LEGENDS OF THE GODS

PLATE V.Horus standing on the back of the Hippopotamus-fiend, and spearing himin the presence of Isis.PLATE VI.The "Butcher-priest" slicing open the Hippopotamus-fiend.In gladness of heart Ra proposed a sail on the Nile, but as soon as hisenemies heard that he was coming, they changed themselves intocrocodiles and hippopotami, so that they might be able to wreck hisboat and devour him. As the boat of the god approached them theyopened their jaws to crush it, but Horus and his followers came quicklyon the scene, and defeated their purpose. The followers of Horus herementioned are called in the text "Mesniu," i.e., "blacksmiths," or"workers in metal," and they represent the primitive conquerors of theEgyptians, who were armed with metal weapons, and so were able toovercome with tolerable ease the indigenous Egyptians, whose weaponswere made of flint and wood. Horus and his "blacksmiths" were providedwith iron lances and chains, and, baying cast the chains over themonsters in the river, they drove their lances into their snouts, andslew 651 of them. Because Horus gained his victory by means of metalweapons, Ra decreed that a metal statue of Horus should be placed atEdfu, and remain there for ever, and a name was given to the town tocommemorate the great battle that had taken place there. Ra applaudedHorus for the mighty deeds which be had been able to perform by meansof the spells contained in the "Book of Slaying the Hippopotamus."Horus then associated with himself the goddesses Uatchet and Nekhebet,who were in the form of serpents, and, taking his place as the wingedDisk on the front of the Boat of Ra, destroyed all the enemies of Rawheresoever he found them. When the remnant of the enemies of Ra, sawthat they were likely to be slain, they doubled back to the South, butHorus pursued them, and drove them down the river before him as far asThebes. One battle took place at Tchetmet, and another at Denderah,and Horus was always victorious; the enemies were caught by chainsthrown over them, and the deadly spears of the Blacksmiths drank theirblood.After this the enemy fled to the North, and took refuge in the swampsof the Delta, and in the shallows of the Mediterranean Sea, and Horuspursued them thither. After searching for them for four days and fournights he found them, and they were speedily slain. One hundred andforty-two of them and a male hippopotamus were dragged on to the Boatof Ra, and there Horus dug out their entrails, and hacked theircarcases in pieces, which he gave to his Blacksmiths and the gods whoformed the crew of the Boat of Ra. Before despatching thehippopotamus, Horus leaped on to the back of the monster as a mark ofhis triumph, and to commemorate this event the priest of Heben, thetown wherein these things happened, was called "He who standeth on theback ever after."The end of the great fight, however, was not yet. Another army ofenemies appeared by the North Lake, and they were marching towards thesea; but terror of Horus smote their hearts, and they fled and tookrefuge in Mertet-Ament, where they allied themselves with the followers