Podcasts · The History of Egypt Podcast

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

17 Jan 2025 · 52 min

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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Links in the notes 6

• https://archive.org/details/shrinesoftutankh0002unse
• https://ia802907.us.archive.org/1/items/TheLiteratureOfAncientEgyptKellySimpsonBySamySalah/The%20Literature%20of%20Ancient%20Egypt%20-%20Kelly%20Simpson%20By%20Samy%20Salah.pdf
• https://www.academia.edu/11753060/Miriam_Lichtheim_Ancient_Egyptian_Literature_Vol_II
• https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/BHC6MGDBC6SXU
• https://www.keithzizza.net/
• https://megaphone.fm/adchoices