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l9). In Egypt, there being no rain, tlhe king naturally had the duty of bringing the inundation. It may be that the scene on the broken mace-head [HierakonpoUs, >£xvif) referred to cutting the dykes at the inundations. The large objects figured in the early scenes of the Vth, Xlth, and Xllth dynasties are clearly not mere signs, they were each a burden for a man ; hence they were probably the paraphematia for the actual ceremony. The king, shaded by the great fans of power (see the mace-head above), emerged between the two halves of the heaven ; then, ninning round a field, he stmek with his flail to promote fertility, and to exorcise evil influences, leaving a trail of life behind him. This was probably when the ground was parched at the Iwginning of the Sirius j?car. This year in early times began shortly licfore the niiqla, or drop wliich starts the Nile; by 3400 B.c. Sirius coincided with tlie nuqta, and afterwards it came later, in August, and now in September. ^^Tien the Nile was due to rise, the king came, emerging between the heaven signs, and performed the ceremony with the trough of water. This brought up the inundation. Later, after it had risen, he brought two vases of the new w'ater, of the south and of the north, to prove that his magic was successful over all the land, and he had completed his duty. Lastly, he came w'ith his staves of office before Hathor to claim the akht or glorified life, that she should '* make him to possess life eternal."

There are some other instances of ceremonies, with the Inundation formula, but without running. The king may stand in sed-heb dress, as with ins. 34 : or in ordinary' dress, as in 35. Connected with the sed festival there was a slaughter of enemies, probably really so in early times, and ceremonially represented later, as with ins. 36, 37, 33. (70)