The curse of Kalaan by Unknown Read Free Book Online

scribes. He was the tenth pharaoh of the XVIIIth dynasty, and his name means ‘ He who is of use to Aten.’ All of this was to fulfill an ancient magic ritual according to Imhotep’s sacred formulas. It was shortly before the new pharaoh’s capital Akhentaten ‘ Aten’s horizon’ was built on the site of Tell el-Amarna. The new capital was entirely dedicated to the cult of a one and unique god, the universal creator, Aten. The old metropolis of Thebes was abandoned when Akhenaten erased the names of all the old gods and ran off all the priests who still believed in them.”
    On the gold covered walls of the chamber, the god Aten was represented by a disk with the head of a rearing cobra (a uræus [24] ) and an ankh, symbol of immortality and eternity. Rays ending in hands descended from the disk and Akhenaten appeared to bathe in the celestial light. At one point, Kalaan had the fleeting impression that the reliefs were moving.
    “Look Kalaan, Akhenaten is wearing a khepresh [25] . He is standing alone before his god, humble and without the ostentation of a pschent [26] ! He is raising his hands to Aten, palms upward. And can you see what he is holding? The black pyramid shaped stone that is on the pedestal right here in this room!”
    No, do not turn around, Kalaan said to himself. It was as if simply mentioning the pyramid seemed to strengthen the effect it had on him.
    “The rest of the inscriptions seem to tell more or less the same story as on the door, but in more detail and a more ornate language. Thanks to the stone’s magical powers all of Akhenaten’s fears were either erased or disappeared. All this magic was with the sole intention of granting Akhenaten the power of a supreme king worthy of serving Aten. In exchange, the one and only god would ensure the prosperity of the Egyptian people and protect Egypt from calamity. No more epidemics, no more famine, and an unrelenting protection against any enemy that may rise against them. Anyone who declared war against Akhenaten and his armies, would have run from the pharaoh, or died in defeat.”
    Champollion continued to narrate the story, pointing out the different symbols of protection and the usual scenes of ceremonial offerings to Aten. Akhenaten was represented alone placing food, drink and impressive quantities of flowers on the altar. T he hieroglyphs kept Jean-François occupied for a moment, although he was translating them with remarkable speed.
    “And here is a prayer by Akhenaten to Aten, who, I hope wherever he is, will not hold my inaccuracies against me.
     
    “
    When thou appearest beautiful on the horizon of the sky,
Oh living disk, beginning of life,
Brilliant on the eastern horizon
All the land is filled by thee and thy beauty.
    Thou art beautiful; thou art great, thou art resplendent
Far above all the land
Thy rays encompass the lands,
To the extent of all things which thou hast made.
    As thou art the Sun, thou reachest their farthest confines;
Thou subjectest them to thy beloved son.
    No other than thy son Akhenaten knows you,
    Though thou art afar,
Thy rays are on the earth,
And of every human, they caress the face.
    None can say they know thy course
When thou goest to rest in the western horizon.
The earth is in darkness, in the condition of death...” [27]
     
    “What we are discovering here is unheard of!” exclaimed Jean-François, once they had done a complete tour of the chamber walls. “Akhenaten was a pharaoh who served only one god! Do you realize what this means? What we have here is a story that will create an incredible uproar in the world of archeology and among our colleagues!”
    “Indeed.” Kalaan found his friend’s outspokenness amusing. “Let us get back to the little we do know about Akhenaten, which is to say, nothing.”
    Kalaan’s tone had become more serious.
    “Everything can be explained by the fact that after his demise, he was completely erased from ancient history by the Egyptian priests