Page:Books on Egypt and Chaldaea, Vol. 32--Legends of the Gods.pdf/70

 and it is probable that the facts recorded in it are fragments of actual history, which the Egyptians of the late period tried to piece together in chronological order. We shall see as we read that the writer of the legend as we have it was not well acquainted with Egyptian history, and that in his account of the conquest of Egypt he has confounded one god with another, and mixed up historical facts with mythological legends to such a degree that his meaning is frequently uncertain. The great fact which he wished to describe is the conquest of Egypt by an early king, who, having subdued the peoples in the South, advanced northwards, and made all the people whom he con­quered submit to his yoke. Now the King of Egypt was always called Horus, and the priests of Edfû wishing to magnify their local god, Horus of Beḥuṭet, or Horus of Edfû, attributed to him the conquests of this human, and probably predynatstic, king. We must remember that the legend assumes that Rā was still reigning on earth, though he was old and feeble, and had probably deputed his power to his successor, whom the legend regards as his son.

In the 363rd year of his reign Rā-Harmakhis was in Nubia with his army with the intention of destroying those who had conspired against him; because of their conspiracy (anu) Nubia is called "Uana" to this day. From Nubia Rā-Harmakhis sailed down the river to Edfû, where Ḥeru-Beḥuṭet entered his boat, and told 