Ra and Hathor Myth (Post 9)

...I am the sun-god, King of the gods and creator of all things, including mankind. Long ago, I lived on the earth and ruled a glorious kingdom. For a long while this kingdom thrived and men gave me the respect due , but I began to grow old, and they mocked me. I was very angry when I heard the blasphemy of mankind. I gathered the gods to hear my counsel.

. . . . .We met in secrecy, so that mankind would know nothing of this meeting. All the company of great gods, gathered around me as I told the story of mankind's insolence. I spoke to my father; "Nu, you are first born, oldest of the gods, I am your son, I seek your council. The men that I have created, speak evil of me. They anger me greatly, but I will not destroy them before you have spoken."

. . . . .At length Nu answered me, saying; "You are a great god, you are greater than I, You are the son who is mightier than his father. If you turn your eye upon the men who blaspheme you they shall perish from the earth." Doing what my father had suggested I turned my terrible gaze upon the men of the earth and they ran in disarray, hiding in the shadows where the eye could not harm them.

. . . . .Again the gods and I met and they said I should send my eye down among the men so they could not hide. So my eye, in the form of the goddess Hathor, she went obsequiously into the hiding places, striking fear in the hearts of men. Much of mankind was slain. Hathor returned to me after the first day as mighty as a lioness. Taking the form of Sekhmet, she declared, "I have been mighty among mankind. It is pleasing to me." But having tasted blood, Sekhmet would not be appeased.

. . . . . I now realized that Hathor-Sekhmet would destroy the human race completely. Angry as I was I wished to rule mankind, not see it destroyed. There was only one way to stop Hathor-Sekhmet, I had to trick her. I ordered my servants to brew seven thousand jars of beer and color it red using mandrakes and the blood of those who had been slain. In the morning I had my servants take the beer to the place where Hathor would viciously slaughter the remnant of mankind. My servants poured the beer mixture on the fields. And so, she came to this place where the beer flooded the fields. Looking down, her gaze was caught by her own reflection, and this pleased her. She drank deeply of the beer, became drunk, fell asleep, and abandoned her bloodthirsty quest, to end all of mankind. I saved mankind!