The article discusses some concepts of the symbolic language of the Pyramid Texts (3rd millennium BC), which denoted the relationship between the Egyptian king and his subjects, both in this and in the other world. In the center of attention is the term implying categories of human society, united by the semantic meaning of "citizenship". Special emphasis is placed on the ethical meaning of this term, which has either a neutral or negative meaning, as well as on its ontological roots in the religious and political views of the Egyptians.

Keywords: Ancient Egypt, Rehit, king, Pyramid texts.

Among the numerous symbolic images recorded in the texts of the royal pyramids of the Ancient Kingdom, there are very remarkable images of crested birds resembling lapwings (vanellus cristatus). Ideograms representing images of these birds have been preserved on various monuments of ancient Egypt, starting from the Archaic period and ending with the Greco-Roman era. The etymology of the name of these birds is not known for certain, and there is no consensus about their symbolic meaning (see, for example: [Pirenne, 1934, p. 689-717; Gardiner, 1947, p. 99*, 108*; Helck, 1959, p. 10-12; Berlev, 1972, p. 97 - 98; Kaplony, 1980; Nibbi, 1986, p. 7-65]).

The use of images of birds in connection with references in texts to various categories of people - the Egyptian population of the Western Delta, Lower Egypt, as well as inhabitants of the Mediterranean, Libyans, and Asians-attracted the attention of researchers primarily to the social, ethnic, and political significance of the concept, mainly under the influence of the concept of A. Gardiner [Gardiner, 1947, p. 98*] this concept was most often interpreted as "plebeians", "commoners", "rabble", contrasting people - "nobles", "patricians". At the same time, in the dictionary of A. Erman-G. Grapov, the term is given, on the one hand, a neutral meaning - "subjects", "people", "people", on the other hand, a sharply contrasting meaning - " hostile beings "(feindliche Wesen) in expressions such as " beat "and drive away [Erman, Grapow, II, 1955, S. 447-448].

The frequent use of the word in the composition of titles of nobility, officials, in which the subordinate position was emphasized, gave rise to a stable interpretation of this term as" lower classes", profanum vulgus. The inscriptions, however, which referred to the gates of temples, palaces, and the heavens where their lords were worshipped or where they might be exiled, further reinforced the belief that this meant commoners who were inherently hostile to the king.

When interpreting the term in religious texts, the social and political meaning still clearly prevails. This is evidenced by the recently published translation of the Pyramid Texts by J. Allen. He usually translates the word as "subjects", but believes that this is "the general name of the living, who do not

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they were members of the elite" [Allen, 2005, p. 464]. He also refers to the" elite " - " the ruling class of Egypt, consisting of the royal family and officials." The term, however, in his opinion, could also refer to the gods (Allen, 2005, p. 429). Such a one-sided interpretation of these terms, first of all, the concept in religious texts, again encourages us to turn to their research. The pyramid texts are the most important and earliest known written sources for the most adequate understanding of the theological meaning of the term, which allows us to better understand the role of the king in his relationship with his subjects in the context of the funeral ritual.

* * *

In the Pyramid Texts, as in other ancient Egyptian written monuments, the concept is collective: this is a kind of community. To find out the meaning of the term, it is necessary to study the context of each fragment of the Pyramid Texts where the word is mentioned, bearing in mind that these texts are exclusively religious in content and that they reflect the most important moments of the funeral and funeral royal ritual. Religious goals here prevail over temporal and earthly ones. This fact is obvious, but it was often ignored by those researchers who believed that the other world, according to the Egyptians, was a copy of their earthly existence. On the contrary, it is quite possible that the earthly world was in many respects a projection, and an imperfect one, of the heavenly world for the Egyptians.

The oldest variants of the word are found in the pyramid of Unas (V dynasty, c. 2353-2323 BC). On the western pediment of the funerary chamber of his tomb [PT 230], which contains inscriptions with spells against snakes and scorpions-symbols of death, they are mentioned as creatures under the protection of a certain mysterious Mejer

"The sky is cursed (literally, "entwined"), the earth is cursed. The Medjer behind the spell. Curse God-whose-eyes-are-blind (lit., "whose-head-is-blind"). And you yourself, Scorpio, will be cursed" [RT § 233 b-234 a].

The speech ends with the following words::

"These two spells (literally, 'nodes') Abu (Elephantine beads), which are in the mouth of Osiris and which Horus pronounced (lit., "tied") over the back (snake skins) [RT § 234 b-c]. Who Medjer is here is not clear; even the correct rendering of his name, which is probably an epithet of an unnamed deity's name, is doubtful. K. Zethe believed, for example, that this could mean Ra or Osiris [Seine, I, 1962, p.200], but he did not give convincing arguments in favor of his assumption. The word was translated differently by the discoverer of Pyramid Texts G. Maspero: "Ce qui était auparavant "("the one who was before") [Maspero, 1894, p. 46. Cf.: Speleers, 1934, p. 37-38]. The ancestor (Atum, Ra, or Osiris) was called by S. Mercer [Mercer, II, 1952, p. 108]. P. Kaploni also saw in this fragment "the ancestor who preserves people-but believed that this could be the name of the" main god Buto " [Kaplony, 1966, p. 185] -the largest lower Egyptian religious center.

Unfortunately, the meaning of this fragment continues to be quite obscure. We can only say with certainty that they are mentioned here together with a god who could be hostile to the king represented in the image of Osiris. It is no accident that one of the spells is directed against And this spell is located "in the mouth of Osiris" (i.e., the king). The name here most likely refers to Set as an enemy and killer of Osiris or some other demonic being. As will be shown below, Seth may have been associated with when the term was used in a negative sense.

In another speech of the Pyramid Texts, recorded in the tomb of Unas, as well as Pepi I (VI dynasty, c. 2289-2255 BC) [RT 307], Nefertum is mentioned - "the head together with Ra, the lord of the gods:" Unas himself (inhabitant) Iunu (Heliopolis),

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he who was born in Iunu, when Ra was the head of the Two Nine Gods and Nefertum, the incomparable, was the head of the heir of his father Geb "[RT § 483 a-c].

On the one hand, in this fragment, as it were, they are opposed to the gods, they are not gods, on the other hand, they are subordinate to Nefertum, whose name, judging by the context, is one of the epithets of Horus as the king of Egypt. Therefore, the translation of the word "people" in this, as in the previous speech, seems to be the most adequate in meaning.

The idea of power over Horus (=king) is constantly present in the Texts of the pyramids. Thus, the pyramid of Teti (VI dynasty, c.2323 - 2291 BC) contains the concept of "Mountains". This expression was included in the texts of the tomb of Pepi II Neferkar (VI dynasty, c. 2246 - 2152 BC) half a century later [RT 369, § 644 e]. In the tomb of the same king, in a speech describing the king's coronation in the heavenly Heliopolis, there is a phrase in which Horus is proclaimed " lord (nb) [RT 21, § 14 d]. The king accepts the White Crown in his presence. And it would seem that they are represented at the same hierarchical level: both of them are people, subjects of Horus. But, nevertheless, when in RT § 14 d Horus is called "lord", his position as the ruler of the mountain world is undoubtedly emphasized. The deceased king is crowned with a White Crown (Wrrt) in the celestial Heliopolis ('Iwnw). Hence, they are represented here as the subjects of Horus, who are in heaven.

The meaning of terms such as "people" and "subjects" of the God-king is also confirmed by the material of the Ark Texts. The title of Horus "lord" is also found here [V. 18; 29; 73], and "head" is called Ra himself [V. 746].

Concepts in Egyptian religious texts could be used interchangeably if it was about their human nature, about people subject to God and the king. And not only the Egyptians, but also foreigners at the same time could also be called However, the term more often meant the Egyptians or humanity.

For example, a text from the pyramid temple of Sahur in Abusir says about the king:" The hearts of all are won for you by the gods " [Sethe, Hft. I, 1932, p.168, 14]. In a similar phrase from the White Temple of Senusert I, the word "They (the gods) have won hearts for you (the king)" is substituted [Lacau; Chevrier, 1956, p. 95, § 259]. But the context of the phrase from the temple of Sahur makes it clear that here is a rebellious people who must be kept in line, while the king is glorified as the ruler of foreign peoples. In the White Temple of Senusert I, the negative meaning of the phrase (curb, win hearts) is somewhat softened, and the term takes on a broader meaning - "people". The king should be concerned with the welfare of the people, but this welfare is achievable if they obey his will. These examples show how important the overall context is, which can give words different meanings.

It is characteristic that in the Texts of the pyramids (as in the Texts of the arks) This title corresponds to the symbolic meaning of lapwings, which are always under the Creator God, under the god-king, i.e. Horus (in the image of a falcon), whose name means "Most High"). they were often depicted as birds that cannot fly, with broken wings, and they are always subordinate to someone. But when the king is represented in the Pyramid Texts as a subject of God himself, he can participate in a joint meal with God.: "[Horus gives me this bread of his] 1, with which he has satisfied his own (I) eat it with them, " says Pepi I Merira [RT 491, § 1058].

Unfortunately, the context of this interesting fragment is unclear, since the eastern wall of the antechamber of the pyramid of Pepi I has been thoroughly destroyed [Les Textes..., 2001, pl. IX, 1.9]. We can only say that participation in the meal of King c has an important symbolic meaning. It is likely that this ritual action means accepting the immortal, eternal nature of God, and not just eating bread. Many people have

1 The phrase was supplemented by K. Sethe [Sethe, IV, 1962, P. 329].

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There is also a custom when, on days of special celebrations, the ruler of a country eats food with his subjects or distributes it. For example, on the day of the Nativity of Christ, the lords and servants ate at the same table. During the Christian sacrament of the Eucharist, the king and the slave received communion from the same chalice. On the day of the Egyptian king's "birth" to the other world, on the days of special feasts when the dead were commemorated, did not the usual barriers of earthly society also break down when the king, in a joint meal with his subjects, united with them in the face of God?

It is well known that the creator God (as well as the king in his capacity) was considered in Egypt the creator of people. He gave them life and bread, and required them to worship and be faithful - "worship that they might live"). At the same time, in Egypt, each sacrificial offering was understood as the Eye of Horus, which was God himself. This is demonstrated, in particular, by the ritual formula that occurs in the Texts of the pyramids: - " Horus who is in Osiris (namyarek)". By eating the Eye of Horus, each deceased person, if he led a decent life, had the opportunity to become one flesh with God and thus win immortality.

* * *

One of the most important utterances for understanding the negative aspects of the essence is a fragment captured on the eastern wall of the corridor leading to the inner chambers of the pyramid of Unas [RT 320]. It was the place from which the resurrected king in his new divine flesh could come out of the tomb and ascend into the sky. Utterance RT 320 describes a situation where Unas is in the night on the verge of dawn in the form of a Baboon-probably symbolizing one of the bright predawn stars:

"Unas lit up the night, sent Unas the clock-stars, the Forces shone and honored Unas to be Unas this is the son of the Unknown She gave birth to Unas for the One whose face is yellow, the Lord of the night skies

Exalt yourselves (wr)4 you lords, hide yourselves (imn) before Unas, for Unas is the Lord of the night sky, the Bull (=lord, leader) of the baboons. There is one alive of whom He does not know."

This utterance, because of its complex archaic language, rich in metaphors, was understood and translated in different ways. One can approach its more or less accurate understanding by drawing not only on the context of inscriptions in the pyramids, but also on later monuments of religious content. In the Texts of the pyramids, it acts as one of the guardians of the heavenly gate, the phallus of which serves as an image of the gate's shutter [RT 313]. In the Ark texts, he is called the "eldest son" of Osiris or Nut [V. 359 = V, 12 e]. The latter epithet is in good agreement with the meaning of RT 320: as the son of the Unknown (=Nut). In chapter XVII of the Book of the Deadhe is one of the guardians

The West (land of the dead). He was also known as the judge of the dead. His name in later texts could be called Set. The image was transformed over the centuries, but its essence remained unchanged: it seemed to be a creature that was dangerous for the deceased, so it was more reliable for him to become like himself in order to frighten the enemies who might meet him on the unknown paths of the afterlife. This is evidenced by the fragment of the Texts of the pyramids of RT 320 and the complementary utterance 668

2 Epithet of the mother goddess, which could be Nut (=Isis, Sothis).

3 Due to the ambiguity of the image, various interpretations are possible. This may refer to the night-time underground Sun or Osiris in its capacity K. Zethe suggests that it is Orion [Sethe, II, 1962, p. 384], R. Faulkner here imagines the star Canopus - the second brightest star visible from the entire territory of Egypt [Faulkner, 1969(1), p. 102, n. 3].

4 joules. Allen suggests a different translation:" (He is) your greater lords " [Allen, 2005, p. 61]. See Sethe, II, 1962, p. 386; Mercer, II, 1952, p. 245; Faulkner, 1969(1), p. 102; Piankoff, 1968, p. 19. All these translators, following K. Zethe, interpret the verb wr not in the sense of "to be great", "to become great", but as "to submit", "to be humbled". However, this meaning is not found in dictionaries [Erman and Grapow, I, 1955, p. 326-329; Hannig, 1995, p. 201-202].

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Ark texts, which is a revised (or different) version of the pyramid texts that goes back to the same original source. The title of this utterance of the Ark Texts reads: "to become a Babi in the necropolis." As for himself, it is written here: "The lords (gods) fear him, the people tremble before him. N-Babi, the Bull of baboons. Whoever sees It will not live" [V. VI, 297 c-e]. The stars tremble before the mighty one

In the Texts of the pyramids [RT 320], the stars could be called nbw lords as images of worthy dead, righteous souls. Lords could also be called beings who guard different areas of the afterlife with its night sky, each of which corresponded to a certain hour of the night ("clock-stars"). Here nbw must be "exalted" (wr) (if we understand the meaning of this expression correctly), or they must disappear into the darkness of the night before the coming dawn. In the ark Texts, both the" lords "(gods) and humans are in a state of fear in front of them, and their lives as subjects of the" Lord of the Night sky " depend entirely on him. It is characteristic that in the Texts of the arks, a more neutral word (people) appears instead, who tremble before their lord. In the Texts of the pyramids, they should disappear, hide when the king appears, as clearly hostile creatures.

Such a sharply negative meaning is given to the word in the Pyramid Texts when it comes to the king's ascent to heaven or his sojourn in heaven among the ("enlightened", i.e. revived to a new life of the dead), inflexible Stars. The king ascends to heaven, and the heavenly doors and gates are opened to him, but they are called repulsive, not letting in

The utterances that address this motif have become fertile ground for important conceptual conclusions. So the idea was formed that in the Ancient Kingdom only the king himself could claim to live in heaven in a different state. His subjects, especially the commoners, could only hope for some semblance of life in their tombs, underground monasteries, while some of them, the poorest, allegedly "expected complete destruction" in "nameless graves"5 [Istoriya Drevnego Vostoka, 1988, p. 390].

Only the "democratization" of funeral performances, which was believed to have occurred after the decline of the Ancient Kingdom, radically changed the situation: from now on, everyone could hope to become Osiris, stay in the divine heavenly retinue of Ra and taste all the joys of heavenly existence. - It is possible that the current turning point in the study of the correlation between Pyramid Texts and Ark Texts will change this popular opinion to some extent [see: Silverman, 1996, p. 141-142; Mathieu, 2004, p. 247-262].

Let us turn again to the Pyramid Texts to find out whether there are good reasons for such conclusions. Utterance 373 is one of the earliest and most important of this group of utterances. It first appears in the pyramid of Teti and is then fully reproduced in the tombs of Merenra (VI dynasty, c. 2255-2246 BC) and Pepi P. Some fragments of this utterance in a different context are preserved in inscriptions on wooden and stone arks of the X-XII dynasties from Saqqara( the earliest versions), from El Bershe and the Theban Necropolis [articles 67, 68]. A fragment of the same utterance is also found in the texts of the eastern wall of the tomb of Senmut in Thebes (XVIII dynasty) and on the ark of Ankh-hap from Saqqara (Persian period).

In the pyramid of Teti, this saying is recorded on the wall leading to serdab. In the tomb of Merenre, it is located on the western wall of the narthex, in the pyramid of Pepi II - on the northern wall of the burial chamber. Thus, in the royal tombs of the VI dynasty, there was no strict localization of this utterance.

5 This opinion of Yu. Ya. Perepelkin was repeated in a slightly different form in the History of Ancient Egypt [Perepelkin, 2001, p. 173], where it is said that the "common people" "had to fall into final insignificance" after death.

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Well-known and often quoted, this utterance is dedicated to the bodily resurrection, the resurrection from the dead, and the ascension of the king. He must "join his limbs," shake off the dust from his body, and receive unspoiled bread and beer - symbols of eternal life in the next world. Then follows the appeal to the king: "Stand at the door that the gatekeeper (apparently Horus) does not let in, and he takes your hand and leads you to heaven to your father Geb "[RT § 655 b-d]. God takes him in his arms and places him at the head of the "inflexible "Ones whose (abodes of) mystery" worship him, and the "great" ones (wrw) gather to meet him. At the same time, by order of the god Geb, during the holidays of the "month and crescent", a ritual is performed during which barley is threshed for the king and wheat is reaped, which symbolizes his death and resurrection. The speech ends with a call to the king: "Arise, O Teti, you are not subject to death."

In later copies of this fragment, individual words and even phrases are modified, there is a noticeable tendency to display the features of Osiris in the image of the gatekeeper and the gradual transformation of the utterance from ritual to a description of the afterlife ordeals.

For the first time, the "driving away gate" is definitely associated with the image of Osiris in RT 667 A. Here it is mentioned that Queen Neith, wife of Pepi II (referred to in the masculine gender) "saved (lit., "requested") from and will never be given to Osiris." The "gate that drives away" others is open to it [RT 1946 a: Faulkner, 1969(2), p. 43]. The queen will thus escape the judgment of Osiris and gain the right to stay in the upper world.

In the Ark Texts [V. VI, 104 b], the doors of Hentiamentiu, the First of the western ones (variant: Arriving at the head of the western ones), are mentioned in utterance 516. This name is given to Osiris. These doors have a distinctive name - " driving away the deceased ascends to heaven like a star above his house, and this gives comfort to children in their grief. The motif of opening the "gate" for the deceased is repeated, already in connection with Geb, in another utterance of the Ark Texts [V. 226 = III, 252]. One version of it states that when these gates are opened, the deceased "can go out both at night and during the day." In utterance 297 of the Ark Texts [V. IV, 50], the doors that are not open to the deceased are identified by the goddess of writing Seshat as the abode where he can stay. The explanation to the variant of this utterance says: "As for the one who knows this utterance, he will be at the portal in the sky when he goes to his [Faulkner, I, 1994, p. 220-221, n. 8], (i.e., when he goes to another world to his archetype).

As in the Texts of the arks, the Pyramid Texts also mention different doors and gates, heavenly and earthly, through which the deceased must pass. They are usually located in the east and are associated with solar and astral representations: like the Sun or the morning "Only Star", the risen one was supposed to shine in the eastern sky, passing through the gates of the horizon, These doors and gates are closely connected not only with the heavenly ascent, but also with the purification of the deceased in the Fields of reeds and the morning sacrifice [Barta, 1981, S. 97].

The names and images of the gates that separate the sky from the earth and the underworld may vary in different utterances of the Pyramid Texts. The only thing that remains unchanged is that these gates and doors do not allow one to ascend to heaven, to its eastern region, or to the "Cool (heavenly) Waters" where the blessed dead bathe. These barriers are kept in the underworld.

As in the afterlife beliefs of other peoples, for the Egyptians, the gate of heaven was a mysterious barrier that separates the world of the living from the world of the dead and definitely differentiates those who have passed away. But it would be an extreme simplification to explain this division based solely on their social background. As already noted, the proponents of the sociological and political interpretation of these religious beliefs believed that the only person in the Ancient Kingdom who certainly had the privilege of a posthumous heavenly sojourn was God.-

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The king was chosen because of his special status and divine nature (Mercer, II, 1952, p. 215; Kees, 1977, p. 69; Assmann, 2002, p. 126). An important argument in favor of this concept was considered not only those utterances of the Pyramid Texts, where it was said about the gates that do not allow entry, but also the utterances of RT 302 and RT 361.

RT 302 clearly expresses the idea of the strength of the royal abode in heaven and the inviolability of his throne on earth. The most notable phrase in this utterance is: "People are buried (literally, 'hidden'), the gods are exalted " 6 [RT § 459 a].

In proverb 361 of the pyramids of Teti and Pepi II, the gates of heaven can be opened to the king, but not to " people who have no name." The god Shu should open these doors for the king and lead him to heaven, " so that he does not die on earth among people, the contrast between the immortal and human natures of the king is particularly pronounced here.

At first glance, these statements of the Pyramid Texts seem to be the best argument in favor of the idea of a sharp difference in the position of the king and his subjects in the otherworld. But for a more accurate understanding of these phrases, it is necessary to consider those cases when the king himself can pass through the gates of heaven and ascend to his father-the Sun (Ra). It is also important to find out when people of non-royal origin, people in the broadest sense of the word used in RT § 459 a and RT § 604 f, have just this meaning), fail to enter the gates of heaven and pass through other doors of the other world.

In Utterance 302 of the Pyramid Texts, it is stated that in order to ascend to heaven and thereby gain immortality, the king must not be judged by any of the people on earth and the gods in heaven. But the king has the power to " destroy (dr) any word directed against him [RT § 462 a-c]. The heavenly boatman who transports the gods can transport the king to heaven, for there is "no condemnation of him, either by the living or the dead, by goose or bull [RT 270, § 386 a-b].

The use of the verb dr in RT 302 is similar to its use in later funeral texts, which report the removal of sins from the deceased so that he can leave the earth and enter the gates (of heaven) [see, for example: ST 44 = 1,181; ST 296 = IV, 49]. The goose and bull are sacrificial animals that symbolize the destruction of the king's enemies. See also: RT 314; 538] 7.

In the Pyramid Texts ' utterance 471, it is said that during the purification of the king by the "companions of Horus", they perform for him the "utterance of the right path" and the" utterance of ascent " (prw), so that he can "ascend (pr) to heaven, gaining life and strength" and enter the heavenly boat of Ra.

The doors of the region of Cool waters that do not let in are opened for the king after "he has been cleansed with the purity of the pure" (i.e., with the Eye of Horus) [RT 724, § 2246: Faulkner, 1969(2), pp. 73-75]. The king has mastered the "Eye of Horus", he is the "son of Khnum" (the creator of all men), and "there is no evil that he has committed (this sin is removed from him), so he can be called by Atum to heaven for eternal life [RT 524, § 1237-1238]. The priest of Ra calls out to the guardian of the doors of heaven, saying of the king: "Let him go, for he is pure "[RT § 1141 a]. It is known that cleansing ceremonies were always performed before the ritual of opening the gates of heaven and earth in Egyptian funeral and everyday temple rites.

Ritual and moral purity, undoubtedly inseparable in the ideas of the ancient Egyptians 8 [ART 335 = IV, 210-214], combined with the secret knowledge of the ways through various gates and doors, including the heavenly ones, knowledge of the names of the gates themselves and their pages-

6 Due to the ambiguity of the word, this phrase has been interpreted differently [Sethe, II, 1962, p. 252, 257; Speleers, 1934, p. 65; Mercer, I, 1952, p. 102; II, 1952, p. 215; Piankoff, 1968, p. 62; Faulkner, 1969 (1), p. 92; Spiegel, 1971, S. 290; Allen, 2005, p. 56].

7 See the comments of M. E. Mathieu: [Mathieu, 1996, p. 52].

8 See, for example, [Moret, 1902, p. 18 etc.].

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zhei - all this gave the deceased great power and helped him enter any gate that he could meet during his afterlife ordeals. But the villains could not enter this gate because they did not possess this sacred knowledge [Zandee, 1960, p. 114-116].

One of the main purposes of the Pyramid Texts is to preserve and strengthen the resurrected king's royal status and grant him bliss in heaven. It should not be given to Osiris, even though it was Osiris par excellence. There is no paradox in this. The deceased became Osiris in order to be resurrected in the flesh, but he wants to avoid Osiris as an Afterlife Judge, whose decision can promise eternal punishment, the darkness of hell. Like any of his subjects, the king fears the fate of those who are there - "walking upside down". The Pyramid texts claim that he "brought the truth (Ma'at) with him" and will not be put to the fire of the gods [RT § 323 c-d]. He is vindicated before the court of the gods, like Horus, who competed with Seth and defeated him by the truth of his claims. Although there is no clear reference in the Pyramid Texts to an afterlife judgment for the king, there is no doubt that it is implied here. Every Egyptian remembered his day of Judgment, but in this era it was feared to even mention it. The tomb inscriptions of the Ancient Kingdom openly spoke about the judgment in the other world not on themselves, but on those who could disturb the rest of the tombs with bad intentions. Pyramid texts also contain threats against such blasphemers. So, in the pyramid of Pepi I, one of the inscriptions says:

The desired goal of the revived king is to become a god, the main one among the celestial gods and the blessed, the godlike dead ("precious" - "venerable" - "living" - "inflexible"), to make a heavenly voyage in the boat of Ra, to accept the worship of the "solar people" and other inhabitants of the other world.

The annihilation - through the utterance of the sacred word and physical purification - of all the sins, i.e., the "uncleanness" that was in the deceased who came from the earthly world, everything that threatened his well-being and happy ascent to heaven, was an important moment on the path to the attainment of the divine state. According to the Teaching of the King of Heracleopolis, those who did not commit evil could hope to stay there "like God", that they would "walk freely, like the Lords of eternity" (Merikare, 56: Volten, 1945). It is unlikely that this idea first appeared under the influence of the disturbing times of social and political conflicts of the First Transition period. Its roots are undoubtedly ancient, although the sense of the imperfection of human nature must have been particularly heightened during this period.

Kings in the era of the Ancient Kingdom built stone tombs. But their earthly, human flesh decayed and could even be destroyed. Only their divine, Osiric flesh, obtained by them as a result of rites, purified by the sacred water from the " lake of natra "[RT § 1293], became incorruptible. The divine state in which the king lived was regained for him through ritual. But to become God or like god was the goal not only of the king, but also of his subjects, as the Ark texts attest [V. 149 = I, 248; V. 176 = III, 62; V. 179 = III, 66, etc.]. Later texts refer to the blessed dead as "gods"

9 A goddess symbolizing the sky in which Horus (=king) resides.

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(for example, the Book of Gates). It is another matter that not all people could become gods or godlike after death.

The king's enemies, anyone who cursed his name, according to the Pyramid Texts, were to be put to death by Osiris [RT 23]. The royal decree of the end of the Ancient Kingdom states that the king himself had the power to determine not only the earthly, but also the posthumous fate of his subjects: he could deprive them of their earthly possessions and prevent them from becoming "the head (i.e., Osiris) in the other world. Such violators of Ma'at were bound hand and foot as "convicts of King Osiris" and their city god [Sethe, Hft. I, 1932-1933, S. 305, 17-18; cf. ST 23 = 1.71].

One of the most important conditions for achieving immortality, according to the Egyptians, was the proclamation of the name of the deceased before the gods [PT § 340 a-b; § 348 c; § 356 a-b, § 658 b, etc. Cf. with ST 24 = 1.75]. The king could enter the gates of heaven because his name was pronounced in the presence of God, and as " justified [RT § 354 a; 356 c]. But these doors of heaven were closed to those who had no name. Who are these people without a name?

Commoners, poor people, as is usually assumed? Every Egyptian was born with a name. But he may have lost it because of wrongdoing against gods and men [Posener, 1946, p. 51-56]. It is likely that in the Texts of the pyramids, which speak of doors that do not allow this category of people is close in position to the deceased, who lost their name, who were enemies of the king and society in the moral, ritual and legal sense.

The most clearly hostile nature towards the king is expressed in the utterance of 650 pyramid Texts (in the tombs of Merenr and Pepi Neferkar). The king in this verse is represented as Osiris, son of Geb and Nut, the sovereign ruler of the heavenly kingdom and the gods who dwell in the sky. At the same time, he is like the Sun (Ra), born of Nut (= sky) every day: he rises with the Sun in the east and rests in the west. Further about the king it is said:

R. Faulkner interprets the phrase as "all the hostile plebs" [Faulkner, 1969(1), p. 268]. S. Mercer, who ignores the ending of the feminine gender of the word, believes that this noun is (rebels) [Mercer, I, 1952, p. 276; III, p. 846] . Ya. Perepelkin translated the word as "< Egyptian > people " [Istoriya Drevnogo Vostoka, 1988, p. 364]. A. Roccati believes that it is "all hostile people" [Roccati, 1982, p.65] (which can be both Egyptians and Asians). J. Allen sees here "rebellious subjects" (Allen, 2005, p. 265). But the epithet (rebellious) is associated with a well-known term used to denote foreigners hostile to Egypt in the inscriptions of the funeral temple of Sahur: [Sethe, Hft. I, 1932-1933, p. 169; see also: Erman and Grapow, 1955, Bd. III, p. 462, 4]. The transcendent heavenly world, where the king-Osiris rules, represented in the usual images of the earthly kingdom. This kingdom is not limited to the borders of Egypt and reaches the nearby north-eastern regions, which were particularly dangerous for the Egyptian state. In the heavenly world, all that is good is created (Egypt) and all that is evil and hostile is destroyed and removed (the strongholds of Asia, the rebellious ones

10 Letters, "cultivates the land with a hoe".

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In the 611 Pyramid Texts, the idea of barriers that prevent entry is repeated, but these are not the same doors or door leaves that are mentioned in PT § 655 B; § 876 a-b; § 1934 e; § 2246 c [Faulkner, 1969(2), p. 39, 73.]. These barriers have a different name: - in the pyramid of Pepi I or (gate lock) - in the tombs of Merenre and Pepi II. It is written: "The gate is open for you (i.e., the king), which does not let in (yes) you will count those who belong to the night, (yes) you will take the hand of the inflexible Stars" [RT § 1726 a-b]. Especially noteworthy is the writing of the gate in the pyramid of Merenra in the form of two portals with the heads of screw-horned rams. It is likely that this spelling conveys the appearance of a real gate on the border of Egypt, where, as is known, Gor Sopdu was revered as the defender of the Egyptian kingdom (Kees, 1954, p. 36-40).

In the utterance 665C (according to R. Faulkner's numbering), which is a kind of analogue of the previous utterance, it is said that the gates "driving away the Libyans" are open for Queen Neith (Nt 735 - 736 see: [Faulkner, 1969(2)]). In utterance 716, preserved in the pyramid of King Aba (Ibi) (VIII dynasty, c. 2109-2107 BC), the last known pyramid of the Ancient Kingdom with inscriptions, "the gate that drives away the Phoenicians" is mentioned (Aba 537-538 see: [Faulkner, 1969(1)]). The Libyans on the western and Phoenicians on the northeastern borders of the state were political opponents of the king and enemies of the Egyptians.

The names of the Libyans and Phoenicians are used in a similar context, which allows us to consider them as enemies of Egypt.

According to all the above-mentioned utterances, which mention these hostile peoples of Egypt, who have no way to heaven in the other world (and put a barrier on the way to Egypt on earth), the king safely passes the guards of the gate and finds himself in the circle of the blessed dead (inflexible Stars). In RT 611, the gate that prevents entry opens for the king, and he enters the House of Protection under the protection of his father Geb [RT § 1728] .

In RT 665c and RT 716, the gates with fierce guards that prevent Libyans and Phoenicians from entering are opened to the king thanks to his symbol of royal power-the scepter- [RT § 1915 B; § 2223 a]. In these utterances, the king is represented as the ruler of the Nine Bows. It is known that Nine bows could be depicted together with 11. These images symbolized the peoples who were subject to Egypt or were in the orbit of its influence. Consequently, the appearance of Libyans and Phoenicians in the Pyramid Texts instead of can be explained by the concretization of this term in connection with the further "politicization" of the text in the utterances of Neith and Aba. But the" political " terminology continued to serve as an expression of transcendental goals. Such "geopolitical" terms were introduced into the religious text in order to illustrate abstract theological ideas, to give them a lively, concrete meaning. The main archetypal concepts that are associated with the idea of destroying the "last enemy" - death, were expressed here using these terms: if these peoples hostile to the king managed to pass through the gates of heaven, then the picture of the cloudless and peaceful stay of the king in heaven would be transformed into a completely different, apocalyptic one.

It should also be borne in mind that the terms used in these Pyramid Texts were related to ritual purposes. Excluded from the Egyptian funeral rite because of their" impurity, " these categories of people could be perceived as demonic forces that needed to be eliminated in order to ensure the king's unimpeded path to heaven.

11 See, for example, the pommel of the royal mace from Hierakonpol: [Quibell; Green, 1900, pl. XXV-XXVI c.], the statue of Djoser [Firth; Quibell; Lauer, I, 1935, pl. 58], the limestone pedestal of the statue of Nectaneb II [Nibbi, 1986, fig. 15].

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Fig. 1. Pommels of the royal mace from Hierakonpol. End of the 4th-beginning of the 3rd millennium BC.

2. Statue of Djoser (III dynasty). Second quarter of the 3rd millennium BC.

The names and status of certain foreigners in Egyptian religious texts related to the cult of the dead, in one era or another, could change depending on the political situation, on whether representatives of these peoples who lived on the territory of Egypt were included in the scope of the Egyptian funeral rite. But whether they were Egyptians or foreigners, their position as violators of Ma'at - rebels, criminals, and blasphemers - was virtually unchanged, both on earth and in the otherworld. Their necks were cut with a knife [Palermo Stone, rt. 2, 6: Nibbi, 1986, fig. 7b], they were hung on ropes (Fig. 1) [Quibell; Green, 1900, pl. XXV-XXVI c; Nibby, 1986, fig. 13]. They were thrown under the king's feet, like pitiful birds, together with Nine bows (Fig. 2). Horus shook them off for the king under his fingers [RT 650, § 1837 c]. They were ruthlessly destroyed by Horus and his "White Eye" [St 857 = VII 60]. Some of these images are clearly related to the reproduction in the ritual of Horus ' victory over Seth and his family.

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minions-enemies [see [§ 578 b-c; § 643 b; § 1239-1240]. Destruction meant the complete triumph of the king as the sovereign ruler of the afterlife as Horus.

they plunged into the subterranean halls of Osiris under his watchful eye. But even while they were in the darkness of the underworld, they could threaten the deceased from there [V. 741 = VI, 368]. A person with negative qualities was perceived like Seth as a villain, burdened with many vices. He could not reach the West posthumously, and his body was thrown into the desert to be devoured by birds of prey. Chester Beatty III, rt. 11, 8: Gardiner, 1935]. To dream of a bird with broken wings was a bad omen for an Egyptian: it promised not to be acquitted at the Afterlife judgment [Rar. Chester Beatty III, rt. 8, 9: Gardiner, 1935].

From the tomb inscriptions of private individuals of the Ancient Kingdom, it is known that a person with an impeccable reputation before God, the king and people hoped to reach the heavenly world. Loyalty to the tsar was one of the most important guarantees for the realization of these hopes. People who were devoted to the king or queen, according to the Pyramid Texts, were perceived as members of the flesh of their master [RT 268, § 371 a] (this saying is reproduced in almost all the pyramids) and, perhaps, they hoped to achieve the bliss of the afterlife in this capacity. The king "saved", literally - "took" such people, ascending to heaven 12. He provided his loyal subjects with everything necessary for burial and provided them with a funeral service. But anyone who rebelled against the authority of the king, as is known from later monuments, lost his tomb, his name was cursed, and his descendants could no longer hold his office.

Those who managed the people dependent on it could be mdw (literally, "pillar", "support") for them. The person in authority was supposed to take care of the burial of persons who did not have sons. The deceased, who was given a funeral rite (even the simplest), whose good name was remembered in the funeral prayers of his relatives or priests, could hope for a posthumous rebirth in the form of "A Star without a satellite", "A Star without equal among the gods" or as a simple star above his humble body. housing. The fate of the evil - doers (isftyw), greedy enemies and rebels, i.e., people in their capacity as rebels against the divine order, against God, the king and good people, was different. Here on earth they would be mercilessly slaughtered, stripped of their burial places and their names, and in the other world the gates of heaven were closed to them forever.

* * *

In a certain sense, all the Egyptian people did not doubt the depravity of human nature. Leiden 344, rt., 12, 2: Gardiner, 1909; ST 1130 = VII, 464 a-b]. Everyone is, in some respects, a sinner, a doer of evil, a covetous person, i.e., living for himself. by their human nature, they are prone to disorder. Therefore, the main task of the one who is denounced by the authorities is to " remove enmity from [p. Prisse, 5,4: Zaba, 1956], appease and satisfy them. By trying to live in accordance with the law, the Egyptians hoped to overcome their corrupt nature by means of rituals, and thereby transform their mortal nature into a divine one, becoming godlike in heaven. This is why the Pyramid Texts state that a king should not die among men [PT § 604 f] and that only the gods reach heaven. - Death can be overcome if the deceased, who was buried as a person, is reborn on the earth.

12 John-Gwyn Griffith suggested that the king in Egypt was a "corporate personality" - a person who included his subjects [Griffith, 1980, p. 230-231]. I would specify - not all subjects, but only loyal subjects.

13 Compare the formulas of the Bible: "Every man is a lie "(Ps. 116, 11); "The Lord is right, but every man is a lie" (Rom. 3.4).

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in the heavens in the company of the gods, the " inflexible Stars "[RT 1760 a-b], will become alive" inflexible".

Just as we distinguish between the words "people" and "people" a whole range of semantic shades - humanity, mortals, subjects, commoners, servants, rabble, etc. - so the Egyptians obviously understood the word different qualities and categories of human society. You can make sure that the word also has different content in the Pyramid Texts, and it is impossible to understand and translate it unambiguously. In a neutral sense, the term was used to refer to the subjects of a God (=king) as opposed to the gods, "lords" (nbw). In this capacity, they are comparable to - people: It is not by chance that the term was replaced by the word in later inscriptions, starting with the Texts of the arks [V. VI 297 c-e] and ending with the Canopic Decree 14.

The meaning of the word as subjects coincides with its meaning in "historical" inscriptions, where they always occupy the lowest hierarchical level in relation to the king or anyone in power, the one who has power over them. However, the term is not associated with any particular stratum of Egyptian society. This is a very flexible concept. There is no need to search for the exact meaning of this word in sacred texts, based on its profane use, when it may well sometimes have the meaning of "rabble", "unclean people" hostile to the king (see, for example: [Fischer, 1960, pl. VII, fig. 1, 1. 6]). Isn't it generally better to translate this term in religious inscriptions as "people"? The context in which the word is used will tell you what content to fill it with, and the corresponding notes will help to reveal it.

We can only speculate whether the idea of the Pyramid Texts as enemies, "hostile beings" (Erman and Grapow, II, 1955, p. 448), "rebels" (Edel, 1955, p. 249), is a recollection of the ancient inhabitants of Lower Egypt, the Delta people, or the Buto people (Clere, 1958, S. 44; Kaplony, 1966, S. 66; Nibbi, 1986, p. 67], hostile to the kings, especially the rulers of Upper Egypt at the dawn of the history of the Egyptian state. Symbolic images of these rebels are usually seen in the images of birds - on the mace of the Scorpion king and on the Palermo Stone. Judging by the negative meaning in the Texts of the pyramids (as well as in the Texts of the arks), we can only assume that this term in its theological aspect is associated with ideas about ritual impurity, and in legal and ethical senses - with the categories of evil and rebellion. In this sense, the concept can refer to both the Egyptians and foreigners.

Just as in the Psalms of King David, images of political opponents are constantly associated with images of God's enemies who are thrown into the underworld (Ps. 9: 54), so in the Texts of the pyramids in a negative sense, they can mean beings who are just as hostile to God-the king in another existence as they were in political reality. In this way, ethical ideas are transformed into ontological, mundane and temporal ones, and transitory categories become eternal. The textual roots of these ideas go back to the middle of the 3rd millennium BC, but earlier images indicate that these ideas existed in Egypt long before they were recorded in writing.

14 In this text, instead of b in the Demotic version, there is the word and in the Greek version in gender. case - [Gardiner, 1947, p. 99*].

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