Inventory number

General description

Myth of the Heavenly cow
The papyrus Cat.1982, dated to the New Kingdom, contains a text written in hieratic on the front (recto) and on the back (verso). The recto preserves two columns of a magical text, whereas the verso contains a copy of the so-called "Myth of the celestial cow".

The myth is about the reorganization of the cosmos following the rebellion of humanity against Ra, the solar god, who has become old. After holding council with the other gods, Ra sends his daughter Hathor to slaughter mankind, as punishment for the outrage plotted against him. In the evening the sun god regrets having given such a terrible order. In order to appease Hathor, he mixes several measures of beer with red ocher, making it look like blood, and pours it on the soil of Egypt. The next morning Hathor is bloodthirsty and, thinking it would be blood, drinks the beer until she gets drunk. She then returns to the palace and leaves humanity undisturbed. Subsequently, Ra decides to leave earth to reach heaven, which he created in the form of a celestial cow, a manifestation of the goddess Nut. In this new configuration the entire cosmos is divided between earth (where men are left alone, without divinity), sky and the afterlife. In addition, Ra delegates specific tasks to other deities, such as Geb, Osiris and Thoth. In the final part of the myth, the solar god introduces the Ba’s into the word, part of the soul and their manifestations of the gods. It is this last section, the introduction of the Ba’s, which is preserved in eight lines on the verso of the Turin fragment.

The myth has several functions. The first is to explain the origins of Egyptian kingship and divine hierarchies. Ra is constantly connected to the pharaoh through names attributed to him, as characteristic of Egyptian royalty. The fate of the king after its death is destined as following Ra into the invisible night sky through which the solar god travels every night. Secondly, the myth can be read in relation to the calendar. The massacre of mankind carried out by Hathor could be a mythical explanation of the Egyptian summer heat, which ends with the end of the year. The reorganization of the cosmos would also be reflected in the alternation of the seasons, as well as in that of day and night. Finally, the myth of the heavenly cow raises the question of the evil, apparently inherent in human nature. Evil is never attributed to the creator god, who, on the contrary, is always portrayed positively.