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The manuscript that is nowadays catalogued in the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden as P. Leiden I 384 contains on its recto side part of a mythological narrative in Demotic, known today as the Myth of the Sun’s Eye or Mythus, and, on its verso, a bilingual (Demotic and Greek) magical handbook. The manuscript measures about3,60 metres in length and 22 centimetres in height on average. Both the right and left side of the manuscript are broken and it is impossible to be certain about the number of columns missing on each side. When C.J.C. Reuvens examined the manuscript, he found six small papyrus fragments (a-f)¹⁵ glued to the recto side as a means to repair small slits and reinforce the papyrus roll.¹⁶Since these fragments were care-lessly placed over the Demotic writing of the mythological narrative, the manuscript must have been restored at a moment that the text of the Myth of the Sun’s Eye was no longer of importance to the owner of the papyrus scroll. When the fragments were removed they appeared to contain Demotic writing on both sides, one side of which pre-serves writings that once had belonged to the broken last column of the mythological narrative. Reuvens noticed also that the recto side of the manuscript showed several effaced spots in the middle of its height caused by fingers unrolling the papyrus scroll while reading the obverse side.¹⁷ These traces of use demonstrate that the magical handbook, which is on the verso, was regularly consulted in antiquity. As a con-servation measure the manuscript was pasted between sheets of papier végétal,¹⁸which, despite Reuvens’ good intentions, varnished and turned the papyrus dark and shiny in the course of several decades, with the

15 Fragment c is nowadays broken into two small pieces between lines8 and 9.

16 Reuvens, Lettres à M. Letronne,5.

17 Reuvens, op. cit.,4–5.

18 Reuvens, op. cit.,147, footnote (b).

result that the black and red ink are hard to read today. The lithogra-phy made by T. Hooiberg and published by Reuvens’ successor Conrad Leemans in1856 will therefore remain an important tool for the study of the Demotic sections.¹⁹

The recto side of the papyrus preserves 23 columns of the Myth of the Sun’s Eye in a careful and trained Demotic hand written with a reed pen.²⁰ Each column is set between two vertical guidelines in black ink, a method only in use since the Roman period.²¹ As the Demotic line surpasses regularly the ink border with a few signs, the scribe must have drawn the guidelines before he started copying the text itself. Of the first column only the left end of the lines are preserved, whereas the fragments that were pasted to the papyrus for strength contain parts of column 23, which was likely the final column of the composition.

The text is written in black ink with the occasional use of red ink to indicate new chapters, a change of speakers in the narrative and directions for use of the voice meant for a reader who read the text aloud in front of an audience. Occasional editorial comments regarding alternative phrases demonstrate that the extant version is a compilation from several older versions that are lost.²²

The Myth of the Sun’s Eye is a complex narrative, set somewhere in Nubia, about a dog-ape, the animal of Thoth, who attempts to per-suade the goddess Tefnut to leave Nubia and return to Egypt.²³ The goddess turned her back on Egypt, because she was angry with her father Re for reasons probably told in the missing opening columns.

The dog-ape relates animal fables and explains proverbs in order to make the goddess recognize that each living being has its own

particu-19 Conrad Leemans, Papyrus égyptien démotique I.384 du Musée d’Antiquités des Pays-Bas à Leide (Leiden1856). Because T. Hooiberg was not able to read Demotic, he traced the signs and the effaced spots as he saw them. The plates should therefore be used with caution.

20 The standard edition of the text is still Wilhelm Spiegelberg, Der ägyptische Mythus vom Sonnenauge (der Papyrus der Tierfabeln—‘Kufi’) nach dem leidener demotischen Papyrus I384 (Straßburg 1917) with a hand copy of the text by J.-J. Hess. Photos of the text can be found in: Françoise de Cenival, Le mythe de l’oeil du soleil (Demotische Studien9;

Sommerhausen1988).

21 See W.J. Tait, ‘Guidelines and Borders in Demotic Papyri’, in: M.L. Bierbrier (ed.), Papyrus: Structure and Usage (British Museum Occasional Papers60; London 1986) 63–89.

22 Spiegelberg, Mythus,10.

23 See for a general introduction to the text: Mark Smith, ‘Sonnenauge, demotischer Mythos vom’ LdÄ5 (1984) 1082–1087.

lar place to live and that beautiful Egypt is her true home.²⁴ When the goddess acquiesces, turning from a fierce lioness into a friendly cat, and returns home, she is welcomed in Thebes and Memphis by hymns to her, the longest of which is preserved on column 22 and continues on the broken column23, possibly the end of the composition. The Myth of the Sun’s Eye was probably a popular text among Egyptian priests of the Roman period, since parts are preserved on two other manuscripts and a rather free translation in Greek of the second or third century CE is partly extant.²⁵ The underlying mythological theme about an angry goddess leaving for Nubia has pharaonic roots and is also treated in contemporary hieroglyphic temple texts in a number of temples situ-ated in southern Egypt and Lower Nubia.²⁶

Fig.2.4. P. Leiden I 384 verso: PDM xii & PGM XII

24 See on the nationalistic motive: Edda Bresciani, ‘L’Amore per il paese natio nel mito egiziano dell’ ‘Occhio del Sole’ in demotico’ CRIPEL13 (1991) 35–38.

25 A fragment,2^ndcentury CE, from the Tebtunis temple library preserves a version of the fable of the Seeing bird and the Hearing bird (= P. Leiden I384 13/24–15/28):

W.J. Tait, ‘A Duplicate Version of the Demotic Kufi Text’ AcOr36 (1974) 23–37; see also Idem, ‘The Fable of Sight and Hearing in the Demotic Kufi Text’ AcOr37 (1976) 27–44.

The University of Lille possesses fragments of another manuscript, likewise dated to the second century CE, that is of unknown provenance, possibly the Fayum: Françoise de Cenival, ‘Les nouveaux fragments du mythe de l’oeil du soleil de l’Institut de Papyrologie et d’Egyptologie de Lille’ CRIPEL7 (1985) 95–115 and Idem, ‘Les titres des couplets du Mythe’ CRIPEL11 (1989) 141–146. See for the Greek translation: Stephanie West, ‘The Greek Version of the Legend of Tefnut’ JEA (1969) 161–183; the Greek text can also be found in: Maria Totti, Ausgewählte Texte der Isis- und Sarapis-Religion (Subsidia Epigraphica12; Hildesheim 1985) 168–182. The Demotic and Greek text are compared in: M.C. Betrò, ‘L’alchimia delle traduzioni: Il Mito del Occhio del Sole e il P.BM Inv.

No.274’, in: Atti del XVII congresso internazionale di papirologia 3 vols. (Naples 1984) vol. 3, 1355–1360.

26 See Hermann Junker, ‘Auszug der Hathor-Tefnut aus Nubien’ AkPAW (Berlin 1911) appendix 3; Idem, Die Onurislegende (DAW Wien 59/1–2; Vienna 1917), the De-motic text is discussed on pages162–165; Danielle Inconnu-Bocquillon, Le mythe de la Déesse Lointaine à Philae (BdE 132; Cairo 2001). Note that the Demotic version of the myth is remarkably absent from the latter publication.

The verso side of the manuscript preserves a diverse collection of mag-ical spells in Demotic and Greek. In its present state the manuscript consists of13 consecutive columns in Greek set between two Demotic columns on the left side and four Demotic columns, which incorpo-rate two Greek invocations and several voces magicae in Greek letters, on the right side. The verso side of the fragments that were pasted to the manuscript for reinforcement have so far been neglected in the study of the spells. However, this negligence is unjustified, because a careful inspection of the small and effaced fragments reveals that the Demotic writing is identical to the Demotic hand of the magical spells.²⁷ The fragments could hence be remnants of another column of Demotic spells (column III*) that preceded the extant Demotic column II*.

Oddly enough, when the fragments are put into place in accordance with the Myth of the Sun’s Eye on the obverse side,²⁸the reconstructed col-umn III* stands upside down in relation to the other magical colcol-umns.

This can only be explained by assuming that the scribe of the magi-cal spells started his work with writing the Demotic column III* on the far right end of the manuscript as is customary for Egyptian papyrus scrolls.²⁹After finishing the column he realised that it would be difficult to fit in the many Greek spells that are read in the opposite direction.

As a solution he turned the papyrus scroll 180 degrees and started to copy the Greek spells in consecutive columns from left to right, even-tually filling13 columns. Subsequently he added two Demotic columns on the left side and four (or more) other Demotic columns on the right side, which, contrary to Egyptian custom, have to be read from left to right like the Greek columns. Janet H. Johnson was able to establish the consecutive order of the Demotic columns with the help of the shift in

27 Line6 of fragment c preserves the word wnw.t, ‘hour’, in a spelling that occurs in P. London-Leiden4/21, 25/26, 37 as well; see F.Ll. Griffith and Herbert Thompson, The Demotic Magical Papyrus of London and Leiden3 vols. (Oxford 1921) vol. 3, 20, nr. 199 (third spelling).

28 Fragment a is especially helpful in reconstructing the position of the fragments, because, although just a thin strip, it preserves the beginning of each line of the Myth’s broken column23. These lines open with the interrogative particleAn, thus continuing the hymn to the returning goddess of the previous column22.

29 It is very likely that the fragments preserve the last or second last column of the Myth of the Sun’s Eye, because they contain a hymn sung to the goddess at the moment that she returns from Nubia in Memphis where her father Pre, the sun god, awaited her. If this were correct, the column of the obverse side of the fragments would be the first or second column of the verso of the manuscript, counted from its left side.

the method for glossing the voces magicae.³⁰ Contrary to Leemans, who had numbered the Demotic columns from right to left in accordance with standard Egyptian practice (I, II, III, IV -to the right of the Greek columns- and I*, II* -to the left of the Greek columns-), the true order of the columns is II*, I* and IV, III, II, I, with column III* upside down preceding column II*.³¹This shows that the scribe of the magical spells started out with a traditional Egyptian layout, but quickly changed his mind and gave preference to a Greek layout, probably for practical rea-sons only.

The columns of the verso side are written only in black ink without the help of guidelines. Several spells are headed by a title, either written in the middle of an empty line above the spell or directly connected with the first line of the recipe itself. In three cases, a title in Demotic is added to a recipe in Greek that contains a Greek title as well.³² A spell to foretell by way of numerology whether a sick person will die or recover from her or his ailment (PGM XII.351–364) is followed by a diagram with numbers, the so-called ‘Demokritos’ sphere’ (Greek column11). Four times a recipe is provided with a sketchy drawing that should be copied in the course of a ritual: a divine figure sitting on a throne (Greek column12; fig. 2.2),³³a standing Seth animal holding two spears (Demotic column IV; fig.2.3),³⁴Anubis standing at the mummy’s bier (Demotic column I, top; fig.2.4)³⁵and a figure standing on a basket (Demotic column I, bottom; fig. 2.5).³⁶ The style and iconography are unmistakably Egyptian despite their somewhat clumsy character.³⁷The

30 Johnson, ‘The Demotic Magical Spells of Leiden J384’, 48–50.

31 Since the extant manuscript is not complete, it is very well possible that other columns were written to the right of column I. It would therefore be correct to number the preserved columns as x+IV, x+III, x+II, x+I, but, since the present numbering system is well-established among scholars of today, this numbering is not used in the book.

32 PGM XII.201–269; 270–350; 365–375. See chapter 5.1 for more details.

33 PGM XII.376–396.

34 PDM xii.62–75 [PGM XII.449–452].

35 PDM xii.135–146 [PGM XII.474–479].

36 This drawing is badly preserved and only the basket can be clearly recognised.

The standing figure is drawn in side view and represents possibly a mummified deity.

The drawing is not given in GMPT ; it is part of spell PDM xii147–164 [PGM XII.480–

495].

37 The quality of the drawings can certainly not stand the test with vignettes of the Book of the Dead, but such sketchy drawings were not uncommon in magical texts of the pharaonic period. See for examples Peter Eschweiler, Bildzauber im Alten Ägypten. Die Verwendung von Bildern und Gegenständen in magischen Handlungen nach den Texten des Mittleren und Neuen Reiches (OBO137; Freiburg and Göttingen 1994) plates 1–5.

representation of Anubis standing at the mummy’s bier continues in fact a tradition in funerary iconography of more than1500 years.³⁸

Fig.2.5. Figure sitting on stool Fig.2.6. Seth holding two spears

Fig.2.7. Anubis standing at the mummy bier

Fig.2.8. Figure (Osiris?) standing on basket

Both the Demotic and Greek spells show a sophisticated use of script.

The Greek spells are written in standardised Greek script, but abbre-viated spellings, symbols and paragraph markers are frequently used

38 This drawing was a popular image in Egyptian funerary culture from the New Kingdom until the Roman period. The image derives from the vignette to spell151 of the Book of the Dead and retained its standard iconography in the course of its long history of transmission and adaptation. In the Greco-Roman period, the image could occur on sarcophagi, mummy masks, mummy wrappings, tomb walls, steles and, as a vignette to religious texts, on papyrus. See for a short description: Barbara Lüscher, Untersuchungen zu Totenbuch Spruch151 (SAT 2; Wiesbaden 1998) 31–33. Note that this particular drawing is actually a mirror image of the common representation:

Anubis and the mummy’s head are facing to the left instead of to the right. A similar mirrored image can be found on the north wall of the burial chamber of Sennedjem in Deir el-Medineh (19^thdynasty): Abdel Ghaffar Shedid, Das Grab des Sennedjem. Ein Künstlergrab der19. Dynastie in Deir el-Medineh (Mainz 1994), the image is on page 74, an overview of the tomb on pages30 and 31. One of the latest examples is found

throughout the texts. The main Greek columns and the short Greek sections embedded in the Demotic spells are in the same hand. The Demotic script shows an intricate mixing with hieratic signs, while words or phrases in hieratic are occasionally intertwined with Demotic clauses, especially so in divine epithets. The voces magicae are spelled in alphabetic demotic signs and provided with glosses in Greek letters starting from Demotic column IV*. In the preceding Demotic column II the voces magicae are written either in alphabetic demotic or in Greek letters. It is customary to say that the voces magicae are actually written or glossed in Old-Coptic script instead of in Greek letters,³⁹ but the spellings of P. Leiden I384 do not yet contain additional Demotic signs like the Old-Coptic glosses in P. London-Leiden. This may add further proof that P. London-Leiden was written after P. Leiden I 384 verso:

in P. Leiden I 384 verso the scribe was not only experimenting with the writing direction of the glosses, he had also not yet determined the precise set of signs for the glosses. One Greek spell (PGM XII.397–400) contains a series of charaktêres, fanciful magical signs that were deemed very powerful, and in one case a Demotic recipe prescribes an ingredi-ent written in cipher (IV/2).

The manuscript contains in total29 magical spells, of which 19 are in Greek, 8 in Demotic and 2 partly in Demotic and partly in Greek. The recipes are concerned with such diverse topics as divination, magical rings, alchemy, love spells of attraction and separation, sending dreams, procuring a divine assistant and foretelling a sick person’s fate. An overview of the spells is given in appendix2.1 to this chapter.