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

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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