manacled. We see our lives, and indeed the entire known
universe, as a terrible struggle against entropy, ending
ultimately in the death, decomposition, and obliteration
of each separate person or thing.
It is further this perception, and the fear of it, which
has lent Hebraic monotheism a vampiric persistence far
past the 17th-18th Century “Enlightenment” which,
intellectually at least, exposed it as a sham. For the
Christian and Muslim versions, if not the Jewish, promise
continuation of the same life after physical death, albeit
with dire punishment specifically for not believing in and
obeying them now.
The Egyptians, however, envisioned neither
themselves nor the world about them to be entrapped in
such a fearsome forced-march. They saw the Sun, Moon,
and firmament behaving in recurring cycles, as also the
rise and fall of the Nile, the regular seasons, plant life. If
6 Fairservis, Walter A. Jr., The Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile. New
York: New American Library/Mentor #MY-843, 1962, Chapters #1-2.
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humans and other animals were born, lived for a time,
and died, it stood to reason that they too participated in
an eternal cycling of a more subtle color. Egyptian
records would accordingly document specific
personalities and events, but without any particular
attention to related change or innovation. Harmony with
the cycles of things, not defiance of them, was the
Egyptian ideal - which explains why the essential
character of Egyptian society remained little changed,
except to meet external intrusion, for thirty dynasties
extending over 3,000 years. 7
Former Director of Cairo’s French Oriental
Archæological Institute Serge Sauneron comments:
To understand the attitude of the Egyptians, it is
necessary to emphasize the striking contrast between
their view of the world and ours. We live in a universe
which we know is in perpetual movement; each new
problem demands a new solution. But for the Egyptians
this notion of time which modifies the current
knowledge of the world, of an alteration of factors
which forces a change in methods, had no place. In the
beginning the divinity created a stable world, fixed,
definitive; this world functions as a motor well oiled
and well fed. If there are “misfires” - if the motor fades,
if one of the parts making it up is worn out or broken -
it is replaced and everything starts off again better than
before. But this motor would always remain the same;
its mechanism, its appearance, its output would always
be identical.
If some problem intrigues the mind, therefore - if
some serious event arises to disturb the customary
order of things - it could not really be new; it was
foreseen with the world. Its solution or remedy exists in
all eternity, revealed in a kind of universal “manner of
7 The XXX Dynasty is generally considered to be the last native
Egyptian one. Subsequently there was a Persian one (XXXI) and a
Ptolemaic Greek one (XXXII), ending with the death of Cleopatra VII
and Roman rule in 30 BCE.
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use” that the gods defined in creating the universe
itself. What is necessary, therefore, is to find in the
ancient writings the formula that foresaw such-and-
such a case. Before a given event - a physical
phenomenon, a catastrophe striking the whole country
- the scholar would not seek to discover the actual
causes in order to find an appropriate remedy. Rather
he would examine with scholarly ardor the volumes of
old writings to find out if the event had already
occurred in some moment of the past, and what
solution had then been applied to it. 8
In accordance with their cyclical perception of reality,
therefore, the Egyptians’ achievements tended to be in
“timeless” areas such as astronomy, mathematics,
medicine, and architecture. These, along with Egyptian
religion and art, are often oversimplified in many modern
treatments, due in part to the absence of verifiable data in
later history until the deciphering of hieroglyphics by
Champollion in 1822. Because of the destruction and
despoliation of ancient Egyptian records and works of art
by religious fanatics of later eras, it is estimated that
modern archæologists have at their disposal less than
10% of that country’s cultural creations from which to
reconstruct its values. 9
Egypt was divided into 42 nomes (provinces), each
dominated by the priesthood of one or more neteru. A
particular priesthood might also influence more than one
nome. The monarchy was closely controlled by the
various orders of priesthood, with the pharaoh acting as
an Earthly deputy of and interpreter for the neteru.
Governmental, judicial, and political systems were
responsible for their ethics to the neteru, not to the
8 Sauneron, Serge, Les pretres de l’ancienne Egypte. New York:
Grove Press, 1980, pages #118-119.
9 Cf. Fagan, Brian M., The Rape of the Nile. New York: Charles
Scribner’s Sons, 1975.
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people. Justice was meted out by viziers (internal roving
ambassadors of the pharaoh) and nome governors
according to the neter of justice, Maat, on an individual-
case basis. There was no concept of individual rights
against the government, because government was viewed
as a system imposed from without by the neteru.
Similarly each Egyptian, whether high- or lowborn,
participated in this system. Crime and corruption were of
course possible, but inadvisable because of the conviction
that viciousness, callousness, or cruelty would be
punished severely after Earthly death. 10 [It is of note that
such posthumous judgment focused upon individual
virtue/vice rather than, as in later Christian/Islamic
doctrine, upon mere orthodoxy and obedience to
religious institutions.]
Old Kingdom Egypt was largely insulated from foreign
invasion or conflict, hence Egypt spent its early years as a
peaceful culture with no standing military. Egypt is
credited with invention of the alphabet, as well as the use
of currency as a medium of exchange. It is noteworthy for
having produced the first national (as opposed to city-
state) political system, as well as the most enduring one
in recorded history (more than 3,000 years). There was
no caste, racial, or sexual discrimination; foreigners were
considered “less than human (=Egyptian)”, but could
remedy this misfortune simply by moving to Egypt and
adopting Egyptian culture.
Egypt was ultimately destroyed by foreign conquerors
(Persia, Macedonia, Rome) and by her inability to adapt
to the continuing competition of foreign cultures. Her
New Empire of the Setian (XIX-XX) Dynasties was a
protectionist backlash rather tha
n an effort to “civilize” or
10 Wilson, John A., “Egypt” in Frankfort, Henri (Ed.), Before
Philosophy. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1946.
- 42 -
create a permanent empire [after the fashion of Persia,
Macedonia, or Rome].
C. The Neteru
The Egyptians perceived the Universe as actively
controlled by conscious, natural principles ( neteru) of
which Sir E.A. Wallis Budge remarks:
The word neter has been translated “godlike”,
“holy”, “divine”, “sacred”, “power”, “strength”, “force”,
“strong”, “fortify”, “mighty”, “protect”; but it is quite
impossible to be certain that any word which we may
use represents the meaning of neter, because no one
knows exactly what idea the ancient Egyptians attached
to the word. The truth is that the exact meaning of
neter was lost at a very early period of Egyptian history,
and even the Coptic does not help us to recover it. 11
To the Egyptians, all of “nature” (derived from neter)
was alive and the direct consequence of the wills of the
neteru. Nature was intelligible not just through
inanimate, automatic, general regularities which could be
discovered via the “scientific method”; but also through
connections and associations between things and
events perceived in the human mind. There was no
distinction between “reality” and “appearance”; anything
capable of exerting an effect upon the mind thereby
existed. Hence a dream could be considered just as “real”
and thus significant as a daytime experience. No more
eloquently has this been summarized than by She-Who-
Must-Be-Obeyed in H. Rider Haggard’s She and Allan:
11 Budge, E. A. Wallis, The Book of the Dead. New Hyde Park:
University Books, 1960, page #99.
- 43 -
[Allan Quatermain] “I have heard of Isis of the
Egyptians, Lady of the Moon, Mother of Mysteries,
spouse of Osiris whose child was Horus the Avenger.”
[Ayesha] “Aye, and I think will hear more of her
before you have done, Allan, for now something comes
back to me concerning you and her and another. I am
not the only one who has broken the oaths of Isis and
received her curse, Allan, as you may find out in the
days to come. But what of these heavenly queens?”
“Only this, Ayesha: I have been taught that they
were but phantasms fabled by men with many another
false divinity, and could have sworn that this was true.
And yet you talk of them as real and living, which
perplexes me.”
“Being dull of understanding doubtless it perplexes
you, Allan. Yet if you had imagination, you might
understand that these goddesses are great principles
of nature: Isis of throned Wisdom and strait virtue,
and Aphrodite of Love as it is known to men and
women who, being human, have it laid upon them that
they must hand on the torch of life in their little hour.
Also you would know that such principles can seem to
take shape and form and at certain ages of he world
appear to their servants visible in majesty, though
perchance today others with changed names wield their
sceptres and work their will. Now you are answered on
this matter.”
The Egyptian concept of “magic”, correspondingly,
was neither unusual or exceptional. It merely represented
the setting in motion of appropriate neteru forces to
accomplish a desired end: which could be through
physical action, symbolic ritual, art, or speech ( heka). A
magical operation thus initially required perception ( sia)
of a necessity, followed by utterance of the heka ( hw) to
address it.
Egyptian art, literature, and science looked for beauty
and symmetry (felt to be indications of divine perfection),
rather than for cause-and-effect relationships. Hence
Egyptian thought is sometimes called “geometric” as
- 44 -
opposed to the “algebraic” thought of Hellenic and later
logicians.
Since impressions and appearances substantiated
reality, the Egyptian emphasis on portraits and statues of
the neteru was not merely decorative, metaphorical, or
symbolic. Rather an image was a medium whereby the
neter in question could make an actual appearance in the
material world. 12
Similarly part of something could substitute for the
whole as long as the mind completed the connection.
Mental imagery created by viewing the portrait of a dead
relative, for example, brought that relative to true life.
Persons unfamiliar with the ancient Egyptian culture
often assume that the Egyptian religion, like those of later
Mediterranean civilizations, consisted of a single,
integrated pantheon of anthropomorphic gods and
goddesses. It is rather the case that the earliest Egyptian
neteru were provincial, being patrons of individual cities
and districts (nomes). Nor, despite their famous human/
beast composite appearances, were they mere
“ s u p e r n a t u r a l p e r s o n s ” i n t h e l a t e r G r e e k ,
Mesopotamian, or Roman mold. While popular stories
were woven about them - presumably for popular
consumption - the hieroglyphic treatment of the Egyptian
neteru suggests that they actually represented various
aspects of existence - the “Forms” or “First Principles”
discussed by Pythagoras and Plato in a more abstract
manner. 13
12 Cf. Schaefer, Heinrich, Principles of Egyptian Art. Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1974. Contrast Egyptian statuary with Greek,
Roman, or later European. The “living presence” in the former will be
dramatically evident.
13 Cf. Winspear, Alban D., The Genesis of Plato’s Thought. New York:
S.A. Russell, 1940. Also Cf. Aquino, M.A., “The Sphinx and the
Chimæra” (Appendix #1).
- 45 -
Intriguingly the neteru may have had a physical
presence as well. The 30-Dynasty dating system most
archæologists use for ancient Egypt comes from
Manetho, an Egyptian priest at Sebennytos in the Nile
Delta ca. 280 BCE. Manetho’s dynastic list extends
backward before Menes and the I Dynasty date of 3100
BCE: 350 years Thinites; 1,790 years other Memphite
kings; 1,817 years other kings; 1,255 years “Heroes”; and
before that 13,900 years in which the neteru reigned
physically on Earth.
Obviously this chronology would conflict with the
“accepted” prehistory of Egypt as summarized at the
beginning of this appendix. Conventional Egyptologists
are comfortable only with a “civilization began suddenly
in 3100 BCE” scenario, hence Manetho is relied upon
very strongly after that date, but swept under the rug
prior to it. 14
Commerce, protective alliances, cultural contact, and
finally the unification of the entire nation ca. 3100 BCE
resulted in the gradual incorp
oration of local neteru into
regional groups, and then into a loosely-knit national
pantheon. Local and regional cult centers continued to
hold their respective patrons in especial regard, however,
and so the character and role of a specific neter might
vary remarkably from place to place. Individual dynasties
also tended to be oriented to particular cult centers, and
so the neteru in question would be elevated - at least for a
time - to the status of national patrons. 15
The information concerning these cults which is
available to modern Egyptologists is both sparse and
14 Hoffman, Michael A., Egypt Before the Pharaohs. New York:
Alfred A. Knopf, 1979. Fix, Wm. R., Pyramid Odyssey. New York:
Mayflower Books, 1978.
15 Ions, Veronica, Egyptian Mythology. New York: Hamlyn
Publishing Group, 1968, pages #11-13.
- 46 -
confusing. Since a given neter could be portrayed in a
number of different ways, identifying the “core neter” is
difficult. The images and inscriptions concerning a neter
were often altered or appropriated by cultists of rival
neteru. In Christian and Islamic times all “old gods” were
considered blasphemous, and monuments to them were
regularly defaced and destroyed. By the end of the fifth
century CE, knowledge of hieroglyphics had died out, not
to reappear until the nineteenth century; meanwhile
many “useless” records perished through neglect.
For two reasons the cult of Osiris ( Asar) and Isis
( Asa) has been emphasized in modern literature: First, it
was the last cult to dominate the entire Egyptian nation.
Thus it was in a position to do a “final editing” of non-
Osirian manuscripts and monuments. Secondly it was
described in detail by Plutarch, permitting its study long
after the hieroglyphic records of the other cults had
become unreadable. 16
D. Set
No records of the ancient Priesthood of Set survived
first the Osirian-dynastic persecution and later the more
general vandalism of the Christian/Islamic eras. We
know of it only by its reflection, both in the character of
Set as he was portrayed symbolically and mythologically
and in the nature of Egyptian priesthoods in general.
Three significant facts are known about the Priesthood of
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