16: A Cannibal Hymn (The Pyramid Texts of Unas, Short Version)

The Pyramid Texts appear. Around 2410 BCE, a new trend began in royal pyramid building. King Unas initiated something unusual when he introduced hieroglyph texts to the burial chamber of his pyramid. These "Pyramid Texts" are a vast and fascinating body of work. In this episode, we dip our toes into this material, and even see evidence for divine cannibalism...

• The Cannibal Hymn: Spoken reconstruction by Orlando Mezzabotta on YouTube.
• The Pyramid Texts of Unas in English translation and hieroglyph transcription via Pyramid Texts Online.
• Date c.2410 - 2380 BCE
• Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
• Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
• Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. 
• Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com.

Select Bibliography:

• Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms, 1973 (2006 paperback edition).
• Nigel Strudwick, Texts from the Pyramid Age, 2005 (Google Books).
• Vincent Brown – Pyramid Texts Online.
• Gaston Maspero, The History of Egypt (Gutenberg.org).
• Ancient Egypt Online – Unas.

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