saw the enemies lying fettered on the ground. The legend here
introduces a number of curious derivations of the names of Edfu, &c.,
which are valueless, and which remind us of the derivations of place-
names propounded by ancient Semitic scribes.



[FN#23] i.e., Ra on the horizon.



PLATE V.
Horus standing on the back of the Hippopotamus-fiend, and spearing him
in the presence of Isis.

PLATE VI.
The "Butcher-priest" slicing open the Hippopotamus-fiend.



In gladness of heart Ra proposed a sail on the Nile, but as soon as his
enemies heard that he was coming, they changed themselves into
crocodiles and hippopotami, so that they might be able to wreck his
boat and devour him. As the boat of the god approached them they
opened their jaws to crush it, but Horus and his followers came quickly
on the scene, and defeated their purpose. The followers of Horus here
mentioned are called in the text "Mesniu," i.e., "blacksmiths," or
"workers in metal," and they represent the primitive conquerors of the
Egyptians, who were armed with metal weapons, and so were able to
overcome with tolerable ease the indigenous Egyptians, whose weapons