DOI article:
Griffith, Francis Ll.: Progress of Egyptology: archaeology, hieroglyphic studies, etc
DOI Page / Citation link: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.12055#0053
Archaeology, Hieroglyphic Studies, Etc
41
was built by Mycerinas, of the IVth Dynasty. It lias long been recognized
that she is represented in Manetho by the queen Nitocris of the Vlth
Dynasty. There is, however, no evidence of a queen Nitocris having
existed at that time; Nitakerte on a fragment of the Turin Papyrus is
probably later. In the Abydos list, however, at the end of the Vlth
Dynasty, a King Menkaura (another Mykerinus) is preceded by a King
Neterkara (pronounced Netekre ?), and here Manetho may have tried to
find an explanation of the tradition of Ehodopis in Herodotus. Netekre
resembled Nitocris, the heroine of another story in Herodotus, and the
latter may have been supposed to be the same as Rhodopis, Menkaura being-
identified falsely with the IVth Dynasty king of the same name who built
the Third Pyramid. Hellenic Journal, xxiv. 208.
Sethe upholds his identification of Sesostris as Sn-wsrt (Csertesen) in
an elaborate article. Mr. Garstang's El Araba stela of Usertesen III
shows that he led an expedition into Palestine, and this might be the
foundation of part of the Sesostris legend. Fresh evidence indicates that
the sen is to be read sa-n," man of," rather than derived from sn. Sesostris
is probably from Se-wosre, a parallel sbort or vulgar form of Sanwosre,
which would have been the more obvious pronunciation. The repetition
of the 9 in the Greek can be paralleled by Oasis from icahe, Diodorus'
Sesoosis is also explained. Some remarkable examples of a spelling
Wsrt-s, i.e. Se-wosre, are quoted. A peculiar name given to Barneses II is
shown to read Ss, rather than Ssts, Sstre, and to be a short form of
Eamesses. A. Z. xli. 43.
Prof. Maspero discusses the names in Manetho's XVIIIth and XlXth
Dynasties. Amessisis not Hatshepsut, but the queen Ahmase, daughter of
Amenhotep I. Of the first eight names in the XVIIIth Dynasty he finds
three that are real and in the right place ; two others are real, but in the
wrong position relatively to each other ; and three are hopelessly uniden-
tifiable. The list represents not a deformation of the old official list, but a
new and entirely different tradition. The later part of the dynasty and
the beginning of the XlXth is in a still worse state ; the first three kings
of the XlXth are a repetition of the last three in the XVIIIth. The
XlXth contains three authentic names, two that belong to previous
Dynasties, and one that is hopeless. The lengths of the reigns are quite
correct in two cases, others are certainly false. Evidently Manetho does
not agree with the official canon of the New Kingdom, nor with the evidence
of the monuments. After comparing the full extracts of the Manethonian
history preserved by Josephus and the brief extracts in the chronographers
with the popular tales current in Ptolemaic-and Roman times, it appears
41
was built by Mycerinas, of the IVth Dynasty. It lias long been recognized
that she is represented in Manetho by the queen Nitocris of the Vlth
Dynasty. There is, however, no evidence of a queen Nitocris having
existed at that time; Nitakerte on a fragment of the Turin Papyrus is
probably later. In the Abydos list, however, at the end of the Vlth
Dynasty, a King Menkaura (another Mykerinus) is preceded by a King
Neterkara (pronounced Netekre ?), and here Manetho may have tried to
find an explanation of the tradition of Ehodopis in Herodotus. Netekre
resembled Nitocris, the heroine of another story in Herodotus, and the
latter may have been supposed to be the same as Rhodopis, Menkaura being-
identified falsely with the IVth Dynasty king of the same name who built
the Third Pyramid. Hellenic Journal, xxiv. 208.
Sethe upholds his identification of Sesostris as Sn-wsrt (Csertesen) in
an elaborate article. Mr. Garstang's El Araba stela of Usertesen III
shows that he led an expedition into Palestine, and this might be the
foundation of part of the Sesostris legend. Fresh evidence indicates that
the sen is to be read sa-n," man of," rather than derived from sn. Sesostris
is probably from Se-wosre, a parallel sbort or vulgar form of Sanwosre,
which would have been the more obvious pronunciation. The repetition
of the 9 in the Greek can be paralleled by Oasis from icahe, Diodorus'
Sesoosis is also explained. Some remarkable examples of a spelling
Wsrt-s, i.e. Se-wosre, are quoted. A peculiar name given to Barneses II is
shown to read Ss, rather than Ssts, Sstre, and to be a short form of
Eamesses. A. Z. xli. 43.
Prof. Maspero discusses the names in Manetho's XVIIIth and XlXth
Dynasties. Amessisis not Hatshepsut, but the queen Ahmase, daughter of
Amenhotep I. Of the first eight names in the XVIIIth Dynasty he finds
three that are real and in the right place ; two others are real, but in the
wrong position relatively to each other ; and three are hopelessly uniden-
tifiable. The list represents not a deformation of the old official list, but a
new and entirely different tradition. The later part of the dynasty and
the beginning of the XlXth is in a still worse state ; the first three kings
of the XlXth are a repetition of the last three in the XVIIIth. The
XlXth contains three authentic names, two that belong to previous
Dynasties, and one that is hopeless. The lengths of the reigns are quite
correct in two cases, others are certainly false. Evidently Manetho does
not agree with the official canon of the New Kingdom, nor with the evidence
of the monuments. After comparing the full extracts of the Manethonian
history preserved by Josephus and the brief extracts in the chronographers
with the popular tales current in Ptolemaic-and Roman times, it appears