Rameses II’s reign was also something of an Elizabethan age in Egyptian literature. A number of old works on papyrus have been found, left by a galaxy of Theban writers. History, divinity, practical philosophy, poetry and tales are among them. A list of temple scribes is given, naming Bek-en-tah, Qu-ge-bu, Hor Anna, Mer-Em-aput, Amen-em-api, Pan and Pentaur. The victorious campaign of Rameses II against the Ethiopians is described by Herodotus, who perhaps derived his authority from some of these sources. Pentaur, sometimes spoken of as the jovial poet, was easily laureate of this reign. In high, joyful, but martial strains, he celebrated, in heroic verse, the achievements of his master. He glorifies his every deed and makes him a demi-god rather than a man. Again and again Rameses II had Pentaur’s poem, the so-called Iliad of the Egyptians, inscribed on the temple walls. To the east of the southern door, near the great Hall of Columns at Karnak, the poem is to be found. At Abydos, Luxor, Karnak, the Ramessium, on the inner face of the pylon at the Ramessium, and at the Memnonium or tomb of Osymandeus and Abou-Simbel the same familiar scene of Rameses fighting alone is pictured or described. The king is shown in a chariot with prancing horses, and again on a throne with the inscription, “Victory for Thebes.” Four of these copies of the poem are perfect, at Abydos, Luxor and Abou-Simbel, a fifth, without illustration, is on the wall of the temple of Karnak and a fragment at the temple of Deir in Nubia.
“Where art thou, O father Amon!” prays the king, “Does a father forsake his son? Not one of my generals, not one of my captains is with me.” “I hasten to thine aid, O Rameses, my son, beloved of Amon,” answers the god and singly and alone enables him to perform prodigies of valor. “My soldiers have abandoned me, my horsemen have fled,” cries the king. “I am more to thee than hundreds of thousands,” comes the response and again, “the youthful king with his bold hand has not his equal. His arms are powerful, his heart is firm. His courage is like that of the god of war.” Again the king speaks. “The diadem of the royal snake adorns my head. It spits fire and glowing flame in the face of my enemies. They cried out to one another, ‘Take care! Do not fall, for the powerful snake of royalty has placed itself on his horse.’” The great temple of Abou-Simbel is said by some to have been made in honor of his first victory over the Khitans, years before his marriage with the princess. “The freshness of the statues there,” says Curtis, “is startling. It is sublime.”
All these laudations gratified the king’s pride, for the little queen there must have been in it all something of a trial. But it was not a time distinguished for consideration of the feelings of others. For her the old life was probably closed; there was not likely to have been much intercourse, merely for her pleasure, between her and her family. For purposes of war, and perhaps for hunting, they went far afield, but we can well believe that few trips to a distance, solely for the pleasure of the ladies, were undertaken.
Innumerable are the pictures and statues of Rameses II. Alone, with Queen Nofritare-Minimut and his sons and daughters, and in one or two places with his wife, the Khitan princess. At Gibel Silsileh, on a tablet, is a picture of the king, Queen Nofritari Minimut, Queen Tuaa or Ti, the king’s mother, and the princess Bint-antha, all appear in a bas-relief. Again the king appears before the gods Ptah and Nefertum. A stele in the third year of the reign of Rameses II gives the route to the gold mines which Rameses had worked. In the rock temple of Gerf Husen the king appears as a founder and god to be worshipped. In the half rock temple of Sebuah is a large statue of him. At the temple of Deir there is another picture of him. On the stele of a certain General Amenti, near Abou-Simbel appears Prince Seti, named, of course, for the father of Rameses II, the king’s mother and the Princess Bint Antha. There are, or were, enormous statues of the king at Karnak, Tanis, and elsewhere.
To the British Museum and other places in Europe some of these statues have been removed, and among those in this country may be named one in the museum of the University of Pennsylvania. In the museum of Gizeh is a red granite figure of Rameses II, life size, as a youth, at eighteen or twenty, crowned with an elaborate Osirian helmet, issuing from a diadem, encircled by uraei; this known as the atef-crown.
The Hebrews, some believe to have been the slaves who built for Rameses II the treasure cities of Pithon and Rameses, the Pa-Tum and Pa-Rameses of the inscriptions, and bricks made with stubble, or no straw, have been found, confirming, it is thought, the Bible record. The Egyptian kings, bent on leaving behind them such mammoth structures, all worked with a reckless expenditure of the lives of their slaves and captives.
Some of the pictures on tombs give representations of conquered peoples, such as the brown and coal black people of the Soudan, their princess in a chariot drawn by oxen and shaded by an umbrella, her attendants with feathers in their hair and a kind of hood, like that worn by some wild tribes in the present day.
Rameses II instituted several festivals, among which may be mentioned that of the Nile and that of Seknet and the goddess Bast at Bubastis, where joyous and licentious festivals, like those of Hathor, at Denderah, were held. At the former festival the king was seated on a throne, borne by twelve nobles, adorned with feathers, the throne having the back and feet of a lion. The king wore a war helmet and carried a staff. Behind were the court officials, warding off the sun’s rays, with the long-handled flabellium, while the lower order of priests, the Kherheb, carried and swung censors of incense. Trains of captives followed and the king was hailed as “Rameses Miamun, who loves the Nile, the father of the gods, his creator.”
As the Nile rose lights were lighted like beacon fires at different points, till the whole country was a blaze of joyful illumination. To the inhabitants the rising of the Nile meant in great degree life, health and happiness. A hymn sung to celebrate this desired event is vouched for by Glovatski, who has evidently made a close study of his subject, as authentic. “Be greeted, O Nile, sacred river, which appearest on this country! Thou comest in peace to give life to Egypt. O hidden deity, who scatterest darkness, who moistenest the fields to bring food to dumb animals, O thou precious one, descending from heaven to give drink to the earth, O friend of bread, thou who gladdenest our cottages! Thou art the master of fishes; when thou art in our fields no bird dares touch the harvest. Thou art the creator of grain and the parent of barley; thou givest rest to the hands of millions of the unfortunate and for ages thou securest the sanctuary.” In some such words as these rose to the blue heavens the praise and acclaim of the grateful people.
In the month Paofi, the second half of July, the waters are rising as much as two hands a day, so that the waves in a continuous murmur may be heard plashing over soil dry in the morning, while the color changes from greenish white to a ruddy tint. Then growing darker, as in the month Hator, including part of August, it has reached half its height, and where men previously walked they now travel in boats from the middle of September to the middle of October, the month Cheoeak, the waters at their height began to fall, while trees blossomed a second time, and fruits were gathered in the gardens. For the next month, Tobi, the waters would continue to fall disclosing more and more of the rich and fructified earth. While the winter season, the most delightful in Egypt, was beginning, the heat rarely going beyond 70 Fahrenheit. As the month Mechir advanced more and more land appeared and flowers of varied hue sprang up amid the emerald green of the fresh grass. By Phaenoth, part of December, and January, the whole land was abloom. No wonder the heavens rang with the acclaim of the people who witnessed this daily miracle.