Post a two paragraph response to this question: “What is the message of the story, "The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor"

TALE OF THE SHIPWRECKED SAILOR 0

rale of the Shiytvrecked Sailor (ca.1900 e.c.r.) is one of the oldest sailor promises to repav the snake r.i-it]rsacrifices, but it laughs at his presump- tion: the encounter seems to point to our failure to recognize the vast guif betu,een human and dir.ine under- standing. There is a surprising, perhaps humorous final trvist in the tale: the man listening to the sailor entirelv rejects his adr.ice, sneering, "Don't act so cler.er, my friendl" The ending of the story is a reminder that the ancients mav not have been unquestioning in their attitudes torvard their orm "rvis- dom" literature. Should r,ve conclude that travel, of all kinds, is undesirable, since there's no place like home? Or is some kind of journev necessary, if only to remind us of the value of home and the need for endurance? This engaging text offers a thought-provoking exam- ple of hor,v stories may blur the lines betr'veen a geographic and a spiritual journey.

term for the period meaning either "Egr,pt" or the roval residence. 4. No particular deiw is specified. This wide- spread usage accommodates the manv differ. ent deities people w-orshiped.

surviving fictional narratir,es from Egypt. It is an easy read and could appear at first sight like a folktale. A man consoles the returning leader of an expedition abroad, rvho is an-xious about his reception at court. The speaker tells of his orvn failed journey to the Red Sea, u,hich led to shipu.reck and the loss of all his companions. He then encountered a giant snake that revealed itself to be a god, and u'e hear the snake tell its own story. The crea- ture urges the sailor to practice self- control and to treasure his home and family. Despite the text's surface sim- pliciry, it r.r,orks on a number of differ- ent levels. The snake is not just an animal but also the Egiptian creator god, r+,ho existed as a snake in primeval times; this god emerges from the edge of the universe to address the man. The

Tale of the Shipr,r.recked Sailorl

A clever Follorvet' speaks: '1\'1ay your heart be well, mr" Countl Look, w'e have reached home,3 and the mallet is taken, the mooring post drir.en in, and rhe prow-rope has been thror+,n on the ground; praises are given and God is thanked,a errery man is embracing his fellor.v, and our crew has come back safe, w'ith no loss to our expedition.

1. Translated by Richard B. Parkinson. 2. The Follower is a subordinate official, the tale's narrator and p"otagonist. The Count is a high-ranking ofEcial and the leader of the expedition that has just returned to Es!pt. 3. "Home" is a transladon of a characteristic

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87O i TRAVEL AND CONQUEST

We've reached the very end of Waw'at, and passed Bigalt Look, we have arrived in peacel Our orm land, rve've reached it!

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Listen to me, my Countl I am free (from) exaggeration. Wash vourself!6 Pour r.vater on ,vour handsl So you may reply rvhen you are addressed, and speak to the king with self-possession, and answ'er lr,'ithout stammering. A man's utterance saves him.- His speech turns anger avi'av from him. But you do as 1'ou wish! It is tiresome to speak to you!

5. Biga, an island in the first cataract of the Nile, marked the beginning of Eg1pt. Waw'at is Lower Nubia, immediately to the south. The expedition has been returning from Nubia' 6. One should purifu oneself before going into the presence of the king. The narrator is encouraging the Count to prepare himself properly for his expected audience with the ki.rg. 7. Frobably a proverb. A related one comes at

I shall tell you something similar, which happened to me myself: I had gone to the N'lining Regions of the sor-ereign. I had gone down to the Sea, in a boat i20 cubits long,' 40 cubits broad, in rvhich there vi,ere 120 sailors from the choicest of Eg1pt. They looked at the sea, they looked at the land, and their hearts r.vere stouter than lions'.

Before'it came, they could foretell a gale, a storm before it existed; but a gale came up u'hile \4'e were at sea, before r,r'e had reached land The wind rose, and made an endless hor,r'ling, and *'ith it a su'ell of eight cubits. Only the mast broke it for me. Then the boat died.t Those in it-not one of them sun'ived. Then I r,vas given up onto an island bv a r,r,ave of the sea. With my heart as mv only companion, I spent three da1's alone. I spent the nights inside a shelter of rvood. and embraced the shadou's. Then I stretched out my legs to learn u,hat I could put in m,v mouth.

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the end of the tale. 8. l\{ost likel-v southr,r'estern Sinai, reached by ship on the Red Sea. 9. A cubit is 52i millimeters, about 20 inches. The boat is very large b1' ancient Eg1'ptian standards. l. The verb ,o die could be used for an inani' mate thing, rather as ships are called "she" in English.

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I found figs and grapes there, and every fine vegetable; and there \.vere svcomore figs there, and also ripened ones,2 and melons as if cultivated; fish rvere there, and also forvl: there was nothing r,vhich rvas not in it. Then I ate my fill, and put aside rvhat rvas too much for my arms. I took a fire drill, made fire, and made a burnt offering to the Gods.3

Then I heard a noise of thunder; I thought it u'as a wave of the sea, for the trees \,I'ere splintering. the earth shaking; I uncovered my face and found it r,vas a serpent coming. There were 30 cubits of him. His beard u'as bigger than tu'o cubits,a his flesh or.erlaid with gold, and his evebrows of true lapis lazuli. He r.las rearing upr,,r,ards.

He opened his mouth to me, u'hile I r,vas prostrate in front of him.5 He said to me, "Who brought you?6 Who brought,vou, young man? Who brought vou? If you delay in telling me w'ho brought you to this island. I r,vill make you know yourself to be ashes, turned into invisibilityl"

"You speak to me, without me hearing.T I am in front of ,vou, and do not knor,v mvself." Then he put me in his mouth, took me arvay to his du,elling place, and laid me down u.ithout harming me. I r,vas safe, rn'ith no damage done to me.

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He opened his mouth to me, uhile I u'as prostrate in front of him.s Then he said to me: "\l,'ho brought 1'ou? Who brought,vou, young man? \4lho brought ,vou to this island of the sea,

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2. This shorvs that the island is culfivated. as is confirmed b.v the next line. 3. A fire drill is a stick spun against another piece of r.r'ood or a stone to produce a spark for lighting a fire. Burnt offerings w'ere made to deities whose cult images were not present or w'ho, like the sun god, rvere r.r,orshipped in their phtsical form. 4. The snake's beard shows that he has the form of a cult statue, as the precious materials mentioned in the next two lines also demon- strate.

5. The sailor has alreadl' identified that the snake is a god. 6. Probabll'a standard patronizing address to someone who seeks assistance. The snake then overau,es the man uith a threat that includes being consumed b1'his fiery breath. 7. The speaker shifts at this point. The absence of an indication of the change probabiy shor.vs the sailor has lost consciousness from shock and on awaking cannot at first understand rvhat is happening. 8. { gesture of supplication.

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rvith rvater on ail sides?" Then I ansrvered this Lo him, mv arms bent in front of him. I said to him, "It's because I rvas going dou,n to the Nlining Region on a mission of the sovereign, in a boat 120 cubits long, 40 cubits broad, in u,hich there rvere 120 sailors from the choicest of Eg1pt. They looked at the sea, thev looked at the land. and their hearts u'ere stouter than lions'.

Before it came, thev could foretell a gale, a storm before it existed; each one of them-his heart r,vas stouter, his arm stronger, than his fellorv's. There rvas no fool among them. And a gale came up r,vhile we were at sea, before u,e had reached land. The r,vind rose, and made an endless hou,ling, and rvith it a swell of eight cubits. Only the mast broke it for me. Then the boat died. Those in it-not one of them sun-ir.ed, ercept me. And look, I am beside you.

Then I rvas brought to this island by a w,ave of the sea." And he said to me, "Fear not, fear not, young man! I)o not be pale, for you har.,e reached mel Look, God has let 1,0u li1,g,: and has brought you to this island of the spirit;r there is nothing rvhich is not within it, and it is full of even-good thing. Look, you rvill spend month upon month, until 1,6rr have completed four months in the interior of this island. A ship r,r.{ll come from home, u.ith sailors in it u'hom vou knou,, and vou r,rill return home uith them. and die in 1,our citv.

Hou' happl-is he u'ho can tell of his erperience. so that the calamitv passesl

I shali tell y.ou somerhing similar, that happened on this island, r,yhere I was .in ith my kinsmen, and w{th children amongst them. With my offspring and riy kirrr-en, \\,e u,ere 75 serpents in allz-

9. The "God".evoked could also be under- stood as "providence." I. This may indicate that the island is imaginary. 2. This number alludes to the 74 forms of the

Egrptian sun god, perhaps lrith the addition of the snake himself. The "little daughter" is probably N{aat ("Order"), knovvn elseu.here as the sun god's daughter.

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TALE OF THE SHIP\^/RECKED SAILOR 1 873

I shall not evoke the little daughter, r,vhom I had wisely brought away.

Then a star fel1,3 and because of it they u,ent up in flames. Non,this happened r,vhen I rvasn't r,rith them: they r,vere burnt i.vhen I rvasn't among them. Then I died for them,a rvhen I found them as a singie heap of corpses. If 1'ou are brave, master your heart,5 and you u.ill fill your embrace lr.ith vour children, kiss vour u,ife, and see your housel This is better than an,vthing. You will reach home, and remain there, amongst,vour kinsmen. " Stretched out prostrate r,vas I, and I touched the ground in front of him.

I said to him, "I shall tell vour po\l.er to the sovereign.6 I shall cause him to comprehend vour greatness. I shall have them bring vou laudanum and malabathrum, terebinth and balsam,- and the incense of the temple estates r,rith u'hich every God is content. I shall tell rvhat has happened to me) as rvhat I have seen of YOUr POl1 er. They rvill thank God for )rou in the city before the council of the entire land.

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I shall slaughter bulls for you as a burnt offering. I shall strangle fou,ls for you. I shall har.e boats brought for 1,ou laden ,,r,ith all the lr,ealth of Egrpt, as is done for a God r,r,ho loves mankind. in a far land, unknoun to mankind."

Then he laughed at me, at the things I had said, which lr,ere follv to his heart. He said to me, "Do you have much mrrrh, or all existing trpes of incense) For I am the ruler of Punt;8 mprh is mine; rhat malabathrum you speak of bringing

:. A, falling star is knoun in other Egrptian sources as a portent. Here it strikes the group dilectly and annihilates them. This is probably a metaphor for the end of the rvorld. 4. An extreme erpression of grief. 5. The snake points out the moral the sailer should take from the cataclvsm that he sunived. 6. A deferential reference to the king of Eglpt that is tlpical for this period.

7. The aromatics mentioned lvere ali imported into Egvpt, trpicaily from the southrvest, that is, the direction of the island r.i'here the man is. 8, A region reached from the Red Sea, proba- blv on the latitude of modern Eritrea, from w,hich Eppt imported aromatics and other ,{frican products. Punt also had a semimlthi- cal character as "God's Land" (the identiti of the "God" is ieft open).

874 I TRAVEL AND CONQUEST

Then that boat came, as he had foretold prer-iously'. Then I rvent and put myself up a tall tree, and I recognized those inside it. Then I r'vent to report this, and I found that he kner.r it. Then he said to me, "Fare u'ell, fare r,r,ell, young man, to your house, and see .vour childrenl Spread my reno\l'n in vour ciq'l Look, this is my due from ,vou."r

Then I prostrated m1'self, my arms bent in front of him. Then he gal,e me a cargo of m,r,-rrh and malabathrum, terebinth and balsam, camphor, shaasekh-spice, and eye-paint, tails of giraffes, a great mound of incense, elephant tusks, hounds and monkeys, apes and all good riches.2

Then I loaded this onto the ship, and it lr'as then that I prostrated m,vself to thank God for him. T'hen he said to me, "Look, -vou will arrive uithin tu,o monthsl You r,rill fill ,vour embrace r'rith 1'our children. You i.rill grow \.oung again at home, and be buried." Then I r,r'ent dor,vn to the shore nearby this ship. Then I called to the expedition u'hich rvas in this ship, and I on the shore gave praises to the lord of this island, and those w'ho r+'ere aboard did the same.3

We then sailed northlvards, to the Residence of the sovereign, and vi,e reached home in tr,r'o months, exactl-v as he had said. Then I entered before the sovereign, and I presented him with this tribute

is this island's pieng. And once it happens that,vou hal'e left this place, ,vou w{ll never see this island again, which r.r,ill have become tvater."e

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9. The island exjsts oniy for the man's encoun- ter w'ith the snake and will vanish thereafter, l. The god's desire to be knou'n in Egrpt mir- rors hmns that extol the qualities of deities. 2. This list names products mentioned ear- iier, as ra'eil as various others that Eglpt

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obtained through trade. Not all of them can be identified u'ith certaintv. 3. The praise of the snake by the ship's crerv parallels the thanks offered to God bv the expedition at the beginning of the tale.

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from the interior of this island. Then he thanked God for me before the council of the entire land. Then I u.as appointed as a Follor.ver; I lr.as endorved with 200 persons.a Look at me, after I have reached land, and have l,ieu,ed my past

experiencel Listen to my fspeech]1 Look, it is good to listen to men.' Then he said to me,5 'Don't act clever, my friendl \Vho pours lvater ffor] a goose, lvhen the day dau.ns for its slaughter on the rnorror,r.?'6 So it ends, from start to fitish,7 as found im u,ritittg, lasl a uritittg of the scribe uitlo clerer fingers, Anceny' som of Anten)'aa (l.p.k.!).8

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,1. This gift of people s'ould have made the narrator into a rich man. 5. The "me" is the sailor rvho has been the narrator all- along. rvhile "he" is the Count whom he has been addressing. The last three lines are the Count's response to the tale. 6. This appears to be a pror.'erb, r'r'hich ma1' imply either that the narrator is the one pre- paring the Count for a bad reception from the king, or that it is pointless to console him vr.ith the example of his recovery from shipwreck

rvhen the Count has no future. 7. The text concludes r.rith a short passage in red. knoul as a colophon, that gives an assur- ance of a good copv and the identity of the coplist. 8. "Life, prosperity, healthl" is a u.ish appended rypically to a king's name but also to that of a superior in a letter. In this case the scribe has been presumptuous, and perhaps humorous, by lr,.r'iting it after his owrr name.