S: Sacsahuaman to Szeu-Kha 249
in the middle of the sea, an Isle of the Blest, where nothing is lacking, and which is
filled with all good things, a far country, unknown to men.” After a four-month stay,
the king loads his guest down with gifts. “But when you leave this place,” he warns,
“you will never see this island again, because it will be covered by the waves.”
Interestingly, the Serpent King referred to his island kingdom as “Punt.” This is
the same ambiguous land generations of pharaohs visited with commercial expedi-
tions, returning with rich trade goods, until the late 13th-century B.C. destruction of
Atlantis, with which it has been identified. Moreover, the Serpent King’s island is
seismic (“the Earth shook”), “in the middle of the sea,” and “a far country unknown
to men.” He calls his kingdom “the Isle of the Blest,” the same epitaph used by Greek
and Roman writers to characterize Atlantis. His description of this island kingdom as
rich in natural abundance (“where nothing is lacking and which is filled with all good
things”) is reminiscent of Plato’s version of Atlantis: “The island itself provided much
of what was required by them for the uses of life. All these that sacred isle lying
beneath the sun brought forth fair and wondrous in infinite abundance” (Kritias). In
fact, the Serpent King himself leaves no doubt of his island’s Atlantean identity: “You
will never see this island again, because it will be covered by the waves.”
The Serpent King’s portrayal as a fabulous beast is transparently symbolic of a
powerful monarch. The Pyramid Texts read, “Thou, Osiris, art great in thy name
of the Great Green [the ocean]. Lo, thou art round as the circle that encircles the
Hanebu.” Howey commented, “Osiris was thus the serpent [dragon] that lying in
the ocean, encircled the world”—that is, had power over it (164). The Hanebu
were the “Sea Peoples” of Atlantis reported by the scribes of Ramses III in the
wall-texts of his Victory Temple at Medinet Habu. The Serpent King’s appearance
points up his royal provenance. The beard was an emblem of sovereign authority.
Even Queen Hatshepsut had to wear a false beard during her reign. And his “scales”
of gold and lapis lazuli represented his raiment. The sailor’s transportation to the
Serpent King’s “resting place,” (the palace) in the “great jaws”—the edged weapons
of his guards—is a metaphor for the power of command.
The ancient Egyptian artist commissioned to portray the war fought by his Pharaoh
against invading Atlanteans conveyed something of the campaign’s vast scope
and carnage, as reflected in this partial tracing from Medinet Habu.