Short URL for this page:
bit.ly/Manetho1E


[image ALT: Much of my site will be useless to you if you've got the images turned off!]
mail:
Bill Thayer

[image ALT: Cliccare qui per una pagina di aiuto in Italiano.]
Italiano

[Link to a series of help pages]
Help
[Link to the next level up]
Up
[Link to my homepage]
Home
[image ALT: a blank space]

This webpage reproduces a section of
The Fragments

of
Manetho

(Loeb Classical Library edition, 1940)

The text is in the public domain.

This page has been carefully proofread
and I believe it to be free of errors.
If you find a mistake though,
please let me know!

[image ALT: a blank space]

Manetho

As elsewhere onsite, where hieroglyphs are bracketed {☥𓅱𓋴}, they are my additions to the original text.

 p3  Book I

Fr. 1 (from the Armenian Version of Eusebius, Chronica).
Dynasties of Gods, Demigods, and Spirits of the Dead.

From the Egyptian History of Manetho, who composed his account in three books. These deal with the Gods, the Demigods, the Spirits of the Dead, and the mortal kings who ruled Egypt down to Darius, king of the Persians.

1. The first man (or god) in Egypt is Hephaestus,​1 who is also renowned among the Egyptians as the discoverer of fire. His son, Helios (the Sun), was succeeded by Sôsis; then follow, in turn, Cronos,  p5 Osiris, Typhon, brother of Osiris, and lastly Orus, son of Osiris and Isis. These were the first to hold sway in Egypt. Thereafter, the kingship passed from one to another in unbroken succession down to Bydis (Bites)​2 through 13,900 years. The year I take, however, to be a lunar one, consisting, that is, of 30 days: what we now call a month the Egyptians used formerly to style a year.3

2. After the Gods, Demigods reigned for 1255 years,​4 and again another line of kings held sway for 1817 years: then came thirty more kings of Memphis,​5 reigning for 1790 years; and then again ten kings of This, reigning for 350 years.

3. There followed the rule of Spirits of the Dead and Demigods,​6 for 5813 years.

4. The total [of the last five groups] amounts to 11,000 years,​7 these however being lunar periods, or  p7 months. But, in truth, the whole rule of which the Egyptians tell — the rule of Gods, Demigods, and Spirits of the Dead — is reckoned to have comprised in all 24,900 lunar years, which make 2206​8 solar years.

5. Now, if you care to compare these figures with Hebrew chronology, you will find that they are in perfect harmony. Egypt is called Mestraïm​9 by the Hebrews; and Mestraïm lived <not> long after the Flood. For after the Flood, Cham (or Ham), son of Noah, begat Aegyptus or Mestraïm, who was the first to set out to establish himself in Egypt, at the time when the tribes began to disperse this way and that. Now the whole time from Adam to the Flood was, according to the Hebrews, 2242 years.

6. But, since the Egyptians claim by a sort of prerogative of antiquity that they have, before the Flood, a line of Gods, Demigods, and Spirits of the Dead, who reigned for more than 20,000 years, it clearly follows that these years should be reckoned  p9 as the same number of months as the years recorded by the Hebrews: that is, that all the months contained in the Hebrew record of years, should be reckoned as so many lunar years of the Egyptian calculation, in accordance with the total length of time reckoned from the creation of man in the beginning down to Mestraïm. Mestraïm was indeed the founder of the Egyptian race; and from him the first Egyptian dynasty must be held to spring.

7. But if the number of years is still in excess, it must be supposed that perhaps several Egyptian kings ruled at one and the same time; for they say that the rulers were kings of This, of Memphis, of Saïs, of Ethiopia, and of other places at the same time. It seems, moreover, that different kings held sway in different regions, and that each dynasty was confined to its own nome: thus it was not a succession of kings occupying the throne one after the other, but several kings reigning at the same time in different regions.​10 Hence arose the great total number of years. But let us leave this question and take up in detail the chronology of Egyptian history

(Continued in Fr. 7(b).)

 p11  Fr. 2 (from Syncellus)

Thereafter​11 Manetho tells also of five Egyptian tribes which formed thirty dynasties, comprising those whom they call Gods, Demigods, Spirits of the Dead, and mortal men. Of these Eusebius, "son" of Pamphilus, gives the following account in his Chronica: "Concerning Gods, Demigods, Spirits of the Dead, and mortal kings, the Egyptians have a long series of foolish myths. The most ancient Egyptian kings, indeed, alleged that their years were lunar years consisting of thirty days, whereas the Demigods who succeeded them gave the name hóroi to years which were three months long." So Eusebius wrote with good reason, criticizing the Egyptians for their foolish talk; and in my opinion Panodôrus​12 is wrong in finding fault with Eusebius here, on the ground that Eusebius failed to explain the meaning of the historians, while Panodôrus thinks he himself succeeds by a somewhat novel method, as follows:

"From the creation of Adam, indeed, down to Enoch, i.e. to the general cosmic year 1282, the number of days was known in neither month nor year; but the Egregori (or 'Watchers'),​13 who had  p13 descended to earth in the general cosmic year 1000, held converse with men, and taught them that the orbits of the two luminaries, being marked by the twelve signs of the Zodiac, are composed of 360 parts. Observing the moon's orbit which is nearer the earth, smaller, and more conspicuous, as it has a period of thirty days, men decided that it should be reckoned as a year, since the orbit of the sun also was filled by the same twelve signs of the Zodiac with an equal number of parts, 360. So it came to pass that the reigns of the Gods who ruled among them for six generations in six dynasties were reckoned in years each consisting of a lunar cycle of thirty days. The total in lunar years is 11,985, or 969 solar years. By adding these to the 1058​14 solar years of the period before their reign, they reach the sum total of 2027 years." Similarly, in the two dynasties of nine Demigods, — these being regarded as real, although they never existed, — Panodôrus strives to make up 214½ years out of 858 hóroi (periods of three months) or tropoi, so that with the 969 years they make, he says, 1183½, and these, when added to the 1058 years from the time of Adam to the reign of the Gods, complete a total of 2242 years down to the Flood.

Thus Panodôrus exerts himself to show that the Egyptian writings against God and against our divinely inspired Scriptures are really in agreement with them. In this he criticizes Eusebius, not understanding that these arguments of his, which are incapable of proof or of reasoning, have been proved  p15 against himself and against truth, since indeed . . . neither Babylon nor Chaldea was ruled by kings before the Flood, nor was Egypt before Mestrem, and in my opinion it was not even inhabited before that time. . . .

Fr. 3 (from Syncellus)

On the Antiquity of Egypt

Manetho of Sebennytus, chief priest of the accursed temples of Egypt, who lived later than Bêrôssos in the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus, writes to this Ptolemy, with the same utterance of lies as Bêrôssos, concerning six dynasties or six gods who never existed: these, he says, reigned for 11,985 years. The first of them, the god Hêphaestus, was king for 9000 years. Now some of our historians, reckoning these 9000 years as so many lunar months, and dividing the number of days in these 9000 lunar months by the 365 days in a year, find a total of 727¾ years. They imagine that they have attained a striking result, but one must rather say that it is a ludicrous falsehood which they have tried to pit against Truth.

The First Dynasty of Egypt

1. Hêphaestus reigned for 727¾ years.

2. Hêlios (the Sun), son of Hêphaestus, for 80⅙ years.

3. Agathodaemôn, for 56 712 years.

 p17  4. Cronos, for 40½ years.

5. Osiris and Isis, for 35 years.

6. Typhon, for 29 years.15

Demigods:

7. Ôrus, for 25 years.

8. Arês, for 23 years.

9. Anubis, for 17 years.

10. Hêraclês, for 15 years.

11. Apollô, for 25 years.

12. Ammôn, for 30 years.

13. Tithoês,​16 for 27 years.

14. Sôsus, for 32 years.

15 Zeus, for 20 years.17

Fr. 4​18 (from Excerpta Latina Barbari)

In the kingdom of Egypt we have the oldest of all kingdoms, and we are minded to record its beginning, as it is given by Manetho. First, I shall put down as follows the reigns of the Gods, as recorded by the Egyptians. Some say that the god Hêphaestus reigned in Egypt for 680 years; after him, Sol [Hêlios, the Sun], son of Hêphaestus, for 77  p19 years: next, Sosinosiris [Sôsis and Osiris], for 320 years: then Orus the Ruler, for 28 years; and after him, Typhon, for 45 years. Total for the reigns of the Gods, 1550 years.19

Next come the reigns of the Demigods, as follows first, Anubes​20 for 83 years; then after him, Amusis, some say, was king. About him, Apiôn the grammarian,​21 who composed a history of Egypt, explained that he lived in the time of Inachus​22 who was king at the founding of Argos . . . for 67 years.23

 p21  I. Thereafter he [Manetho] gave an account of the kings who were Spirits of the Dead, calling them also Demigods, . . . who reigned for 2100 years: he called them "very brave" (Heroes).

II. Mineus and seven of his descendants reigned for 253 years.​24

III. Bochus and eight other kings reigned for 302 years.

IV. Necherocheus and seven other kings for 214 years.

V. Similarly seventeen other kings for 277 years.

VI. Similarly twenty‑one other kings for 258 years.

VII. Othoi and seven other kings for 203 years.

VIII. Similarly fourteen other kings for 140 years.

IX. Similarly twenty other kings for 409 years.

X. Similarly seven other kings for 204 years.

Here ends the First Book of Manetho, which contains a period of 2100 years.25

XI.​26 A dynasty of kings of Diospolis, for 60 years.

XII. A dynasty of kings of Bubastus, for 153 years.

 p23  XIII. A dynasty of kings of Tanis, for 184 years.

XIV. A dynasty of kings of Sebennytus, for 224 years.

XV. A dynasty of kings of Memphis, for 318 years.

XVI. A dynasty of kings of Hêliopolis, for 221 years.

XVII. A dynasty of kings of Hermupolis, for 260 years.

The Second Book continues the record down to the Seventeenth Dynasty, and comprises 1520 years.​27 These are the Egyptian dynasties.

Fr. 5 (from the Chronicle of Malalas)

[After recording the reigns of Hêphaestus (1680 days),º Hêlios (4477​28 days),º Sôsis, Osiris, Hôrus, and Thulis, Malalas adds:]

These ancient reigns of early Egyptian kings are recorded by Manetho, and in his writings it is stated that the names of the five planets are given in other forms: Cronos [Saturn] they used to call the shining star; Zeus [Jupiter], the radiant star [Phaethôn]; Arês [Mars], the fiery star; Aphroditê [Venus], the fairest; Hermês [Mercury], the glittering star. These names were later explained by the wise Sôtatês [? Sôtadês or Palaephatus].29

The first king of Egypt belonged to the tribe of Cham [Ham], Noah's son; he was Pharaôh, who was also called Narachô.

 p25  Now, the ancient reigns in Egypt before King Narachô were set forth by the wise Manetho, as has already been mentioned.

Fr. 6 (from Syncellus)

Since a knowledge of the periods of the Egyptian dynasties from Mestraïm​30 down to Nectanabô​31 is on many occasions needful to those who occupy themselves with chronological investigations, and since the dynasties taken from Manetho's History are set forth by ecclesiastical historians with discrepancies in respect both to the names of the kings and the length of their reigns, and also as to who was king when Joseph was governor of Egypt, and in whose reign thereafter Moses, — he who saw God, — led the Hebrews in their exodus from Egypt, I have judged it necessary to select two of the most famous recensions and to set them side by side — I mean the accounts of Africanus and of the later Eusebius, the so‑called "son" of Pamphilus, — so that with proper application one may apprehend the opinion which approaches nearest to Scriptural truth. It must, above all, be strictly understood that the Africanus increases by 20 years the period from Adam to the Flood, and instead of 2242 years he makes it out to be 2262 years, which appears to be incorrect. On the other hand, Eusebius keeps to the sound reckoning of 2242 years in agreement with Scripture. In regard to the period from the Flood down to Abraham and Moses, both have gone astray by 130  p27 years belonging to the second Caïnan, son of Arphaxad,​32 even one generation, the thirteenth, from Adam, as it is recorded by the divine evangelist Luke.​33 But Africanus, in the 20 years which he added between Adam and the Flood, anticipated this; and in the period of Caïnan and his successors, only 110 years remain. Hence, down to the first year of Abraham he reckoned 3202 years; but Eusebius, completely omitting those 130 years, gave 3184 years​34 as far as Abraham's first year.

Dynasty I

According to Africanus

Here is the account which Africanus gives of the dynasties of Egypt pamphlet the Flood].

1. In succession to the spirits of the Dead, the Demigods, — the first royal house​35 numbers eight kings, the first of whom Mênês​36 of  p29 This​37 reigned for 62 years. He was carried off by a hippopotamus​38 and perished.

2. Athôthis, his son, for 57 years. He built the palace at Memphis;​39 and his anatomical works​40 are extant, for he was a physician.

3. Kenkenês, his son, for 31 years.

4. Uenephês, his son, for 23 years. In his reign a great famine seized Egypt. He erected the pyramids near Kôchômê.​41

5. Usaphaidos,​42a his son, for 20 years.

6. Miebidos,​42b his son, for 26 years.

7. Semempsês, his son, for 18 years. In his reign a very great calamity befell Egypt.

8. Biênechês, his son, for 26 years.

Total, 253 years.43

Eusebius also sets out the details of the First Dynasty in much the same way as Africanus.

 p31  Fr. 7 (a) (from Syncellus). According to Eusebius.44

Here is the account which Eusebius gives of the Egyptian dynasties [after the Flood].

In succession to the Spirits of the Dead and the Demigods, the Egyptians reckon the First Dynasty to consist of eight kings. Among these was Mênês, whose rule in Egypt was illustrious. I shall record the rulers of each race from the time of Mênês; their succession is as follows:

1. Mênês of This, with his [17, or in another copy] 7 descendants, — the king called Mên by Herodotus, — reigned for 60 years. He made a foreign expedition and won renown, but was carried off by a hippopotamus.

2. Athôthis, his son, ruled for 27 years. He built the palace at Memphis; he practised medicine and wrote anatomical books.

3. Kenkenês, his son, for 39 years.

4. Uenephês, for 42 years. In his reign famine seized the land. He built the pyramids near Kôchôme.

5. Usaphaïs, for 20 years.

6. Niebaïs, for 26 years.

 p33  7. Semempsês, for 18 years. In his reign there were many portents and a very great calamity.

8. Ubienthês, for 26 years.

The total of all reigns, 252 years.45

(b) Armenian Version of Eusebius.

In succession to the Spirits of the Dead and the Demigods, the Egyptians reckon the First Dynasty to consist of eight kings. The first of these was Mênês, who won high renown in the government of his kingdom. Beginning with him, I shall carefully record the royal families one by one: their succession in detail is as follows:

Mênês of This (whom Herodotus named Min) and his seven descendants. He reigned for 30 years, and advanced with his army beyond the frontiers of his realm, winning renown by his exploits. He was carried off by a hippopotamus god (?).​46

Athothis, his son, held the throne for 27 years. He built for himself a royal palace at Memphis, and also practised the art of medicine, writing books on the method of anatomy.

Cencenes, his son, for 39 years.

Vavenephis, for 42 years. In his time famine seized the land. He reared pyramids near the town of Cho.

 p35  Usaphaïs, for 20 years.

Niebaïs, for 26 years.

Mempses, for 18 years. In his reign many portents and a great pestilence occurred.

Vibenthis, for 26 years.

Total for the dynasty, 252 years.47

Dynasty II

Fr. 8 (from Syncellus). According to Africanus.

The Second Dynasty​48 consists of nine kings of This. The first was Boêthos, for 38 years. In his reign a chasm opened at Bubastus,​49 and many perished.

2. Kaiechôs, for 39 years. In his reign the bulls,​50 Apis at Memphis and Mnevis at Heliopolis, and the Mendesian goat were worshipped as gods.

 p37  3. Binôthris, for 47 years. In his reign it was decided that women​51 might hold the kingly office.

4. Tlas, for 17 years.

5. Sethenês, for 41 years.

6. Chairês, for 17 years.

7. Nephercherês, for 25 years. In his reign, the story goes, the Nile flowed blended with honey for 11 days.

8. Sesôchris, for 48 years: his stature was 5 cubits 3 palms.​52

9. Chenerês, for 30 years.

Total, 302 years.

Total for the First and Second Dynasties [after the Flood], 555 years, according to the second edition of Africanus.

Fr. 9 (from Syncellus). According to Eusebius.

The Second Dynasty consisted of nine kings. First came Bôchos, in whose reign a chasm opened at Bubastus, and many perished.

He was succeeded by Kaichôos (or Chôos), in whose time Apis and Mnevis and also the Mendesian goat were worshipped as gods.

 p39  3. Biophis, in whose reign it was decided that women also might hold the kingly office. In the reigns of the three succeeding kings, no notable event occurred.

7. In the seventh reign, as the story goes, the Nile flowed blended with honey for 11 days.

8. Next. Sesôchris was king for 48 years: the greatness of his stature is said to have been 5 cubits 3 palms.

9. In the ninth reign there happened no event worthy of mention. These kings ruled for 297 years.

Total for the First and Second Dynasties, 549 years, according to the recension of Eusebius.

Fr. 10 Armenian Version of Eusebius.

The Second Dynasty consisted of nine kings.

First came Bôchus, in whose reign a huge hole opened at Bubastus, and swallowed up many persons.

He was succeeded by Cechous, in whose time Apis and Mnevis and the Mendesian goat were worshipped as gods.

Next came Biophis, in whose reign it was decreed by law that women might hold the royal office.

In the reigns of the three succeeding kings, no notable event occurred.

Under the seventh king fabulists tell how the river Nile flowed with honey as well as water for 11 days.

 p41  Next, Sesochris ruled for 48 years: he is said to have been 5 cubits high and 3 palms broad.53

Finally, under the ninth king no memorable event occurred.

These kings reigns for 297 years.

Dynasty III

Fr. 11 (from Syncellus). The Account of Africanus.

The Third Dynasty​54 comprised nine kings of Memphis.

1. Necherôphês, for 28 years. In his reign the Libyans revolted against Egypt, and when the moon waxed beyond reckoning, they surrendered in terror.

2. Tosorthros,​55 for 29 years. <In his reign lived Imuthês,>56 who because of his medical skill has the reputation of Asclepios among the  p43 Egyptians, and who was the inventor of the art of building with hewn stone. He also devoted attention to writing.

3. Tyreis (or Tyris), for 7 years.

4. Mesôchris, for 17 years.

5. Sôÿphis, for 16 years.

6. Tosertasis, for 19 years.

7. Achês, for 42 years.

8. Sêphuris, for 30 years.

9. Kerpherês, for 26 years.

Total, 214 years.

Total for the first three dynasties, according to Africanus, 769 years.

Fr. 12 (a) (from Syncellus). According to Eusebius.

The Third Dynasty consisted of eight kings of Memphis:

1. Necherôchis, in whose reign the Libyans revolted against Egypt, and when the moon waxed beyond reckoning, they surrendered in terror.

2. He was succeeded by Sesorthos . . . : he was styled Asclepios in Egypt because of his medical skill. He was also the inventor of the art of building with hewn stone, and devoted attention to writing as well.

The remaining six kings achieved nothing worthy of mention. These eight kings reigned for 198 years.

Total for the first three dynasties, according to Eusebius, 747 years.

 p45  (b) Armenian Version of Eusebius.

The Third Dynasty consisted of eight kings of Memphis:

Necherochis, in whose reign the Libyans revolted against Egypt: later when the moon waxed unseasonably, they were terrified and returned to their allegiance.

Next came Sosorthus . . .: he was styled Aesculapius by the Egyptian because of his medical skill. He was also the inventor of building with hewn stone; and in addition he devoted care to the writing of books.

The six remaining kings did nothing worthy of mention. The reigns of the whole dynasty amount to 197 years.

Dynasty IV

Fr. 14 (from Syncellus). According to Africanus.

The Fourth Dynasty​57 comprised eight kings of Memphis, belonging to a different line:

 p47  1. Sôris, for 29 years.

2. Suphis [I], for 63 years. He reared the Great Pyramid,​58 which Herodotus says was built by Cheops. Suphis conceived a contempt for the gods: he also composed the Sacred Book, which I acquired in my visit to Egypt​59 because of its high renown.

3. Suphis [II], for 66 years.

4. Mencherês, for 63 years.

5. Ratoisês, for 25 years.

6. Bicheris, for 22 years.

7. Sebercherês, for 7 years.

8. Thamphthis, for 9 years.

Total, 277 years.60

Total for the first four dynasties [after the Flood], 1046 years according to Africanus.

 p49  Fr. 15 (from Syncellus). According to Eusebius.

The Fourth Dynasty comprised seventeen kings of Memphis belonging to a different royal line.

Of these the third was Suphis, the builder of the Great Pyramid, which Herodotus says was built by Cheops. Suphis conceived a contempt for the gods, but repenting of this, he composed the Sacred Book, which the Egyptians hold in high esteem.

Of the remaining kings no achievement worthy of mention has been recorded.

This dynasty reigned for 448 years.

Total for the first four dynasties [after the Flood], 1195 years according to Eusebius.

Fr. 16 Armenian Version of Eusebius.

The Fourth Dynasty consisted of seventeen kings of Memphis belonging to a different royal line. The third of these kings, Suphis, was the builder of the Great Pyramid, which Herodotus declares to have been built by Cheops. Suphis behaved arrogantly towards the gods themselves: then, in penitence, he composed the Sacred Book in which the Egyptians believe they possess a great treasure. Of the remaining kings nothing worthy of mention is recorded in history. The reigns of the whole dynasty amount to 448 years.

 p51  Dynasty V

Fr. 18 (from Syncellus). According to Africanus.

The Fifth Dynasty​61 was composed of eight kings of Elephantine:

1. Usercherês, for 28 years.

2. Sephrês, for 13 years.

3. Nephercherês, for 20 years.

4. Sisirês, for 7 years.

5. Cherês, for 20 years.

6. Rathurês, for 44 years.

7. Mencherês, for 9 years.

8. Tancherês (? Tatcherês), for 44 years.

9. Onnus, for 33 years.

Total, 248 years.62

Along with the aforementioned 1046 years of the first four dynasties, this amounts to 1294 years.

Fr. 19 (a) (from Syncellus). According to Eusebius.

The Fifth Dynasty consisted of thirty‑one kings of Elephantine. Of these the first was Othoês,​63 who was murdered by his bodyguard.

 p53  The fourth king, Phiôps, succeeding when six years old, reigned until his hundredth year. Thus, along with the aforementioned 1195 years of the first four dynasties, this amounts to 1295 years.

(b) Armenian Version of Eusebius.

The Fifth Dynasty consisted of thirty‑one kings of Elephantine. Of these the first was Othius, who was killed by his attendants. The fourth king was Phiôps, who held the royal office from his sixth​64 right down to his hundredth year.

Dynasty VI

Fr. 20 (from Syncellus). According to Africanus.

The Sixth Dynasty​65 consisted of six kings of Memphis:

1. Othoês, for 30 years: he was murdered by his bodyguard.

2. Phius, for 53 years.

3. Methusuphis, for 7 years.

 p55  4. Phiôps, who began to reign at the age of six, and continued until his hundredth year.​66

5. Menthesuphis, for 1 year.

6. Nitôcris,​67 the noblest and loveliest of the women of her time, of fair complexion, the builder of the third pyramid, reigned for 12 years.

Total, 203 years.​68 Along with the aforementioned 1294 years of the first five dynasties, this amounts to 1497 years.

Fr. 21 (a) (from Syncellus). According to Eusebius.

The Sixth Dynasty.

There was a queen Nitôcris, the noblest and loveliest of the women of her time; she had a fair complexion, and is said to have built the third pyramid.

 p57  These rulers (or this ruler) reigned for three years: in another copy, 203 years. Along with the aforementioned 1295 years of the first five dynasties, this amounts to 1498 years.

(Syncellus adds:) It must be noted how much less accurate Eusebius is than Africanus in the number of kings he gives, in the omission of names, and in dates, although he practically repeats the account of Africanus in the same words.

(b) Armenian Version of Eusebius.

The Sixth Dynasty. There was a queen Nitôcris, braver than all the men of her time, the most beautiful of all the women, fair-skinned with red cheeks. By her, it is said, the third pyramid was reared, with the aspect of a mountain.

The united reigns of all the kings amount to 203 years.

Dynasty VII

Fr. 23 (from Syncellus). According to Africanus.

The Seventh Dynasty​69 consisted of seventy kings of Memphis, who reigned for 70 days.

Fr. 24 (a) (from Syncellus). According to Eusebius.

The Seventh Dynasty consisted of five kings of Memphis, who reigned for 75 days.

 p59  (b) Armenian Version of Eusebius.

The Seventh Dynasty consisted of five kings of Memphis, who held sway for 75 days.

Dynasty VIII

Fr. 25 (from Syncellus). According to Africanus.

The Eighth Dynasty​70 consisted of twenty-seven kings of Memphis, who reigned for 146 years. Along with the aforementioned reigns, this amounts to 1639 years for the first eight dynasties.

Fr. 25 (a) (from Syncellus). According to Eusebius.

The Eighth Dynasty consisted of five kings of Memphis, who reigned for 100 years. Along with the aforementioned reigns, this amounts to 1598 years for the first eight dynasties.

(b) Armenian Version of Eusebius.

The Eighth Dynasty consisted of five​71 kings of Memphis, whose rule lasted for 100 years.

 p61  Dynasty IX

Fr. 27 (from Syncellus). According to Africanus.

The Ninth Dynasty​72 consisted of nineteen kings of Hêracleopolis, who reigned for 409 years. The first of these, King Achthoês,​73 behaving more cruelly than his predecessors, wrought woes for the people of all Egypt, but afterwards he was smitten with madness, and was killed by a crocodile.74

Fr. 28 (a) (from Syncellus). According to Eusebius.

The Ninth Dynasty consisted of four kings of Hêracleopolis, who reigned for 100 years. The first of these, King Achthô ês, behaving more cruelly than his predecessors, wrought woes for the people of all Egypt, but afterwards he was smitten with madness, and was killed by a crocodile.

(b) Armenian Version of Eusebius.

The Ninth Dynasty consisted of four kings of Heracleopolis, reigning for 100 years. The first of these, King Ochthôis,​75 was more cruel than all his  p63 predecessors, and visited the whole of Egypt with dire disasters. Finally, he was seized with madness and devoured by a crocodile.

Dynasty X

Fr. 29 (from Syncellus). According to Africanus.

The Tenth Dynasty consisted of nineteen kings of Hêracleopolis, who reigned for 185 years.

Fr. 30 (a) (from Syncellus). According to Eusebius.

The Tenth Dynasty consisted of nineteen kings of Hêracleopolis, who reigned for 185 years.

(b) Armenian Version of Eusebius.

The Tenth Dynasty consisted of nineteen kings of Hêracleopolis, who reigned for 185 years.

Dynasty XI

Fr. 31 (from Syncellus). According to Africanus.

The Eleventh Dynasty​76 consisted of sixteen kings of Diospolis [or Thebes], who reigned for 43 years. In succession to these, Ammenemês​77 ruled for 16 years.

Here ends the First Book of Manetho.

Total for the reigns of 192 kings, 2300 years 70 days.

 p65  Fr. 32 (a) (from Syncellus). According to Eusebius.

The Eleventh Dynasty consisted of sixteen kings of Diospolis [or Thebes], who reigned for 43 years. In succession to these, Ammenemês ruled for 16 years.

Here ends the First Book of Manetho.

Total for the reigns of 192 kings, 2300 years 79 days.

(b) Armenian Version of Eusebius.

The Eleventh Dynasty consisted of sixteen kings of Diospolis [or Thebes], who reigned for 43 years. In succession to these, Ammenemes ruled for 16 years.

Here ends the First Book of Manetho.

Total for the reigns of 192 kings, 2300 years.


The Editor's Notes:

1 The Pre‑dynastic Period begins with a group of gods, "consisting of the Great Ennead of Heliopolis in the form in which it was worshipped at Memphis" (T. E. Peet, Cambridge Ancient History, I p250). After summarizing §§ 1‑3 Peet adds: "From the historical point of view there is little to be made of this". See Meyer, Geschichte des Altertums5, I.ii p102 f. for the Egyptian traditions of the Pre‑dynastic Period. In the Turin Papyrus the Gods are given in the same order: (Ptah), Rê, (Shu), Geb, Osiris, Sêth (200 years), Horus (300 years), Thoth (3126 years), MaꜤat, Har, . . . Total . . . . See Meyer, Aeg. Chron. p116, and cf. Fr. 3.

2 The name Bydis (or Bites) seems to be the Egyptian bı͗ty 𓆤𓏏𓀭 "king" (from bı͗t 𓆤𓏏𓏤 "bee"), the title of the kings of Lower Egypt: see the Palermo Stone, and cf. Herodotus, IV.155, "the Libyans call their king 'Battos' " (P. E. Newberry). Bitys appears in late times as a translator or interpreter of Hermetical writings: see Iamblich. De Mysteriis, VIII.5 (= Scott, Hermetica, IV p34) where the prophet Bitys is said to have translated [for King Ammôn] a book (The Way to Higher Things, i.e. a treatise on the theurgic or supernatural means of attaining to union with the Demiurgus) which he found inscribed in hieroglyphs in a shrine at Saïs in Egypt. Cf. the pseudo-Manetho, App. I.

3 There is no evidence that the Egyptian year was ever equal to a month: there were short years (each of 360 days) and long years (see Fr. 49).

4 See Excerpta Latina Barbari (Fr. 4) for the beginning of this dynasty: "First, Anubis . . .".

5 Corroborated by the Turin Papyrus, Col. II: "of Memphis".

6 "Demigods" should be in apposition to "Spirits of the Dead" (νέκυες ἡμίθεοι), as in Excerpta Latina Barbari (Fr. 4) and Africanus (Fr. 6. 1). These are perhaps the Shemsu Hor 𓅃𓌞𓋴𓂻𓏥, the Followers or Worshippers of Horus, of the Turin Papyrus: see H. R. Hall, Cambridge Ancient History, I p265. Before King Mênês (Fr. 6), the king of Upper Egypt who imposed his sway upon the fertile Delta and founded the First Dynasty, — the Shemsu Hor, the men of the Falcon Clan whose original home was in the West Delta, had formed an earlier united kingdom by conquering Upper Egypt: see V. Gordon Childe, New Light on the Most Ancient East, 1934, p8,º based upon Breasted, Bull. Instit. Franç. Arch. Or. XXX (Cairo, 1930), pp710 ff., and Schäfer's criticism, Orient. Literaturz. 1932, p704.

7 The exact total of the items given is 11,025 years. So also 24,900 infra is a round number for 24,925.

8 Boeckh, Manetho und die Hundssternperiode, p85, corrects this to 2046.

9 Mestraïm: the Mizraïm of O. T. Genesis x.6: Arabic Miṣrun, Cuneiform Muṣri, Miṣri (Egypt). Mizraïm is a dual name-form, perhaps to be explained in reference to the two great native divisions of Egypt, Upper and Lower.

10 For the contemporaneous existence of a number of petty kingdoms in Egypt, see the Piankhi stele, Breasted, Ancient Records, IV §§ 830, 878, and the passage from Artapanus, Concerning the Jews, quoted on p73 n. 3. T. Nicklin (in his Studies in Egyptian Chronology, 1928‑29, p39) says: "The Manethonian Dynasties are not lists of rulers over all Egypt, but lists partly of more or less independent princes, partly of princely lines from which later sprang rulers over all Egypt. (Cf. the Scottish Stuarts, or the Electors of Hanover.) Some were mere Mayors of the Palace or princelets maintaining a precarious independence, or even more subordinate Governors of nomes, from whom, however, descended subsequent monarchs. (Cf. the Heptarchy in England.)"

11 This passage follows after Appendix I, p210.

12 Panodôrus (fl. 395‑408 A.D.) and his contemporary Annianus were Egyptian monks who wrote on Chronology with the purpose of harmonizing Chaldean and Egyptian systems with that of the Jews. Panodôrus used (and perhaps composed) the Book of Sôthis (App. IV).

13 Ἐγρήγοροι, "Watchers, Angels" — in Enoch, 179, of the angels who fell in love with the daughters of men. The Greek word Ἐγρήγοροι is a mispronunciation of the Aramaic word used in Enoch, 179.

14 See Intro. p. xxviii.º

15 Total, 969 years.

16 Total, 214 years. Total for Gods and Demigods, 1183 years. See Fr. 2.

17 This extract made by an anonymous and ignorant scribe depends chiefly upon Africanus. See Weill, La fin du moyen empire égyptien, pp640, 642 f., 655 f. Gelzer and Bauer have inferred that the Greek account translated by Barbarus was either the work of the Egyptian monk Annianus (see Fr. 2, p11 n. 2) or at least a source derived from him (Laqueur, R.‑E. XIV.1, 1081).

18 For the divinity Tithoês in two inscriptions of Coptos, see O. Guéraud in Ann. Serv. Antiq., 35 (1935), pp5 f.

19 The actual total of the items given is 1150 years.

20 The translation follows the restored Greek original: see note 3 on the text.

21 Apiôn the grammarian, born in Upper Egypt, lived at Rome in the time of Tiberius, Gaius, and Claudius: Tiberius called him by the nickname of "cymbalum mundi".​* As leader of the anti-Jewish movement, Apiôn was later attacked by Josephus in his Contra Apionem.

The quotation from Apiôn appears to derive in part from the History of Ptolemy of Mendês: see Tatian, Or. adversus Graecos, § 38, in Migne, Patrologia Graeca, VI.880‑882, and in Müller, F. H. G. IV p485 (quoted in F. H. G. II p533). (Ptolemy of Mendês dated the Exodus to the reign of Amôsis, who was contemporary with Inachus. Apiôn in the fourth volume of his Aegyptiaca (in five volumes) stated that Auaris was destroyed by Amôsis.) Much matter must have been common to the works of Ptolemy of Mendês and Apiôn: cf. Africanus in Eusebius, Praepar. Evang. X.10, "Apiôn says that in the time of Inachus Moses led out the Jews". Cf. Fr. 52, 1; 53, 9.

* Thayer's Note: Pliny, Nat. Hist. praef. 25.

22 The founder of the First Dynasty of kings of Argos, Inachus is said to have died twenty generations before the Fall of Troy, i.e. circa 1850 B.C. Aegyptus and Danaus were fifth in descent from Inachus: cf. Fr. 50, § 102.

23 This appears to be the length of the reign of Amôsis, not of Inachus. Cf. Fr. 52, 1, where Africanus as recorded by Syncellus omits the number of years.

24 The totals given by Barbarus are generally those of Africanus. Barbarus omits Manetho's Dynasty VII; and Potestas X is explained by Gelzer (Sextus Julius Africanus, p199) as being Manetho's X + XI + Ammenemes (16 years) = 244 years. Total, 2300.

25 The actual total of the items given is 2260 years.

26 Potestas XI is Manetho's Dynasty XII. Barbarus therefore gives Dynasties XII‑XVIII: the totals (corrected by Meyer, Aeg. Chron. 99, n. 2) are — XII. 160, XIII. 453, XIV. 184, XV. 284, XVI. 518, XVII. 151, XVIII. 262 (+ XIX. 209). Sum total for Book II, 2221 years; cf. Fr. 55 Africanus, 56 Eus. (Arm.), 2121 years.

The names of Potestates XII‑XVII, or Dynasties XIII‑XVIII, come from some other source than Manetho: the Tanites of Potestas XIII or Dynasty XIV appear to correspond with the Hyksôs, just as in the Book of Sôthis (App. IV); while others may be local dynasties of the Hyksôs age. The kings of Hermupolis (Potestas XVII) apparently denote the kings of the Eighteenth Dynasty, whose names indicate the cult of the Moon-deities ʾIoḥ and Thôth of Hermupolis (Meyer, Gesch.5 I.ii. p326).

27 The actual total of the items given is 1420 years.

28 4407 codd.

29 Palaephatus of Egypt, or Athens, wrote on Egyptian theology and mythology, c. 200 B.C., — more than seven centuries earlier than Malalas himself (c. A.D. 491‑578).

30 See p7 n. 2.

31 Nectanabô or Nectanebus, the last king of Dynasty XXX.

32 Arphaxad, son of Shem: O. T. Genesis x.22. "Arphaxad" is probably a Mesopotamian name (W. F. Albright, The Archaeology of Palestine and the Bible2, 1932‑3, p139).

33 N. T. Luke iii.36.

34 Eusebius reckoned 2242 years from Adam to the Flood, and 942 years from the Flood to Abraham.

35 Dynasties I and II, the Thinites: c. 3200-c. 2780 B.C.

Note. — The dates which have been adopted throughout this book are those of Eduard Meyer, except where another authority is specified. Meyer's revised dates (as in Die Älter Chronologie . . ., 1931) may conveniently be found in G. Steindorff's chapter on Ancient History in Baedeker8, pp. ci ff. In the Cambridge Ancient History, vol. I, H. R. Hall gives for the dynasties a series of dates which differ from those of Breasted and the German School: he assigns earlier dates to the first twelve dynasties, e.g. Dynasty I c. 3500 B.C. A. Scharff, on the other hand, dates the beginning of Dynasty I c. 3000 B.C. (Journ. of Eg. Arch. XIV, 1928, pp275 f.).

Dynasty I. For the identifications of Manetho's kings with monumental and other evidence, see Meyer, Geschichte des Altertums5, I.ii p140: he identifies (1) Mênês, (2) Atoti I, II, III, (5) Usaphaïs, (6) Miebis.

(3) Kenkenês and (5) Usaphaïs are two names of the same king: see Newberry and Wainwright, "King Udymu (Den) and the Palermo Stone" in Ancient Egypt, 1914, p148 ff.

36 On Mênês (c. 3200 B.C.) see P. E. Newberry in Winifred Brunton's Great Ones of Ancient Egypt, 1929: Min in Herodotus, II.4.

37 This (Anc. Egyptian Theny), near Girga, about 310 miles S. of Cairo (Baedeker8, p231), the capital of the nome of This, and the seat of the First and Second Dynasties. The cemetery of the First Dynasty kings was near Abydos: see Petrie, Royal Tombs, I and II, and Baedeker8, p260.

38 For a representation of a king fighting with a hippopotamus, see a seal-impression in Petrie, Royal Tombs, II.vii.6; and for a hippopotamus-hunt, see a year-name of Udymu, Schäfer, Palermo Stone, p20, No. 8.

With the whole story, cf. the miraculous deliverance of Mênas by a crocodile in Diodorus Siculus, I.89.

39 Building of palace at Memphis — by Min or Mênês, Herodotus, II.99, Josephus, Ant. VIII.6.2 (155); by his son Athôthis, says Manetho; by Uchoreus, Diod. I.50.

40 For the later study of anatomy (including, perhaps, the practice of vivisection) by kings of Ptolemaic Egypt, see G. Lumbroso, Glossario, s.v. Ἀνατομική.

41 Kôchômê has been identified with Sakkâra, and excavations carried out there in the Archaic Cemetery from 1935 by W. B. Emery (assisted by Zaki Saad) have gone far to confirm Manetho. Several tombs which date from the First Dynasty were discovered at Sakkâra in 1937 and 1938. One of these, the tomb of Nebetka under the 5th king of Dynasty I, was found to contain in its interior a stepped-pyramid construction of brickwork: during the building the form of the tomb was altered to a palace-façade mastaba.

42a 42b These forms are really the genitives of the names Usaphaïs and Miebis.

43 The actual total of the items given in 263 years.

44 The version (transmitted to us by Syncellus) which Eusebius gives of the Epitome of Manetho shows considerable differences from Africanus, both in the names of kings and in the length of their reigns. Peet (Egypt and the Old Testament, pp25 f.), says: "The astonishing variations between their figures are an eloquent testimony to what may happen to numbers in a few centuries through textual corruption." Petrie (History of Egypt, I p. viii) compares the corruptions in such late Greek chronicles as those of the Ptolemies (c. 5c A.D.).

45 The actual total of the items given is 258 years.

46 See note 2 on the text.

47 Karst gives 270 years as the total transmitted in the Armenian version. The total of the items as given above is 228 years.

48 Dynasty II — to c. 2780 B.C. For identifications with the Monuments, etc., see Meyer, Geschichte5, I.ii p146; he identifies (1) Boêthos, (2) Kaiechôs or Kechôus, (3) Binôthris, (4) Tlas, (5) Sethenês, (7) Nephercherês, (8) Sesôchris. For (1) to (5), see G. A. Reisner, The Development of the Egyptian Tomb, 1936, p123.

49 Bubastus or Bubastis (Baedeker8, p181), near Zagazig in the Delta: Anc. Egyptian Per‑Baste 𓉐𓏤𓎰𓏏𓏏, the Pi‑beseth of Ezekiel xxx.17. See also Herodotus, II.60, 137 f. The kings of Dynasty XXII resided at Bubastis.

Earthquakes have always been rare in Egypt (Euseb., Chron. Graec. p42, l. 25; Pliny, H. N. II.82; but Bubastis is situated in an unstable region: see H. G. Lyons in Cairo Scientific Journal, I (1907), p182. It stands on an earthquake line, which runs to Crete. A deep boring made at Bubastis failed to reach rock.

50 The worship of Apis is earlier even than Dynasty II: see Palermo Stone, Schäfer, p21, No. 12 (in reign of Udymu). For Apis, see Herodotus, II.153, and Diod. Sic. I.84, 85 (where all three animals are mentioned). The goat was a cult animal in very early times: cf. Herodotus, II.46.

51 No queens' names are recorded in the Royal Lists of Abydos and Karnak. Herodotus (II.100) records one queen: Diod. Sic. I.44 (from Hecataeus) reckons the number of Egyptian queens as five.

52 The stature of each king is said to be noted in the records mentioned by Diodorus Siculus, Diod. Sic. I.44.4. Cf. infra, Fr. 35, No. 3, App. II No. 6 (p216).

53 For this absurd perversion of the Greek words, see p36 n. 1: πλάτος was added, perhaps as a corruption of παλαιστῶν, and replaced μέγεθος in the Greek version of Eusebius.

54 The Old Kingdom, Dynasties III‑V: c. 2780-c. 2420 B.C.

Dynasty III, c. 2780-c. 2720 B.C. For identifications with monumental and other evidence, see Meyer, Geschichte5, I.ii p174: he identifies (2) Tosorthos (Zoser I — "the Holy"), and holds that (1) Necherôphês is one name of KhaꜤsekhemui, (6) Tosertasis may be Zoser II Atoti, and (9) Kerpherês may be NeferkerêꜤ II.

55 Zoser was not the first builder with hewn stone: his predecessor, KhaꜤsekhemui, used squared blocks of limestone for building purposes; see Petrie, Royal Tombs, II p13. Granite blocks had already formed the floor of the tomb of Udymu (Dynasty I).

Two tombs of Zoser are known: (1) a mastaba at Bêt Khallâf near This (Baedeker8, p231), see J. Garstang, Mahâsna and Bêt Khallâf; and (2) the famous Step Pyramid at Sakkâra, which was the work of the great architect Imhotep (Baedeker8, p156 f.).

56 If the emendation in the text be not accepted, the statement would surely be too inaccurate to be attributed to Manetho. The Egyptian Asclepios was Imouth or Imhotep of Memphis, physician and architect to King Zoser, afterwards deified: on Philae (now for the most part submerged) Ptolemy II Philadelphus built a little temple to Imhotep. See Sethe, Untersuchungen, II.4 (1902): J. B. Hurry, Imhotep (Oxford, 1926).

One of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, edited by Grenfell and Hunt, P. Oxy. XI.1381, of the 2c A.D., has for its subject the eulogy of Imuthês-Asclepius: the fragment preserved is part of the prelude. See G. Manteuffel, De Opusculis Graecis Aegypti e papyris, ostracis, lapidibusque collectis, 1930, No. 3.

57 Dynasty IV, c. 2720-c. 2560 B.C. For identifications with monumental and other evidence, see Meyer, Geschichte5, I.ii p181: he identifies (1) Sôris (Snofru), (2) Suphis I (Cheops, Khufu), then after DedefreꜤ (not mentioned by Manetho), (3) Suphis II (Chephren), (4) Mencherês (Mycerinus), and finally (an uncertain identification), (7) Sebercherês (Shepseskaf). For (3) Chephren and (4) Mycerinus, Diodorus I.64 gives the good variants (3) Chabryês and (4) Mencherinus. On the Chronology of Dynasty IV, see Reisner, Mycerinus (cf. infra, note 2), pp243 ff. Reisner reads the name Dedefrê in the form Radedef, and identifies it with Ratoisês.

The Greek tales of the oppression of Egypt by Cheops and Chephren, etc., are believed to be the inventions of dragomans. Cf. Herodotus, II.124 (contempt for the gods), 129 (Mycerinus), with How and Wells's notes.º Africanus has, moreover, acquired as a treasure the "sacred book" of Cheops.

58 On the Pyramids of Giza, see Baedeker8, pp133 ff.; Noel F. Wheeler, "Pyramids and their Purpose," Antiquity, 1935, pp5‑21, 161‑189, 292‑304; and for the fourth king of Dynasty IV see G. A. Reisner, Mycerinus: The Temples of the Third Pyramid at Giza, 1931. Notwithstanding their colossal dimensions and marvellous construction, the Pyramids have not escaped detraction: Frontinus (De Aquis, I.16) contrasts "the idle pyramids" with "the indispensable structures" of the several aqueducts at Rome; and Pliny (H. N. 36, 8, § 75) finds in the pyramids "an idle and foolish ostentation of royal wealth". But the pyramids have, at any rate, preserved the names of their builders, especially Cheops, to all future ages, although, as Sir Thomas Browne characteristically wrote (Urn‑Burial, Chap. 5): "To . . . be but pyramidally extant is a fallacy of duration" . . . "Who can but pity the founder of the Pyramids?" The modern Egyptologist says: "The Great Pyramid is the earliest and most impressive witness . . . to the final emergence of organized society from prehistoric chaos and local conflict" (J. H. Breasted, History of Egypt, p119).

59 Africanus went from Palestine to Alexandria, attracted by the renown of the philosopher Heraclas, Bishop of Alexandria: see Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. VI.31, 2.

Thayer's Note: also, if much later and possibly derivative, Bede, Chronicle, A. M. 4197.

60 The MS. A gives as total 274: the items add to 284.

61 Dynasty V c. 2560-c. 2420 B.C. For identifications with monumental and other evidence, see Meyer, Geschichte5, I.ii p203: his list runs (1) Userkaf, (2) SahurêꜤ, (3) NefererkerêꜤ Kakai, (4) NefrefrêꜤ or ShepseskerêꜤ, (5) KhaꜤneferrêꜤ, (6) NeweserrêꜤ Ini, (7) Menkeuhor (Akeuhor), (8) DedkerêꜤ Asosi, (9) Unas.

62 The items total 218 years; but if the reign of Othoês, the first king of Dynasty VI is added, the total will then be 248 years.

63 In the chronology of Eusebius, Dynasty V is suppressed: the kings whom he mentions belong to Dynasty VI.

64 Karst translates the Armenian as referring to the sixtieth year — "began to rule at the age of 60"; but Aucher's Armenian test has the equivalent of sexennis, "six years old" (Margoliouth).

65 Dynasties VI‑VIII, the last Memphites, c. 2420-c. 2240 B.C. Dynasty VI Meyer (Geschichte5, I.ii p236) identifies as follows: (1) Othoês (Teti or Atoti), then after UserkerêꜤ, (2) Phius (Pepi I), (3) Methusuphis (MerenrêꜤ I), (4) Phiôps (Pepi II), (5) Menthesuphis (MerenrêꜤ II), (6) Nitôcris. Sethe (Sesostris, p3) draws attention to the intentional differentiation of the same family-name — Phius for Pepi I, Phiôps for Pepi II; so also (3) Methusuphis and (5) Menthesuphis, and cf. infra on Psametik in Dynasty XXVI. Are these variations due to Manetho or to his source?

66 The remarkable descriptions of social disorganization and anarchy, addressed to an aged king in the Leiden Papyrus of Ipuwer and known as The Admonitions of an Egyptian Sage, are, according to Erman, to be associated with the end of this reign: see A. Erman, "Die Mahnworte eines ägyptischen Propheten" in Sitz. der preuss. Akad. der Wissenschaften, XLII, 1919, p813.

67 Nitôcris is doubtless the Neit‑oḳre(t)𓈖𓏏𓏯𓇋𓈎𓂋𓏏𓏭𓅆of the Turin Papyrus: the name means "Neith is Excellent" (cf. App. II Eratosthenes, No. 22, Ἀθηνᾶ νικηφόρος), and was a favourite name under the Saïte Dynasty (Dyn. XXVI), which was devoted to the worship of Neith. See Herodotus, II.100, 134, Diod. Sic. I.64.14 (if Rhodôpis is to be identified with Nitôcris), Strabo 17.1.33 (a Cinderella-like story), Pliny, N. H. 36.12.78, and G. A. Wainwright, Sky‑Religion, pp41 ff.

A queen's reign ending the Dynasty is followed by a period of confusion, just as after Dyn. XII, when Queen Scemiophris (SebeknofrurêꜤ) closes the line: cf. perhaps, in Dyn. IV, Thamphthis, of whom nothing is known.

In 1932 Professor Selim Hassan discovered at Giza the tomb of Queen Khentkawes, a tomb of monumental dimensions, the so‑called fourth or "false" pyramid. Khentkawes was the daughter of Mycerinus; and, disregarding the chronological difficulty, H. Junker, in Mitteilungen des Deutschen Instituts für Ägyptische Altertumskunde in Kairo, III.2 (1932), pp144‑149, put forward the theory that the name Nitôcris is derived from Khentkawes, and that Manetho refers here to the so‑called fourth pyramid, which merits the description (Fr. 21 (b)), — "with the aspect of a mountain". See further B. van de Walle in L'Antiquité Classique, 3 (1934), pp303‑312.

68 The correct total is 197 years: the reign of Phiôps is reckoned at 100, instead of 94 years (the Turin Papyrus gives 90 + x years).

69 Dynasty VII — a mere interregnum, or period of confusion until one king gained supreme power.

70 Dynasty VIII, according to Barbarus (Fr. 4) fourteen kings for 140 years: according to Meyer, probably eighteen kings who reigned for 146 years.

"The Turin Papyrus closes the first great period of Egyptian history at the end of what appears to be Manetho's VIIIth Dynasty (the last Memphites)": it reckons 955 years from Dynasty I to Dynasties VII and VIII. (H. R. Hall in C. A. H. I pp298, 170). See A. Scharff in J. Eg. Arch. XIV, 1928, p275.

71 So Aucher, Petermann, and Karst.

72 Dynasties IX and X c. 2240-c. 2100 B.C. — two series of nineteen kings, both from Hêracleopolis (Baedeker8, p218), near the modern village of Ahnâsia (Ancient Egyptian Hat‑nen-nesut {  𓉗𓏏𓉐𓇓𓀔𓈖𓈖𓏏𓊖}), 77 miles S. of Cairo, c. 9 miles S. of the entrance to the Fayûm.

The Turin Papyrus gives eighteen kings for Dynasties IX and X as opposed to Manetho's thirty-eight.

Manetho's account of Dynasty IX is best preserved by Africanus. Barbarus has almost the same figures — twenty kings for 409 years.

73 Achthoês: in the Turin Papyrus Akhtôi (Meyer, Geschichte5, I.ii p247 — three kings of this name). Meyer conjectures that the "cruelty" of Achthoês may be violent or forcible oppression of the feudal nobility.

74 Cf. p28 n. 2.

75 Okhthovis (Petermann's translation), -ov- representing the long o.

76 The Middle Kingdom, Dynasties XI‑XIII: c. 2100-c. 1700 B.C.

Dynasty XI (c. 2100-c. 2000 B.C.) with its seat at Thebes; sixteen kings of Thebes ruling for only 43 years (Manetho): Turin Papyrus gives six kings with more than 160 years.

77 Ammenemês is Amenemhêt I: see pp66 f., nn. 1, 2.


[image ALT: Valid HTML 4.01.]

Page updated: 31 Oct 21