In the above, the hieroglyph rendered Hathor is an oblong figure with a small square inscribed in one corner, thus resembling a stamped envelope. This oblong figure called ha, probably represented the ground plan of a temple or house, and is rendered abode, house, temple, or palace, according to the context. Inside the ground-plan in this case is a figure of a hawk, the emblem of a solar deity. Here it stands for Horus, and the entire hieroglyph (ha, hor) rendered Hathor, means “the abode of Horus.” The “abode of Horus” refers to his mother, a goddess who is therefore named Hathor, or Athor. The cow is often used as an emblem of this goddess. Isis also is the reputed mother of Horus, and consequently some think that Hathor and Isis are two names for one and the same goddess.
Third side.—Left hand.
“Horus, the powerful bull, son of Tum, king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, lord of kingly and queenly royalty, guardian of Egypt, chastiser of foreign lands, son of the sun. Rameses-meri-Amen, coming daily into the temple of Tum; he has seen nothing in the house of his father, lord of the two countries, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, son of the sun, Rameses-meri-Amen, like the sun.”
In the above the word rendered guardian is mak, a word made up of three phonetic hieroglyphs, namely, a hole, arm, and semicircle.
Egypt, called Kham, that is the black country, is here represented by a crocodile’s tail, since crocodiles were common in the country, and characteristic of Egypt.
The word rendered chastiser is in the original auf, a name made up of three phonetic hieroglyphs, namely, an arm, chick, horned snake. The arrangement of these hieroglyphs with a view to neatness and economising space displays both taste and ingenuity.
While it is asserted that Rameses went into the temple of Tum every day, it is also said that he saw nothing in the temple. This seems like a contradiction; but, according to classic writers, Rameses II., called by the Greeks Sesostris, became blind in his old age, and the preceding passage may have reference to the monarch’s blindness.
Fourth side.—Right hand.
“Horus, powerful bull, beloved of Ra, king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, the son of Ra, born of the gods, holding his dominions with power, victory, glory; the bull of princes, king of kings, lord of the two countries, Ra-user-Ma-sotep-en-Ra, son of the sun, Rameses-men-Amen, of Tum, beloved of Heliopolis, giver of life.”
In the above, a lion’s head, called peh, stands for glory, and a crook like that of a shepherd, called hek, stands for ruler or prince.