In addition to the Mythological Manual and the cult-topographical treatises, the Tebtunis temple library includes a number of mythological narratives proper. It is noteworthy that all of these were written in Demotic in contrast to the systematic collections of mythological material listed above. The Myth of the Sun’s Eye (Spiegelberg 1917; de Cenival 1987; 1988; Hoffmann and Quack 2007: 195-229) assumes a central position in more than one respect. Not only is it preserved in at least seven copies, but one manuscript indicates that this particular version was 124 columns long. Two further copies of the text are known; one was re-used for one of the Theban magical papyri and preserves most of 23 consecutive columns, while the other is a fragmentary Greek translation. The text describes the exile of the Tefnut, the daughter of the sun, who has left Egypt in anger following a quarrel with her father, and the extant parts preserve an extensive dialogue between her and the god of wisdom. The latter tries to persuade her to come home, using a range of arguments and also telling several fables in the process.
The Contendings of Horus and Seth, describing how Horus triumphed over Seth and was chosen as the rightful ruler of Egypt, is attested in at least one papyrus (Ryholt i. p.a); three other copies spanning the fourth century BC and the second century ad come from Saqqara (unpublished, cf. Tait 1994: 209-10), Hermopolis (Zauzich 1984), and Soknopaiou Nesos (Hoffmann 1996). Otherwise unattested mythological material from the temple library includes a cosmogony that gives an account of how the cosmos came into being and developed and the central role of the primeval ocean in the process (Smith 2002) as well as a narrative that has some relation with the Dionysos expedition (cf. Kockelmann 2008b).
Related to the mythological narratives is a dramatic text concerning Horus and Seth with explicit stage instructions, which was apparently to be performed during the Khoiak Festival (Gaudard 2005); the composition, which is written in Demotic and at least seven columns long, offers a rare example of a dramatic text that is preserved on its own and not embedded within the context of a larger text.
World History
