![]() ![]() They kept track of their kings, for example, in the Abydos list. It may well be the first known historical fiction, as well as the first known magic text.Įgyptians were quite aware of their rich history. ![]() 1782-1570 BCE), so very interestingly, it is a work of fiction that was set in the distant past, almost a thousand years prior to its writing. However, its date of creation was long after Khufu’s death, in the Second Intermediate Period (ca. Papyrus Westcar, as it turned out, contained several loosely connected stories, starring king Khufu. History and Narrative in Ancient Egypt Image of Thoth in the Book of the Dead, New Kingdom, ca. After Lepsius’ death, the papyrus was donated to the Egyptian Museum in Berlin, where it remains until this day. After the decipherment of hieroglyphs, and eager to finally know what hidden knowledge his papyrus contained, Westcar gave the 2-yards long roll to the German Egyptologist Richard Lepsius, who put great effort in its translation. We do know the date on which it was purchased: 1825. Henry took it upon himself to travel to Egypt and try to acquire a similar object, and it was not hard for him to do it since what we now know as the Westcar Papyrus was offered to him by a street vendor in a place never disclosed by the buyer. John Lee, lawyer and antiquary, who had in his possession an interesting judicial papyrus, but he did not know the contents. The family of Henry Westcar were friends with Dr. Although nobody knew what they said (the first successful efforts to decipher the Egyptian writing would be made by Jean-François Champollion in 1822), they made for exquisite and exotic curiosities in the cabinets of doctors and noblemen. In particular, a hobby of the London elite seemed to be the collection of obscure Egyptian papyri. But even before Queen Victoria ascended the throne in 1837, there were a few English gentlemen interested in traveling to faraway, exotic lands beyond. Sir William Wilde, Oscar’s father, was one of such explorers and uncovered thousands of animal mummies. Although they mostly lacked formal training in archaeology or Egyptology, they sometimes made important discoveries that changed the way we think of ancient Egypt even today. Wealthy socialites would constantly travel to Egypt in search of hidden treasure and mysteries. And this is why, out of all the three portraits of Khufu, the real king remains a mystery.Įgyptomania was at its peak during the Victorian Era of Britain. This was a character in a work of fiction, more than an account of a real person. Finally, the third and last Khufu is the one portrayed in the Westcar Papyrus. There are reasons to doubt this description. ![]() In their work, and especially in the latter’s, Khufu is painted in a negative light as a cold-blooded tyrant who did not hesitate to force her own daughter into prostitution just to secure the funds for the Pyramid. Then, there is a second Khufu, which is described in the not-so-factual accounts of Manetho and Herodotus. We do not know too much about his character other than he commissioned the Great Pyramid, and he ruled right after Sneferu. The first is the real one, the actual man/god who ruled Egypt. 2580 BCE, via the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt This was the time when some of the most impressive monuments of ancient Egypt were built, and is generally regarded as a period of splendor for the Egyptian civilization. He reigned in the middle of what is now known as the Golden Age of Pyramids, that is, the core part of the Egyptian Old Kingdom. His greatest achievement, the Great Pyramid of Giza, is still standing today as a testament to the engineering skills and manpower the ancient pharaohs of Egypt could muster. Khufu was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty of Egyptian kings. Khufu’s Reign and the Westcar Papyrus Relief fragment with king Khufu’s cattle, Old Kingdom ca. ![]()
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