The Egyptian by Mika Waltari

Posted by admin_akashic on Mar 4th, 2022 in Stories

He drove straight to the harbour and boarded the warship of the commander-in-chief, for he was to sail fast to Memphis, having already tarried too long in Thebes — since according to the latest reports, the horses of the Hittites were grazing in Tanis. I, too, went on board, and none sought to hinder me when I went up to him and said:

“Horemheb, Pharaoh Akhenaten is dead, and therefore I am released from my post as the royal skull opener and free to come and go as I please, and nothing hinders me. So I plan to follow you into battle, for all things are indifferent to me, and nothing brings me joy any more. I want to see what manner of blessing is to come of this war of which you have spoken all your life. Truly, I want to see it, and I want to see whether your rule is better than Akhenaten’s rule, or whether the earth is governed by the spirits of the underworld.”

Horemheb was overjoyed and said, “May this be a good omen although I never should have supposed that you, Sinuhe, would be the first to volunteer for this war. No, this I could not have believed, knowing that you prefer comfort and soft beds to the strenuous exertions of the war. Though I was planning that you might watch over my interests in Thebes by cultivating your connections in the golden house, perhaps it is better this way since you are a simple sort of man whom anyone may lead by the nose and make believe in anything — so if you follow me, at least I will have a capable doctor with me and may well find a need for such. Truly, Sinuhe, my soldiers were right to name you Son of the Wild Ass when we fought the Habirus together, for you must certainly have the heart of a wild ass to feel no dread of the Hittites.”

As he spoke, the oarsmen pushed the ship from the quay and dipped their oars into water, and the ship sailed off with floating pennants. The quays of Thebes were white with throngs, and the shouting of the people was like a stormy wind in our ears. Horemheb drew a deep breath and smiled, saying:

“My oration made a deep impression on the people, as you see. But let us go to my chief’s cabin for I want to wash this divine blood from my hands.” I followed him to his cabin, and he drove his scribes out and washed the blood from his hands, smelling them and saying cold-bloodedly, “By Seth and all devils, I wouldn’t have believed that the

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priests of Sekhmet still performed human sacrifice. But the old fellows were no doubt excited, for the gates of Sekhmet’s temple have not been opened for at least forty years. No wonder they required Hittite and Syrian prisoners for the ceremonies, but I let them have their way.”

So aghast was I at his words that my knees gave beneath me, but Horemheb went on indifferently, “Had I known, I would scarcely have permitted it, and believe me, Sinuhe, I was much startled to find a human heart, warm from blood, in my hand before the altar. That is why I want to wash my hands quickly, but if this makes Sekhmet to give his favour to our arms, then is the action worth it for I truly need all the help I can get and even more — though a few well-forged blades and tempered spearheads might be better and more secure than Sekhmet’s blessing. But let us give to the priests what belongs to the priests, and they won’t disturb us in other matters.”

He started again to praise the speech he had given to the people and wanted me also to praise his eloquence, but I said that I preferred the speech he had given to his soldiers in Jerusalem to this one. Horemheb was greatly offended and said, “It is an entirely different matter to speak to soldiers than to the people, and you will have an opportunity to hear me speak to soldiers when the time comes. But the speech I gave in front of Sekhmet’s temple was also meant for our descendants since I guess it will be carved into stone and be preserved for future times. In that case, you have to pick your words differently than when speaking to soldiers before battle, and you must mix your speech with beautiful and great words that make the crowd’s heads spin and blind their eyes so that they only see black as white. I did not learn to read for nothing, and I have studied from old texts what Pharaohs and commanders have said to the people. But since you are so ignorant, I have to explain to you that my speech included everything that all speeches have included at all times when a war is declared. First, I declared that the war against the Hittites is a defensive war and inspired the people to rise up against the attackers who lay waste breaching Egypt’s borders. This is approximately true, and I did not try to hide the fact that I also plan to capture Syria back for Egypt. Secondly, I demonstrated that everyone who follows me voluntarily will do fine but those who must be dragged to war by force will do worse. Third, I explained that this is a holy war

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