Hans_lune Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> cladking Wrote:
> >
> > Yet the builders repeatedly said the king is
> both
> > a pyramid and a star ("he, he is the pyramid")
> > ("he is a star"). There is apparently some
> sort
> > of correspondence of stars to pyramids or
> pyramids
> > to stars. I don't see any reason to rule out
> some
> > kind of spatial relationship.
>
> Neither of those two English phrases, 'he, he is
> the pyramid' or 'he is a star' show up in Unas'
> Pyramid Texts witch I believe is the oldest
> version of the PT. They may show up in later
> versions.
>
> The use and occurrence of Pyramid Texts changed
> between the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms of
> Ancient Egypt. During the Old Kingdom can you
> point to date of when they started to use those
> phrases?
>
> [
www.pyramidtextsonline.com]
Usually it is believed that the Pyramid Texts turned into the coffin texts which turned into what is often called the "book of the dead". But there are significant differences in the languages of the PT and coffin texts. Most Egyptologists believe the Pyramid texts that appear in 5th dynasty "pyramid" tombs were extremely ancient when they were carved into the walls. Dating of the 5th dynasty pyramids is irrelevant if this is true. It simply doesn't matter where or when they first appear if they are much more ancient than their first appearance.
It should be noted that the coffin texts is definitively derived from the Pyramid Texts and the "book of the dead from the coffin texts. Where meaning of the "book of the dead" is apparent meaning is not apparent in the Pyramid Texts which is believed by all Egyptologists to be incantation and religion. As such it is impossible to be certain of ANY meaning in the Pyramid Texts and it is merely assumed that it is religion and magic.
I am suggesting it is neither. It is being misinterpreted in the same way later people misinterpreted it. The authors said the king is a pyramid and star because THIS is what they believed. They said the pyramid was no tomb and the king's tomb was in the sky. They said this throughout the entirety of the Pyramid Texts including those found in every pyramid as well as on a few coffins from later times. While I seriously doubt much of the coffin texts has a consistent literal meaning there are numerous passages and "spells" from the coffin texts that appear to have the exact same literal meaning as the Pyramid Texts.
Seen in this light the Pyramid Texts did not evolve. There was a radical change caused by later people not being able to understand these rituals associated with the ascension of the king. They only knew that they were associated with the kings' deaths so they adopted them for their own purposes but without understanding. This is why consistent concepts like the king is a star and the king is the pyramid disappear in later texts.
I've posted some of these statements of the nature of kings in replies to other posters. I have not done a comprehensive study of all the usages of the concept that the king is a star yet but they said this numerous times. I have done a very comprehensive (I omitted only a few) listing of the many times they said the king is a pyramid and includes literally hundreds of references. These are so prevalent because of the nature of the Pyramid Texts as the rituals that were read to the crowds and the pyramid workers at the kings' ascension ceremonies after the w3g-festival on about June 20 each year. The entire point of the pyramid was to transform the dead king into a pyramid and commit his body to the sky so unsurprisingly there are numerous references to these ascensions. The "Rituals of Ascension" give countless clues to the nature of the ascensions.
____________
Man fears the pyramid, time fears man.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/25/2023 06:11PM by cladking.