Newberry, Percy E. : Beni Hasan (Band 2) (London, 1893)

22

BENI HASAN.

EELI-
GION.

Fune-
rary

Asiatics. Those figured in the tomb of
Khnemhotep II.1 had perhaps wandered
into the desert between the Nile and the
Red Sea.

§ 9. On the monuments of the Old and
Middle Kingdom representations of divinities
very rarely occur, and none are met with in
the wall-paintings at Bern Hasan. There
is, however, no lack of their names in the
inscriptions, and a few interesting figures
of them, on a small scale, occur in the
hieroglyphs determining their names. Those
that are named may be divided into three
groups : the funerary deities, the local gods,
and other divinities of less defined signifi-
cance.

To the first class belongs the great Osiris,
Deities. Khent Amentiu, ruler of the departed spirits
in the West, named the Lord of Busiris in
the Delta, and of Abydos in Upper Egypt.
He was the King of the Underworld and
judge of the dead. Next there is Anubis,
the embalmer, who is always represented
in the form of a jackal. He is described
as Lord of Tazeser (" the sacred land"),
tep tu-ef, " He who is upon his hill," and
dm Ut, " Within the City of embalming,"
perhaps, as Prof. Maspero has lately sug-
gested,2 one of the oases in the western
desert. Thirdly, there is Ptah Socaris,
entitled Lord of Heaven, and worshipped
especially in the necropolis of Memphis.
He is generally entitled in other inscriptions
neb shetyt, " Lord of the sarcophagus." At
Beni Hasan the prince Amenemhat is said
to be one " worthy before Ptah Socaris,"
and the Great Chief Baqt is " beloved " of

him.

1 Beni Hasan, Part I., Pis. xxviii., xxx., and xxxi.

2 Vide Journal Asiatique, IX. Serie, t. i., p. 232-240.
Bibliotheque Egyptologique, tome ii., p. 421, " Le nom
antique de la Grande-Oasis."

The following gods take their titles from Local

Deities.

localities in the Oryx nome :— ^ ^

I J © " Horus witllin the city of Hebnu,"
the capital of the province. Amenemhat
is described as " worthy before" him,
and Khnemhotep I. "beloved of him."

S 1?? ^ |£© " Khnem, Lord of Herur,"
is frequently mentioned. Amenemhat was
" superintendent of the priests " of this god.
Baqt I., Baqt III., and Khety are all de-
scribed as " beloved " of the same deity, and
Baqt III. as " worthy before " him. The con-
sort of Khnem of Herur, fr^/Ma

" Heqt of Herur," is also frequently alluded
to in the Beni Hasan inscriptions : Baqt III.,
Khety, and Khnemhotep I. are all " beloved "
of her; and Khety is described as hesy,
" praised " of Heqt of Herur. Two local
forms of the goddess Hathor are also men-
tioned. One was ^ J ^» [I © " Hathor,
Lady of Neferus," the other ^ ^ ^ f

" Hathor in Aryt:" Hotept, the wife of
Amenemhat, was a priestess of the first;
Henu, Amenemhat's mother, Amenemhat
himself, Sat-ap the wife of Khnemhotep I.,
Baqt III., and Khnemhotep the wife
of Khety, are all described as " worthy
before" Hathor of Neferus. Khnem-
hotep I., Baqt HI., and Khety are all
mentioned as " beloved" of the same
goddess. Henu, Amenemhat's mother, and
Hotept his wife, are both named as "worthy
before" Hathor in Aryt. Another local
deity to be mentioned here was the leopard-

goddess §§

" Pakht, Lady of the

Speos Valley." The lady Hotept is called
her "priestess," and Khnemhotep II. her
" titefc-priest; " the lady Henu, and Khnem-
hotep II. are both described as "worthy
before " Pakht.

Besides Horus of Hebnu, three other