Setne Khamwas Cycle
A prince who steals forbidden magical knowledge from the dead, even one as pious as the historical high priest Khaemwaset, will be made to suffer for the theft until he restores what he took.
- a historical prince refashioned as a folk-tale magician-hero
- theft of forbidden magical knowledge punished by illusion
- afterlife visions used as a narrative device
- genuine royal history blended with Ptolemaic-era fantasy
Two Demotic tales built around a fictionalized version of the historical prince and high priest of Ptah, Khaemwaset, known here as Setne Khamwas, son of Ramesses II. In the first tale, Setne steals a magic book from the tomb of Naneferkaptah after ignoring supernatural warnings, and is punished with public humiliation inside an illusion conjured by the dead magician's wife until he returns the book. The second tale sends Setne's own son on a fantastical adventure involving sorcerers, visions of the afterlife, and rival magic from Nubia, blending genuine Old and New Kingdom historical memory with Ptolemaic-era storytelling about the dangers of forbidden knowledge.
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