Ostrakon of The Tale of Sinuhe
Probably from Thebes, Egypt
19th Dynasty, around 1250 BC
A Hollywood ending?
The eight lines of hieratic on one side of this
ostrakon are a copy of the final lines of a classic poem
of Egyptian literature. It is probably a copy made by an apprentice
scribe. It is also inscribed with the colophon, the indication that
the end of the text has been reached. A number of small red dots in
the text are what is known as 'verse points', and mark the ends of
lines of verse.
It is thought that the Tale of Sinuhe was originally
composed over seven centuries earlier, in the early Twelfth Dynasty
(about 1985-1795 BC). The full text is principally known from two
papyri in Berlin, at the Ägyptisches Museum and Payrus-Sammlung. It
is written as an autobiography placed in a tomb, but the complexity
and subtlety of the language make it certain that it is fictional.
The story follows Sinuhe's flight from Egypt after the death of
Amenemhat I (about 1955 BC), his stay in Palestine, and his
subsequent return to Egypt.
The Tale continued to be read and copied well into the
New Kingdom (about 1550-1070 BC), with many surviving extracts on
ostraka and papyri.
In modern times the story inspired a novel by Mika Waltari
(1908-79), Sinuhe the Egyptian (1945), in which the
Tale was set in the more glamorous Amarna Period, with the
hero dying in tragic exile. In the original version, Sinuhe regains
his postion in Egyptian society and -in the final words - '[he] was
in the favour of the king's giving, / until the day of landing
[that is, death] came. The Tale was also retold as a
Hollywood epic, The Egyptian (directed by Michael Curtiz,
1954), starring Edmond Purdom as Sinuhe, and co-starring Peter
Ustinov. The Tale of Sinuhe is now regarded as the masterpiece of
ancient Egyptian writing.
Ancient Egyptian poetry: the Tale of
Sinuhe
Talk and live reading, Ledbury Poetry festival
12 July, 2009
R. Parkinson, Cracking codes: the Rosetta St (London, The British Museum Press, 1999)
R.B. Parkinson and S. Quirke, Papyrus, (Egyptian Bookshelf) (London, The British Museum Press, 1995)
R.B. Parkinson, The Tale of Sinuhe and other a (Oxford University Press, 1997)