there is a clear notion of royal deification expressed.
48 Sinuhe is here likened with a royal son, or at least described as somebody who equals them in rank. The simple “seated man”-determinative (A1) is used here, thus expressing proper modesty. 49 Literally, “lord of the š”, perhaps of the mysterious ḫnty-š. The meaning of this title is difficult to determine. Lichtheim (2006: 233) proposes the word “courtier” in her translation, while Simpson (2003: 66) suggests the translation “plantation owner”. The common denominator for all the attestation contexts is that the relevant title implies some kind of service on the king (Strudwick 2005: 28). 50 Only to be expected, this word does not carry any clear divine connotations (Hannig 2009: 991). 51 The word nṯr is here written with the flag-determinative (R8), signifying divine beings. 52 Suggestively, the verb of this clause is also used to describe the sun’s movement (Hannig 2009: 248), thus expressing the close link between the king and the sungod (Quirke 1992: 70-104).
18 When it comes to picturing the status of the living Egyptian king, the derived image is far from clear however. A couple of royal titles arguably tell of the king as merely a human being albeit in a divine office. Firstly, the title of “(his/your/the) majesty” (ḥm)53 (R11, B217, B173) is generally interpreted as referring to the physical, mortal side and persona of the king (Goedicke 1960). This should be true also in the somewhat extended title of “majesty of the court” (ḥm n stp-s3) (B215). The basic and in a way “neutral” title of “(his/my) lord” (nb)54 (R3, B261) arguably does not carry any special ideological connotation, but simply denotes plain hierarchy (Silverman 1995: 65-66). The title of “sovereign” (ity) (B267) may similarly tell of the human holder of the divine office (Silverman 1995: 66), despite this word being written with two crocodiles in its determinative position (and not the simple “seated man”), potentially suggesting some kind of sacred status.55 Once, the actions of the king tell of a profound hierarchy between him and the deities, namely when he is someone “who willingly serves him (i.e. the sungod)” (b3k n.f ḏs.f)56 (B216-17). The role of the king as mortal priest to the deities may reasonably be extrapolated. This picture of the king as merely a mortal human being is of course also expressed in the “The Tale of King Cheops’ Court” in which the king’s image is quite unflattering (Parkinson 2009: 102-27). The king as a mere, fragile, and fallible human being also comes across in the two “royal testaments” (Parkinson 2009: 203-34). More often however, the living king is pictured as one of the deities in the tale. The king is throughout the tale referred to as “God” (B262), “this God” (nṯr pn)57 (B253), “great God” (nṯr ‘3) (B216), “that worthy God” (nṯr pf mnḫ) (B44), “perfected God” (nṯr nfr)58 (R13, B206), and “a God who is peerless, before whom no other exists” (nṯr pw grt nn šnw.f nn ky ḫpr ẖr-ḥ3t.f) (B47-48). This divinity is stated as being present ever since the king’s birth. The ruler has the status of king or “conqueror” (iṯ)59 already “in the egg” (m swḥt) (B68), and he is then presented as “unique” (w‘)60 and as “given by the deities” (didi nṯr) (B70). He is also indirectly identified as a divine being when he is described as super-strong both mentally (notably in his understanding and planning) and physically (notably in his warfare) in a long eulogy to the king given by Sinuhe (B45-75). Moreover, the king miraculously finds out about Sinuhe’s misery abroad and writes a letter with his pardon (B173-75), and he is even portrayed as “the great god who is equal to the Sungod in understanding” (nṯr ‘3 mitw r‘ ḥr sšs3) (B216). Thus, the extraordinary and unfailing personal qualities of the Egyptian king do in themselves tell of the presence of royal deification. It is noticeable that the title of “great god”, normally reserved for the sungod (Quirke 1992: 38), is here given to the king, clearly expressing the latter’s divine nature. The divine quality of the king is emphasized by associating him even more firmly with the deities. The king is “Horus the conqueror” (ḥr iṯ) (B218), and it is said that
53 Tellingly, this word is most often not written with a determinative connoting divinity (Hannig 2009: 566-67). This is certainly true of the title’s writing in this literary piece. 54 Although this word can be written with the “perched falcon”-determinative (G7), alluding to the king in his role as Horus, it is most often not written with a determinative connoting divinity. 55 This title is determined by two crocodiles (I3) and a seated king (A40). Possibly, a connection with the crocodile god Sobek is expressed. Still, the semantic range of this word does not tell of divinity. Moreover, it can also be determined simply by the king carrying insignia (A23) (Hannig 2009: 124). 56 In this relationship, it is the king and not the officials who acts as a servant (b3k). 57 The word for “god” can be accompanied by the simple stroke-determinative (Z1) in the tale. 58 According to Parkinson (2009: 43, n. 4), this title tells of the divinity of the king given at accession. Quirke (1992: 38) argues that it focus on the king’s junior partnership in relation to the sungod. 59 The coercive nature of this role is implied by the “man with a stick”-determinative (A24). 60 Interestingly, this word is simply written just with the “seated man”-sign (A1).
19 “the falcon (i.e. Horus/the king) flew off with his followers” (R21-22). In his five-fold royal titulary, the king of course bears the titles of “Horus” (ḥr) and “Golden Horus” (ḥr nbw), in addition to “The Two Ladies” (nbty)61, “He of the Bee and the Sedge” (nsw bity) (i.e. the prenomen), and “Son of the Sungod” (s3 r‘) (i.e. the nomen). In Senwosret I’s titulary, the king bears the name “Living of Incarnations”62 (‘nḫ mswt) in connection with his first three titles (AOS6-7), implying his unity with the named falcon god. The king is also hailed in relation to the “Lady of All” (Hathor) (B274), possibly alluding to the king’s status as Horus once again. While the royal women are associated with Hathor (B274), the king is connected with this goddess’ son or spouse, i.e. Horus. In the singing performance by the royal women in the audience hall, the potentially raging king with his uraeus on his forehead is pacified (B268-79), just as angry deities were appeased in the temples (Quirke 1992: 70-104). Horus is also represented as an independent god, standing free from the king (B207). It is of course also possible to see the king as merely stepping into a ritual role as Horus, rather than his appearing as an actual divinity in an essence-based way (Barta 1975). Concluding with talking of the king and yet other deities, or gods and goddesses in general, the king’s military power is likened with the corresponding power of “the Great One” (wrt)63 (B63-64), i.e. the uraeus serpent on the sungod’s forehead (Parkinson 2009: 45, n. 21), and his specific warfare qualities associates him with the ferocious lion goddess Sekhmet (B44-45). By the population (?) of Egypt, the king is stated as “being valued higher than” (ḥ‘ r) “their (i.e. the cities’) deities” (nṯr.sn) (B66-67), in this way actually putting the king above the Egyptian pantheon in terms of hierarchy. The king is even thought of as having power over nature, such as when it is claimed that the sun shines out of “love” for him, that the waters in the river are “drunk” (swr.ti.f) whenever he wishes, and that the air in heaven is “breathed” (ḫnm.ti.f) whenever he chooses to speak (B233-34). The king is here in firm control of all the elements of nature (Padri I Parcerisa 2012). More or less on the same note, the king is even pictured as making “men live on the breath of your giving” (‘nḫ.tw m nfw n didi.k) (AOS35-36). The Egyptian king consistently appears as having power over the divine forces in nature (Frankfort 1948: 143-212), and the king in the cult is seen as “preserving the universe” (Quirke 1992: 70-104). These last paragraphs combined clearly show the relevance of talking of royal deification. As shown not the least by the first paragraphs (and then by 2.3.2), this controversial issue is however much complex, with aspects, degrees, and roles closely linked to it.
2.2.3 The being and doing of the king in relation to the foreign lands
As for the power relationship between the Egyptian king and the foreign lands, in which the former is the active part, there is a common trend of seeing the latter as inferior to the former, although the nature of this inferiority is presented varyingly. On the one hand the king is represented as a universal ruler with obligations also to loyal foreigners, on the other hand the king is imagined as a regional ruler with obligations only towards his Egyptian subjects. The issue of the extent of the Egyptian king’s earthly dominion has of course been dealt with before. Although the king is presented in official sources with the whole earth to govern, there is a general trend of seeing
61 Representing the two goddesses, i.e. the snake goddess of Lower Egypt named Wadjet and the vulture goddess of Upper Egypt named Nekhbet, and the dual kingship (Goebs 2010: 283). 62 Or literally, “living in births”, a translation recognized also by Lichtheim (2006: 229). Simpson (2003: 61) similarly has “Life of Births” in his translation of this epithet. 63 As customary when writing names of goddesses, the given determinative is that of a cobra (I12).
20 the king as a regional ruler who views the foreign lands as chaotic and dangerous for his upkeeping of m3‘t on earth (Loprieno 1988: 22-34, Assmann 1990: 237-52). As for the former image of universal rulership, the king, here referred to as “the sovereign”, is identified as having domains in the Syrian lands, entrusted to Sinuhe (R1). Retjenu is explicitly described as being under the authority of the Egyptian king, in the manner of a dog’s loyalty towards his human master (B222-23). In his imperialistic ambition (de Buck 1939), the goal of the Egyptian king is to “extend the borders (of his land)” (swsḫ t3šw) (B71), to “subjugate the countries” (iṯ t3w)64 in various directions (B50, B71-73), so that “you (i.e. he) have curbed the circuit of the sun” (w‘f.n.k šnnt itn)65 (B213). The tale also alludes to the benevolence which the king displays to those foreign rulers who chose to subordinate themselves under him (B73-75). The king is generous to the Syrians who had accompanied Sinuhe back to Egypt (B245). All this arguably tell of the Egyptian king as a universal ruler, although the degree of inclusion and peacefulness of course can be called into question. However, there are several examples of when the Egyptian king seemingly presents himself as a regional ruler, having obligations only towards Egypt proper. The foreigners are here the hopeless and eternal enemies of the Egyptian king and state. Sinuhe refers to a royal, military expedition to “the Libyan land” (t3 tmḥiyw) with lots of enslaving and plundering (R11-16), the king is “descending on (h3)66 barbarians” (B53), “destroying (sk)67 the fugitive” (B56), “descending on Easterners” (R34-35), “his (i.e. the king’s) joy is to plunder barbarians” (rš.f pw h3t.f r pḏtiyw) (B60-61), and he is described as “begotten to strike Syrians and to trample Sand- farers” (ir.n.tw.f r ḥwt sṯtiyw r ptpt nmiyw-š‘i)68 (B72-73). It is natural to think here of the traditional, iconographic motif of the enemies of various ethnicities bundled up together (tied up and seized in their hair) and being hit in their heads with the king’s mace (Loprieno 1988: 22-34). Bound enemies of all ethnicities also decorate floors, foot-stools, and the like, intended to be symbolically treaded upon by the Egyptian king (Robins 2010: 364-65). Tellingly, in his military activity, the king is a “smasher of foreheads” (tš3 wpwt)69 (B55), and “he tramples” (titi.f)70 his enemies (B61). It seems apparent from the above quotes that there is no room for any distinguishing between good and bad foreigners, but rather the foreign lands are considered to be an uniform and inherent evil. In this spirit, it is argued that “your (the king’s) arms are mighty against all lands” (nḫt ‘wy.k r t3w nbw)71 (B218), and that “the fear of him is in the countries, like Sekhmet’s in a plague year” (wnn° snḏ.f ḫt ḫ3swt mi sḫmt rnpt idw)72 (B44-45). This brute and unforgiving attitude echoes the differentiated royal military treatment in “The Teaching for King Merikare” in which violence against Egyptians (here the Thinites) is dreaded while violence against
64 Interestingly, foreign countries are not as usual termed ḫ3swt but (like Egypt itself) t3w. 65 The coercive nature of this act is implied by the “man with a stick”-determinative (A24). 66 Even though it is not written with a “violent” determinative, the verb can carry this notion (Hannig 2009: 515-16), something which also seems pretty clear judging from this textual context. 67 The notion of violence is expressed by the “bad bird”-determinative (G37). This reflects the idea that violence was generally frowned upon in Egyptian society (Parkinson 2002, Lichtheim 2006). 68 The violent nature of the king’s acts is expressed (apart from by the semantics) by the “man with a stick”-determinative (in manuscripts AOS and DM2) and by the textual context respectively. Tellingly, throwsticks (T14) and the image of grain of sand (N33a) are used to describe the foreign sides. 69 The verb tellingly also has the meaning of “crushing” (seed, wood, stone) (Hannig 2009: 1011). 70 The imagery of trampling is clearly conveyed by the “two legs”-determinative (D54). 71 The coercive nature of this act is implied by the “man with a stick”-determinative (A24). 72 The idea of “fear (of the king)” belongs to the standard imagery. The fearsome, destructive aspect of the lion goddess Sekhmet is alluded to in the sentence’s later part (Parkinson 2009: 45, n. 18).
21 foreigner is regarded as natural (Parkinson 2009: 212-34). All these examples clearly demonstrate that the Egyptian king’s imperialism had its limits in terms of inclusion and universalism. Lastly, “The Walls of the Ruler” (inbw ḥḳ3)73 (B17), a chain of fortresses along the north-eastern border (Agam 1982), only reinforces this impression as they carry the telling and supplementary name “which were made to beat back the Syrians” (iry r ḫsf sṯtiyw)74 (B17). The regional or particularistic rulership of the Egyptian king undoubtedly seems to be stronger articulated than his universal one, possibly pointing to the presence of a “national” identity of a kind. The juxtaposing of a “Self” and an “Other” in an ethnicity context is surely there.
2.2.4 Summary
This section has discussed the power relationships between the king and the other three focused units of analysis, with the former as the active part. It was found that there is a fundamental hierarchy between the king and Sinuhe/the officials, with the former having the duty to paternalistically provide for his officials both in life and death, in return for their loyal service (see 2.1.1). In relation to the deities, the living king comes across as variously a primus inter pares who humbly serves his divine masters while being a human being albeit in a divine office. He also emerges as a real god within the Egyptian pantheon, being born divine, being equivalent to deities in various respects, and having great power over the divine forces in nature. The deceased king is by contrast consistently presented as a being of a divine essence, here as elsewhere in the preserved sources from ancient Egypt. In relation to the foreign lands, the Egyptian king variously presents himself as a universal ruler, then having obligations also to his foreign territiories and subjects, but at other times also as a regional ruler, having only Egypt and the “Egyptians” to care about, and having the foreigners as the eternal, unchanging enemies in the style of the well-known stereotypical imagery chiselled out in the royal inscriptions and iconography.
2.3 The Egyptian deities in relation to the others
In this third discussion section, the relationships of the deities with the other units of analysis, in which the former are the active part, are identified. I will argue that the deities shape the life of Sinuhe in different ways and stages, thus manifesting their great power, that the deities come across as rulers of Egypt and as protectors and life- givers to the king, and that the deities sometimes are referred to as owning and ruling the foreign lands. In all three cases, there are clear hierarchies expressed, with the Egyptian deities being the natural, superior part of the relevant relationship.
2.3.1 The being and doing of the deities in relation to Sinuhe/the officials
In this subsection, it will be shown that there is a fundamental hierarchy expressed between the deities and Sinuhe/the officials where the former are the active part. It is in the context of the tale’s discussing the causes for Sinuhe’s sudden flight that the relationship in question is topicalized. Most often, the deities, or simply “the God”, is described as having made Sinuhe flee. The role and implication of divine intervention
73 The Egyptian king (the master builder of these walls) is here also described as a “ruler”. The Egyptian profile of this title is safeguarded by the associated “perched falcon”-determenative (G7). 74 The coercive nature of this act is implied by the “man with a stick”-determinative (A24).
22 in human affairs is quite often a theme in the sources of Egyptian officials, whether in teachings, autobiographies, or elsewhere (Parkinson 2002: 129-46). The divine element is naturally seen as the superior part in this relationship, having the power to (re)form an individual’s life, both in this life and in the next (Quirke 1992: 105-71). The flight of Sinuhe is the centre point of the theme of the deities’ active involvement in Sinuhe’s life (Wessetzky 1963, Donadoni 1986, Obsomer 1999). The named “God” is here the one who fated Sinuhe’s flight, according to Sinuhe himself (B156-57, B229). He further states that “he (i.e. “God”) compelled (me) (i.e. Sinuhe) to live in a foreign country” (dḳr.n.f r ‘nḫ ḥr ḫ3st)75 instead of in Egypt (B162), and that his flight was “like a plan of God” (mi sḫr nṯr)76 (B43). It is thus pretty clear that the deities are imagined as directing Sinuhe’s adventures. Sinuhe also claims that “he (i.e. “God”) made him helpless” (sfn.n.f)77 in the context of his alluding to his panic- stricken fleeing away from Egypt (B161). This of course tells of the restricted freedom in thought and deed of Sinuhe, as these are circumvented by the deities (Stadnikow 1993). The relevant theme is naturally related to the issue of “theodicy”, a feature which is quite commonly expressed in Middle Kingdom literature (Parkinson 2002: 130-38). Sinuhe’s references to the deities’ interaction have been interpreted as the expressing of critique regarding the divine decisions on the flight (Barta 1990). Sometimes Sinuhe’s own “heart” (ib) is said to be the responsible part, and since the heart of humans was considered not only as a source of suffering, emotions, and conflict, as typically expressed in e.g. “The Words of Khakheperreseneb” (Parkinson 2009: 144-50), but also as receptive to the divinely established ethics of m3‘t (Assmann 1990: 122-59) and thus constituting a direct link to the divine sphere, the message of divine involvement remains the same. This belief is paralleled not the least in “The Dialogue of a Man and His Soul” with its juxtapositioning of human and divine elements (Parkinson 2009: 151-65). Sinuhe elaborates on the heart theme and says that he is the one “whose heart led him astray to strange countries”78 (th.n ib.f r ḫ3swt ḏrḏrwt)79 (B202). The Egyptian king on his part stresses that Sinuhe’s flight was “at the counsel of your own heart” (ẖr sḥ n ib.k)80 (B182-83), although he seems to focus more on that he himself did not do anything wrong in the process rather than truly aiming at identifying the relevant causes (Goedicke 1984b). The king emphatically adds that Sinuhe should “not act against yourself (i.e. himself) any more” (m ir r.k m ir r.k gr) by being away from Egypt (B259). Although the flight is also stated as basically inexplicable (B223-29) or as caused by Sinuhe’s “ignorance” (ḫm) (B205), the main trend says that the deities directed Sinuhe (Bommer 2014).81 Moving on to the situation long after the flight, the deities’ seemingly inexplicable doom of exiling Sinuhe is suddenly altered after Sinuhe’s defeat of the giant of
75 The moral dimension of this act (dḳr) is expressed in this word’s meaning of “exercising moral pressure” (Hannig 2009: 1061), emphasizing the sublimity of the divine agent. 76 The notion of deliberation on the part of the deities is evident in the noun sḫr (Hannig 2009: 811-12). 77 Sinuhe’s state of incapacity is expressed in the word’s “bad bird”-determinative (G14). Lichtheim (2006: 228) similarly talks of being “punished” (by being sent into exile), while Simpson (2003: 60) translates the relevant expression with the deities having made Sinuhe “miserable”. 78 The word translated as “strange” in fact means “foreign” or “hostile” (Hannig 2009: 1088). 79 The verb’s leg-determinatives (D56, D54) tell of the practical meaning of “treading over”. The word in question also expresses the concept of “commiting sin” (Hannig 2009: 1008). 80 In manuscript AOS, also Sinuhe deliberates through sḫrw, it being a non-exclusively divine notion. 81 An attempt to explain the flight of Sinuhe in the New Kingdom copies, focusing on the beings and doings of an alleged father of Sinuhe, has also been made in previous research (Feder 2003). An idea on the “reasoned” flight of Sinuhe has also been proposed (Morschauser 2000), and the notion of a “secret of Sinuhe” similarly carries the idea of Sinuhe behaving perfectly rational (Tobin 1995).
23 Retjenu and after Sinuhe’s praying to the above for a homecoming. By letting Sinuhe win the duel, the God has manifested himself as “gracious to one (i.e. Sinuhe) with whom he was offended”82 (ḥtp n ṯs.n.f im.f) (B148), and the God’s heart is stated as “satisfied”83 (i‘) against “the one whom he led astray” (th.n.f) (B148-49). By allowing Sinuhe to come home, the God gives “grace” (ḥtp) and heals the heart of Sinuhe (B160-62). It is just as if Sinuhe is forgiven by the God after his defeat of the giant of Retjenu, after his many years in exile, and after his prayer of homecoming (Parant 1982, Goedicke 2000). In any case, the idea that Sinuhe’s life ultimately is in the hands of the deities is consistently expressed in the tale. This idea is also conveyed in the imagery of the weaving goddess Tayet (Parkinson 2009: 48, n. 49) as actively engaged in the prospective, luxury mummification of Sinuhe (B191-92). Lastly, the idea of the protective and omnipotent force of the deities in relation to Sinuhe is succinctly told of in his name “Son of the Sycomore (i.e. Hathor)” (s3 nht)84 (e.g. R2).
2.3.2 The being and doing of the deities in relation to the king
In the relationship between the deities and the king where the former are the active part, the relevant power relationship is not quite so complex as it is when the latter is the active part (see 2.2.2). The deities are imagined as the rulers of the earth as well as over the cosmos, and the hierarchically based divine role of protecting and granting life to the king is formulated. In other words, the picture of the king with the status and function of a god is here viewed with the image of the king being paternalistically protected by the deities. As already stated, the once uncontroversial issue of royal deification is now very much up for debate, focusing on variation, aspects, and degrees (O’Connor and Silverman 1995b, Hill, Jones, and Morales 2013b). As for the status and function of the Egyptian deities as ruling also over Egypt and not just over the cosmic space and sphere, the sungod is referred to as “lord of the two lands (i.e. Egypt)” (nb t3wy) (B273), while Montu is the “lord of Thebes” (nb w3st) (B206), and Amon is the “lord of the thrones of the two lands” (nb gwt t3wy) (B206- 7).85 It is noticeable that both the sungod (B273) and the king (B206) are presented with the firstly mentioned title in the tale. The close bonds between the king and the sungod are of course no surprise, not the least when considering that the latter was regarded as the former’s son and when paying attention to the creation myth which states that the ruling sungod withdraw from the earth after a rebellion and instead vested his authority in the earthly bound Egyptian king (Goebs 2010: 284-85). Nevertheless, with this title it is as if the gods yet again rule Egypt, having brought back the primordial scene. Nevertheless, the idea of the sungod as ruling over Egypt, thus guaranteeing the success of the cyclical, cosmical process, and then handing this duty over to the king (i.e. the son of the sungod) seems fundamental and characteristic of Egyptian thought (Assmann 1990: 160-236). There was still a distinction between “power in heaven” and “power on earth” in Egyptian religion (Quirke 1992: 21-69). The king was the priest of the sungod (Assmann 1970), being responsible for keeping the bond between cosmos and the Egyptian state (Assmann 1990: 201-36).
82 Lichtheim (2006: 228) similarly uses the translation “angry (at)”, while Simpson (2003: 60) has the translation “blamed”. All these translations are very figurative, since the verb in question semantically stays within the limits of its literal meaning “to tie” (Hannig 2009: 1034-35). 83 Literally, “washed away”, as indicated by the waterlines-determinative (N35a). 84 Sinuhe’s personal name is written with the simple “seated man”-determinative (A1). 85 Unsurprisingly, Amon’s, and earlier on Montu’s, name has the falcon-determinative (G7), indicating divine essence. The title “lord” is by contrast free from any determinatives here.
24 The deities are consistently represented as above the king in their roles of protecting and giving life to the latter. As for the protective function, the royal k3 is said to be greatly valued by the sungod and Montu (B205-6), a goddess is asked to “enfold your (i.e. the king’s) head”86 (ẖnm tp.k) (B208-9), and the sungod is asked to “be gracious” towards the king (B273), all in Sinuhe’s prayers. The superiority and protectiveness of the deities in relation to the king are also expressed in the royal birth- and throne names, such as in Amenemhat, Senwosret, and Kheperkara, all expressing the elevation of the deities in relation to everyone else, the king included. The royal titles of “Horus” and “Two Ladies” (B179) also convey this protective function, in that the deities in question often are portrayed spreading their protecting wings over the king, like for example Horus does in the statuary of Khefren (Quirke 1992: 52-104, Goebs 2010: 284-85). All these observations show that the king is in most cases regarded as a mortal albeit in a divine office (Goedicke 1960, Posener 1960), thus contrasting the picture derived above in 2.2.2. An even more drastic way of illustrating the identified hierarchy is to focus on the expressed role of the deities as giving life to the king. The royal title of “son of Re” is of course a prominent expression of this theme (B179), telling of a metaphorical bond (of divine protection) and of a subordinate royal position (Posener 1960: 34-35). Moreover, in Sinuhe’s repeated prayers for the well-being of the king, the latter is asked “to live for all time and eternity” (‘nḫ ḏt r nḥḥ) (B180), a number of deities (referred to by the personal pronoun sn in the following quote) are asked to “give life and dominion to your (i.e. the king’s) nostrils, endow you (i.e him) with bounty, give you (i.e. him) eternity without limit, all time without end”87 (di.sn ‘nḫ w3s r fnd.k ẖnm.sn tw m 3wt-‘.sn di.sn n.k nḥḥ n ḏrw.f ḏt nn ḥnty.s) (B206-12), and cause “fear (of him)” (snḏ) in all lands and countries (B212-13), while a few deities are asked to love “these your (i.e. the king’s) noble nostrils” (fnd.k pw špss)88 which Montu is said to wish to live forever (B236-38), and Hathor is asked to “give life to” (di ‘nḫ r) and to “enfold” (ẖnm) the king, in this goddess’ roles of “Golden One” (nbw) and “Lady of Stars” (nbt sb3w) respectively (B270-71). The giving of air (and life) is now described as received by, and not granted by, the king. This giving of life (among other gifts, such as health and prosperity) is also illustrated in royal iconography, where the deities present the sign for life (S34) to the king (Robins 2010: 364). The deities are believed to have the power not only to grant life, but they could also take life away, thus ending the king’s life. The murder of Amenemhat I is occasionally hinted at in the tale, and once it is even imagined as having been predetermined by the deities. These allusions of course bring to mind the story in “The Teaching of King Amenemhat” in which the named king speaks to his heir and son posthumously after his being assassinated in his sleep by a treacherous palace guard (Parkinson 2009: 203-11). The abrupt death of the named king is “the affair which had happened in the Audience Hall”89 (sšm ḫpr m-di ẖnwty) (R18-19), and it is
86 Simpson (2003: 62) and Lichtheim (2006: 230) use the same translation of the verb. Tellingly, the notion of “granting” (e.g. insignia?) is within the semantic range of the word (Hannig 2009: 686-87). 87 Rather unexpectedly, Lichtheim (2006: 230) translates w3s not as the established “dominion” but as “joy”, arguably picking up on this word’s connotation of “luck (in ruling)” (Hannig 2009: 189). Simpson (2003: 63) has yet another version in his choice of the term “prosperity”. 88 The adjective, with its determinative of a noble seated on a chair (A50), indicates an elevated but not necessarily divine nature of the described individual (Hannig 2009: 881). 89 The numerous ways of interpreting the first word (Hannig 2009: 828-31) makes it difficult to establish firmly what is referred to here. Lichtheim (2006: 224) talks of “the event”, while Simpson (2003: 55) speaks of “the affairs which had taken place in the council chamber”.
25 later spoken of as “that what he (i.e. “the God”?) had ordained” (š3t.n.f)90 (B51). The elevation of the deities in relation to the king can not be more powerfully expressed than this, with the Egyptian deities having the power to end a king’s life. This observation naturally complicates the image of royal deification present in 2.2.2. This image of the mortal king is just on the side to the main message of the teaching, namely that the new king and dynasty is the legitimate one (Posener 1957). As for the king’s essence, many aspects were believed to be embodied in the king: “the human holder of the office, the office itself, the divine element, the administrator, the military, etc.” (Silverman 1995: 66), thus revealing this issue’s complexity.
2.3.3 The being and doing of the deities in relation to the foreign lands
The relationship between the deities and the foreign lands, in which the former is the active part, is not frequently discussed in the tale, although the superiority of the former in relation to the latter naturally stands clear, notably through the imagery of the deities owning and ruling these lands. In both “official” and “private” sources from ancient Egypt, the theme of the Egyptian deities interacting with the foreign lands is comparatively rare, being limited to conveying the notion of a theoretical dominion in the earthly sphere (Assmann 1990: 237-52, Quirke 1992: 173-85). Turning to the primary sources, the toponym referred to as “the Red Mountain” (ḏw dšr), equivalent to modern Gebel al-Ahmar (Hannig 2009: 1209), situated in the desert somewhat to the east of Heliopolis and Memphis and containing the remains of an ancient quarry (Parkinson 2009: xxxiii, 44, n. 10), is said to have Hathor as its mistress when it is stated that she is the “Lady” (nbt) over it (B15), thereby manifesting the dominion of an Egyptian deity over foreign territiories, i.e. “the Red Land” as opposed to “the Black Land” of Egypt proper (Loprieno 1988: 1-13). Similarly, a “Sopdu-Neferbau-Semseru the eastern Horus” (spdw-nfrb3w-smsrw ḥr i3bty)91 (B208) and a “Min-Horus in the midst of countries” (mnw-ḥr ḥry-ib ḫ3swt) (B209) are spoken of, again pointing to the idea that Egyptian deities controlled overseas areas. Of these compound deities, the former god was associated with the eastern desert, while the latter god was regarded as a patron of foreign countries (Parkinson 2009: 49, n. 55). This control over the foreign or “red” lands was however not absolute, since the foreign deities of the Mediterranean islands and the goddess Wereret, the “Lady of Punt” (nbt pwnt), are also referred to (B209-11). This note on the Egyptian deities abroad is indicative of a practical limit of the purported world- wide authority of the Egyptian pantheon (Quirke 1992: 173-85). The heterogenity of the enumerated deities thus conveys a fragmented image, although attempts have been made to see the enumeration as expressing the notion of totality (Yoyotte 1964). In a few instances, the Egyptian deities are described as actively ruling the foreign lands. Sinuhe exclaims that the sungod has “put respect” (di snḏ)92 for the king in the land as well as “terror of you (i.e. him) in every country” (ḥrw.k m ḫ3st nbt)93 (B231- 32), and “the God” apparently fated the defeat of the giant of Retjenu in his fight with Sinuhe (B126-27). These examples point to the notion that the Egyptian deities not only owned but also governed the foreign lands. Taken together though, although a
90 The verb of this relative form clearly express the notion of establishing fates (Hannig 2009: 866-67). 91 The determinative illustrating three hills (N25), and signifying the Otherness of the foreign lands in contrast to the plain and fertile land of Egypt, is used to express the word “Eastern”. 92 As usual for the relevant noun, “respect/fear” (snḏ) is seen as an inherent property of the king, something which the accompanying suffix pronoun (not rendered above) is a sure sign of. 93 The use of the word ḫ3st clearly indicates that it is a matter of foreign lands here.
26 fundamental hierarchy exists between the Egyptian deities and the foreign lands, a consistent universalist approach is lacking. Rather, the former comes across mainly as regional, “nationalistic”, and particularistic rulers in relation to the latter.
2.3.4 Summary
This section has discussed the power relationships between the deities and the other three focused units of analysis, with the former as the active part. It was found that the deities emerge as the superior part in all three discussed relations. In relation to Sinuhe/the officials, the power of the deities is shown in their directing Sinuhe’s destinies, turning it from an originally bad one to a following good one, as exemplified in the flight and return of Sinuhe. In relation to the king, the power of the deities come across clearly, quite in contrast to the discussion where the king is the active part of the two (see 2.2.2). The gods and goddesses are here seen as the actual masters of Egypt, i.e. also ruling the earthly sphere, and as giving protection and life to the king. In relation to the foreign lands, the Egyptian deities are occasionally represented in charge also over these, although the exceptions of and the textual meagerness on this theme suggest a lack of a genuinly universalist approach.
2.4 The foreign lands in relation to the others
In this fourth discussion section, the relationships of the foreign lands with the other units of analysis, in which the former are the active part, are identified. I will argue that their relationships with Sinuhe/the Egyptian officials and the Egyptian king in some ways are quite complex. The foreign lands can be bad and hopeless, but they can also be good and promising, provided of course that there are Egyptian influences present. While not being inherently bad in a consistent manner, there is still a fundamental hierarchy expressed in the tale. Their relationship with the Egyptian deities is very undeveloped, and the impression is one of hedonism and ignorance.
2.4.1 The being and doing of the foreign lands in relation to Sinuhe/the officials
The foreign lands affect Sinuhe both negatively and positively in the tale. On the one hand the foreign lands are described as essentially miserable and beyond salvation in their ways, but on the other hand they are also described in a positive light, at least if being under Egyptian influence. Still, the effects of the foreign lands on the Egyptian officials who interact with them are quite one-sided, both in autobiographies and in royal propaganda, giving the message of the foreign lands as something harmful and negative for the Egyptian officials (Loprieno 1988: 14-21, Assmann 1990: 237-52). As for the former image, the giant of Retjenu in his wildness and depravity can be seen as symbolically representing the naturally degenerated East (B109-13). He has even been understood in terms of a ritually smashed execration figure (Fischer-Elfert 1996). Also, the foreign lands are equivalent to thirst and death in Sinuhe’s passing through the Egyptian border and entering into the Asiatic desert (B21-23), although it must be said that neither the geographical descriptions of the foreign lands, nor the foreigners living in the portrayed environments, are not unambiguous in terms of positivity and negativity (Morenz 1997b, Moers 2001, el Hawary 2014), perhaps expressing an honest intent of giving a fair description (Hinson 2014). More importantly, the notion that Sinuhe must no die abroad tells of the foreign lands’ inherent hopelessness. While addressing Sinuhe in his royal decree, the king points to
27 the good prospect that “Asiatics will not lay you (i.e. Sinuhe) to rest (in a ram’s skin)” (nn bs tw ‘3mw) (B197), and emphatically and to modern minds much morbidly urges Sinuhe to: “Think of your corpse, and return!” (šd ḥr ḫ3t iwt.k)94 (B199). Another sign of the inherent inferiority of the foreign lands is the transformation which Sinuhe undergoes when he arrives at his new Egyptian home and becomes clean-shaven, has his hair combed, puts on fine linen, anoints himself with fine oil, and all of a sudden has a bed to sleep in (B290-95). In his narration, he scornfully says that he in this activity “returned a load (of dirt)” (di sbwt)95 to the foreign lands, that his clothes were given back to the “Sand-farers” (nmiyw-š‘i), that he gave back sand and tree-oil to those who are on it and use it respectively (B291-95), clearly expressing the idea that he gets rid of something culturally inferior in this transformation of his. The foreign lands are apparently not just subordinate, but they moreover seem to be so in an essential, inherent way. This is telling of a view of some sort of a “nationalist” identity and of an essence-based ethnicity. These expressions of alterity tell of the construction of an “Other” in the relevant discourse. In the other imagery, the foreign lands are still inferior in their ways, but they can be somewhat saved by the presence of Egyptian influence. Sinuhe is close to dying of thirst in the desert, but he is saved by “a tribe” (wḥyt)96 who gives him the needed nourishments. This unselfish act of the tribe and its leader in relation to Sinuhe is indicative of a reciprocal altruism on the part of the foreigner (Hofmann 2003). Having said that, the tribe’s leader is also identified as someone “who had once been in Egypt” (p3 wnn ḥr ḳmt)97, in this way explaining the civilized behaviour of this “barbarian” (B26). As Sinuhe poignantly puts it after having received the vital assistance from the relevant tribe, namely “what they did (to me, i.e. Sinuhe) was good” (nfr irt.n.sn) (B28). This last note is reminiscent of how the world and life in “The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor” affects the Egyptian sailor who gets stranded on a mythical island but gets provided for by its main deity, i.e. a giant snake god (Parkinson 2009: 89-101). Both Sinuhe and the sailor benefit from “the other side”. After some vagabond life of Sinuhe in Syria-Palestine, the ruler of upper Retjenu named Amunenshi kidnaps Sinuhe to his court (B28-31). Also this leader do many good things to Sinuhe (Derchain 1985). Amunenshi provides for Sinuhe through giving him authority, material wealth, and his eldest daughter (B77-91). Sinuhe is his “favourite” (mr[w m] ẖ[t])98 (B85-86) whom he loves and holds in “high regard” (3ḫ)99 (B106-7), putting him even before his own children (B107-8). Sinuhe is sent on many important missions (B99-101), and he is entrusted to deal with the challenge from the giant of Retjenu (B113-14). After Sinuhe’s victory, Amunenshi takes him in his arms (B142-43), symbolic of their close bond. However, once again the good character of an Asiatic leader can be explained by the mentioning that the relevant leader was well acquainted with Egyptian customs, as exemplified by him having Egyptians at his court already at the time he carries off Sinuhe (B31-34). The civilized
94 The first verb can have the meaning of “to recite for someone or something” (Hannig 2009: 911), carrying the notion of doing good for the corpse, easing the “transfiguration” (Quirke 1992: 141-72). 95 This derogation is contradicted by the simple papyrus-determinative (Y1) and the neutral meanings of this noun (Hannig 2009: 739). Whether it may be linked to the word “to rebel” (sbi) is unclear. 96 Still, the alterity of this people is indicated by the throwstick-determinative (T14). 97 Late Egyptian-influences may be detected if seeing p3-wn (meaning “then”) here (Hannig 2009: 286), although the basic meaning of “to be” (wn) seems to fit better into the context. 98 Literally, “beloved in the body”. This reading is quite tentative, in that I have added the preposition m and interpreted the ẖ-sign (F32) as a short-form for ẖt (cf. Hannig 2009: 366). 99 Obviously, this term also carries the meanings of usefulness and transcendent existence (Hannig 2009: 11-12), the latter telling of Sinuhe’s eventual destiny when returning to Egypt.
28 behavior of this “barbarian” can thus be explained by his knowing of things Egyptian. Amunenshi can even be seen as a “pseudo-Egyptian”, taking up the Egyptian king’s role in relation to Sinuhe, as he provides and cares for him (Parkinson 2009: 23). The named influence is once extended to the general population when these enthusiastically supports Sinuhe during the duel, despite him being really a foreigner and an actual outsider in their community (B131-34). A basic hierarchy between Sinuhe and the foreign lands is conveyed when it is narrated by Sinuhe that “every Asiatic was bellowing”100 (‘3m nb ḥr nmit°) after Sinuhe’s triumph (B141), and that he acted as a bull of a herd (B117-20), implying that he functioned as a shepherd in relation to his gained foreign subjects (see also 2.5.3). Although being inferior, the foreign lands are most often not regarded as helplessly miserable. Typical of more mundane sources, clear ethnical tensions are lacking (Tyson Smith 2010). Sinuhe has his “foreign friends” (Kitchen 1994), telling of a humanization of the “Other”.
2.4.2 The being and doing of the foreign lands in relation to the king
The situation or relationship is quite similar with regards to the hierarchy between the foreign lands and the Egyptian king or state. On the one hand the foreign lands are portrayed as hopelessly inferior and degenerated in their ways, but on the other hand they are also seen as possible to improve, provided that there are Egyptian influences at hand. Still, the picture of the effects of the foreign lands on the Egyptian king and his land is fairly one-sided, both in the autobiographies of the officials and in royal inscriptions. This picture highlights the former as chaotic and dangerous for the order which the latter is trying to upkeep (Loprieno 1988: 14-21, Assmann 1990: 237-52). Beginning with the former imagery, one standard theme of the degenerated foreigner is that of the fleeing barbarian. While the Egyptian king bravely advances in battle, the foreigners flee and “show (their) backs” (rdi s3w) (B57-58). In their inherent unorganization and incapability, it is simply stated that “his (i.e. the Egyptian king’s) foes can not marshall any troops” (n ṯsw.n ḫryw.f skyw)101 (B54-55). The rhetorical imagery which says that “a barbarian can not ally with a Delta man” (nn pḏty sm3 m idḥw)102 (B121-22), or asks “what can get the papyrus established on the mountain” (ptr smn dyt r ḏw) (B122), may serve to express the notion that the foreign lands are culturally inferior, basically unfit for any contact with sophisticated Egypt. A stance of unavoidable separation is here quite clearly articulated. This is again indicative of some sort of a “nationalist” identity and of an essence-based ethnicity. Again, these marks of alterity tell of the creating of an “Other” in the given discourse. The concepts of m3‘t (“Order”) and isft (“Chaos”), embodied in the conflict between Egypt and the foreign lands, are here juxtaposed (Robins 2010: 355, 364-65). In official sources this idea of the foreigners is identified (topos), in contrast to mundane sources which paint a more realistic picture (mimesis) (Loprieno 1988: 14-21). Another view focus on the possibility for the foreign lands to be a good country, although still being under the dominion of the Egyptian king. In a simile telling of hierarchy, Retjenu (and its surroundings?) is described as “hounds” (ṯsmw) in relation to the Egyptian king (B222-23). The foreign land in question is here domesticated by
100 Showing the complexity of the verb, Lichtheim (2006: 228) instead talks of “shouting”, while Simpson (2003: 60) similarly uses the word “yelped” in his translation. Some kind of displaying of humility on the part of the foreigners seems however plausible to suggest. 101 The word “foe” is negatively laden also by the “man with a stick”-determinative (A24). 102 This non-allying is contrasted with the state ethos-theme of “the uniting of the two lands” (sm3 t3wy) (Frankfort 1948), in this way differentiating the homeland from the overseas areas.
29 the Egyptian king. Moving on, Amunenshi is described as properly “knowing” (rḫ) of the Egyptian king’s deeds (B76), and his land is described as “being a good land” (t3 pw nfr) (B81). Sinuhe therefore urges Amunenshi to write to the king and ask about the latter’s health, with the reasoning that “he (i.e. the king) will not fail to do good for a country that will be loyal to him” (nn tm.f ir bw nfr n ḫ3st wnn.ty.sn ḥr mw.f)103 (B73-75). On his way home to Egypt, Sinuhe also mentions several other good, Asiatic rulers who are said to be loyal and friendly in relation to the Egyptian king and state (Vandersleyen 1974), being potentates “who live by love of you (i.e. the king)” (ḫprw m mrwt.k)104 (B219-22). In other words, the foreign lands with its multiple, competing rulers are not described as inherently bad, but rather as having the possibility for improvement if being under strong Egyptian influence. This fits well with the notion of the Egyptians as primarily identifying themselves with family, city, and nome (Assmann 1996b) rather than with any anachronistic “nationalism”. Having said that, indicative of the lower (vasall) status of these good foreign lands is the choice in political terminology in the tale (Schneider 2002). While the Egyptian leader is “king” (nsw), Amunenshi is just “ruler” (ḥḳ3)105 or only “someone who enquires” (šny) (B74), and while Egypt is a “land” (t3), the Levantine states are generally “countries” (ḫ3swt).106 Moreover, Amunenshi is tellingly referred to as “ruler of the countries” (ḥḳ3 ḫ3swt) (B98), alluding to the term with which the feared and despised Hyksos-rulers came to be known in Egyptian history-writing (Loprieno 1988: 22-34). This political terminology in other words serves to establishe the notion of the foreign lands’ utter and profound “Otherness”. On the whole though, it should be recognized that the relevant relationship is quite ambivalently defined.
2.4.3 The being and doing of the foreign lands in relation to the deities
The examples of a direct contact between the foreign lands and the Egyptian deities where the former is the active part are very limited in the tale. This is of course much in line with the discussion where the latter is the active part (see 2.3.3), and this feature thus forms a part of a general pattern, arguably pointing to a perceived inferiority but also to an indifference by the foreign lands in relation to the Egyptian pantheon. The effects of the foreign lands upon the Egyptian pantheon are not very often discussed in the sources from ancient Egypt. Rather, the overall picture tells of a separation between Egyptians and foreigners when it comes to religious matters, thus expressing a cultural difference (Assmann 1990: 237-52, Quirke 1992: 173-85). In a first of the rare examples of interaction instigated from below, the giant of Retjenu is described as someone who ignores the established fate of the Egyptian deities which stipulates that Sinuhe will win the battle between the two (B125-27). The foreign lands here come across as being ignorant of the Egyptian deities, standing outside the Egyptian cultural milieu (Loprieno 1988: 22-34, Quirke 1992: 173-85). In a second example, Amunenshi refers to the Egyptian king as “(that worthy) god” (nṯr)107 (B44), but he, nor any other Asiatic, never talks of the role of the Egyptian
103 The archaic use of the prospective participle is expressed here (Englund 1995: 53). The literal translation of “to be on his waters” implies “to be subordinated” (Hannig 2009: 348-49). 104 The hierarchy between the two is expressed in the potentates “becoming” (ḫpr) thanks to the king. 105 In contrast to when the Egyptian king is described thus, Amunenshi and his fellow rulers simply have the “seated man”-determinative (A1) in the writing of this title (B30, B221). 106 Complementary to the black/red-dichotomy, there is also a plain/hilly-dichotomy, not the least conveyed in the relevant determinatives on varying topography (N16, N25). 107 In this case, the relevant word is written with the “perched falcon”-determinative (G7), in addition of course to the logogram depicting the flag-with-staff which connotes divinity (R8).
30 deities, or of any indigenuous deity for that sake. The Asiatics emerge as basically hedonic, standing in no contact with the divine whatsoever. All this tells of a particularistic relationship in which the foreigners are largely ignorant of the Egyptian pantheon. Clearly, the foreign lands are placed outside the Egyptian sphere. In any case, the foreign lands are in their ways clearly inferior to the Egyptian deities.
2.4.4 Summary
This section has discussed the power relationships between the foreign lands and the other three focused units of analysis, with the former as the active part. It was found that the foreign lands are described as inferior in all three relationships, but that the nature of this inferiority shifts from case to case. On the one hand the inferiority of the foreign lands are essence-based, on the other hand the named inferiority can be renegotiatied and mildred by the influence from various Egyptian individuals and institutions. It is illuminating that all the good-behaving lands and rulers in the Levant have been in contact with Egypt in one way or another. The tribe’s chief who saves Sinuhe’s life in the desert had been to Egypt, and Sinuhe’s patron Amunenshi is described as well acquainted with Egyptians and Egyptian customs. The latter is also aware of the beings and doings of the Egyptian king and state. This knowledge of things Egyptian explains the civilized behaviour of these “barbarians”. As for the relationship with the Egyptian deities, the foreign lands come across as living in deepest ignorance, having no link to the Egyptian pantheon, as expressed in the tale.
2.5 The Egyptian people and women in relation to the others
In this concluding fifth discussion section, the units of analysis who are not referred to so much in the tale, i.e. the Egyptian people and women, and their relationships, are focused on. In the case of the Egyptian people, their relationship to the foreign lands is not really spoken of in the tale,108 hence the limited number of subsections in this field of discussion. In the case of women (of all classes and ethnicities), the discussion is subdivided along the dual and complementary aspects of sex and gender.
2.5.1 The being and doing of the people in relation to Sinuhe/the officials
Turning to the power relationship between the Egyptian people and Sinuhe/the Egyptian officials, it is clear to see that there is a distinct and naturalized hierarchy between the two social groups imagined. At the same time, there is a mutualness in this relationship in which the phenomena of social solidarity, provisioning, and loyalty are the key-concepts. This double-sideness of the relevant relationship has been identified before. The people are here described as toiling and loyal, while the officials show social solidarity in their protecting of the ordinary, and particularly exposed, Egyptian citizen (Assmann 1990: 92-121, Parkinson 2002: 64-85). As already stated, the Egyptian people is not highlighted in the tale. Only once, a supposedly ordinary citizen features as a clearly identified individual, namely in the situation where a frightened Sinuhe is greeted by a man on the former’s escape out of the country (B10-11). Otherwise, when Sinuhe travels through the delta in an
108 An intermingling between people of different ethnicities is hardly spoken of in Amunenshi’s references to Egyptians at his court (B33-34). These are said to verify the good nature of Sinuhe (B33), and it is thus far more likely that they too belonged to the class of Egyptian officials.
31 Egyptian boat returning to the court, the manual labour of kneading and brewing are referred to when mentioning Sinuhe’s provisioning after having entered Egypt (B247), in this way indirectly speaking of lower class-Egyptians. Sinuhe in retrospect (?) once claims that he had many “serfs” (mrwt) under his command (B154-55). An official who meets the returning Sinuhe at the border, carrying provisions and rewards for Sinuhe and the Asiatics who had accompanied the latter, is referred to as “overseer of peasants of the royal household”109 (imy-r sḫtiyw mnḫ pr nsw) (B244). By this title, a basic hierarchy between the officials and the peasants in Egyptian society shines through. Although rarely being centred on in Egyptian literature, the peasantry constituted the vast majority of the Egyptian population. Hierarchy and social grouping is also told of in Sinuhe’s titles of “patrician” (r-p‘t)110 and “count” (ḥ3ty-‘) (R1), expressing Sinuhe’s belonging to the higher ends of society. These two titles belong to the group of mere “honorific titles” (Strudwick 2005: 26-27). The perceived hierarchy and varying worth of different professions is of course clearly expressed in “The Teaching of Khety”, or “The Satire of the Trades”, where manual labourers and their menial work are greatly ridiculed (Parkinson 2009: 273-83). The hierarchy expressed in the preceeding paragraph is naturalized in Sinuhe’s rhetorical question after having been challenged by the giant of Retjenu: “Can an inferior ever be loved as a superior?” (in iw wn tw3 mrrw n-š3-n tpy-ḥr)111 (B120-21), implying the futility of social mobility. This attitude is of course perfectly in line with the literary genre of “teachings” in which a son is supposed to inherit his father’s profession, such as in “The Teaching for Kagemni” where the office of viziership is described as being passed on from father to son (Parkinson 2009: 291-92), bypassing the true bases for meritocracy. At the same time, Sinuhe at the end of the tale sees himself as a “lowly man” (šw3w)112 (B309), claiming that he himself was a product of meritocracy. Still, Sinuhe is a courtier right from the start of the tale (Goedicke 2011). Perhaps, the expression of the Old- and Middle Kingdom literary theme of an Egyptian official rising in ranks because of his excellency (iḳr), while “being a loner” (w‘), and being supported by the deities rather than by any influential and patronizing social connections (Parkinson 1996, 2002: 64-85), can be detected here. The officials’ actual interaction with the people is noted in Sinuhe’s assurances that he gave bread to his starving neighbour (B151-52), arguably from the lower strata of society, exercising the ideal of “vertical solidarity” (Assmann 1990: 92-121). Normally, the worthy official is also described as someone who gave clothes to the naked, lended out boats to the boatless, took care of orphans and widows, and so on (Assmann 1990: 92-121). The idea of a naturalized hierarchy between the two social groups, but also of the Egyptian officials’ duty to safeguard justice in the land, and in extension to provide materially for the people, is of course famously topicalized in “The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant” (Parkinson 2009: 54-88). The later treatise referred to as “The Duties of the Vizier” similarly speaks of the need for the powerful to care for those who lack power (van den Boorn 1988). In sum, the hierarchy between Sinuhe/the Egyptian officials and the Egyptian people is clearly expressed, but with the added component of mutualness and “vertical solidarity”.
109 Simpson (2003: 64) similarly renders “overseer of field laborers of the royal estate”. Lichtheim (2006: 231) seemingly ignores parts of this title in her translation “overseer of the royal domains”. The mentioning of peasants is however clear, although the following adjective remains cryptical. 110 The hereditary nature of this title is indicated by the “egg”-determinative (H8) of the other copies. 111 The lower status of tw3 is expressed by the “man with arms outstretched”-determinative (A30). 112 In its second meaning, šw3w carries the same semantic range as tw3 above (Hannig 2009: 877). The negative connotations of this status are indicated by the “bad bird”-determinative (G14).
32 2.5.2 The being and doing of the people in relation to the king and the deities
In the power relationship between the Egyptian people and the Egyptian king or deities, there is a clear and fundamental hierarchy expressed in the tale. Still, the mutualness described in the previous section is pretty much the same, although it is here in comparison wider and stricter. The reciprocal and mutual character of the relevant relationships have been noted before. In this context, loyalty and devotion is seen as exchanged for protection and blessings, telling of social solidarity and of a culturally specific religion (Assmann 1990: 92-121, 237-52, Quirke 1992: 171-85). Turning to the Egyptian people and the even higher ends of society, the Egyptian king is praised by Sinuhe on account of “his seeing the masses” (m33.f ‘š3wt)113 (B59), and because of his being a “perceiver of the people” (si3 rḫtiyw)114 (B215), both quotes showing the king’s commitment to take care of his subjects. The context indicates that it is the Egyptian people who is spoken of here. It can thus be argued that the portrayed hierarchy in question is only social and political and not cultural, as is definitively the case in the relationship between the king and the officials, although the power of culture along with social stratification may be underestimated here.115 This royal obligation to take care of the people, as well as the related idea of the people’s inability to take care of themselves, is expressed for example in Sinuhe’s references to people (whether Egyptian or foreign) as “herds” (ḥmt mnmnt)116, i.e. mere cattle (B117-20). This of course calls to mind the creation myth which states Re as having created humankind to function as the deities’ working cattle. The king then takes over the sungod’s role of shepherding the people (Quirke 1992: 21-51). This imagery shows the pivotal role kingship had in Egypt (Baines 1995, Dodson 2010). As for the sungod, he is described by Sinuhe as someone who has put “respect” for the reigning king throughout “the land” (t3), thus including the people (B231). The dependency in the relationship between the people and the king is tellingly expressed in Sinuhe’s stating that “one (i.e. people)” (tw) live by the air given by the king (AOS35-36). In other words, the lives of ordinary citizens are dependent on the king. This circumstance is actually getting reversed in the literary works of “The Words of Neferti” and “The Words of Khakheperreseneb” where the lower ends of society suddenly have seized power, something which is described as a condition of great evil and horror, with the world having turned upside down (Parkinson 2009: 131-50). The said “vertical solidarity” from the royal hands is expressed when the queen and the princesses in their performance sing that “you (i.e. the king) have delivered the poor from evil” (sḥr.n.k tw3w m ḏwt)117 (B272-73), alluding to the king’s official duty to protect those in need. The king is a “lord of kindness, great of sweetness”, “conquering” through “love” (B65-66), possibly also in relation to the Egyptian people. Sinuhe furthermore claims that “his (i.e. the king’s) city loves him more than its own members, it rejoices at him more than at its God, and men and women pass by, exulting at him” (mr sw niwt.f r ḥ‘w ḥ‘.st im.f r nṯr.sn sw3 ṯ3yw ḥmwt ḥr rdi rnn im.f)118 (B66-68). In other words, the city-folks care more about the king than about
113 Literally, “the many”, surely stressing the lower classes of Egyptian society. The presence of the simple “seated man”-determinative (A1) is also supportive of this interpretation. 114 The word rḫty with its sign of a bound lapwing (G24) refers to “common folk” (Englund 1995: 95). 115 In other words, the monolithic and established concept of “Egyptians” can be problematized. 116 The specifying of female cattle is due to Sinuhe’s imagery of himself as a “bull” (k3). 117 The notion of “removing” is clear in the semantics of the verb (Hannig 2009: 796). 118 The idea of the ordinary person lies in the simple “seated man/woman”-determinatives (A1, B1). Their act of greatly appreciating the king is assured by the semantic range of rnn (Hannig 2009: 502).
33 the deities (or their fellow citizens). Sinuhe then bursts out in the expression: “How joyful this land, since he has ruled!” (rš.wy t3 pn ḥḳ3n.f)119 (B70). The alleged social, vertical solidarity is in other words described in two-wayed flows between the above- and below spheres. In sum, the relationship in question is clearly marked in terms of hierarchy, but at the same time having a strong social bond added to it.
2.5.3 Hierarchy and sex
In this subsection, the power relationship between men and women is explored, as expressed in the tale. Women come across as “invisible”, bystanding, and in lack of political power. Also goddesses and royal women are in some ways subordinated, i.e. if considering their male counterparts. The social standing of ordinary as well as royal women in the Egyptian society and state has often been identified in previous research as comparatively high, even though the larger picture with men occupying the most powerful positions in the state is also recognized (Troy 1986, Robins 1993). Women play a relatively small role in The Tale of Sinuhe. A possible exception is the sentence (B78-79) in which Amunenshi is said to join Sinuhe with his eldest daughter in a marriage (Goedicke 1984-85, Allam 1986). This foreign wife is however not referred to again. Rather, the product of this liasion is mentioned, namely more than one child (B92-93). By the modest mentioning of the woman in question, his wife is anonymous and made “invisible”, and her function of producing offspring is centred on. As for this indicated invisibility and seclusion of married women, when talking of the giant of Retjenu’s motives, Sinuhe refers to the act of “opening his (i.e. the giant’s) private quarters”120 (wn s3-pr.f) (B115-16), i.e. exposing the home of another high individual’s women, constituting a taboo act (Parkinson 2009: 46, n. 30). This is of course reminiscent of how a high official’s relationships with the women of a colleague are strictly advised against in “The Teaching of the Vizier Ptahhotep” (Parkinson 2009: 246-72), once again giving the theme of the invisibility of women. In other instances, women of various kinds have the function of assisting or bystanding the actions of the male Sinuhe. When Sinuhe engages in the duel with the giant of Retjenu, wives are described as “jabbering (for him)” (‘‘it°)121 (B132). In the king’s promising Sinuhe a great burial in Egypt, “(female)122 singers” (šm‘w) head the funerary procession (B194), helping him to a good afterlife. In the performance at court by the queen and the princesses (B268-79), women again work for him. The power relationship between men and women is illustrated not the least by the fact that political power positions are inherited from men to men. Amenemhat I is succeeded by his son Senwosret I on the throne of Egypt (B46-47), and Sinuhe explicitly states that he let his eldest son inherit his position in the Levant when he himself headed to Egypt (B239-40). The principle of a son inheriting his father is in a way naturalized in “The Teaching of King Amenemhat”, although the focal point here is arguably not on biological sex but on the legitimacy of the new king and dynasty (Posener 1957, Wildung 1984). This patrilinearity tells of a male-dominated society. This patrilinearity is of course much emphasized also in the “royal testaments” where a king passes over his office to his eldest son as well as in the more regular
119 Since it is merely a verb here, ḥḳ3 only has the “papyrus roll”-determinative (Y1). 120 Literally, “the back of his house”, i.e. the secluded, family part of the residential area. 121 The verb clearly expresses the act of encouraging someone orally (Hannig 2009: 143). Lichtheim (2006: 228) translates the same, while Simpson (2003: 60) renders “yelled”. 122 Although the determinative represents only a man, it is hard to imagine the absence of women here. Women undoubtedly had a vital role to play in the funeral rituals (Quirke 1992: 141-72).
34 “teachings” in which a high official (often the vizier) passes over his office to his eldest son (Parkinson 2009: 203-83), telling of a patriarchal society of a sort. A special case is obviously the royal women, here the queen (that Sinuhe initially served) and the princesses. The former is “the Patrician Lady, the greatly praised, the Queen of Senusert in Khnemsut, the Princess of Amenemhat in Qaneferu, Nefru, the blessed lady” (r-p‘tt wrt ḥswt ḥmt nsw wsrtsn m ẖnmswt s3t nsw imnmḥ3t m ḳ3nfrw nfrw nbt im3ḫy)123 (R3-5). This status clearly speaks of the elevated position of the queen. Later, the queen is also called “Misstress of the Land” (ḥnt t3)124 (B166), and the royal title of “The Two Ladies” (nbty) also tells of the high status of royal women in Egypt (B179). According to Sinuhe, the queen is also “Lady of All” (B172), and he expresses the wish that: “May she pass eternity above me!” (sb.s nḥḥ ḥr.i) (B172-73). The phrasing “above” clearly indicates a belief in a fundamental hierarchy between the two agents. Nefru is called “your (i.e. Sinuhe’s) Heaven” (pt.k) by the king (B185), and she and her children are said to provide for a returning Sinuhe (B187). Taking up necklaces, rattles, and sistra, the queen and her female children perform an appeasing ritual in front of the king, in their goal of bringing mercy upon the returning Sinuhe, their long-time favourite (Lichtheim 2006: 235, n. 22). The royal women repeatedly refer to the goddess Hathor in their singing, talking of this deity as the “Lady of Heaven” (nbt pt)125 (B270), the “Golden One” (B270), and the “Lady of Stars” (B271), performing something akin to a hathorisches Kultlied (Morenz 1997a). In this, they exclaim: “Hail to you (the sungod or the king), as to the Lady of All (Hathor or the queen)!” (hy n.k mi nbt r ḏr)126 (B274). Obviously, the borders also between the queen and the deities were considered to be fluid, as evident not the least through this identifying of the Egyptian queen with the sky goddess (Simpson 2003: 61, n. 14). A union between the king as the sungod and the queen as Hathor is evoked in this lyrical ceremony benefiting Sinuhe (Parkinson 2009: 52, n. 74). Hathor is also called upon, along with three male deities, by Sinuhe to do good to the king. She is enumerated after Re and Horus, and possibly also after Montu (B237- 38). In Sinuhe’s reply to the royal pardon, he enumerates some deites. Of the specified 13 deities, only four of them are female, they not being in prominent positions either. The goddesses are Hathor, the “Lady of Imet” (nbt imt), i.e. the goddess Buto (Parkinson 2009: 49, n 55), Wereret the Lady of Punt, and Nut (B206- 10). In other words, also the divine sphere is male-dominated. The “heaven over you”, referred to in the king’s description of Sinuhe’s prospective good burial (B193), arguably alludes to Nut, painted on the lid (or inner side) of the coffin (Parkinson 2009: 48, n. 49). There were no problems for Sinuhe to talk of female dominance in the above sphere. In sum, there is a clear hierarchy between men and women in the tale, also if looking at the cosmic level with its goddesses and royal women.
2.5.4 Hierarchy and gender
Leaving the focusing on biological sex and hierarchies, some notes on hierarchy and the social construction of gender (male, female, other127) will now be made. This of
123 The elevation of the queen is repeatedly expressed by the “crowned, seated woman”-determinative (a mixture of B1 and B7). Interestingly, the queen is an im3ḫy already in her lifetime. 124 Tellingly, the title is determined by a cobra (I12), i.e. the sign of goddesses. 125 As customary, the “lord/lady”-title is not written with any divine determinative. 126 The Late Egyptian interjection hy clearly carries the notion of “praising s.o.” (Hannig 2009: 521). 127 On grounds of delimitation, I will not explore other possible genders in ancient Egypt, but it may be worth reminding of e.g. the (if not hermaphrodite so at least feminized) god Hapy (Quirke 1992: 50).
35 course calls for the use of gender theory in the analysis. The discussion will be much based on the discussion in the previous subsection, centering on biological sex and power. The main argument in this subsection is that masculinity overarchs femininity in terms of worth. Although the female element sometimes appears as complementary and of equal worth in relation to the male element in official sources, as exemplified in state ideology and cosmogony (Troy 1986), a tendency in the Ancient Near East of seeing femininity as inferior to masculinity is much noticeable (Bahrani 2001). Beginning with the notion of femininity and power relations, the only female agents in the tale who are truly active are goddesses and royal women. These however constitute special cases, and they can therefore not convincingly be used in order to argue that e.g. Egyptian women had a very high status in Egyptian society. Besides, and as demonstrated above, the Egyptian king and the male deities are placed before the Egyptian queen and the female deities in the hierarchy. In other words, the female component is seen as inferior in both the earthly and divine spheres in the tale. Leaving the special cases in question, anynomity and passivity, as well as reproduction and peacefulness (in the sense of not conducting warfare), seem to characterize femininity in the tale, at least judging from its earthly women. As for reproduction and peacefulness, the performance or the “ritual of renewal” (B268-79) by the royal women with its eroticism and mercy-invoking (Brunner 1955, Goedicke 1998, Parkinson 2009: 25) strengthens this conclusion on the role of gender, and on reproduction and peacefulness, in that it evoke sexuality and non-coercion. Continuing with the topic of masculinity and power relations, the king but also implicitly Sinuhe are described as “heroes” (nḫt)128 (B51, B93), and as being brave and strong, not the least in battle (B109-47, B46-75). Also Sinuhe’s (male) children are referred to as “heroes” (B93), arguably in a military context. At the same time, clemency and care for the weak are regarded as part of the ideal masculinity (B151- 52), at least within the framework of the Egyptian Binnensolidarität (Assmann 1990: 238-41). The fierce dimension of masculinity is expressed in Sinuhe’s descriptions of the king’s and his own fighting (B51-65, B97-106), not the least when picturing his duel with the giant of Retjenu (B127-41). Sexuality seems to be linked with military performance in the talk of “valour” (ḳn) (B107) and “virility” (b33wt)129 (B190), and in his repeated references to himself as a “bull” (k3) (B118-20). In this sense, reproduction is tied also to masculinity, although this time carrying a more active meaning. By contrast with femininity, the components of ideal masculinity as expressed in The Tale of Sinuhe are in other words superiority, individualization, activeness, (active) reproduction, and physical strength. It is easy to see from the various contexts of this imagery that masculinity overarchs femininity. Before concluding this admittedly very brief discussion on gender and power relationships, it may be worth pointing out that “incorrect” gender relations are articulated too in Egyptian literature, such as in “The Tale of Neferkare and Sasenet”, arguably telling of the feminization of males (Parkinson 2009: 288-89). Another important example would be the narrative passage in “The Teaching of the Vizier Ptahhotep” in which a so-called “woman-boy” and his/her sexual desires are referred to in highly disapproving terms (Parkinson 2009: 260 and 270, n. 41). This negative imagery of course also tells of the prevailing gender system in ancient Egypt.
128 The coercive nature of this role is indicated by the “man with a stick”-determinative (A24). 129 Tellingly, the former term is connected with violence (A24), and the latter term is associated with male reproduction through the determinative which pictures male genitalia issuing liquid (D53).
36 2.5.5 Summary
Summing up the discussions of this section, the power relationships between women (of all classes and ethnicities) or the Egyptian people and the other units of analysis is not very often talked of in the tale. When it indeed happens, the Egyptian people are pictured as being under the naturalized command of Sinuhe/the Egyptian officials, the Egyptian king, and the Egyptian deities, but they are nevertheless seen as a part of a relationship of “vertical solidarity” or an Egyptian Binnensolidarität which prescribes that the earthly lords in power still have the duty to provide for these. In this power relationship, loyalty and provisioning are exchanged between the rulers and the ruled. This process or social stratification is imagined as sanctioned by m3‘t. As for the other type of socially based hierarchy, the role of women is very much downplayed in the tale. Only goddesses and royal women come across as agents that matter in the social arena. These agents however constitute special cases, and they can not be taken as solid support for the idea that women were powerful in society or in the tale. Moreover, the king and the (male) gods are placed before these. Leaving the discussion on biological sex, the issue of gender and power relationships was then investigated. It was found that while femininity is associated with anonymity, passivity, (passive) reproduction, and peacefulness (as for violence), masculinity is connected with pretty much the opposite, namely individualization, activeness, (active) reproduction, and physical strength. A fundamental hierarchy between men and women and between masculinity and femininity is clearly expressed.
37 3. General summary
This book thesis has focused on hierarchies in the famous, ancient literary piece known as The Tale of Sinuhe. The overarching aim of this study was to identify and discuss the social, cultural, and political hierarchies in The Tale of Sinuhe. The narrower aim of this study, functioning as a means to fulfill the overarching one, was to describe how the relationships (in terms of power) between Sinuhe/the Egyptian officials, the Egyptian deities, the Egyptian king, the Egyptian people, “the foreign lands” (high and low), and women (high and low and of all ethnicities) are portrayed in The Tale of Sinuhe and in the context of other related primary sources. The actual analysis was carried out through a “close reading”, paying attention both to philological details as well as the wider cultural-historical frameworks, resulting in the identifying of ideological “themes”. The various relationships in terms of power, “status”, and “function” were focused on in this process. While seeing the tale as something more than just literature, and while viewing the pursuit of reading ancient literature in non-positivistic and non-relativistic ways, the alleged political and propagandistic aspects of the tale were recognized, as reflected also in my use of the theories of critical theory, postcolonial theory, and gender theory. The first section discussed the power relationships between Sinuhe/the officials and the other three focused units of analysis, with the former as the active part. It was found that Sinuhe is represented as clearly inferior both in relation to the Egyptian king and the Egyptian deities, although the latter is not spoken of so much. Sinuhe’s and the Egyptian officials’ duty was to be loyal and act loyally in relation to their king, while the former of course had the obligation to worship the Egyptian deities. As I will discuss later, this would naturally pay off for Sinuhe and his fellow officials, by them being provided for and by them being looked after, from the hands of their earthly (see 2.2.1) and divine (see 2.3.1) masters. As for Sinuhe’s relationship with the foreign lands, the situation is more complex. In the beginning of the tale Sinuhe comes across as completely in the hands of the foreign lands, only to transform into the one ruling this territory, an area ultimately under the authority and dominion of the Egyptian king. Cultural superiority on the part of Egypt can be traced in the end of the tale, although xenophobia is difficult to detect at any stage of the tale. It is telling and significant that Sinuhe ends up as directing the foreign lands from Egypt. The second section discussed the power relationships between the king and the other three focused units of analysis, with the former as the active part. It was found that there is a fundamental hierarchy between the king and Sinuhe/the officials, with the former having the duty to paternalistically provide for his officials both in life and death, in return for their loyal service (see 2.1.1). In relation to the deities, the living king comes across as variously a primus inter pares who humbly serves his divine masters while being a human being in a divine office. He also emerges as a real god within the Egyptian pantheon, being born divine, being equivalent to deities, and having great power over nature. The deceased king is by contrast consistently presented as divine, here as elsewhere in the preserved sources from ancient Egypt. In relation to the foreign lands, the Egyptian king variously presents himself as a universal ruler, then having obligations also to his foreign territiories and subjects, but also as a regional ruler, having only Egypt and the Egyptians to care about, and having the foreigners as the eternal, unchanging enemies in the style of the well- known stereotypical imagery chiselled out in the royal inscriptions and iconography. The third section discussed the power relationships between the deities and the other three focused units of analysis, with the former as the active part. It was found
38 that the deities emerge as the superior part in all three discussed relations. In relation to Sinuhe/the officials, the power of the deities is shown in their directing Sinuhe’s destinies, turning it from an originally bad one to a following good one, as exemplified in the flight and return of Sinuhe. In relation to the king, the power of the deities come across clearly, quite in contrast to the discussion (see 2.2.2) where the king is the active part of the two. The gods and goddesses are here seen as the actual masters of Egypt, i.e. also ruling the earthly sphere, and as giving protection and life to the king. In relation to the foreign lands, the Egyptian deities are occasionally represented in charge also over these, although the exceptions of and the textual meagerness on this theme suggests a lack of a genuinly universalist approach. The fourth section discussed the power relationships between the foreign lands and the other three focused units of analysis, with the former as the active part. It was found that the foreign lands are described as inferior in all three relationships, but that the nature of this inferiority shifts from case to case. On the one hand the inferiority of the foreign lands are essence-based, on the other hand the named inferiority can be renegotiatied and mildred by the influence from various Egyptian individuals and institutions. It is illuminating that all the good-behaving lands and rulers in the Levant have been in contact with Egypt in one way or another. The tribe’s chief who saves Sinuhe’s life in the desert had been to Egypt, and Sinuhe’s patron Amunenshi is described as well acquainted with Egyptians and Egyptian customs. The latter is also aware of the beings and doings of the Egyptian king and state. This knowledge of things Egyptian explains the civilized behaviour of these “barbarians”. As for the relationship with the Egyptian deities, the foreign lands come across as living in deepest ignorance, having no link to the Egyptian pantheon, as expressed in the tale. In the first part of the fifth section, the power relationships between the Egyptian people and the other units of analysis are identified and discussed. The Egyptian people are not very often talked of in the tale. When it indeed happens, they are pictured as being under the naturalized command of Sinuhe/the Egyptian officials, the Egyptian king, and the Egyptian deities, but they are nevertheless seen as a part of a relationship of “vertical solidarity” or an Egyptian Binnensolidarität which prescribes that the earthly lords in power still have the duty to provide for these. In this power relationship, loyalty and provisioning are exchanged between the rulers and the ruled. This process or social stratification is imagined as sanctioned by m3‘t. In the second part of the fifth section, the power relationships of women (of all classes and ethnicities) is analysed. The role of women is very much downplayed in the tale. Only goddesses and royal women come across as agents that matter in the social arena. These agents however constitute special cases, and they can not be taken as solid support for the idea that women were powerful in society or in the tale. Moreover, the king and the (male) gods are placed before these. The issue of gender and power relationships was then investigated. It was found that while femininity is associated with anonymity, passivity, (passive) reproduction, and peacefulness (as for violence), masculinity is connected with pretty much the opposite, namely individualization, activeness, (active) reproduction, and physical strength. A fundamental hierarchy between on the one hand men and women and on the other hand between masculinity and femininity is clearly expressed in the sources. After having summarized my findings, I would like to conclude this book thesis by pointing to some important and interesting trends in the sources. Firstly, there are clear images of hierarchies, and these are viewed as distinct and natural. Secondly, some of these hierarchies are thought of as being mildred by social solidarity, at least within the Egyptian cultural milieu. Thirdly, it is noticeable that women and
39 femininity are much subordinated in the tale. This of course provides an input to the general discussion on the status of Egyptian women in their society. Fourthly, there is an ambivalence between the portrayals of the Egyptian king as a human being and a god. This naturally points to the complexity with regards to the issue of royal deification in Egypt. One thing is clear though, namely that a strict binary dichotomy of human/divine can not be maintained. Fifthly, there is a tension between a universalist and regional approach by the various Egyptian agents in their relations with the foreign lands. Although there is not so much xenophobia expressed in the sources, it is clear that there are grounds to talk of some kind of “nationalist” feeling being conveyed in the tale. Not the least as exemplified in this field of discussion, there is a tension between “the actual” and “the ideal” running through the whole tale.
40 4. List of references
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46 5. Index and appendix
5.1 Discussed lines of The Tale of Sinuhe line page line page R1 4, 5, 15, 21, 32 B20 4, 5, 14 R2 4, 5, 11, 16, 17, 24 B21 4, 5, 14, 27 R3 4, 5, 11, 19, 35 B22 4, 5, 27 R4 4, 5, 35 B23 4, 5, 27 R5 4, 5, 35 B24 4, 5 R6 4, 5, 18 B25 4, 5, 14 R7 4, 5, 18 B26 4, 5, 14, 28 R8 4, 5, 12, 18 B27 4, 5, 14 R9 4, 5, 12 B28 4, 5, 14, 28 R10 4, 5, 12 B29 4, 5, 14, 28 R11 4, 5, 12, 17, 19, 21 B30 4, 5, 14, 28, 30 R12 4, 5, 17, 21 B31 4, 5, 28 R13 4, 5, 17, 19, 21 B32 4, 5, 28 R14 4, 5, 21 B33 4, 5, 28, 31 R15 4, 5, 21 B34 4, 5, 28, 31 R16 4, 5, 21 B35 4, 5 R17 4, 5, 17 B36 4, 5, 18 R18 4, 5, 25 B37 4, 5 R19 4, 5, 25 B38 4, 5 R20 4, 5 B39 4, 5 R21 4, 5, 11, 20 B40 4, 5 R22 4, 5, 11, 20 B41 4, 5 R23 4, 5, 17 B42 4, 5 R24 4, 5 B43 4, 5, 23 B1 4, 5 B44 4, 5, 19, 20, 21, 30 B2 4, 5, 12 B45 4, 5, 19, 20, 21 B3 4, 5, 12 B46 4, 5, 19, 34, 36 B4 4, 5 B47 4, 5, 19, 34, 36 B5 4, 5, 14 B48 4, 5, 19, 36 B6 4, 5, 14 B49 4, 5, 19, 36 B7 4, 5, 12, 14 B50 4, 5, 19, 21, 36 B8 4, 5, 14 B51 4, 5, 19, 26, 36 B9 4, 5, 14 B52 4, 5, 19, 36 B10 4, 5, 14, 31 B53 4, 5, 19, 21, 36 B11 4, 5, 14, 31 B54 4, 5, 19, 29, 36 B12 4, 5, 14 B55 4, 5, 19, 21, 29, 36 B13 4, 5, 12, 14 B56 4, 5, 19, 21, 36 B14 4, 5, 12, 14 B57 4, 5, 19, 29, 36 B15 4, 5, 14, 26 B58 4, 5, 19, 29, 36 B16 4, 5, 14 B59 4, 5, 19, 33, 36 B17 4, 5, 14, 22 B60 4, 5, 19, 21, 36 B18 4, 5, 14 B61 4, 5, 19, 21, 36 B19 4, 5, 14 B62 4, 5, 19, 36
47 B63 4, 5, 19, 20, 36 B111 4, 5, 14, 27, 36 B64 4, 5, 19, 20, 36 B112 4, 5, 14, 27, 36 B65 4, 5, 17, 19, 33, 36 B113 4, 5, 14, 27, 28, 36 B66 4, 5, 17, 19, 20, 33, 36 B114 4, 5, 14, 28, 36 B67 4, 5, 19, 20, 33, 36 B115 4, 5, 14, 34, 36 B68 4, 5, 19, 33, 36 B116 4, 5, 14, 34, 36 B69 4, 5, 17, 19, 36 B117 4, 5, 14, 29, 33, 36 B70 4, 5, 19, 34, 36 B118 4, 5, 14, 29, 33, 36 B71 4, 5, 19, 21, 36 B119 4, 5, 14, 29, 33, 36 B72 4, 5, 19, 21, 36 B120 4, 5, 14, 29, 32, 33, 36 B73 4, 5, 19, 21, 30, 36 B121 4, 5, 14, 29, 32, 36 B74 4, 5, 19, 21, 30, 36 B122 4, 5, 14, 29, 36 B75 4, 5, 19, 21, 30, 36 B123 4, 5, 14, 36 B76 4, 5, 30 B124 4, 5, 14, 36 B77 4, 5, 28 B125 4, 5, 14, 30, 36 B78 4, 5, 28, 34 B126 4, 5, 14, 26, 30, 36 B79 4, 5, 28, 34 B127 4, 5, 14, 26, 30, 36 B80 4, 5, 28 B128 4, 5, 14, 36 B81 4, 5, 28, 30 B129 4, 5, 14, 36 B82 4, 5, 28 B130 4, 5, 14, 36 B83 4, 5, 28 B131 4, 5, 14, 29, 36 B84 4, 5, 28 B132 4, 5, 14, 29, 34, 36 B85 4, 5, 28 B133 4, 5, 14, 29, 36 B86 4, 5, 14, 28 B134 4, 5, 14, 29, 36 B87 4, 5, 14, 28 B135 4, 5, 14, 36 B88 4, 5, 28 B136 4, 5, 14, 36 B89 4, 5, 28 B137 4, 5, 14, 36 B90 4, 5, 28 B138 4, 5, 14, 36 B91 4, 5, 28 B139 4, 5, 14, 36 B92 4, 5, 14, 34 B140 4, 5, 14, 36 B93 4, 5, 14, 34, 36 B141 4, 5, 13, 14, 29, 36 B94 4, 5, 14 B142 4, 5, 13, 14, 28, 36 B95 4, 5 B143 4, 5, 14, 28, 36 B96 4, 5, 14 B144 4, 5, 14, 36 B97 4, 5, 14, 36 B145 4, 5, 14, 36 B98 4, 5, 14, 30, 36 B146 4, 5, 14, 36 B99 4, 5, 14, 28, 36 B147 4, 5, 14, 36 B100 4, 5, 14, 28, 36 B148 4, 5, 24 B101 4, 5, 14, 28, 36 B149 4, 5, 24 B102 4, 5, 14, 36 B150 4, 5 B103 4, 5, 14, 36 B151 4, 5, 32, 36 B104 4, 5, 14, 36 B152 4, 5, 32, 36 B105 4, 5, 14, 36 B153 4, 5 B106 4, 5, 14, 28, 36 B154 4, 5, 32 B107 4, 5, 28, 36 B155 4, 5, 32 B108 4, 5, 28 B156 4, 5, 13, 23 B109 4, 5, 14, 27, 36 B157 4, 5, 13, 23 B110 4, 5, 14, 27, 36 B158 4, 5, 15
48 B159 4, 5, 15 B207 4, 5, 24, 25 B160 4, 5, 13, 15, 24 B208 4, 5, 25 B161 4, 5, 23, 24 B209 4, 5, 25, 26 B162 4, 5, 23, 24 B210 4, 5, 25, 26 B163 4, 5, 15 B211 4, 5, 25, 26 B164 4, 5, 15 B212 4, 5, 25 B165 4, 5, 17 B213 4, 5, 12, 21, 25 B166 4, 5, 35 B214 4, 5, 12, 17 B167 4, 5, 15 B215 4, 5, 19, 33 B168 4, 5, 15 B216 4, 5, 19 B169 4, 5, 15 B217 4, 5, 19 B170 4, 5, 15 B218 4, 5, 19, 21 B171 4, 5, 12, 13, 15 B219 4, 5, 30 B172 4, 5, 12, 13, 35 B220 4, 5, 30 B173 4, 5, 19, 35 B221 4, 5, 30 B174 4, 5, 12, 19 B222 4, 5, 21, 29, 30 B175 4, 5, 12, 15, 17, 19 B223 4, 5, 21, 23, 29 B176 4, 5, 15 B224 4, 5, 23 B177 4, 5 B225 4, 5, 23 B178 4, 5, 17 B226 4, 5, 23 B179 4, 5, 25, 35 B227 4, 5, 23 B180 4, 5, 25 B228 4, 5, 23 B181 4, 5 B229 4, 5, 23 B182 4, 5, 23 B230 4, 5, 12 B183 4, 5, 12, 23 B231 4, 5, 12, 26, 33 B184 4, 5, 12 B232 4, 5, 17, 26 B185 4, 5, 35 B233 4, 5, 17, 20 B186 4, 5 B234 4, 5, 14, 20 B187 4, 5, 17, 35 B235 4, 5, 14 B188 4, 5, 17 B236 4, 5, 12, 25 B189 4, 5, 17 B237 4, 5, 25, 35 B190 4, 5, 17, 36 B238 4, 5, 15, 25, 35 B191 4, 5, 17, 24 B239 4, 5, 15, 34 B192 4, 5, 17, 24 B240 4, 5, 15, 34 B193 4, 5, 17, 35 B241 4, 5, 15 B194 4, 5, 17, 34 B242 4, 5 B195 4, 5, 17 B243 4, 5, 17 B196 4, 5, 17 B244 4, 5, 17, 32 B197 4, 5, 17, 28 B245 4, 5, 15, 17, 21 B198 4, 5, 17 B246 4, 5, 15, 17 B199 4, 5, 17, 28 B247 4, 5, 17, 32 B200 4, 5 B248 4, 6 B201 4, 5 B249 4, 6, 12 B202 4, 5, 11, 17, 23 B250 4, 6, 12 B203 4, 5, 17 B251 4, 6 B204 4, 5, 11, 17 B252 4, 6, 12 B205 4, 5, 23, 25 B253 4, 6, 12, 17, 19 B206 4, 5, 19, 24, 25 B254 4, 6, 12, 17
49 B255 4, 5, 12 B285 4, 5, 12, 18 B256 4, 5, 12 B286 4, 5, 12, 18 B257 4, 5, 17 B287 4, 5, 12, 18 B258 4, 5, 17 B288 4, 5, 12, 18 B259 4, 5, 17, 23 B289 4, 5, 12, 18 B260 4, 5 B290 4, 5, 12, 15, 18, 28 B261 4, 5, 19 B291 4, 5, 12, 15, 28 B262 4, 5, 12, 19 B292 4, 5, 12, 15, 28 B263 4, 5, 12, 17 B293 4, 5, 12, 15, 28 B264 4, 5, 15 B294 4, 5, 12, 15, 28 B265 4, 5, 15 B295 4, 5, 12, 15, 18, 28 B266 4, 5, 15 B296 4, 5, 12, 18 B267 4, 5, 15, 17 B297 4, 5, 12, 18 B268 4, 5, 15, 18, 20, 26, 34, 36 B298 4, 5, 12 B269 4, 5, 18, 20, 26, 34, 36 B299 4, 5, 12 B270 4, 5, 18, 20, 25, 34, 35, 36 B300 4, 5, 12, 18 B271 4, 5, 18, 20, 25, 34, 35, 36 B301 4, 5, 12, 18 B272 4, 5, 18, 20, 33, 34, 36 B302 4, 5, 12, 18 B273 4, 5, 18, 20, 24, 25, 33, 34, 36 B303 4, 5, 12, 18 B274 4, 5, 18, 20, 34, 35, 36 B304 4, 5, 12, 18 B275 4, 5, 18, 20, 34, 36 B305 4, 5, 12, 18 B276 4, 5, 15, 18, 20, 34, 36 B306 4, 5, 12, 18, 35 B277 4, 5, 15, 18, 20, 34, 36 B307 4, 5, 12, 18, 35 B278 4, 5, 15, 18, 20, 34, 36 B308 4, 5, 12, 18, 35 B279 4, 5, 15, 18, 20, 34, 36 B309 4, 5, 12, 18, 32, 35 B280 4, 5, 12, 17 B310 4, 5, 12, 18, 35 B281 4, 5, 12, 17 B311 4, 6 B282 4, 5, 12 R34-35 21 B283 4, 5, 12, 18 AOS6-7 20 B284 4, 5, 12, 18 AOS35-36 20, 33
50 5.2 Additions to the “Sinuhe-bibliography”130
• Accetta, K and R. Fellinger (eds.), Current Research in Egyptology 14 (2013). Haverton: Oxbow Books. 2014.
• Bechtold, E. (ed.) et al., From Illahun to Djeme: Papers Presented in Honour of Ulrich Luft (BAR International Series 2311). Oxford: Archaeopress. 2011.
• Bommer, M., “Sinuhes Flucht. Zu Religion und Literatur als Methode”, Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 96, 15-23. 2014.
• Frood, E. and A. McDonald (eds.), Decorum and Experience: Essays in Ancient Culture for John Baines. Oxford: Griffith Institute. 2013.
• Goedicke, H., “Die Erzählung des Sinuhe (book review)”, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 52, 236. 1993.131
• Goedicke, H., “Sinuhe’s Epistolary Salutations to the King (B 206-11), Journal of the Amercian Research Center in Egypt 41, 5-22. 2004.132
• Hagen, F. (ed.) et al., Narratives of Egypt and the Ancient Near East: Literary and Linguistic Approaches (Orientalica Lovaniensia Analecta 189). Leuven: Peeters. 2011.
• Hays, H.M. (ed.) et al., Interpretations of Sinuhe, Inspired by Two Passages: Proceedings of a Workshop held at Leiden University, 27-29 November 2009 (Egyptologische Uitgaven 27). Leuven: Peeters. 2014.
• Holler, C. (ed.), Das Krokodil und der Pharao. Eine Anthologie altägyptischer Literatur. Mainz am Rhein: Phillip von Zabern. 2013.
• Matthews, V.H. and D.C. Benjamin (eds.), Old Testament Parallels: Laws and Stories from the Ancient Near East. New York: Paulist Press. 2006.
• Padri I Parcerisa, J., Deux possibles mentions des quatre éléments dans la littérature égyptienne classique (Mérikarê, P, 131-132 et Sinouhé, B, 233-234). Barcelona: University of Barcelona. 2012.
• Roeder, H. (ed.), Das Erzählen in frühen Hochkulturen, 1, der Fall Ägypten (Ägypten und Kulturwissenschaft 1). Munich: Wilhelm Fink. 2009.
130 The Sinuhe-Bibliographie (Lüscher and Lapp 2014-10-08) was designed to cover the publications up to and including the year of 2005. The present list then adds publications from 2006 to (June) 2016. The listed anthologies contain one or more articles centering on the Tale of Sinuhe. Taken together, this list of additions harbours 20-25 new articles which are directly related to the tale. 131 For some reason not included in the Sinuhe-Bibliographie. 132 For some reason not included in the Sinuhe-Bibliographie.
51 6. Illustrations
Figure 1: An excerpt from Papyrus Berlin 3022. Beginning of “The Tale of Sinuhe”. Reproduced (facsimile text) from Möller 1909: 7 (and Wikimedia Commons).
Figure 2: A picture of Senwosret I. Fragment of a kneeling statue of the king. Exhibited in the Altes Museum in Berlin (catalogue number 1206). Reproduced from Wikimedia Commons.
52
Figure 3: The pyramid of Amenemhat I. The remains of this king’s stone/clay-pyramid in the necropolis of the new capital city El-Lisht. Reproduced from Wikimedia Commons.
Figure 4: A picture of Amenemhat I with the gods. Relief from the king’s funerary temple in El-Lisht, showing the king granted life by the gods Horus (left) and Anubis (right). Exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Reproduced from Wikimedia Commons.
53
Figure 5: A map of Sinuhe’s movements. Reproduced from Parkinson 2009: xxxiii.
54