201: When Hathor Destroyed the World (The Book of the Sky Cow)


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Jan 16 2025 50 mins   290 1 0

The Book of the Sky Cow. In the waning years of the 18th Dynasty (the reign of Tut’ankhamun) royal artisans began decorating tombs and funerary equipment with a new text. Sometimes known as “The Destruction of Mankind,” the book tells of a distant age, when Ra ruled on earth. But as the sun-god aged, a group of humans perceived his weakness, and plotted rebellion. Faced with an uprising, Ra marshalled his supporters and sent forth an enforcer. The goddess Hat-Hor (and her alter ego Sakhmet) began to wreak havoc upon the lowly, wayward humans…


The Book of the Sky Cow:


  • Part I and Part II, and the Shrines of Tutankhamun, available in Piankoff, The Shrines of Tut-Ankh-Amon. Available at Internet Archive Open Access.

  • Part I and Part II available in Simpson, The Literature of Ancient Egypt, pages 289—298. Available at Internet Archive Open Access.

  • Part I (the Rebellion) available in Lichtheim Ancient Egyptian Literature Volume II: The New Kingdom. Available at Academia.edu.


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Music and interludes by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.net.

Music and interludes by Luke Chaos www.chaosmusick.com.

Music and interludes by Luke Chaos www.chaosmusick.com.

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