Men of Bronze

20

"Hold him!" Jauharah screamed, throwing her weight across the wounded soldier's torso. "Someone hold him!" From the chaos a priest rushed forward, his chest and kilt slimed with blood, and immobilized the thrashing Egyptian. "He was unconscious," Jauharah said. "Didn't think he would move." She tossed the cooling flatiron aside and snatched another from the fire pot. Jauharah shifted, planting the cherry-red iron against the stump of the soldier's forearm. Meat sizzled. The soldier stiffened, his eyes rolling back in their sockets, and a moment later his contortions ceased. Jauharah smelled the heartbreaking stench of bowel.

"Damn it," she muttered, dropping the iron back into the smoldering coals. The priest glanced from Jauharah to the dead soldier, not comprehending. Like most in the House of Life he was a child of the long and peaceful reign of Khnemibre Ahmose. Until this day the worst he'd seen were commonplace accidents: the gashed hands of an impatient stone cutter; the crushed foot of an inattentive herdsman; perhaps a fisherman's mangled legs in the wake of a crocodile attack. This aftermath of the collision between flesh and iron was too much for him to bear. Jauharah could see it in his eyes, a cloud of madness drifting close to the surface. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Go help where you can. Let Lord Osiris have this one." Blinking, the priest stood and moved away. He heard another plea for help, turned, and vanished in the chaos. Jauharah closed her eyes and leaned against the dead soldier.

Around her, men flailed and screamed as spearheads were extracted, or moaned pitifully as bones were set, lacerations stitched. Priests, scribes, cooks, grooms, everyone not germane to the fighting had been pressed into service as an aide or orderly. Hollow-eyed boys spread buckets of sand underfoot to absorb the blood, bowel, and vomit that poured from the shattered wrecks of Pharaoh's soldiery. The stench was ungodly. Chest and belly wounds, crushed skulls, punctures, long gaping slashes. Most of the wounded looked as if Persian horses had dragged them naked across a field of bronze spikes. Jauharah knew in her marrow few of them would live. She caught sight of Ladice. The Lady of Cyrene, as blood-grimed and foul as the rest of them, still possessed a sense of dignity powerful enough to calm nerves and soothe fears. But, as she passed close, Jauharah could see something was not right. There was a tightness about Ladice's eyes, a thinness to her lips. Jauharah reached out and plucked at her sleeve.

"What's wrong?" she whispered, frowning. Ladice glanced around, making sure no one was within earshot. Her relationship with Barca made them equals in this sorority of death.

"Pharaoh has withdrawn from the field," Ladice said, her voice cracking. "That spineless son of a whore! He promised his father! He promised …" She caught herself before she could say more. Ladice closed her eyes; her trembling fingers busied themselves with smoothing the neckline of her simple shift.

Jauharah hugged herself, unable to stop the thrill of fear that raced down her spine. She thought of Hasdrabal. "What will happen?"

"Panic and flight. Cambyses will come," Ladice said. "Surely he will spare the wounded?" She stared at the carnage around her, overcome at last by the sheer volume of it. Tears flowed down her cheeks. "Or would it be more merciful to let them die?"

"We must try to save them," Jauharah said.

Ladice nodded, again in control of herself. "Yes. We must. Do what you can, Jauharah. I'm going to throw myself on Cambyses' mercies." She grabbed Jauharah by the shoulders, hugging her. "Promise me you will flee should this take a turn for the worse!"

"I promise."

Ladice gave a brief smile, a gesture meant to bolster her own flagging confidence. They hugged one last time. "Amon bless you, lady," Jauharah said as she watched her go. "Amon bless you and keep you."

The sound of a voice bellowing her name jarred Jauharah back to reality.

"Jauharah! Is there a Jauharah here? Jauharah!" A huge Libyan in blood-splashed armor, his sandy hair matted to his scalp, stood at the rear of the tent. He curled his hands into a makeshift horn and howled her name like a barbaric warcry. "Jauharah! "

She rushed over. "What is it? Are you injured?"

"You're Jauharah?"

"I am. What …?"

The mercenary jabbed a thumb behind him. He plunged out the rear flap of theHouse of Life, trusting her to follow. She did. Outside, the copse of sycamores and tamarisks shielded the wounded from the gentle rain. Around them sandaled feet had churned the sun-browned grass to mud, and the stench of an abattoir rose from the open trench.

Beneath the trees, a second mercenary crouched beside a shattered body. "General Barca said to seek you out."

A lance of fear impaled her. "Is Barca …?" She glanced down at the wounded man and felt her heart wrench in her chest. "Oh gods! No! Callisthenes!"

The Greek's head moved feebly. At the sound of his name his eyes fluttered. Jauharah knelt at Callisthenes' side and took his blood-grimed hand in hers, clutching it to her breast. Breath rattled in his chest. Jauharah didn't need to look too closely to see there was nothing she could do for him.

"I–I did the best I c-could," he whispered. "B-Barca … the right … the right wing crumbled after … after the Immortals routed P-Pharaoh … only the 1-left held, and only because of him!"

"You did well, Callisthenes," she sobbed. "Ajax himself could not have fought better." She leaned down, kissed his brow, and very quietly Callisthenes of Naucratis died.

Jauharah placed the Greek's lifeless hand at his side and rocked back on her heels. The world around her bulged at the seams, threatening to come apart. The battle was lost. She had heard Ladice say as much. There would be panic and flight, but Jauharah felt neither. Only the twin aches of weariness and despair. The dream she'd had last night felt as though it belonged to someone else. Her stream lay beside her, a gash bubbling with blood and piss, and the spearmen who called Barca away were minions of Death. He was alone out there …

Jauharah's head snapped up, her features hardening. Weariness and despair sloughed from her like a rain-soaked cloak. "Get me a horse!" she said with such force that neither mercenary questioned her order.

She wouldn't let him die alone.

The rain slackened. Rills ofwater sluiced down the Phoenician's armor, through the blood spackling his face and chest. His hair hung in lank strands about his shoulders. Wordlessly, he slung his shield aside and snatched a second sword from a dead man's hand. Below him, Greek mercenaries swarmed up the incline. Charge after charge had churned the ground underfoot to the consistency of sludge, a mixture of soil, rain, blood, and bowel that seeped into every crack and crevice and made their footing treacherous.

Enemy hoplites crawled over a carpet of corpses, their hands and feet clawing for purchase and sending an avalanche of sundered flesh down upon their comrades. Winded, the Greeks gained the summit.

And died.

The Phoenician launched himself at those who crested the hill. His swords licked and darted, drawing blood with each stroke. Bodies tumbled back down the slope, some slashed and riven, others without arms and heads. Barca felt a presence at his side. From the corner of his eye he spotted an Egyptian soldier coming toward him. Then a second. A third. They were the last of the regiment of Ptah, the rear guard, and they took up positions on either side of the Phoenician. A soldier of the Medjay, mortally wounded, lurched up and hurled himself down onto the Greek spears. Into that breach Barca leapt. His two swords wrought havoc. He was too close for their spears to do any harm. Their smaller blades were useless against him. Barca moved like Ares in his element, and killed with the impunity of a god.

The end was inevitable. There was no way this handful could stem the Persian tide; the sheer press of numbers gnawed away at the defenders, killing them singly and in pairs. Finally, beneath the crest of the hill, Barca stood alone.

Blood streamed from dozens of lacerations, mixing with spatters of grime and gore. One sword had broken off near the hilt. Barca tossed the useless weapon down and faced the horde of Greeks and Persians with a single, unwavering blade. None of them moved. They stood rooted to the spot, frozen like the victims of Medusa's stony glance.

A familiar face floated over the shoulders of the men in the front ranks. Dark hair. Flawless features. A homicidal Adonis. With a low, merciless laugh, Phanes of Halicarnassus stepped out to face Barca.

"Let's finish this," he said, tossing his shield to one side.

"You should have killed me in Memphis," Barca snarled, when you had the chance! " They circled one another slowly, a predatory dance bereft of music, accompanied by the soft squelch of mud underfoot. Droplets of rain plopped into pools of diluted blood.

Phanes grinned, his face ghoulish. A wild sword cut had removed his helmet and laid open his cheek to the bone. "And deny myself a chance at glory? I think not! The Fates engineered this, Barca! They need us to meet over the ruins of two nations! Do you not feel it? In the air? That thrill of a god's fingers moving us about like game pieces on a board?"

"You're insane!"

Phanes laughed. "Or a genius. The line between the two is as thin as Persephone's veil. In a minute, you'll not care either way! "

Their dance came to an end. Both men crouched in the gentle rain, blades ready, condensation trickling down to soak the leather-wrapped hilts. The crowd formed a circle around them, a mixed audience of Persians, Greeks, and Cissians. Barca's eyes flickered over their ranks for an instant.

In that instant Phanes struck.

The ferocity of the Greek's assault wrenched a gasp from the onlookers. He moved like a whirlwind, a tempest of flashing iron that rasped and slithered off Barca's lightning defense. At any moment the witnesses expected to see a Phoenician corpse flop into the muck, headless, disemboweled. Had it been any other man, the fight would have lasted a heartbeat.

For Hasdrabal Barca, the fight had only begun.

Metal grated as the two men surged together, chest to chest, their blades tangled. Phanes spat in Barca's eye; the Phoenician answered with a fist across the Greek's lacerated cheek. Phanes howled.

They sprang apart. Barca loathed giving up his momentary advantage. He pressed forward, raining blow after blow on the Greek's guard. Barca was the taller and heavier of the two, and the thick muscle of his sword arm worked tirelessly, without respite. To the onlookers, he seemed to have boundless reserves of energy.

Phanes backpedaled. His advantage lay in speed and precision. The raw elemental fury of Barca's assault stymied his every move. Thrusts were batted aside, and a hammering counterattack met each slashing stroke. The Greek's wrist grew numb from serving as Barca's anvil.

Phanes launched himself at Barca, a new round of slash and thrust, parry and riposte, that brought them into another close embrace. Sweat poured down their faces, into their eyes. Muscle strained against muscle, sinew against sinew. Their blades locked together, grinding. Phanes threw a punch at Barca's chin with his free hand, connected, and drew back for another. Barca responded in kind.

Quick as a snake Phanes ducked Barca's punch, hooked the Phoenician's leg and shoved with all his might. It was an old wrestler's trick, and it caught Barca at unawares. He tried to regain his balance and failed, toppling to the ground. He landed on his back; his sword jarred from his grasp.

Barca's fall gave the Greek the opening he needed. With a triumphant yell, Phanes sprang forward and drove his blade into Barca's belly. The tip of the weapon skittered down Barca's cuirass and plunged, instead, into his thigh, nailing his leg to the ground.

The Phoenician roared in pain and anger.

The onlookers knew it was over. They knew …

Above him, the Greek was overextended, stumbling forward. He would have fallen had the Phoenician not caught him by the neckline of his cuirass and held him erect. Snarling, Barca grabbed Phanes' sword by the blade and wrenched it from his thigh. Phanes' eyes widened. His arms flailed; his feet sought purchase.

"I'll see you in Hell! " Barca said, ramming the blade into the exposed hollow of Phanes' throat and hurling him aside with a contemptuous shove.

Phanes of Halicarnassus died writhing on his belly.

Barca clambered to his feet, swaying, his weight on the Greek's sword. The wound in his thigh was grave; blood sheeted down his leg. Around him, the onlookers were stunned to silence, staring at the Greek's corpse. They glanced from Barca to Phanes and back again. Suddenly, one man faced hundreds.

Barca staggered forward. "Let's end this! Come and die, you sons of whores! "

None among the Persians moved. The battle was over; they had won. They weren't eager to die. There was some jostling amid their ranks as a few soldiers stepped to the forefront, Greeks for the most part, mercenaries from the island of Samos, not as eager to avenge their fallen commander as they were to claim glory as Barca's slayer.

The Phoenician braced himself …

The massing Greeks faltered, shocked to see a horse crest the hill at full gallop. Its rider was fey, covered in blood. Long hair streamed out behind her as she descended on the enemy like a harpy out of myth.

They gave ground, gape-mouthed, as the rider barreled into their ranks. Limbs were crushed and broken in that press as men were trampled by the horse and by one another. The rider hauled on the reins and the mount, its footing unsure, reared and twisted, collapsing in a tangle of thrashing limbs. The rider was thrown clear.

In the moment's respite, Barca snatched a piece of leather off the ground, a strap from a sandal, and cinched it around his thigh. Blood gushed from the severed artery, jetting in time with the beating of his heart. He made the tourniquet tight and caught up his sword. The Phoenician felt a surge of fear as Jauharah rose to her feet to stand at his side, a shattered spear in her fists.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed through clenched teeth. The enemy advanced slowly, wary. Barca could feel his strength beginning to ebb.

Jauharah kept the spear leveled at the breast of the closest Persian. "I'll not be left behind." She feinted at the Persian's face, giving the man pause. The ring of foemen closed on them, weighing the odds of taking them out before too many of them were killed. In their eyes Barca read fear. Fear and respect. Not just for him. They knew well the fury of a woman. Cyrus, their beloved king and Cambyses' father, had died at a woman's hands. Jauharah's appearance would not keep them at bay for long. He had to do something.

"Give her safe conduct and I will bend my neck to your blades!" Barca said. Beside him, he felt Jauharah stiffen.

"No! Barca! You can't…"

"I'll not see you harmed! " The Phoenician drew himself up to his full height and glared out over the sea of exhausted faces. "My life in exchange for hers! Who will speak for you?"

"I will," a familiar voice said. The Persians parted their ranks, allowing the speaker through.

"Darius," Barca said, bowing slightly. "Will you make me beg for her life?"

The Persian commander's armor was smeared with a mixture of blood and grime, and dented by the fury of the fighting. His helm was gone. Blood oozed from a cut across his forehead. He glanced down at Phanes' corpse. "We are weary of slaughter. You will both be spared."

"In exchange for what?" Barca said, his teeth clenched against the cold spreading through his belly. He held Jauharah's shoulder for support, and she could feel the pressure of his weight increasing. He was losing strength. "Kill me now and let her go, for I'll be no man's slave!"

"I admire valor in any man, friend or foe," Darius said. "And you showed all of us today what valor truly is. I salute you, and give you both your freedom. None will touch you, I give you my word of honor! "

"You're an admirable man, Darius," Barca said. "I'm glad I didn't have to kill you."

The young Persian smiled through his weariness. "Fetch their horse."

Jauharah's horse wandered nearby, terrified by the stench of blood and death. One of the Persians caught its rein and led it over to where they stood. Darius himself helped Barca into the saddle. Before Jauharah could mount behind him, the Persian commander drew her aside.

"That wound in his thigh …"

"I know."

"Where will you go?"

Jauharah looked away; she looked to the south west. "It doesn't matter, so long as I am with him."

Darius sighed. "In the coming days, should you find yourself with no one else to turn to, remember my name and use it. I will do what I can for you."

"You've done enough." Jauharah swung up behind Barca. Deftly, she unbuckled his cuirass and let it fall to the ground. At a gesture, two Persians stepped forward and slipped Barca's greaves off, leaving him clad in his sweatand-blood stained linen corselet and bronze-studded leather kilt. Jauharah touched her heels to the horse's flanks, and without a backward glance cantered off down the hillside.

Darius raised a hand in farewell. "May the gods of your people and mine have mercy upon you."

A west wind shredded the clouds, revealing a sunset that transformed the storm-wracked sky into a canopy aflame with color. Inside the ruined chapel sacred to Hathor the air was still; silent, save for the faint drip of water. Motes of dust swirled through golden shafts of sunlight lancing down from the cracked ceiling.

Barca lay in a pool of light. A smear of blood led from the door to that spot, marking the limits of Jauharah's ability to drag him. She crouched above his thigh and worked furiously to staunch the bleeding. Barca's face was pale, drenched in sweat.

" C–Callisthenes? "

"Don't talk," Jauharah said.

"W-Where is Callisthenes?"

"He has gone on ahead, Hasdrabal," she replied, stifling a sense of helplessness. There was nothing she could do. Without fire she couldn't seal the artery.

"They're all dead," Barcawhispered. "Matthias. Ithobaal. Tjemu. Callisthenes. I killed them. I …"

"Hush. Don't talk like that." Jauharah tried to tighten the strap about his thigh and, despairing of that, pressed her hands against the wound, willing the edges to mend and the blood to cease its life-stealing exodus.

"T-Tell me about your d-dream, again," Barca said, his face screwed up in a rictus of pain.

Jauharah choked back tears. "We lived on a long, green slope beside a crystal river. The land gave us everything we needed. Olives. Pomegranates. Vegetables beyond number. And, there were children. Droves of children."

Barca smiled. "A good dream …" A shadow crossed his face. "I'm sorry, Jauharah. I–I s-should have t-taken you away from here."

"Hush, Hasdrabal," Jauharah sobbed. "Please. Save your strength."

"No!" the Phoenician said, rising on his elbows. "Listen. T-There's something I haven't told you. Something I s-should have said long ago. I have loved you since I first laid eyes on you, Jauharah. You s-saved my soul. You t-taught me what it was like to live again. For that, I–I can never r-repay you."

Jauharah smiled gently, her hand going to his cheek to brush away the tears. "There's nothing to repay, Hasdrabal. Nothing. I love you more than you'll ever know. I love you for your strength, your compassion, your humanity. You she choked.

"I m-must go s-soon," he said, sinking back down. "S-So cold. L–Lay beside me and t-tell me about our children."

Jauharah stretched out beside him, their bodies woven together as she whispered to him of the laughter of dark-haired little girls, and of the shrieks of young boys with wooden swords. Outside, the sun slipped over the rim of the world, leaving a cold, starless night in its wake …

Ankhkaenre Psammetichus, last pharaoh of the Twenty-sixth dynasty, died not long after the Persian Invasion. In his final hours, it is said he found the will to fight he so lacked at Pelusium.

Cambyses II of Persia, too, did not live long to enjoy the fruits of his conquest. In 522 BC, while returning to the Persian homeland to quell a rebellion of the priestly Magi, Cambyses died of an apparently self-inflicted wound. His short reign would be remembered by his enemies for its brutality and madness.

Prexaspes, who commanded the Persian left at Pelusium, died in the political upheaval surrounding the rebellion of the Magi.

Young Darius, son of Hystapes, arshtibara to the King, commander of the vanguard at Gaza and the Persian right at Pelusium, seized the throne from the rebellious Magi. He would achieve lasting fame as Darius I, called the Great, most noble and civilized of all the Persian kings of the Achaemenid dynasty. The tale of his early years, the trilingual Behistun Inscription, is noticeably silent about his doings in Egypt.

The Persians captured Ladice, the Lady of Cyrene. When Cambyses learned of her identity, he returned her to her family in Cyrene as a gesture of goodwill.

The priest Ujahorresnet was rewarded for his perfidy with such diverse titles as Chief Physician, Companion to the King, and Controller of the Palace. His funerary stela, now in the Vatican Museum, provides the best source for what followed during the Persian Invasion. In AD 1980, Czech archaeologists uncovered his tomb in the sands of Abusir.

History does not say what became of the Arabian slavewoman who dared to love a Phoenician general, nor have archaeologists uncovered a ruined chapel in the desert outside Pelusium (modern Tell Farama). It is as if they never existed …

Glossary

Ahuramazda

Persian god who, with Anahita and Mithra, led the forces of Light against that of Darkness (called "the Lie"). To the Persians, Ahuramazda was the Creator, responsible for the earth, the sky, and man. In his Histories, Herodotus notes the essentials of Persian religion, that they had no statues or temples, that they sacrificed to their trio of gods on mountain tops and high places, and that they held fire, earth, and running water sacred. The Greeks likened Ahuramazda to their own Zeus.

Alilat

A goddess of the Arabians often identified with Greek Athena. She was a divinity of the night sky.

Amemait

The Devourer. With the hindquarters of a hippopotamus, the foreparts of a lion and the head of a crocodile, this creature haunted the Egyptian underworld, ready to consume those souls whose hearts could not balance the Scales of Justice (q.v.). Such utter destruction of the soul was a real fear to many Egyptians.

Amon

An Egyptian god of the district of Thebes (q.v.) who rose to preeminence during the New Kingdom (1550–1069 BCE). Amon co-opted the attributes of the sun god, Ra, and as Amon-Ra became the center of a vast state cult whose temporal power often rivaled that of Pharaoh, himself. Artists normally depicted Amon as a handsome young man wearing a headdress with two plumes, or as a horned ram (a symbol of power and fertility).

Amphorae

(sing. amphora.) A large, two-handled pottery vessel used to store and transport liquids such as wine and olive oil, or dry goods like wheat. They were ubiquitous in the Greco-Egyptian world.

Anat

An Asiatic fertility goddess.

Anshan

A city in the province of Persis, near Shiraz in modern Iran. From Anshan, Cyrus led the Persians in the conquest of Media to the northeast, Lydia and the kingdoms of Asia Minor, and the failing juggernaut of Babylon in Mesopotamia. Though they ruled from the great cities to the east, the kings of Persia always honored Anshan as the heart of their empire.

Anubis

(Egyptian Anpu.) The jackal-headed Egyptian god of mortuary rituals. It was Anubis who guided the dead through the underworld to the Halls of Judgement (q.v.).

Apadana

A Persian audience hall, and often the focal point of court life at the palace of the King of Kings.

Apophis

A serpent of Egyptian myth, personifying the evil that lurked just outside the confines of well-ordered society. Apophis was the enemy of the sun god, Ra, who attacked the god's solar barque every night as it traveled through the underworld to the Place of the Dawn. On days bereft of sun, either through storms or eclipse, the Egyptians believed Apophis had triumphed over Ra. The serpent's victories, though, were always short-lived.

Aramaic

A Semitic language developed by the nomadic Aramaeans during the 11th through the 8th centuries BCE. Its use spread through Syria and Mesopotamia until it became the lingua franca of the Near East. So widespread was it that the Persians adopted Aramaic as the official language of their empire.

Arshtibara

A title (Persian "spear-bearer") used to denote an individual who is in high regard, either through birth or deed, with the King. Scholars are unsure if the title meant literally that the recipient carried the King's spear. I have adopted it here as an honorific indicative of high standing.

Ba'al

Chief god of the Phoenicians.

Bitter Lakes

Series of shallow, salty lakes on the eastern border of Egypt, following the general course of the modern Suez Canal. The area of the Bitter Lakes was a favorite entry point into Egypt for the Bedouin of Sinai; Egypt's response was to build the fortress system known as the Walls of the Ruler (q.v.). Around 610 BCE, Pharaoh Nekau began construction of a canal that would link the Nile with the Red Sea via the Vale of Tumilat (q.v.) and the Bitter Lakes. The project remained unfinished. According to Herodotus, an oracle warned Pharaoh that his labor would be "to the foreigners advantage". He ceased, turning his attentions to war, instead. Years later, the oracle's predictions came true. King Darius of Persia finished the canal in a fraction of the time it would have normally taken.

Book of the Dead

A collection of spells and incantations designed to aid the deceased on how best to navigate the pitfalls of the afterlife. Once available only to aristocrats, inscribed on the walls of their tombs, by the Late Period copies of the Book of the Dead were universally available to rich and poor, alike. Scribes wrote them on papyrus, in hieratic (q.v.), including illustrations of the journey through the underworld, passwords to avoid the guardian creatures, protestations of innocence, and magical formulae to provide comfort and security in the afterlife.

Byblos

City on the Phoenician coast, at the foot of the Lebanon Mountains.

Calendar, Egyptian

The Egyptians divided their calendar into three seasons, each with four months of thirty days with five days added at the end of the year to commemorate the births of the gods. The seasons and their months were as follows:

Akhet, the season of the Inundation (q.v.) of the Nile, heralded by the rising of the star the Egyptians called Sopdu (Sirius, the Dog Star), which corresponds to the middle of our July. The months of Akhet were Thoth (the first month of the Egyptian year), Paopi, Athyr, and Khoiak.

Peret, the season of sowing, when the land emerged from the waters of the Inundation and crops were planted. The months of Peretwere Tybi, Mekhir, Pnamenoth, and Pharmuthi.

Shemu, the harvest season, corresponding to our own summer, was a time of great festivals and celebrations, provided the crops were bountiful. The months of Shemu were Pakhons, Paoni, Epep, and Mesore.

The Egyptians numbered their years from the beginning of each Pharaoh's reign (our 526 BCE was the 44th year of Pharaoh Ahmose's reign).

Canopic jars

Called qabi en wet in Egyptian (loosely translated, it means "jars of flesh"), Canopic jars are containers used in the mortuary rituals to hold the viscera of the deceased after embalming. The vessels were squat in design and made from a variety of materials: pottery, faience (q.v.), wood, or stone, depending on their owner's wealth. A set contained four jars, each with a carved stopper representing one of the four Sons of Horus (q.v.) — human-headed Imsety, who presided over the liver; baboonheaded Hapy, who protected the lungs; jackal-headed Duamutef, guardian of the stomach; and hawk-headed Qebehsenuef, who ruled the intestines. The respective organs were removed during embalming, dried in natron (a natural dehydrating agent), wrapped, and placed in their jars to be entombed alongside the mummy.

Corinthian helmet

The standard helmet of the Greek hoplite (q.v.) from the early 7th century BCE onward. Beaten from a single sheet of bronze, this helmet covered the entire head, leaving only eye sockets and a narrow slit for breathing. One variation, called the Chalcidian helmet, included cutaways over the ears to facilitate better hearing on the battlefield. Both styles had a removable crest of colored horsehair. Against non-Greeks, the Corinthian helmet gave hoplites a serious psychological advantage: it rendered its wearer faceless; the expressionless bronze mask hid any fears or anxieties that might plague the man beneath.

Croesus

(Greek Kroisos.) Last king of Lydia, Croesus reigned from c. 560–546 BCE, and allied himself with Egypt, Babylon, and Sparta against the rising might of Persia. Even in the ancient world, the name of Croesus was synonymous with vast wealth. His went toward patronage of the arts, monumental building, and influencing lesser rulers on his borders. Stories of Croesus fired the imagination of Herodotus, who included the eastern despot in his Histories as an example of disastrous pride. One such story tells how Croesus consulted the oracle at Delphi (q.v.) and was advised that if he crossed the Halys River against Persia, he would destroy a mighty empire. Wrapped in the blanket of divine revelation, Croesus marched. The prophecy proved correct — his own empire fell to the Persians in 546 BCE.

Crook and Flail

The two most important insignias of the Pharaohs, said to have been given to them by the god Osiris (q.v.). The crook represented Pharaoh's role as guardian of the people, their shepherd and protector; the flail symbolized his role as provider (flails were used to winnow grain).

Cyrus

(Persian Kurush; Greek Kuros.) Persian conqueror who ruled from 559–530 BCE. Cyrus turned the semi-nomadic people of the southwestern Iranian plateau into one of the four greatest nations of his day (Egypt, Babylon, and Lydia being the other three). With methodical sureness, he excised his enemies until only Persia remained as a power in the East. Despite his expansionist policies, Cyrus was a benevolent ruler, praised in the Old Testament book of Isaiah and by later Greek philosophers for his wisdom and foresight. Cyrus died in 530 BCE while campaigning against the Massagetae, a Scythian tribe living around the Caspian Sea. His eldest son, Cambyses, succeeded him.

Delphi

A famous sanctuary of Apollo in central Greece. Situated on a terraced spur of Mount Parnassus, the site was thought to be the center of the world and served as a neutral meeting place for the surrounding Greek city-states. It derived greater renown, though, from its oracle, the Pythia. Deep inside the temple of Apollo, this priestess would sit on a bronze tripod above a chasm in the rock that spewed a "prophetic" vapor. An attendant would whisper the petitioner's written question to her, and she would go into a trance and provide the god's answer through cryptic exclamations, which a board of priests then rendered into hexameter verse. The examples of Delphic responses that have survived to modern times are so vague and nonsensical that the whole enterprise smacks of fraud. Still, the oracle attracted a throng of pilgrims and seekers of wisdom from all over the known world. See Croesus.

Edom

North Arabian kingdom bordering the Negev Desert (q.v.) and tributary to Kedar (q.v.). Edom's borders, at times, reached as far north as the shores of the Dead Sea. It encompassed parts of modern Jordan and Israel.

Elath

A trading city at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba, between Sinai and Arabia. Elath was built on the site of biblical Ezion-geber, described in 1 Kings 9:26–28 as the place from whence King Solomon launched his fleets into the Red Sea.

Elysium

A place in the Greek afterlife where the gods allowed heroes to dwell. They envisioned it as a cool, well-watered garden full of pleasure and earthly delights, a sharp contrast to the grim moors of Tartarus (q.v.).

Faience

Called jehenet by the Egyptians, faience was a ceramic substance made from powdered quartz with a vitreous, alkaline glaze (similar in composition to ancient glass). It was widely used in the production of jewelry, vessels, and figurines. By far the most common colors of faience were blue, blue-green, and green, though other shades were possible.

Fates

(Greek Moirai, sing. Moira.) Three goddesses of Greek myth who preordained the course of human life and events. They were regarded as women engaged in the act of spinning: Clotho drew out the stuff of life from thread of infinite variety. She passed it, then, to Lachesis who measured it however she saw fit. Last, Atropos cut the thread, handling her shears as deftly for a slave as for a king. Not even Zeus could change the course of fate once the Moirai had spun it.

First Servant of the God/Goddess

The title of the highest Egyptian priest attached to a particular deity, often translated as High Priest. Though technically only Pharaoh could offer sacrifices and liturgies to the gods, the First Servants were `deputized' to act on Pharaoh's behalf. This spiritual commission carried with it great temporal power, and offered endless opportunities for self-enrichment and corruption.

Furies

In Greek religion, the Furies (Greek Erinyes) were spirits of vengeance and retribution, horrible apparitions who tormented those who had broken the bonds of society, but especially those guilty of murdering a family member. The devout sought to placate the Furies by offering sacrifices to them under the euphemistic title of the Eumenides (Greek "kindly ones").

Gardens of Amenti

The dwelling place of Osiris (q.v.), Lord of the Dead, in the far West. Once the deceased had proven himself by traversing the underworld to the Halls of Judgement (q.v.), and provided his heart could balance the Scales of Justice (q.v.), he was allowed entry into the Gardens of Amend where he would experience eternal life, happiness, and plenty — an Egyptian's ultimate spiritual aspiration.

Gold of Valor

An honor given by Pharaoh to soldiers who display courage and fortitude in battle.

Halls of Judgement

If the spirit of a deceased Egyptian survived the treacherous journey through the underworld, he or she would enter a great hall where Osiris (q.v.), flanked by Isis (q.v.) and Nephthys, sat in judgement. In a great flurry of spiritual activity, the deceased had to address a tribunal of forty-two minor gods by name and recite a list of crimes, declaring himself innocent of each. At the same time, Anubis weighed the deceased's heart against the feather of Ma'at (q.v.). If the heart balanced, or was lighter than the feather, Osiris allowed the spirit entry into the afterlife. If the deceased's heart proved heavier than the feather, though, it was thrown to Amemait, the Devourer, and utterly destroyed.

Hathor

An Egyptian goddess popular throughout the nation's long history. Hathor was the protectress of women and the patron of love and joy, song and dance. When threatened, though, Hathor could be as ferocious as a lioness protecting her young. Artists depicted the goddess as a woman with cows' ears or as a cow.

Hem-ne jer

(Egyptian "god's servant".) Egyptian priests of the lower rank. The hem-ne jer were allowed access to the inner sanctuary as part of their allotted duties.

Hieratic

(Greek hieratikos, "priestly".) A cursive form of hieroglyphic Egyptian used in day-to-day writing. It was regularly employed for business documents, legal texts, letters, and records. Hieratic was written on papyrus with a reed brush.

Hieroglyphs

(Greek hieros giuphe, "sacred carvings".) The pictorial writing of the ancient Egyptians that was as much an artistic medium as it was a way of imparting knowledge. Though developed sometime before 3100 BCE, the hieroglyphic symbols and signs remained comparatively unchanged for three and a half millennia.

Ancient Egyptian was based on a consonantal alphabet of twentyfour characters (vowels were never written), bearing more than a passing similarity to such Semitic language alphabets as Arabic. Hieroglyphic writing combined signs that represented an object or concept (called an ideogram) with signs that represented alphabetic sounds (called a phonogram); single signs could combine as many as two, three or four consonants, and there were signs called determinatives that hinted at the meaning of a word. Still, despite their apparent chaos, hieroglyphs were concise and strictly regulated as to grammar and syntax. They could be written in rows and read from either direction or in columns and read from top to bottom. The symbols representing human or animal figures normally faced toward the beginning of an inscription. Hieroglyphs, as their name infers, were reserved for religious texts, monumental inscriptions, or as part of the decorative scheme for a tomb. See hieratic.

Hoplites

The heavy infantrymen of the Greek world, hoplites began their history as part-time citizen-soldiers; men up to middle age who could afford the cost of arms and armor were required to serve as a condition of citizenship in many city-states. They trained in early spring for the summer campaign season, then disbanded and returned home for the harvest and winter.

Hoplites derived their name from hopla, a Greek word for their heavy offensive and defensive equipment: a circular oak-andbronze shield — called an aspis (pl. aspides) — weighing close to twenty pounds, a bronze breastplate, greaves, Corinthian helmet (q.v.), a stout eight-foot spear, and an iron sword. All told, the hopla weighed in at sixty to seventy pounds. Nothing quite like it existed anywhere else in the Mediterranean, and foreign rulers were quick to capitalize on that fact by hiring Greek mercenaries to fight their wars. The hoplites serving in Egypt, the Men of Bronze, were drawn mainly from the Aegean islands and the coast of Asia Minor (Ionia and Caria). See panoplia and phalanx.

Horus

The falcon-headed son of Isis and Osiris who personified the might and majesty of Pharaoh. Horns battled Seth (q.v.) for the right to rule the world of the living, and their ceaseless enmity epitomized the struggle between light and dark, good and evil. Despite losing an eye in combat, Horns proved ultimately victorious and became Horu-Sema-Tawyto the Egyptians — Horns, Uniter of the Two Lands. See uadjet.

House of Life

(Egyptian Per-Ankh.) An institution in Egyptian society that is poorly understood by modern scholars. On the surface, the House of Life served as a scriptorium, a training ground for scribes, and a depository for religious and secular texts. But it was also a place where leading priests and scholars conducted research — astronomical, medical, and magical — and a focal point for higher learning. Little is known of its organization or bureaucracy; even its associations with the temples is vague, but it is possible that one existed in every town of any size. In Men of Bronze, I have assigned an additional task to the House of Life by making it the administrative nerve center of Pharaoh's army, a rally point for the scribes, physicians, and priests of the battle train.

Hypostyle hall

Greek term for a room containing numerous pillars. In Egyptian architecture, it is applied to the forest of stone columns between the open courts and the inner sanctum of a temple. In most eras, the columns were carved and painted to resemble lotus or papyrus stalks, symbolizing the vegetation that grew around the primordial Mound of Creation, which was itself represented by the inner sanctuary.

Ineb-hedj

"The White Walls." Egyptian name for the fortress at Memphis.

Inundation

The annual flooding of the Nile caused by rains in the highlands of tropical Africa. Upriver, at Aswan, the flood began in late June; it reached Memphis by the end of September, crested, and receded by the following April. The floods brought rich black silt to the fields, renewing their ability to produce crops. The Inundation varied from year to year; too low a flood meant famine, too high brought devastation and loss of life to the villages along the riverbank. A whole corps of priests were devoted to keeping meticulous watch on water levels, offering sacrifices to Hapi, patron god of the Nile, and praying for a perfect Inundation.

Isis

(Egyptian Eset) The most beloved goddess of the ancient Egyptian pantheon, whose cult survived into Greek and Roman times. Isis was the archetypical wife and mother, a healer and nurturer who also possessed formidable powers of magic, which she used in the service of mankind. She was depicted in temple reliefs as a woman wearing either a throne on her head (the spelling of her name in Egyptian), or a sun disk set between the horns of a cow.

Iunu

(Egyptian "Pillar".) An Egyptian city northeast of Memphis, the cult center for the worship of Ra (q.v.). The Greeks knew it as Heliopolis. It is located in a suburb of modern Cairo.

Ka

An individual's spirit or life force that left the body at the moment of death and made the journey through the underworld to the Halls of Judgement (q.v.), seeking immortality. Once the ka achieved entry into the Gardens of Amenti (q.v.), it still maintained a vital link to its preserved body. It could return to the tomb and partake of the offerings of family and loved ones, the gifts of food and drink, the adornments and pleasure items; or, the ka could activate the ushabti (q.v.) figures to comply with whatever demands the gods might make on the deceased.

Kedar

The ancient name of the north Arabian desert, as far south as Yathrib (modern Medina). The rulers of Kedar grew wealthy off the incense trade with south Arabia. At the time of Men of Bronze, Kedar was nominally under Egyptian suzerainty, though in reality it operated as an independent principality. The story of their pact with Persia is given in Herodotus, 111 7–9.

Khnum

(Egyptian "Moulder".) The ram-headed god of the island of Yeb (q.v.), near Egypt's border with Nubia. It was Khnum, according to myth, who shaped humanity from clay on his potter's wheel. Artists depicted Khnum as a ram-headed man with corkscrew horns, wearing plumes, the solar disk and uraeus (q.v.).

Krypteia

A Spartan institution, the krypteia functioned as a kind of secret police, ritualistically terrorizing the vast number of slaves ("helots") that comprised the Spartan state. Their murders were condoned each year in a formal declaration of war against the helots.

Lake Serbonis

A lagoon east of the Nile delta whose waters are foul and salty. According to Herodotus, Lake Serbonis was home to the serpent-headed giant, Typhon.

Ma'at

An Egyptian goddess who personified truth, justice, and cosmic order. In the mortuary rituals, Anubis weighed the spirit of the deceased against a feather belonging to Ma'at. Tomb and temple scenes depicted her as a winged woman wearing an ostrichfeather headdress.

Ma at

The ethical and moral cornerstone of Egyptian society. The philosophy of ma'at evolved from the worship of the goddess of the same name, and it embodied the idea that for an Egyptian to become part of the cosmic order after death, he or she had to take responsibility for acting with reasonable behavior, according to the laws of the cosmos, while alive. That meant quietude, piety, cooperation, and duty to the gods, to Pharaoh, and to their fellow man. Ma'at gave Egyptians a sense of security in an often chaotic world.

Machimoi

The Greek name for the native Egyptian warrior class. Only about ten thousand, known as the Veterans, formed the standing army; the rest were militia, men who could be called upon to meet the needs of a specific campaign. Even when not under arms, the machimoi were a potent political force, capable of disrupting royal authority. The mercenaries, specifically the Greek Men of Bronze, often acted on Pharaoh's behalf to counter the power of the machimoi.

Mansion of the Spirit of Ptah

(Egyptian Hiku-Ptah.) The sprawling temple of Ptah (q.v.), chief deity of Memphis, that the Greeks likened to their own Hephaestus. Pharaohs of all dynasties, even during times of foreign rule, added their mark to the temple by refurbishing or adding anew to an already dizzying array of monumental pylons, obelisks, minor temples, chapels, and statues. Unfortunately, very little remains of this great structure, or of the city around it. What the Nile did not erode away, the builders of Cairo's palaces and mosques scavenged. By all accounts, though, the Mansion of the Spirit of Ptah rivaled in size the temple of Amon at Thebes (q.v.).

Men of Bronze

A phrase used by the Egyptians to denote their mercenary soldiers, particularly the Greek heavy infantry. It originated during the reign of Wahibre Psammetichus (Greek: Psammis), first Pharaoh of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty (664–525 BCE). According to Herodotus, Wahibre Psammetichus sent to the oracle at Buto for advice on how best to unite Egypt under his aegis and was told in reply that aid would come from the sea, whence men of bronze would appear. He considered this unlikely, but not long after a contingent of raiders from Ionia and Caria landed on Egypt's coast, victims of bad weather. In their bronze armor, Wahibre Psammetichus saw the oracle fulfilled. He befriended the Greeks and took them into his service, where they proved invaluable allies in the reunification of Egypt.

Mt. Casius

A promontory between Lake Serbonis (q.v.) and the Mediterranean; more of a hill than a mountain.

Nabonidus

(Chaldean Nabu-na'id.) The last king of Babylon, who ruled from 555–538 BCE. Nabonidus was a general in the army of the late king Nebuchadnezzar, a respected statesman and antiquarian, who assumed the throne after a year of rebellion and misrule. His own reign was anything but smooth. He forsook Babylon and, for reasons unknown, spent ten years building a new capital at the oasis of Taima, in northwest Arabia. The Dead Sea Scrolls describe Nabonidus' sojourn in the desert as an illness caused by divine wrath, but whatever the cause, its effect was disastrous. Persia's power grew unchecked, Lydia fell, and Cyrus (q.v.) set his sights on Babylon, herself. Nabonidus, now likely well into his seventh decade, returned to Babylon in 538 BCE, in time to watch it fall uncontested into Persian hands. Cyrus' followers captured and killed the aging Chaldean king.

Negev Desert

An inhospitable region of hills, plateaus and desert stretching from the Shara Mountains (q.v.) in the west to Sinai (q.v.) and the borders of Egypt. It was considered inaccessible by all save the nomadic Bedouin, whose shaykhs (q.v.) gained a sense of power and prestige from control of the caravan routes linking the Mediterranean with the incense fields of south Arabia. To pass, merchants had to pay homage to a collection of self-styled kings who operated as little more than robber-barons. By the 6th century BCE, however, much of the Negev lay under the thumb of the Arabian kings of Kedar (q.v.).

Neith

(Egyptian Nit) The patron goddess of Sais, in the Nile Delta, and protectress of the kings of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty (664525 BCE). Neith's cult dated to the predynastic era, and over the centuries her roles have changed to fit the times — from mother of Sobek and a goddess of nurturing to the patroness of weavers to a goddess of the hunt and of warfare. In all her guises, though, Neith's dominance in the Saite region remained unquestioned.

Nekhebet

The vulture-goddess, patroness and guardian of Upper Egypt and protector of the king. The image of a vulture's head was often worn with the uraeus (q.v.), signifying Pharaoh's lordship over Upper and Lower Egypt.

Nemes

The striped cloth headdress of the Egyptian pharaohs; it is worn with the uraeus (q.v.).

Nesaean stallion

A breed of horse from Media favored by Persian kings and noblemen. They were the consummate war horses, bred for strength and stamina as well as sheer equestrian beauty.

Nilometer

A device used to gauge the height of the Nile's flood each year. The rate of rise enabled area officials to predict periods of scarcity or of plenty, and gave them the ability to assess taxes on crops well in advance of harvest. Nilometers could take the form of a marked pillar driven into the river bed or a flight of steps cut into the bank (sometimes both).

Obelisk

(From Greek obelos, "spit"; Egyptian tekhenu.) A large foursided pillar tapering toward its top, which was carved into a small pyramid. Obelisks were staples of temple architecture and considered sacred to the solar deities of Egypt. Their surfaces were adorned with hieroglyphs, their pyramid tips sheathed in gold.

Osiris

Perhaps the most important god of the Egyptian pantheon, Osiris ruled the underworld where he served as the chief judge of the deceased, but he also represented fertility and renewed life. Though this duality made his position in Egyptian religion complex, it highlighted the simple concept behind all of Egypt's elaborate mortuary rituals: that from death there is life. Osiris was the template for all of their notions of life, death, and rebirth, and he was the conduit through which immortality of the soul could be achieved. In tomb carvings, artists depicted Osiris as a mummified figure wearing a tall, plumed crown adorned with a uraeus (q.v.), and holding the twin symbols of sovereignty, the crook and flail (q.v.).

Ostraka

(Greek "shards"; sing. ostrakon.) Fragments of pottery or stone that functioned much like modern notepads. Ancient Egyptians used ostraka for sketches, memos, letters, and bits of writing too transitory to be committed to a more expensive medium, such as papyrus.

Palestine

(Egyptian Re jenu; Persian Abarnahara, "Beyond the [Euphrates] River.") The ancient designation for the area between the Mediterranean coast, the desert of northern Arabia, and the Euphrates River, at times known as the Levant or Syria (not to be confused with the modern Middle Eastern nation). Palestine was a collection of fractious kingdoms, forever at war with one another unless cowed by one of the dominant superpowers of the era. The Pharaohs of Egypt's Twenty-sixth Dynasty (664–525 BCE) cultivated the region as a buffer between their borders and those of Persia and Babylon.

Panoplia

(Greek "war gear.") One of the many terms used by the Greeks to describe a complete set of armor and weapons. The panoplia of the average hoplite (q.v.) of the 6th century BCE included: a Corinthian helmet (q.v.), a bronze breastplate, bronze greaves to cover the leg from the knee down, a leather kilt reinforced with bronze studs, a bowl-shaped shield some three feet in diameter, a six-to-eight-foot-long spear, and a sword. The whole ensemble weighed close to seventy pounds, and though it afforded its wearer an unheard of level of protection, a man in full panoplia wasn't invulnerable; he could still receive fatal wounds in the neck, groin, and thigh.

Papyrus

(Egyptian djet.) The papyrus plant (Latin Cyperus papyrus) grew in abundance in the Nile valley and the marshes of the Delta, where it was used in the manufacture of rope, matting, baskets, sandals, and small boats. Its most celebrated use, though, was as a writing surface. Because papyrus was expensive to produce, it was reserved for religious texts and more important secular documents.

Peltasts

Originally, the term `peltast' applied only to Thracian tribesmen who fought in their native dress — cloak, boots, a fox skin cap, javelins, and a wickerwork shield called a peltal — but it became a generic catch-all term for any lightly armed infantry, including archers. Greek generals often employed peltasts to guard the vulnerable flanks of their phalanx (q.v.), or as skirmishers against enemy infantry and cavalry. See hoplites.

Phalanx

A formation of heavily armed and armored infantry, of variable length and usually a minimum of eight men deep, designed to decimate enemy soldiers through collision and shock (Greek othismos). Hoplites (q.v.) in a phalanx stood shoulder to shoulder, their shields interleaved, with the first three ranks of spears leveled to present a veritable hedge of cornel-wood and iron. They advanced to the music of flutes and horns, increasing speed as they neared their target; by the moment of impact, the phalanx was often moving at a run. This collision could obliterate a lesser armed force.

Though dangerous to face, a phalanx was by no means invulnerable. The formation could withstand cavalry attacks, but it was too slow to be a threat to massed horsemen. Also, the unshielded right flank of the phalanx was particularly susceptible to attack. Phalanx battles seldom lasted more than an hour or two.

Pharaoh

(Egyptian Per-a'a.) The title of Egypt's king, though originally the word signified the royal residence (much as modern Americans use `the White House' when referring to the President). Pharaoh was considered a living god, an embodiment of Horus (q.v.) and the literal son of Ra (q.v.). Like his brother and sister gods, Pharaoh was responsible for creating order from chaos. To make his will a reality, a vast bureaucracy grew around the throne, scribes and courtiers, priests and generals, all ideally working for the good of the land, for the good of Pharaoh, and for the good of the gods. This system of government worked only while the king could assert his authority. Weak pharaohs brought on the rapid dissolution of centralized power, and the inevitable civil wars as their successors sought to reestablish control.

Pillars of Herakles

The ancient name for the Straits of Gibralter, linking the Mediterranean with the Atlantic Ocean.

Polemarch

Greek term for an officer in command of an army. In Men of Bronze, it is used to denote the rank directly beneath that of strategos (q.v.).

Precepts of Ptah-hotep

A didactic (or wisdom) manuscript dating to the Fifth Dynasty (2494–2345 BCE), which remained popular throughout Egypt's history. Ptah-hotep, a vizier and sage, extolled those virtues the gods find most pleasing: modesty, humility, truthfulness, selfcontrol, tact, and basic good manners. His Precepts offered advice on how best to deal with ones inferiors, peers, and superiors while remaining true to the spirit of ma at (q.v.).

Ptah

The patron god of craftsmen, who the Greeks identified with their own Hephaestus, held by the people of Memphis to have created the world, bringing it into being by thought and word alone. For the Egyptians, the heart contained the source of all intellect, which the tongue then articulated to make real. Ptah, by reciting a litany of names, produced Egypt, from its gods to its smallest grains of sand. The subtlety of Ptah's cosmogony made him somewhat obscure to the average Egyptian, whose understanding of the universe was limited by what they could see around them. Statues depicting Ptah showed an enigmatic man in the wrappings of a mummy, wearing a broad collar and holding the scepter of power.

Pylons

(Egyptian bekhnet.) The twin-towered gateways set into the walls of Egyptian temples, often decorated with carvings and reliefs of the gods and Pharaoh. The pylons mimicked the shape of the hieroglyph representing the horizon, the akhet, symbolizing the removal of the temple's sacred heartland from the physical world. They also served the more mundane function of guarding access to the temple grounds. A single temple could boast numerous pylons, each named for the ruler who ordered it built. The ruin of Amon's temple at Thebes (q.v.), Egypt's largest existing religious structure, has twelve.

Ra

Egypt's primary solar deity, who absorbed the attributes of many lesser gods before becoming fused with Amon (q.v.) by a process called syncretism. Ra, and later Amon-Ra, regulated the passing of hours, days, and years; seasons were his domain, and his energy and light made all life possible. During the Old Kingdom (2686–2125 BCE) it became widely accepted that Egypt's kings were the physical sons of Ra, a concept that remained constant throughout the nation's history. The god took many forms, from a solar disk to a sacred beetle (scarab) to a man with the head of a falcon. Ra's cult center was at lunu (q.v.).

Royal Titular

The formal, five part name used by Pharaoh to signify his connection to the gods and his divine purpose. The parts of the titular were: the Horus name, linking Pharaoh as the true representative of Horus on earth; the Nebti, or Two Ladies, name; the Golden Horus name, signifying Pharaoh's divinity; the Nisut-Bit name, often preceded by the phrase "king of Upper and Lower Egypt", was the first cartouche name (Latin praenomen) and it was given to the king at coronation; finally, the Si-Ra name, "Beloved of Ra", the second cartouche name (Latin nomen) and often the king's own birth name. When expressed as a whole, the royal titular and its related epithets formed a kind of litany describing Pharaoh's strengths and the intended direction of his reign.

Sacred Flame

A primary component in the worship of the Persian god Ahuramazda (q.v.) was fire. The Sacred Flame, the light of divine Ahuramazda, was the ultimate expression of purity; nothing could be obscured in its glow, and the powers of Darkness, called "the Lie" could not suffer to be in its presence. The Sacred Flame accompanied the king on his travels and expeditions, along with a small army of priests to tend it, insuring a constant link with the divine heart of the god.

Sah

The "Fleet-Footed Long-Strider"; that constellation of stars known to the Greeks as Orion, the Huntsman.

Saqqara

The sprawling desert necropolis outside Memphis that has served as final resting place for kings and commoners throughout Egypt's long history. The Step Pyramid of Djoser dominates the area, the first Egyptian pyramid and one of the earliest stone buildings of its size in the world; countless other smaller pyramid complexes and mortuary temples surround it. Humans weren't Saqqara's only inhabitants. Animals had their place, as well, from the tombs of the Apis bulls in the Serapeum (q.v.), to the mummified cats entombed in the eastern cliff-face (a site known today as Abwab el-Qotat, the Doorways of the Cats).

Satrap

Persian term for the governor of a region whose power often approached that of a king. Indeed, many satraps were sovereigns before the Persians swallowed up their lands. Because of the exalted status of his underlings, the Persian monarch was referred to as the Great King or the King of Kings.

Scales of Justice

Located in the Halls of Judgement (q.v.), these gigantic scales were used by the god Anubis (q.v.) to weigh the heart of the deceased against the feather of Ma'at (q.v.), goddess of truth. A light or balanced heart guaranteed the deceased entry into the Gardens of Amenti (q.v.) and eternal bliss; a heavy heart meant utter destruction in the maw of Amemait (q.v.), who waited near the Scales to devour the wicked.

Sekhmet

The lion-headed goddess of fires and plagues. Egyptians in all eras regarded Sekhmet as violent and warlike, the personification of mankind's own vengeful nature. In myth, Amon-Ra sent her to punish humanity for their transgressions, through pestilence, famine, and outright slaughter. Once invoked, even the greatest of Egypt's gods found themselves hard-pressed to placate this powerful deity.

Sela

The one-time capital of ancient Edom (q.v.), Sela was at the heart of a series of easily-defensible gorges in the Shara Mountains (q.v.). The Arabian kings of Kedar (q.v.) drove the Edomites from Sela, leaving it open to occupation by tribes of semi-nomadic Nabatean Arabs. The site grew over time into an important trading center on the caravan road linking the Mediterranean with the rich incense groves of south Arabia. We know the city today as Petra, in modern Jordan.

Serapeum

A tomb complex on the desert ridge overlooking Memphis, in the shadow of the famed Step Pyramid of Djoser, built specifically for the interment of the sacred Apis bull. The Apis bull was the living theophany of the Memphite triad, Ptah-Sokar-Osiris. Kept in royal splendor in the temple of Ptah (q.v.), when the bull died (after an average lifespan of eighteen years) the priests gave it a suitably royal funeral and conveyed it to its final resting place in the necropolis of Saqqara (q.v.). The Serapeum consisted of a series of underground vaults containing monolithic sarcophagi and all the attendant grave goods, such as Canopic jars (q.v.) and ushabti (q.v.), one would expect to find in a king's burial. Above ground, the Serapeum sported a sphinx-lined causeway and a mortuary temple.

Seth

(Egyptian Sutekh.) The villainous Lord of Confusion, murderer of Osiris (q.v.), usurper of the throne of Egypt, a god who haunted the desert regions and sent storms of sand, lightning, and thunder against the well-ordered heart of Egypt. Seth was the enemy of Horus (q.v.), personifying chaos and misrule against which the divine light of justice could flourish. One could not exist without the other; indeed, the Egyptians realized this and venerated Seth in their own way, albeit carefully. In reliefs, Seth was pictured as a man of forceful sexuality possessing the head of the mythical Typhonean animal — reminiscent of a jackal, but with short, blunt snout and slanted eyes.

Shadouf

An irrigation device consisting of a bucket at the end of a long, counter-weighted pole, allowing a single person to dip water from the Nile and transfer it to a cistern, ditch, or canal. The shadouf was introduced into Egypt by Asiatic invaders during the Second Intermediate Period (1650–1550 BCE). Unchanged, it has lasted to the modern era.

Shara Mountains

A range of jagged mountains dividing Arabia from Palestine, in the heart of what was once Edom (q.v.). Today, the area is part of southwestern Jordan. See Sela.

Shaykh

Archaic form of the Arabic title sheikh. Used here to denote the chieftain of a tribe of Bedouin.

Shedet

A city in the marshlands of the Faiyum, near Lake Moeris, Shedet served as the cult center for the worship of Sobek (q.v.). The Greeks knew it as Crocodilopolis, the City of Crocodiles (modern Medinet el-Faiyum).

Shenu

The carved oval that encircled the royal names of Pharaoh, found on carvings, paintings, sculpture, and papyri. The shenu represented Ra's eternal protection of the king. In modern Egyp tology, the shenu is known as a cartouche.

Sile

A fortified town on Egypt's northeastern frontier, Sile was part of the chain of fortresses known as the Walls of the Ruler (q.v.). Its location north of the vale of Tumilat (q.v.) made it the perfect base of operations for the Medjay, who could patrol the surrounding desert for signs of Bedouin raiders while guarding Tumilat's valuable springs and cisterns. Because of its Medjay garrison, Sile had a reputation for being rough-and-tumble.

Sinai

The desolate peninsula on Egypt's eastern border that served as a buffer with Palestine (q.v.). Mountainous inland and fading to rocky desert on its edges, the Sinai provided abundant mineral reserves — notably turquoise, copper, and tin — for the Egyptians to exploit. Clashes with the peninsula's Bedouin inhabitants were frequent, and the Egyptians often mounted punitive expeditions to re-establish control over the region's mines and quarries.

Sobek

An ancient Egyptian crocodile god considered one of the first beings to emerge from the watery chaos, called Nun, at the moment of creation. At Shedet (q.v.), in the Faiyum, the center of the worship of Sobek, crocodiles were held to be sacred. In other regions, though, priests ritually slaughtered the animals, equating Sobek with Seth (q.v.), the lord of confusion. In art, the Egyptians depicted Sobek either as a crocodile or as a man with a crocodile's head.

Sokar

The god of the necropolis at Memphis, worshiped in conjunction with Ptah (q.v.) and Osiris (q.v.) since the Old Kingdom (2686–2125 BCE). In some reliefs, Sokar is represented as a heavy-limbed dwarf attended by hawks; in others, as a mummiform figure with a hawk's head bearing crook, flail, and staff. See Saqqara.

Solar Barque of Ra

The great boat used by the sun god to traverse the sky; a poetic analogy for the sun.

Sphinx

A statue of a recumbent lion with a human or animal head used in temple architecture as guardians over the processional paths and entryways leading to the shrine's heart. The human-headed sphinxes symbolized Pharaoh's power as a living god.

Stelae

(Greek "standing stone"; sing. stela. Egyptian wedj.) An inscribed stone often erected to commemorate an event or to mark a boundary. Mortuary stelae often recounted the achievements of the deceased.

Strategos

Greek term for the general in command of an army.

Ta-Meht

The Egyptian name for the Nile delta; synonymous with the ancient kingdom of Lower Egypt. Upper Egypt, to the south, was known as Ta-Resu.

Tartarus

A cold, gray region of the Greek afterlife where the souls of men and women dwelt while awaiting their turn to drink the waters of the river Lethe ("Forgetfulness"). Chasms dotted the landscape of Tartarus, and in their depths black Hades, god of the dead, meted out punishment to the wicked. See Elysium.

Temple of the Hearing Ear

A niche or series of niches, some quite elaborate, in the outer court of a temple where common Egyptians could address their prayers to the gods. In our modern conception, a temple was a place where suppliants could go to converse with the gods through prayer, meditation, and sacrifice; to the Egyptians, a temple was the dwelling place of the gods, and as such, they were off limits to all but high ranking priests and Pharaoh. Only the outer courts were open to commoners, and through the temple of the Hearing Ear they had indirect access to the inner sanctuary.

Thebes

(Egyptian Waset, modern Karnak and Luxor.) A prominent city in upper Egypt from the New Kingdom (1550–1069 BCE) onward, and the center of the worship of Amon (q.v.). Thebes was located on the Nile's eastern shore, roughly 500 miles south of Memphis and modern Cairo. It stood across the river from a vast necropolis containing, after the pyramids at Giza, some of Egypt's most stunning mortuary complexes, including the rockcut tombs of the Valley of the Kings. Perhaps the city's greatest adornment, though, was the massive temple complex dedicated to Amon, called Ipet-isut (Egyptian "Most Select of Places"), approximately 247 acres of shrines, temples, gardens, lakes, and chapels. Taken as a whole, Ipet-isut represents the largest religious structure ever built by the hand of man. Though the capital shifted north to Sais during the Late Period (664–332 BCE), Thebes remained a significant force in national politics.

Thoth

(Egyptian Djehuty.) The Egyptian god of learning and wisdom, patron of scribes and protector of the priest-physicians. Though normally depicted as an ibis-headed man, Thoth was also associated with the baboon and often assumed this form. The Greeks identified him with their own Hermes. His cult center was in Upper Egypt, at the town of Khemenu (Greek Hermopolis, modern el-Ashmunein).

Tumilat

A fertile valley connecting the eastern Nile delta with the Bitter Lakes (q.v.) and the Red Sea. Its pools and springs presented a tempting target to the water-deprived Bedouin of Sinai (q.v.).

Tyre

Situated a few hundred yards off the Phoenician mainland, the city of Tyre occupied the two largest of a chain of islands, joined by an embankment and a mole to create a pair of excellent harbors. The basis of Tyre's vast maritime empire was the Lebanese cedar and the murex, a species of mollusk that, when boiled, produced a deep purple dye. Tyrian ships ranged the Mediterranean, trading dye and lumber for other commodities — from gold and silver to papyrus and ostrich feathers. Colonists from Tyre founded the North African city of Carthage, c. 814 BCE.

Uadj-Ur

(Egyptian "Great Green".) The Mediterranean Sea.

Uadjet

(Egyptian "healthy eye".) The Eye of Horus (q.v.). Considered the most powerful talisman in ancient Egypt, the Eye symbolized protective strength, watchfulness, and the dominance of good over evil. In mythology, Seth (q.v.) plucked out Horus' left eye in battle as the latter sought to avenge the murder of his father, Osiris (q.v.). Once Horus was victorious, his mother, Isis (q.v.), restored his damaged eye.

Uraeus

Golden image of the cobra-goddess Wadjet, her hood extended in warning, which was attached to the brow of royal crowns and headdresses. The cobra was expected to protect Pharaoh by spitting flames at any who would harm him.

Ushabti

(Egyptian "the Answerers".) Small faience (q.v.) figurines intended to accompany the deceased on their various travels through the afterlife. They were expected to fulfill whatever responsibilities the gods might ask of the deceased, such as manual labor or errand-running. Most tombs included a full complement of uhabti — one for every day of the year plus extras to serve as overseers and managers — roughly four hundred figurines.

Vizier

(Egyptian Yaty.) The chief minister of Egypt, answerable only to Pharaoh. The vizier controlled the food supply, the reservoirs, kept a census on herds, and arbitrated territorial disputes and personal conflicts among the governors of Egypt's provinces. At times, the vizier also controlled access to Pharaoh's person. The office virtually demanded a man of uncommon intelligence and zeal who could be trusted with the business of court; often, the post served as a training ground for royal princes (as well as the occasional queen or princess).

Walls of the Ruler

A series of fortresses along Egypt's eastern border designed to stem the influx of foreigners into the Nile valley. They were garrisoned by elements of the regular army, as well as the Medjay, whose patrol routes took them from Pelusium on the Mediterranean coast to the Gulf of Suez. The Walls of the Ruler were first erected in the Twelfth Dynasty (1985–1773 BCE).

War Crown

(Egyptian khepresh.) The bulbous blue helmet, made of electrum, worn by Pharaoh on campaigns and during military processions.

Way of Horns

The road connecting Egypt with southern Palestine. It begins at Pelusium in the eastern Delta and passes through Sinai (q.v.) and the Negev Desert (q.v.) before reaching Gaza. From there, it continues on into the Phoenician littoral.

Yeb

Known today as Elephantine Island, Yeb occupies the middle of the Nile near the First Cataract (one of six white-water rapids near the Nubian border), facing the modern city of Aswan. The ancient Egyptians considered the island to be of strategic importance; its fortress gave Pharaoh's troops command of the surrounding waterways. Yeb also served as the cult center of the god Khnum (q.v.) and was the site of an important Nilometer (q.v.).

Zagros Mountains

A snow-capped mountain range in the heart of Media, its peaks rising to heights between twelve and fifteen thousand feet as it runs southeast from Mesopotamia. The summer capital of the Persian Empire, Ecbatana, lay in the Zagros Mountains, six thousand feet below the summit of Mount Alwand.

Chronology

Early Dynastic Period: c. 3000–2686 BCE

1" Dynasty: c. 3000–2890 (King Menes unified Upper and Lower Egypt)

2"' Dynasty: 2890-2686

Old Kingdom: 2686–2125 BCE

3" Dynasty: 2686-2613

4"' Dynasty: 2613–2494 (the Pyramids at Giza constructed)

5"' Dynasty: 2494-2345

6"' Dynasty: 2345-2181

7"' and 8"' Dynasties: 2181-2160

First Intermediate Period: 2160–2055 BCE

9"' and 10"' Dynasties: 2160-2025

11"' Dynasty (ruled only at Thebes): 2125-2055

Middle Kingdom: 2055–1650 BCE

11" Dynasty (all Egypt): 2055-1985

12"' Dynasty: 1985-1773

13"' Dynasty: 1773-c. 1650

14"' Dynasty (contemporary with 13`" Dynasty): 1773-1650

Second Intermediate Period: 1650–1550 BCE

15"' Dynasty (Hyksos): 1650-1550

16"' Dynasty (Minor Hyksos, contemporary with 15"' Dynasty): 1650-1580

17"' Dynasty (Thebans, contemporary with 151" and 1611' Dynasties): c. 1580-1550

New Kingdom: 1550–1069 BCE

18"' Dynasty: 1550–1295 (Egypt's "Golden Age"; the Amarna Period; Tutankhamun)

19"' Dynasty: 1295–1186 (the Ramessids; Rameses II, the Great)

20"' Dynasty: 1186-1069

Third Intermediate Period: 1069-664 BCE

21st Dynasty: 1069-945

22"" Dynasty: 945-715

2311 Dynasty (contemporary with late 22°d, 24"1, and early 25th Dynasties): 818-715

24"' Dynasty: 720-715

25"' Dynasty: 747–656 (Nubian pharaohs; the Assyrian conquest)

Late Period: 664–332 BCE

26"' Dynasty: 664–525 (Men of Bronze)

27"' Dynasty (15' Persian Period): 525-404

28"' Dynasty: 404–399 (revolt against Persia)

29t", Dynasty: 399-380

30"' Dynasty: 380–343 (Egypt reconquered)

31st Dynasty (2"d Persian Period): 343-332

Dates for Egyptian pharaohs and events used in Men of Bronze follow those given in: The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Ian Shaw, editor (Oxford University Press, 2000) and Monarchs of the Nile, Aidan Dodson (American University in Cairo Press, 2000). Greek dates are derived from: Handbook to Life in Ancient Greece, Lesley and Roy Adkins (Oxford University Press, 1997). Near Eastern dates are from: Babylon, Joan Oates (Thames and Hudson, 1979). All dates are BCE (Before Common Era).

667 Ashurbanipal of Assyria conquers the Nubian pharaohs of Egypt, paving the way for the rise of the Saite kings.

664 Wahibre Psammetichus (Greek: Psammis), a prince of Sais, seizes control of Egypt from the Assyrians and the Nubians; he becomes the first Pharaoh of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty. During his reign, Greek mercenaries, the "Men of Bronze," begin serving in the armies of Egypt.

c. 635 Lydia, in Asia Minor, is the first nation to coin money. The invention spreads rapidly through Greece and the Aegean.

c. 630 Greek colony of Cyrene founded in North Africa.

627 Death of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal creates a power vacuum. Babylon revolts and the Medes of central Iran begin subjugating their neighbors.

616 Assyria's domination of the Near East is ended by the rise of the Chaldeans (Babylonians) under Nabopolassar. Along with their neighbors, the Medes, the Chaldeans begin the slow conquest of the known world. Political marriage between Nabopolassar's son, Nebuchadnezzar, and a Median princess cements an alliance between the two fledgling nations.

610 Wehemibre Nekau (Greek: Necos) becomes Pharaoh. He begins work on a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea; he sponsors the Phoenician Hanno's voyage around Africa. Nekau also resurrects the Medjay, now in the guise of foreign (non-Greek) mercenaries, to guard Egypt's eastern frontier. Babylon's rising power prompts Pharaoh to begin reasserting his interests in Palestine.

609 The (second) Battle of Megiddo. Pharaoh Nekau defeats a Jewish army under Josiah.

605 Pharaoh Nekau's forces crushed at Carchemish by Crown Prince Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Egypt relinquishes its hold over Palestine. Death of Nabopolassar.

604 Nebuchadnezzar ascends the throne of Babylon. Besides gaining renown as a war-leader and statesman, Nebuchadnezzar would be remembered for all time as the architect of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the World (said to have been built to assuage his Median Queen's homesickness for the Zagros Mountains).

601 Babylon invades Egypt and is repulsed with heavy losses. In Palestine, the king of Judah, Jehoiakim, vacillates between casting his lot with Egypt or Babylon. The prophet Jeremiah counsels him to continue paying tribute to Nebuchadnezzar. Jehoiakim ignores him.

595 Neferibre Psammetichus becomes Pharaoh.

593 Egypt invades Nubia to the south and Palestine to the east, campaigns designed to discourage foreign invasion. They prove inconclusive.

594 Solon begins his program of reforms at Athens.

589 Haaibre (Greek: Apries) becomes Pharaoh.

587 Jerusalem destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, who deported its inhabitants to Babylon. Beginning of the Babylonian Captivity of the Jews.

573-573 Nebuchadnezzar lays siege to the Phoenician city of Tyre.

571 Libyans ask Egypt for aid against the expansionist policies of Cyrene. Pharaoh Haaibre, not trusting his Greek mercenaries to fight other Greeks, marches with an army of machimoi, native militia, to Cyrene. He is defeated and forced back to Egypt.

570 Khnemibre Ahmose (Greek: Amasis), a general in the army of Haaibre, uses the reversal at Cyrene to usurp the throne; defeats Haaibre in battle near Memphis. Haaibre escapes and flees to the court of Nebuchadnezzar at Babylon. Ahmose earns the name Philhellene ('Greek-lover') for his patronage of Greek colonists and soldiers.

569 Pharaoh Ahmose makes the town of Naucratis (established as a trading post under Wahibre Psammetichus), near Sais, the epicenter of trade between Greece and Egypt. Anti-Greek sentiments flare up among the machimoi; Ahmose is forced to garrison Memphis with Greek troops to prevent a native uprising.

567 Urged on by Haaibre, Nebuchadnezzar invades Egypt and is repulsed by Ahmose and his armies. Haaibre slain in battle; Ahmose recovers his body and gives him a state funeral. In Tyre, Hasdrabal Barca is born to Gisco, a merchant-prince with strong ties to Egypt.

565 Phanes born at Halicarnassus, in Caria.

562 Nebuchadnezzar dies; he is succeeded by a series of weak rulers. The great Chaldean Empire begins to erode. In Cyrene, Ladice is born into a noble family.

560 Peisistratus usurps power in Athens (the first of three times); though a tyrant (the Greeks used the word tyrannos to describe a king rather than a despot), Peisistratus was known as a patron of the arts and literature, and embarked on a program of public building and beautification.

559 Kurush (Greek: Kuros, Cyrus), a prince of the province of Anshan in Persis, deposes the Median king Astyages and seizes the throne for himself. Birth of the Persian Empire.

556 Nabonidus, an aging antiquarian and former statesman under Nebuchadnezzar, becomes king of Babylon. The lyric poet Simonides, who would later go on to compose the epitaph to the fallen Spartans at Thermopylae, is born on the island of Keos.

555 Callisthenes born at Naucratis.

550 Darius, son of Hystapes, born in Persia. In the Shara Mountains of Arabia, Jauharah is born to a family of mixed Bedouin and Nabatean descent.

546 Battle of Pteria. A coalition of states — Lydia, Egypt, Babylon, and Sparta — cross the Halys River to invade Persia, hoping to squash the rising power of Cyrus. The battle proves inconclusive; the coalition returns to their respective homes. Cyrus, though, pursues the Lydians and their king, Croesus, defeating them in battle at Thymbra and sacking the Lydian capital of Sardis.

542 Pharaoh Ahmose marries Ladice of Cyrene, his third known wife. The union makes Cyrene an ally of Egypt.

538 Cyrus conquers Babylon. Nabonidus slain. The Persian is hailed as a liberator by the Jews of Babylon, whom he allows to return to Palestine, thus ending their Babylonian Captivity. Cyrus' eldest son, Cambyses, is named governor of Babylon.

53 °Cyrus slain while fighting the Massagetae people near the Caspian Sea. Accession of Cambyses. Plans laid for the Persian invasion of Egypt.

527 In Athens, the tyrant Peisistratus dies; his eldest son, Hippias, becomes tyrant. At Babylon, Cambyses begins mustering his invasion force.

526 Phanes of Halicarnassus defects to the court of Cambyses of Persia. Battle of Memphis. Later in the year, Khnemibre Ahmose dies. His eldest son, Ankhkaenre Psammetichus, becomes Pharaoh.

525 Battle of Pelusium. The Twenty-sixth Dynasty ends as Egypt falls to the Persian Empire.