DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.12654#0077
Sect. IV.]
THE SESOSTRIS OF MANETHO.
49
Sesostris, the historian tells us that he was considered
by the Egyptians as the first after Osiris. The only true
explanation of this passage is, that this King- was con-
sidered by the Egyptians as the greatest of mortals,
and to be honoured next after Osiris, " the youngest of
the gods." This explanation is most strikingly con-
firmed by a fact of which very remarkable instances
are found in some of the unpublished papers of Sir
Gardner Wilkinson, which he has kindly shown me, as
well as in his published works; that in numerous sculp-
tures in Nubia we find Kings of the Eighteenth Dynasty,
of the Thothmes family, worshipping Sesertesen III. as
a god, and that this is the only case of the kind; for
although we find one solitary case of another early
monarch being worshipped, and some cases of several
monarchs being worshipped together, and several cases
of Kings worshipping their fathers or other progenitors,
yet, as far as I know, we never find another instance of
a King of any dynasty being frequently represented as
a god, and worshipped, in sculptures of other Kings not
of the same dynasty1*. On these grounds, I cannot
hesitate for a moment to decide that Sesertesen III. is
the Sesostris of Manetho. A question here arises, how-
ever, since it is evident from this that Sesertesen is the
Egyptian name which the Greeks write Sesostris. Is
each of the three Sesertesens a Sesostris? We may,
indeed, reasonably suppose that this similarity of name
has caused some confusion; and there seems to be
scarcely any doubt that two of the Sesertesens have
been celebrated under the name of Sesostris. If we
* The lists of Kings in the second part of this work, and my
reasons for their arrangement, will explain any difficulties which
may occur to the reader with reference to the order of the different
Kings and dynasties.
E
THE SESOSTRIS OF MANETHO.
49
Sesostris, the historian tells us that he was considered
by the Egyptians as the first after Osiris. The only true
explanation of this passage is, that this King- was con-
sidered by the Egyptians as the greatest of mortals,
and to be honoured next after Osiris, " the youngest of
the gods." This explanation is most strikingly con-
firmed by a fact of which very remarkable instances
are found in some of the unpublished papers of Sir
Gardner Wilkinson, which he has kindly shown me, as
well as in his published works; that in numerous sculp-
tures in Nubia we find Kings of the Eighteenth Dynasty,
of the Thothmes family, worshipping Sesertesen III. as
a god, and that this is the only case of the kind; for
although we find one solitary case of another early
monarch being worshipped, and some cases of several
monarchs being worshipped together, and several cases
of Kings worshipping their fathers or other progenitors,
yet, as far as I know, we never find another instance of
a King of any dynasty being frequently represented as
a god, and worshipped, in sculptures of other Kings not
of the same dynasty1*. On these grounds, I cannot
hesitate for a moment to decide that Sesertesen III. is
the Sesostris of Manetho. A question here arises, how-
ever, since it is evident from this that Sesertesen is the
Egyptian name which the Greeks write Sesostris. Is
each of the three Sesertesens a Sesostris? We may,
indeed, reasonably suppose that this similarity of name
has caused some confusion; and there seems to be
scarcely any doubt that two of the Sesertesens have
been celebrated under the name of Sesostris. If we
* The lists of Kings in the second part of this work, and my
reasons for their arrangement, will explain any difficulties which
may occur to the reader with reference to the order of the different
Kings and dynasties.
E