Unas Slayer Of The Gods

Poureth Down Water From the HeavensTremble the StarsQuake the Bones of AkerThose Beneath Take Flight When They SeeUnas RisingThe Akh of Unas Is Behind HimThe Conquerer Are Beneath His FeetHis Gods Are In HimHis Uraei Are on His BrowThe Words of Unas Protect HimUnas This Bull of The HeavensThatTrusteth With His WillLiving On Utterances of Fire FromThe Lake Of FlameUnas That Devoureth Men and Liveth on The GodsBehold Amkebu Hath Snared Them for UnasBehold Tecber Tep F Hath Known Them andDriven Them Unto UnasBehold Her Tbertu Hath Bound ThemBehold Khensu The Slaughterer of LordsHath Cut Their Throats for UnasBehold Shesemu Hath Cut Them Up For UnasUnas Hath Ingested Their SpiritsHath Feasted On Their ImmortalityHe Hath Consumed their ShadowsUnas The Slayer of the GodsUnas The Sekhem GreatThe Sekhem of the SekhemnUnas The Ashem GreatThe Ashem of the AshemnBehold OrionUnas RisethUnas Hath Taken Possessionof the Hearts of the GodsUnas Feedeth on their EntrailsHe Hath gorged on their Unuttered Sacred WordsHe Hath Assimilated the Wisdom of the GodsHis Existence is EverlastingBehold The Souls of the Gods are in UnasTheir Spirits are In UnasThe Flame of Unas in Their BonesTheir Shadows are With their FormsUnas is RisingHidden Hidden[Unas was the ninth and last Pharaoh of the 5th Dynasty. He is said to have lived from 2375 to 2345 B.C., but some Egyptologists date him as far back as 5330 B.C. The internal structure of his pyramid is known for incorporating several innovative features, but is most recognized for the inclusion of vertical lines of hieroglyphs on the walls of the vestibule and burial chamber. When Maspero opened the Unas pyramid in 1881, he found texts covering these stone walls to be extremely difficult to decipher, because of their archais characters, forms, and spellings. These were magickal/religious texts, designed to ensure the safe passage of the Pharaoh into the next world. They are known today as the "Pyramid Texts." According to these texts, Unas became great by eating the flesh of his mortal enemies and then slaying and devouring the gods themselves. Those gods that were old and worn out (Egyptian gods aged and died) were used as fuel for Unas's fire. After devouring the gods and absorbing their spirits and powers, Unas journeys through the day and night sky to become the star Sabu, or Orion. While this is certainly not the first reference to cannibalism in Old Kingdom texts, what is notable is the method by which the Pharaoh Unas achieves deification and immortality; by turning on the gods, slaying and then devouring them, and thus ascending to the heavens to become the star Orion. The concept was remarkable to Maspero, who found the idea to be of "absolute savagery." Maspero seemed to be reeling from a confrontation with a symbolic revival of pre-dynastic cannibalistic rites - which are suggested, according to Maspero, by the gnamed and disconnected bones found in certain early graves. Professor Petrie suggests that at the original Sed festival, the tribal king appears to have been sacrificed and devoured, so that his people might derive from his flesh and blood the power and virtues which made him great. This practise was based on a belief in contagious magick. Bulls and boars were eaten to give men strength and courage, deer to give fleetness of foot, and serpents to give cunning. The blood of slain and wounded warriors was drunk so that their skill and bravery might be imparted t the drinkers. Similarly, Unas feasts after death on the spirits of the gods, and on the bodies of men and gods. He swallows their spirits, souls, and names, which are contained in their hearts, livers, and entrails, thus, Unas becomes allpowerful. In attempting to bring this epic-length text to song from, it was necessary to make some minor concessions, firstly, that every version I have at home of the text is translated somewhat differently, and thus there is not any singularly definitive versions; and secondly, that it would just not be possible to include every last line from the original text. That would probably necessitate a song inconceivable in length. As it is, in concise song lyric form, "Unas Slayer of the Gods" weighs in at about 12 minutes plus - and that is using what would be considered only the bare minimum essential lines for the development and presentation of the main aspects of the text. For those interested in reading the entire work, there are several versions readily available online or by ordering from a local bookstore. I typed in "Unas Slayer of the Gods" in a couple of search engines and was astounded at the number of results that came back.]