The Report of Wenemdiamun Megaera Lorenz

    Year 8 under the majesty of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Lord of the Two Lands Usermaatre Meryamun, Son of Re Ramesses, Ruler of Heliopolis. Words spoken by the scribe of recruits, general of the Lord of the Two Lands, Wenemdiamun, possessor of reveredness in the Two Lands. He says [1]:

    In the eighth year of His Majesty, the people of the north in their coastal lands [2] became restless, and they rose up against Egypt. The chiefs came with their brothers, bringing their wives and children and belongings with them. [3] They violated the borders of the Two Lands, clogging the river mouths [4] with their boats and the land ways with their caravans.

    His Majesty, having received the command of the god, equipped his soldiers with weapons and sent them forth to strengthen the boundaries of the two lands. He took all the picked men of Egypt, he established them in the garrisons of the land of Djahi, and he placed warships manned with the bravest crews upon the river mouths.

    Because I was an effective scribe, my reputation reached His Majesty, and he commanded me to go forth to oversee the troops who were taking the prisoners of the northern lands. He sent me to the frontiers of Djahi, and I happily went to do service for the Good God.

    I arrived in Djahi after a journey of many days, and settled in a camp by the river mouths. I brought with me a company of picked soldiers, and the men prepared to defend the borders of Egypt.

    Daily, my men brought back to camp a goodly number of prisoners, as well as severed hands of the dead and the plunder of their belongings.  I would oversee the counting of the prisoners, and their possessions were all put together in one place to be brought as tribute to the Residence of the king. Most of their belongings were poor, consisting of pots and dishes of clay, made upon the wheel, and painted with birds in black pigment. [5]

    I had with me as a servant a man of the Shardana [6], who understood the tongues of many of the prisoners. He would approach each captured man, woman or child and ask them, "What kind of person are you?" And they would reply, "I am Shekelesh," or that they were Denyen, Weshesh, or Shardana. But the greatest number of them called themselves Peleset and Tjekker. I had never seen the like of them before. They carried round shields and spears or great heavy swords, and they wore many-plumed caps upon their heads.

    One day, as I was looking over the captives, making sure that they were strong and in good health before they were sent to be placed in the strongholds of His Majesty, one of the Peleset spoke to me. He was a man neither exceedingly young nor old, slender of limb but strong-bodied. He addressed me in the Egyptian tongue, saying, "You, sir, tell me -- what is going to happen to us? Are we to be slain, or are we to be made servants in your households?"

    I was astonished to hear him speaking in the Egyptian tongue, and so I did not pass on, but stayed to speak with him. "No," I said, "you shall not be slain, if you willingly submit to His Majesty, Lord of the Two Lands, Usermaatre Meryamun -- life, prosperity and health to him. The god of all lands, Amun-Re, has decreed your capture, but if you will do what is proper, you will all be settled in strongholds of the king [7]. There, you will become as citizens of Egypt -- you will do good work in service of His Majesty, and pay taxes to him in clothing and grain, and you will be loyal servants in his name."

    The Peleset replied, "I am loyal to whoever feeds me and clothes me, so I willingly submit to your king. But shall I have my wife and children with me?"

    I said to him, "I will strive to see that you are well cared for. But tell me, who are you, and how did you come to speak Egyptian?"

    He answered, "My name is Beder [8], and when I was very young, I served upon a ship that transported goods from Egypt to Alashiya and Canaan. That is how I came to know Egyptian. But trade in these past years is not what it once was, and my fellows and I were not making a profit. And so I turned instead to piracy, and it was with the spoils from this occupation that I took care of my family."

    I asked him, "Then how did you come to band together with these other peoples and move upon Egypt?"

    "You may wish to sit down and listen, my lord," he said, "for my tale is a long one."

    This I was happy to do, for I had been working all day, and my duties were tiring. So I caused my servants to bring a chair for me, and to bring bread and cool beer for myself and Beder. I released Beder from the fetters that bound him, and he told his story while I sat and listened. This is the story that he told:

    "I was born on the isle of Alashiya [9]. For hundreds of years before my time, my ancestors from the north had been coming by sea and trading with the people of that island, and many of them at length settled there and married the native inhabitants, and brought their own customs with them [10].

    "But I have gone about on ships all of my life, so the ocean seems as much a home to me as any land. I carried out trade in the service of the rulers of Alashiya and Ugarit [11]. These ships traveled everywhere upon the water-ways, carrying copper and fine wares, wood from Canaan, and the good things that come from Egypt -- gold, horses and chariots, linen, ebony, ivory and oil.

    "Now, at length there came a time when trade began to falter. There was trouble in the great kingship of Hatti. The chiefs of the lands under the heel of the king of Hatti became rebellious, and the lands were consumed in petty bickering [12]. The harbors teemed with warships, and thievery ran rampant upon the water-ways that my companions and I were accustomed to traveling.

     "Now, we also once traded in the islands and coastal regions to the north and west, where we could acquire fine olive oil, metal-work and wool [13]. But trouble had fallen upon them, as well. The ships that used to come to them bearing the raw metals that they used for their craft and the purple dye for their wool now came in lesser numbers, and had little to exchange. And further, the gods had frowned on them by sending them drought, so that their crops failed [14]. The great lords of the palaces began to fight amongst each other, and the kings began to bicker with their own officials [15].

    "This went on for many years, and each year, the trade route yielded less reward. One day, when I had spent several months upon the trade routes and had come home with hardly anything to show, I set foot upon the soil of my homeland in despair. I walked to my house with all of the weight of an ox yoke upon my neck. My wife and children ran to embrace me, and my children jumped with excitement as they always did, crying, 'What have you brought for us, Father?' My wife kissed me and asked, 'Beder, my dear, what gift have you brought this time? Do you have star-flower earrings from Canaan, or a necklace from Kaphtor for me?'

    "I said to her, 'Would that I had something to give you, my pretty bird, but my captain could barely afford to pay me the smallest salary. The gold and silver that we brought in were scarcely enough to buy supplies for the journey home. What is more, we lost much of our cargo when we were accosted by Denyen. Many of the old harbors are closed. Fortresses greet us at the shorelines. What is more, some of the great cities of the western lands that we used to trade with are lying in ruins in spite of their great forts, and the people are fleeing to the mountains.' [16]

    "My wife clasped her hands and sighed in bitter sadness, and my children wept. My wife cried out, 'Ah, it is no use, Beder. Why do you not join with the pirates and raiders that roam the seas? It seems there is more profit in that. Join a crew of Denyen and Shekelesh, and bring home the treasure of those gold-glutted lands that now refuse you entry into their ports.'

    "At first, I laughed at such a suggestion. But I would see the benefits of piracy soon enough. For my captain and several of my companions visited me shortly before the next fleet of merchant ships was to depart, and they brought me bitter news.

    "It seems that the king of Ugarit had decided to pay for only half of the merchant ships from Alashiya that he usually had in his service. He needed the gold that he usually spent for the ships to pay for the building of new fortifications, and to fund the fleet of warships that he was making to guard his harbors. And thus, our ship was not to go out upon the water-ways in the next trading mission.

    "My companions and I despaired of what to do. We sat about in the guest-room of my small home, eating old cheese and drinking the last of the Egyptian wine that I had brought home from my voyages, and not a man spoke a word for some time. Each eye avoided the gaze of a fellow. At last I said, 'How, then, are we to make it through the year? In whose service are we to run our ship now?'

    "My friend, Padi, replied, 'We are in no one's service now but our own, Beder. If we are to survive, we must make our own work.'

    "I remembered what my wife had said, and asked him, 'Do you suggest, then, that we become sea raiders?'

    "Now the captain, Ada, spoke. 'Many of the other crews have joined with the fleet of Shardana pirates that roams the seas in this region. Why not? Better to do that than to languish here.'

    "At this, I became very distressed. 'Lady Petigayah [17] despises criminals,' I cried. 'How am I to become a pirate? I have always made my living honestly. I refuse to do it.'

    "Ada replied, 'Have it as you will, Beder. But I think you are a fool if you do not take the opportunity. Besides, Petigayah protects her subjects when they are in distress. I am confident that she will be beside us in the prows of our ships at every moment.'

    "My wife, who had been filling our cups, now knelt beside me and placed her arms about me in propitiation. 'Come, Beder, think of your family,' she said. 'You know we must eat. Don't be foolish. It is pirates and raiders who prosper these days; there is nothing in the merchant business any more.'

    "And thus she and my companions kept speaking to me persuasively about the advantages of piracy, and finally, I gave in. Our ship ceased to work in the service of any ruler. We plied the seas, raiding the villages upon the coastlines and accosting the merchant ships that still went upon the trading routes.

    "For more than ten years, I pursued this dubious career. I could tell you many stories of the things that we saw in the places that we visited. We have seen things that none of your Egyptian sailors have ever dreamed of, I can assure you. Once, my boat was caught in a dreadful storm, and it was cast ashore on a remote island in the midst of the sea. As we repaired the ship, we soon ran out of provisions, and were forced to live off of the strange plants that grew on the island. Two of our men vanished, and another went out foraging and came back raving like a mad dog, saying that he had been captured by a tribe of monster women, whose bodies were entirely covered with fur. He barely escaped from them with his life, and at any length, died soon afterwards of a strange illness. On another occasion, our ship was nearly capsized by a gigantic beast with many arms that rose up from the depths. We were scarcely able to drive it off with our spears. But this does not concern my story -- I was telling you of how I came to join this group and journey towards Egypt.

    "As the years passed, even piracy ceased to turn the profit that it once did. The merchant ships became even fewer, and those that did sail became more vigilant, and the crews more warlike and ferocious, than ever before. It became more profitable to raid coastal lands. But this was quite difficult, as many of the lands had set up great fortifications of stone on a gigantic scale. One small fleet of pirate ships had very little hope of breaching such a great defense.

    "But meanwhile, complete disorder had set in upon the kingdom of the Hittites. It was said that king Suppiluliumas [18] could not hold out much longer. His great kingship would soon be finished. At the same time, we in the pirate business were faring very badly.

    "It came to pass that the chiefs of the Peleset sea raiders came together to discuss our lamentable situation. Even some of the richer parts of Alashiya had been attacked by our own people and by others who had once served as merchants, and now could only turn to plunder.

    "The chiefs spoke among themselves, and decided that it would be best to unite and push southwards. The Canaanites were still rich and happy, after all, and could offer much plunder, and even trade. Perhaps some of us could even come to settle in Egypt, even if by capture, as I have. Egypt is never lacking in anything, and even prisoners of battle here are often better off than those living freely in the poorer regions to the north.

    "At any rate, the chiefs decided that, if we gathered a large enough force, we could attack Hatti while it was weak and wounded, and then move on to Mukish, Ugarit, and Amurru.

    "The ships of the Peleset formed a great fleet and joined forces with the nearby tribe of the Tjekker. I rejoiced at the thought of traveling southward. I took my wife and children, and they were boarded upon a boat with many other women and children of our people, with supplies and horses and oxen. When they reached the mainland, they were to set out with an armed guard and make way for Amurru. I went forth before them in a ship manned by the most ferocious of our fighters, and we led the way, bringing a great fleet against the coast of Hatti-land.

    "I must honestly tell you that, when we approached the shore of our intended enemies, I was terrified. Every limb of my body trembled, for I knew of the might of the Hittites. After all, had not Hattusas been the most powerful kingdom in the world aside from Egypt since the time of our forefathers? I also knew that several other fleets of Alashiyan ships had tried to battle the Hittites before ours, and had had but limited success in previous attempts. But I need not have feared so much.

    "The fleet that came to meet us was not the great wall of fire and fury that I had expected, but a few ships, badly prepared. It seems the king of Hattusas was too busy trying to protect his skin from his own kinsmen to prepare a proper fleet. We had their ships capsized and the crews begging for mercy in the space of an hour. Some of the crews, which consisted of Shardana and Shekelesh working in the service of the Hittites, defected to our own side. They had heard the levies of the Hittite kingdom break, and knew that the flood-waters would soon burst forth.

    "When we had defeated the Hittite fleet, we docked in the harbors and came ashore, with our chariots and weapons prepared. Some of our men went southward, accompanying the women and children in their ox-carts, while others of us marched for the greatest city of the Hittites, where the king was. It was many days march to the city of Hattusas, and we found war and pandemonium along the way. We marched through Tarsus, which was already in flames, and stole the treasure of the city. We stopped at many points to raid and pillage the small settlements that we found, and other bandits and wanderers joined us -- Lukka, Denyen, and Weshesh people.

    "When at last we reached Hattusas, the city was already in shambles. Many of the people had fled upon hearing that we were coming, and civil strife had broken out. We found it an easy thing to drive out the inhabitants of the palace and steal the fine things there, what few had been left behind by the departing populace. We left Hattusas burnt to the ground [19].

    "Next, we moved southward to Ugarit. The people of Ugarit had become too soft and lazy with wealth to hold up against us, and we destroyed their fleet and sacked their city in a matter of days. The populace fled while letters for aid were still baking in their kilns.

    "We passed through Kode, Carchemish and Arvad, leaving all of them engulfed with fire [20]. We made our camp in Amurru, and then set out southward again, pressing on for Egypt. My wife and children went along the land route, while I went by sea. It was in the Great Green not far from your river mouths that my fleet met with your Egyptian ships [21].

    "Never have I seen such complete pandemonium. Our own ships came forth into the harbor, moving entirely by means of sails, and we rejoiced to see the shore of Egypt. But your Lord had already prepared for us by sending forth your ships. We had scarcely had time to realize where we were before they were upon us. They drove forward at us with oars working at full speed, and we found ourselves showered with arrows from your boats.

    "I despaired of what to do, for our own sailors were not armed with projectiles. It was something we should have anticipated, but we did not. And so with swords and spears and round shields, we stood our ground, as your own ships pulled up alongside ours. Some of the ships were overrun with Egyptians, and others were overturned so that all the people and cargo spilled out into the water. There were Shardana among the Egyptian sailors as well as our own, so it became impossible to tell friend from foe.

    "I stood fearing for my life as an Egyptian ship struck ours with its great side, knocking loose the bird head which graced our prow and tipping our ship terribly. One of my brave companions lost his footing upon the slippery deck and plunged into the water. He was drawn under the Egyptian ship and bludgeoned with the oars. At length, he vanished beneath the surface, and I did not see him again.

    "I heard the cries of the men on other ships as they also tangled with the Egyptian fleet, and I offered up a great prayer to Petigayah, saying, 'If you will let myself and my wife and children on the shore survive this day, Lady, I shall be your most devoted servant, and shall never commit a crime again!'

    "But scarcely had I had a chance to bargain with her when the Egyptian ship struck our own again, and I found myself all at once beneath the water. I thought to myself, 'Beder, your time has come, you old fool. You should have followed your convictions about the pirating business right from the start.'

    "Just as I was about to give up and let the water claim me, I floated up again, and my head broke the surface. My ship had been capsized, and my companions and their shields were scattered about in disarray. All at once, someone seized me up and snatched me out of the water and dragged me onto another boat. It was one of your Egyptian sailors. He put me in fetters, and said, 'You have been captured, you vile northerner. If you wish to survive, you had best not struggle.'

    "I sat there on the deck of that Egyptian boat, cold and wet and coughing up brine, and I knew not whether to weep or celebrate. For I knew that, if, on the one hand, I were to be settled in Egypt in service of the King, your Lord and mine, my troubles were over -- so long as I might see my family again. But on the other hand, if I were simply to be slain, all my effort would have been wasted.

    "But now I am here, and it seems I have come home safe at last. Only, would that I could be reunited with my family! Then I would be completely happy."

    I listened to this entire story with great amazement, and was very much impressed by the eloquence of the foreigner. I took him into my own camp as my guest, and treated him with every manner of hospitality. I gave orders that his wife and daughter and sons should be found, and I had them brought to the camp and reunited with him.

    The war with the northerners continued for several more months, and at length the Lord of the Two Lands himself journeyed north to check upon the progress of the battle. He was pleased with the number of prisoners taken, and the effectiveness of our defense of the borders. As he passed through my own camp to visit me, a favored one among his generals, I happened to bring Beder to his attention. I said to him, "Majesty, there is a man of the Peleset with me who can tell a fantastic tale. If he can give you as much pleasure by means of his stories as he gave me, will you allow me to take him home and make him a servant in my household rather than send him on to the strongholds of your Majesty?"

    The Good God replied, "Very well, Wenemdiamun, it is a request that I will grant. Bring the Peleset before me, and if he can tell me a tale that will please me as much as his tales pleased you, you may have him."

    And so I had Beder brought forth, and I seated him in the presence of the Good God as he sat beneath his traveling sun-shade. When the Peleset saw the Majesty of the Lord of the Two Lands, he prostrated himself, and asked how he could be of service.

    "Beder," I said to him, "if you can tell a tale that will please the Good God, then I will bring you home and make you an esteemed servant in my household. I will cause your son to marry my niece, and I will give you a goodly share of my property, as if you were my own son. So tell us a good tale, and be eloquent!"

    So Beder said, "Very well, I will do my best. This story was told to me by an old sailor of Ugarit who was once a shipmate of mine [22].

    "Once, in the age when gods and heroes were upon the earth, there was a wise king named Danel. He had a daughter named Pagat, who was wise and devoted, but he had no son. And so he made sacrifices to the gods and prayed to Baal to go to the Assembly of the gods on his behalf so that an heir could be given to him to bring him happiness and support him in his old age.

    "Baal heard Danel's prayers, and he went before the Assembly and before his father, El, and said, 'Danel, the Healer's man, is unhappy. He has no son to support him and to make offerings for him, to carry on for him after he is gone and serve as a staff for him to lean upon in his old age. Please, my father, El, bless him and give him a son. He has given us good offerings of food and wine.'

    "And so El blessed Danel on behalf of his son, and said, 'When he goes to his bed and embraces his wife, she will become pregnant and bear him a son, a mighty hero.'

    "Baal was delighted, and he reported this news to Danel in a dream. Danel's heart rejoiced, and he retired to bed beside his wife, Lady Danataya, with the knowledge that when she arose the next day, she would be pregnant with his son and heir, who would support him and destroy his oppressors, and bring him joy. He made offerings to the gods and brought singers and wise women to his house to bless his household and bring good fortune to the new child.

    "So it came to pass that a son was born to him, and his name was Aqhat. Aqhat grew to be a strong and stalwart young man, and the people and the gods delighted in him. The craftsman, the god Kothar-wa-Hasis, came to visit them, and he brought with him a bow that he had crafted as a gift to the young hero Aqhat. There was no bow like it in the entire land. It was crafted with the horns of a celestial bull, and its string was the tendon of an ox of heaven. It would take the strength of a god to draw it. The arrows flew more swiftly than the wind, and their points could pierce bronze five fingers thick.

    "Now, when Anat, the daughter of El, heard of this magnificent bow, she desired it very much. She went to Aqhat, and asked him for it, promising him silver and gold in greater quantities than he could imagine. But Aqhat refused. Then she said, 'Well, then, if you will not take silver and gold, I will give you immortality. You will outlive Baal himself.'

    "But Aqhat did not believe her. 'You lie to me, Anat,' he said. 'Whether or not I give you this bow, my time will come, as for any man. Besides, what use do you have for a bow? You are woman. Hunting is a man's occupation.'

    "Anat laughed a terrible laugh, without joy, and full of spite. 'Mark my words, pretty baby,' she cried, 'I'll meet you in battle, and you will be trampled like dust beneath my feet.' And with that, she went in a rage and ascended into heaven, where she met with her father, El.

    "When she had gone into her father's tent, she lovingly put her arms around him and kissed his cheek, and spoke loving words to him. And then, she began to slander the name of Aqhat. She begged her father to destroy the child of Danel, but he refused.

    "Now Anat began to rage. 'Do not rejoice in your rich palace, for I will make it tumble!' she cried. 'I'll smash your skull into a thousand pieces and dye your hair with blood. Then see if your beloved Aqhat and Danel will save you!'

    "And patient El, sighing, said, 'My dearest daughter, when you can be so gentle, why must you turn to rage and unscrupulous behavior? You know as well as I that whatever you wish, it happens. I cannot stop you from destroying Aqhat, even if I wish to.'

    "And so Anat left, and she devised her revenge. First, she spoke sweet words of reconciliation to Aqhat, so that he would think she had forgiven him. Then, she went to the house of Yatpan, a rich and handsome young man who lived nearby the city that belonged to Danel. And she said to him, 'Listen, Yatpan. Aqhat is now in the city of Abiluma, where he is feasting with Prince Moon. I plan to kill him so that I may take his bow and arrows. You must help me.'

    "Yatpan said, 'Would you really kill him only for his bow and arrows? Why don't you calm yourself and sit down to dinner with me, instead?'

    "But Anat stamped her feet and cried, 'Keep quiet, Yatpan, and let me give the orders. I will disguise you as a bird, and take you in my pouch. When he is sitting down to feast, I will fly above his head with the other birds, and release you from my pouch. Then you are to smash his head with a mace.'

    "And so they did as they had planned. As Aqhat sat down to eat with the prince, Anat flew above him, and released Yatpan from her pouch. He flew down and he fetched Aqhat five blows to the head, so that the blood ran down and the breath of life went forth like a vapor from his nostrils. Anat wept when she saw what she had done, but she did not forget her mission, and she went down to snatch up Aqhat's bow.

    "Now, as Anat and Yatpan were flying back above the water, they began to quarrel over who should carry the bow, and they began snatching it back and forth from one another. All at once, the bow snapped, and it fell down into the water.

    "Anat wailed and cried out with grief. 'See what has happened,' she cried. 'I killed him to take his bow and arrows, and now I do not even have that! Now the plants will wither and die, and the whole land will languish in famine.' And she went home, weeping in despair.

    "Meanwhile, Danel, the Hero, sat overseeing the cases of widows and orphans at the gate before his house. He had not heard of the death of his son Aqhat. But his daughter, Pagat, saw vultures wheeling above their house. She did not know who had died, but she began to mourn. She looked upon the threshing floor and saw that the greenery had withered. She looked over the fields and saw that they were scorched and bare.

    "When Danel saw what had happened, he, too, began to mourn, and he cried, 'Now Baal shall fail for seven years. Not a drop of rain shall fall from the skies, and no dew will form upon the fields.'

    "Danel and Pagat went forth to look over the destruction of the fields, and found but one stalk growing in the field where once there had been plenty. Danel knelt to kiss the stalk, saying, 'If Aqhat were here, he could nurse you, and make the crops plenty again, and harvest you.'

    "But as he was saying this, Pagat looked up and saw messengers coming across the field. They came, saying, 'There is bad news, Danel! Aqhat is dead. His head was smashed, and his body has been eaten by the vultures.'

    "Aqhat's sister and father wept and rent their clothing. Danel trembled in all his limbs, and his back became as weak as if his spine had been shattered. Danel cast his eyes skyward, and saw the vultures passing overhead. He called upon Baal, saying, 'Baal, cast each vulture down. I will search its gizzard, and if I find the bone and meat of my son, I will bury him. If it is not there, let the vulture go, and heal its wounds.'

    "Baal cast down each vulture that passed, until at last Danel had searched the gizzard of Samal, the mother of the vultures. In her gizzard, he found the bone and fat of his son, and this he buried within an urn under the ground.

    "Danel then cast a great curse upon the city in which Aqhat had been killed, saying, 'May Baal make you blind forever!'

    "Then the mourners came, and they wailed in the house of Danel, weeping for seven years for Aqhat, the Hero, the son of Danel. Then, at last, Danel sent them away from his house, and he offered up a sacrifice to the gods. But still his heart grieved, and still famine rested upon the land.

    "Then brave Pagat approached her father, and said, 'Since you have sacrificed to the gods, Father, ask also that they bless me, for I will go forth and kill the murderer of my brother. Let me avenge the son of my mother, and bring justice to the land.'

    "Danel rejoiced, and he embraced and kissed his daughter, saying, 'Bless you, my child, you who rises before the sun, who brushes the dew from the barley, who knows the course of the stars. If you avenge my son, then I will truly live again. Go forth then, and kill Aqhat's killer.'

    "So Pagat strapped to her belt a sword and scabbard, and donned the clothing of a Hero. But she hid this beneath the garb of a woman, and attired herself fetchingly in finery and cosmetics from the sea. Then she went to the house of Yatpan, the killer of her brother. Yatpan did not suspect her purpose, so he let her into his house, saying, 'Good. Pagat will share a drink with me.'

    "Pagat poured a cup of wine for him, and he drank it. She poured him another and another, until he became careless in his speech. He began to brag of his great strength, saying, 'This hand of mine, the one that killed Aqhat, can kill a thousand enemies!' [23]

    "Pagat gave him more wine, and as he drank down the last cup, she cried, 'So you are the murderer of my brother? Well, I have come to avenge him, and to steal your life just as you stole his.' And she pulled the sword from beneath her gown. He leaped to his feet and made ready to defend himself, but he could not stand up before her rage. She plunged the blade between his ribs so that the blood poured out upon the ground. She caught his blood up in her cup, and she carried it back with her to the house of Danel.

    "Pagat poured out the blood of Yatpan as a libation upon the grave of her brother, and she cried out to Baal, 'I have avenged my brother, I have killed his killer! Go to El, and tell him that if he loves the son that he gave to Danel, he must let him live again. Then let the plants grow in the fields once again, and let the rain fall once again from the sky!'

    "And so Baal went before El, and El caused Aqhat's flesh to grow once again upon his bones. Aqhat rose from the grave, living once again, and he embraced his sister and father. The fields became green with plants, and rain fell from the sky and blessed the land. Thus the land was saved by the bravery of Pagat, and Aqhat the hero lived once again."

    When Beder was finished with this story, he said, "The man who told me this story said that he was a descendant of Aqhat himself."

    The Good God was delighted. He clapped his hands and cried, "It is a fine story, indeed, and it has pleased me very much. I must keep my promise, Wenemdiamun. Let this man be a servant in your household. May you treat him well, and may he have a long life."

    And so I adopted him as my son, and gave him the name Khonshotep, and allowed his son to marry my niece. He has served ever since as the foremost of the servants of my household, and has spent his days in happiness and good health as my companion, delighting me daily with stories.

    It has come to a good end under the hand of the scribe Wenemdiamun, who owns this book, and who wrote it exactly as it happened. Whoever maligns this book, Thoth will contend with him.
 
 

Annotated Bibliography:

Breasted, J. H.
    1906    Ancient Records of Egypt. Vol. 4. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
               Translations of ancient Egyptian historical documents. Contains discussions and translations of the inscriptions  of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu and the Harris Papyrus.
Cifola, B.
    1988    Ramses III and the Sea Peoples: A Structural Analysis of the Medinet Habu Inscriptions. Orientalia.57: 275-306.
               A detailed analysis and breakdown of the literary motifs in the Medinet Habu inscriptions. Attempts to examine and reevaluate
               the texts in their cultural and political context.
    1991    The Terminology of Ramses III's Historical Records With a Formal Analysis of the War Scenes. Orientalia 60: 9-57.
               Further analysis of the Medinet Habu inscriptions, with a breakdown of commonly used terms and some historical
               interpretation.
Coogan, M., trans. & ed.
    1978    Stories from Ancient Canaan. Kentucky: The Westminster Press.
               Translations of literature from ancient Canaan, with commentary.
Dothan, T.
    1982    The Philistines and their Material Culture. New York: New Haven.
               Provides detailed information on the archaeology of Philistine sites, the material culture of the Philistines, and the Philistines as
               they appear in historical sources. Discusses the Medinet Habu reliefs and what they contribute to knowledge of Philistine
               material culture and technology.
Drews, R.
    1995    The End of the Bronze Age: Changes in Warfare and the Catastrophe ca. 1200 B. C. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
                Contains an overview of theories on the origins of the Sea Peoples and the nature of their activity in the early Iron Age.
Killebrew, A.
    1998a    Ceramic Typology and Technology of Late Bronze II and Iron I Assemblages from Tell Miqne-Ekron: The Transition from
                Canaanite to Philistine Culture. Pp. 397-405 in S. Gitin, A. Mazar, and E. Stern, eds., Mediterranean Peoples in Transition:
                Thirteenth to Early Tenth Centuries B. C. E. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society.
                An analysis of pottery types and their evolution over time at the Philistine type-site of Tell Miqne-Ekron.
    1998b   Ceramic Craft and Technology During the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages: The Relationship Between Pottery
                Technology, Style, and Cultural Diversity. Dissertation, submitted to the Senate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
                Contains an overview of theories on Philistine origin and chronology.
Lichtheim, M.
    1976    Ancient Egyptian Literature. Los Angeles: University of California Press.
               Translations of ancient Egyptian literature from a wide variety of   genres, with commentary. Contains several examples of
               the Egyptian prose tale, as well as official reports and biographical texts.
Moran, W. L.
    1992    The Amarna Letters. Johns Hopkins University.
               Translations of most of the Amarna letters, with notes and commentary.
Redford, D. B.
    1992    Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
               Discusses the development of Egypt in relation to the rest of the ancient Near East, especially in the LBA to Iron Age
               transition. Includes extensive information on the Sea Peoples and their impact on the ancient world.
Sandars, N. K.
    1985    The Sea Peoples Warriors of the Ancient Mediterranean. London.
               A good overview of the general situation in the ancient Near East in the late 13th century.

The Report of Wenemdiamun is copyright of Megaera Lorenz.
Return to the CAMS 400W homepage.