The Destruction of Mankind

There is this strange and confusing text about a pissed off goddess sent off to destroy the world and gobble up all of humanity. The sun god Re sends her out on a mission of destruction. She’s called the Eye of Re, meaning she’s a part of her father, the god, but also somehow separate, a goddess in her own right named Hathor. The Egyptians seem to be telling us that when you have a problem that needs immediate solving, you send a woman, a really angry woman. Re’s problem is nothing short of rebellion against his rule. He’s become old and worn out, and no one is listening to his orders anymore. Time for a clean slate, Re thinks. Let’s annihilate the humans! (I mean, who hasn’t had such thoughts lately, right?) My daughter Hathor can do the deed!

Except, Re second-guesses himself after seeing the carnage. Creator gods always feel bad when they witness the deep-sixing of their creation, after all, thinking well maybe I want these pesky humans around after all. They do give me offerings… They’re not bad all the time… But once unleashed, the goddess will not be calmed, enraged in her thirst for blood. Can Re pull the Eye of Re back in time? What will he do?

The Destruction of Mankind is not a tale exactly, but it’s not a religious text either. The first version was inscribed on one of the gilded wooden shrines surrounding Tutankhamun’s burial ensemble, meaning its creation must predate that time. Some think it finds its origins in the confusing post-Amarna period when people were extra traumatized by Akhenaten’s solar obsessions. Other scholars believe it predates Tutankhamun’s reign and finds its origins in deep questioning about the place of humanity in the world: Why are we here? Do we matter at all?

In this episode Kara and Amber dive deep into the myth of the “Destruction of Mankind,” a confusing blend of religious text and fairy tale. The discussion explores the themes of divine judgment, the power dynamics between masculine and feminine deities, and the emotional versus rational dichotomy within patriarchal systems. The narrative returns to how the sun god Re considers obliterating humanity but then chooses to keep his creation, ultimately using trickery to mitigate the destruction. The brutal lioness version of the goddess must be turned into a soft and pliable version of herself using humanity’s favorite elixir—beer, died red to resemble human blood.

Kara and Amber delve into Ancient Egyptian mythology, the roles of gods and goddesses, and the social and emotional implications this mythology holds for contemporary patriarchal structures. The crux of it all is: if the Eye of Re is an offshoot of her father Re, can her violent power be considered resistance, or is she just a tool?

There’s lots going on here, so check out the links:

Theban Mapping Project: Photo of the Heavenly Cow in the tomb of Seti I (KV 17)

Theban Mapping Project: Line drawing of the Book of the Heavenly Cow I the tomb of Seti I (KV 17) (copy reversed from orientation of the original)

Sources

Guilhou, Nadine. 2010. “Myth of the Heavenly Cow.” In Jacco Dieleman and Willeke Wendrich (eds.), UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology. Los Angeles. http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/viewItem.do?ark=21198/zz002311pm.

Hornung, Erik. 1982. Der Ägyptische Mythos von der Himmelskuh. Eine Ätiologie des Unvollkommenen. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; Auflage.

Lichtheim, Miriam. 2006. Ancient Egyptian Literature: Volume II: The New Kingdom. 2nd ed. University of California Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1ppr00.

Spalinger, Anthony. 2000. “The Destruction of Mankind: A Transitional Literary Text.” Studien Zur Altägyptischen Kultur 28, 257–82. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25152827.

Get full access to Ancient/Now at ancientnow.substack.com/subscribe