Reading Diary B: Ancient Egyptian Myths and Stories

I thought the second half of Ancient Egyptian Myths and Stories was quite different than the first half because it consisted mostly of two main stories that each had multiple parts, whereas the first half was a mixture of short episodes that had similar ideas, but were not necessarily a "continuation" of the previous story.

It was a little bit harder for me to choose which stories were my favorite, but I decided to go ahead and go with all four parts of The Two Brothers. In part 1, I found it very interesting that Bata did not give into any of the desires of Anpu's wife. The quote, "I regard thee as a mother, and my brother is like a father unto me. Thou hast spoken evil words, and I desire not to hear them again, nor will I repeat unto any man what thou hast just spoken" is a perfect representation of how loyal Bata is to his brother; Bata sees his brother has a mentor and would never disrespect him by having an affair with his brother's wife. I also thought the statement that Anpu's wife makes to Anpu, "No one came nigh me save thy younger brother. He spoke evil words unto me...Then was he angry, and he struck me until I promised that I would not inform thee" was so interesting and often very characteristic of a person in trouble. Anpu's wife's first line of defense was to instantly blame the situation on Bata so she wouldn't be the one pegged for unfaithful actions. The crocodile-infested sea in part 2 was a very interesting touch that the author included because gave Bata time to explain his side of the story. I thought it was interesting that the god Ra-Harmachis decided to use this tactic as opposed to simply "showing" Anpu that Bata was in fact originally telling the truth. Part 3 had a little bit of a darker feel to it because of the death of Bata. However, my favorite part of the story was how invested in finding his brother's heart Anpu actually was. This shows the variable transition of Anpu and his relationship with his brother. Anpu experiences many moments of loyalty as well as distrust throughout the entire length of the story, and this is the pivotal that displays his true loyalty for Bata. In part 4, I loved the conclusion of the story. While they went through many hardships together, Anpu and Bata were both able to live happy lives, ruling over their land together. The final statement: "...and on the day of his burial his elder brother stood in his place," really wraps up the story nicely and gives the reader the true sense of brotherhood that these two men experienced.

(Crocodile Infested Waters)