Magic in ancient egypt

MAGIC F I G U R I N E S AND STATUES conspirators also made wax gods, perhaps to invoke harmful divine manifestations against the king (Papyrus Rolliri).

The secret book must have been something similar to The Book of Overthrowing Apep. The names of some of the defendants have obviously been altered in the court records. Divine elements in their names are replaced by the names or epithets of the forces of chaos and evil. One is called by an epithet of Apep and another is called 'Ra hates him'. This was the first step in identifying these political enemies of the king with the enemies of Ra and the whole cosmic cycle, just as was done in the magic ritual. The conspirators were either executed or forced to commit suicide.

The surviving records do not describe the crime in detail, but it appears that force or poison were to be used against King Ramses. In the legend of Nectanebo, the royal magician fights his enemies principally with magic. In reality, Egyptian magic was generally used to supplement more concrete forms of attack or defence. Many Egyptians may have thought that ritual was more effective than mere human action because it harnessed divine powers, but they did not place total reliance on it. The Execration Texts found in Nubia date to a period when the Egyptians were building and garrisoning a series of massive fortresses there. The burial of 'captive figurines' or execration texts on pots may have been part of the foundation ceremonies for such forts.

In Egyptian society, the use of magic rarely seems to have precluded more practical action. This can be seen in both magic for the state and magic for the individual, but it was a factor not always appreciated by later commentators on Egypt. These commentators are likely to have been influenced by Egypt's literary tradition. In literature, magical methods are given prominence: they naturally make for a more picturesque story. The Setne cycle contains several examples of the use of magical figurines. In the first part of the cycle, Prince Naneferkaptah makes a model boat and crew, probably out of wax. He gives the 'breath of life' to the figurines by reciting spells over them. This boat enables him to reach the place where the Book of Thoth is hidden and he throws down sand to part the waters of the Nile. The wax boat probably represents the Sun Boat and its celestial crew.

In this episode, the figures are simply helpers who row the magician as if he was the sun god. In another part of the Setne cycle they are used much more aggressively. Setne and his wife have a son called Siosiris, who even as a child possesses remarkable magical powers. A Nubian chieftain comes to the court of Ramses II and challenges Egypt's wise men to read a sealed letter without opening it. Only the prodigy Siosiris is able to perform this feat.

The letter relates how, centuries before, a Nubian sorcerer had worked magic against the Pharaoh Siamun of Egypt. This sorcerer made a litter and four bearers out of wax and recited spells to give them the breath of life. The bearers travelled to Egypt and took the sleeping Siamun from his bed. They carried him to Nubia and beat him with five hundred blows in front of the Nubian ruler. When Siamun was returned 95