Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Reading Notes: Egypt, Part A

-The Egyptians seem to place a lot of importance on magical deeds and gather a lot of entertainment from hearing about magical acts. The wax crocodile seems to me to be a sad tale of lovers who met a sour end, but it seems like it was told as a form of entertainment among the royals

-I wonder if the crocodile liked being bossed around. Maybe the crocodile could “disappear” and then come back later to seek revenge on the man who made him kill that youth. Maybe the crocodile is a sweet, gentle animal who just wants to live in a lake and do no harm

-The poor woman! Being burned at the stake with no chance to explain herself. I am sure the chief scribe is a busy man and is able to have the attention of any female he pleases. But God forbid a woman strays and breaks the bond of marriage! I cannot imagine a chief scribe is the most attentive husband, what with him being so busy doing magic and other acts.

-Also, what is considered a youth in this case? Is that like a teenager? Because if so, ew that lady is probably too old for him and I am picturing some gross rich lady- pool boy nonsense going on.

-The story mentions a “certain magic box” and there is definitely a lot of story-telling potential there. Maybe the box grants great power to whoever owns it, but at what cost?


-The story said seven days passed and the crocodile held onto the youth within the lake, how did the boy not drown? How did the crocodile not eat him? I guess that is not the most implausible part of this story but still does not make a whole lot of sense to me.


Egyptian, Late Period - Ptolemaic Period, 664 BC-30 BC

Story source: Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (1907).

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