Page:Books on Egypt and Chaldaea, Vol. 32--Legends of the Gods.pdf/87

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EGYPTIAN LITERATURE

Texts, and what the gods were supposed to do for them was believed by the Egyptians to have been actually done for Osiris. These extracts are peculiarly valuable, for they prove that the legend of Osiris which was current under the XVIIIth Dynasty was based upon traditions which were universally accepted in Egypt under the Vth and VIth Dynasties.

The hymn concludes with a reference to the accession of Horus, son of Isis, the flesh and bone of Osiris, to the throne of his grandfather Ḳeb, and to the welcome which he received from the Tchatcha, or Administrators of heaven, and the Company of the Gods, and the Lords of Truth, who assembled in the Great House of Heliopolis to acknowledge his sovereignty. His succession also received the approval of Neb-er-tcher, who, as we saw from the first legend in this book, was the Creator of the Universe.


VI.

A Legend of Khensu Nefer-ḥetep[1] and the Princess of Bekhten.

The text of this legend is cut in hieroglyphics upon a sandstone stele, with a rounded top, which was found

  1. In the headlines of this section, p. 106 ff., for Ptaḥ Nefer-ḥetep read Khensu Nefer-ḥetep.