Mon., 9/9

Exercise 8E (complete as HW): Read p. 21 - p. 24 of the King Cheops and the Magicians reading packet and summarize the tale, ‘The Birth of Kings,’ in five complete sentences. Include the names, Reddedet, Rewosre, Khnum, Isis, Nephthys, Meskhenet, Heket, Wosref, Sahure, Keku, the maidservant (of Reddedet) and the maidservant’s eldest brother. You may copy verbatim the model answer provided. Model answer: Rewosre, Lord of Sakhbu, asks five deities to deliver his wife’s triplets so that they may grow up to honor the gods. Isis, Nephthys, Meskhenet, and Heket are midwife goddesses and Khnum is a ram-headed god who, in another story, created human beings from clay. After manifesting as musicians and delivering the three baby kings, Wosref, Sahure, and Keku, the deities leave crowns for them in bags of corn Rewosre presented to them. Reddedet’s maidservant hears music in the bin holding the corn and, after reporting it to her mistress, they further encase and seal the bin. The Westcar Papyrus ends abruptly after reporting that a few days later Reddedet’s maidservant is beaten by Reddedet, beaten by her own brother for threatening to report the first beating to the king, and then eaten by a crocodile.