While it is difficult to precisely date “The Adventures of Setna and Si-Osire (Setna II),” this copy appears to have been produced in the mid First Century CE, during the reign of the Emperor Claudius. This historical context provides a deeper layer of meaning and a degree of explanation as to some aspects of the narrative. Though this text was likely written in the first Century AD, shortly after the Roman annexation of Egypt (470), the narrative takes place over 1,200 years earlier, during the reign of Ramesses II. In many ways, the fact that the story was set in a previous era should not be surprising. In fact, it echoes a paradigm of recalling the past during times of instability, which had been present throughout Egyptian history. It
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This story goes back even further back in time to the reign of the Middle Kingdom King Thutmose III (Menkheperre). During this story the author attempts to explain, to his contemporary audience, how some of the monuments of ancient Egypt came to be. He describes how a stone vault, 200 cubits in height by 50 cubits in width was created during a duel between a Nubian and an Egyptian wizard (487). This seems like one way of explaining how people thousands of years ago were able to produce magnificent and massive buildings, which perhaps people during the author’s time would not have been able to construct. This kind of mythological explanation for ancient monuments recalls the Cyclopean Walls, massive walls built by the Mycenaeans, which later Greeks believed could only have been constructed by Cyclopes. This mythologizing of the past can also help to reconcile it with the present day situation. By depicting the ancient history of Egypt as a more otherworldly place of magic and mythology, the author makes it seem almost unreal and thus makes it easier to explain Egypt’s defeat and annexation by Rome. The “The Adventures of Setna and Si-Osire” provides more than just a fascinating look at Egyptian literature in the First Centaury, but it also provides an insight into how the Egyptians viewed their own history and how they dealt with some of the major changes that were sweeping their
This story goes back even further back in time to the reign of the Middle Kingdom King Thutmose III (Menkheperre). During this story the author attempts to explain, to his contemporary audience, how some of the monuments of ancient Egypt came to be. He describes how a stone vault, 200 cubits in height by 50 cubits in width was created during a duel between a Nubian and an Egyptian wizard (487). This seems like one way of explaining how people thousands of years ago were able to produce magnificent and massive buildings, which perhaps people during the author’s time would not have been able to construct. This kind of mythological explanation for ancient monuments recalls the Cyclopean Walls, massive walls built by the Mycenaeans, which later Greeks believed could only have been constructed by Cyclopes. This mythologizing of the past can also help to reconcile it with the present day situation. By depicting the ancient history of Egypt as a more otherworldly place of magic and mythology, the author makes it seem almost unreal and thus makes it easier to explain Egypt’s defeat and annexation by Rome. The “The Adventures of Setna and Si-Osire” provides more than just a fascinating look at Egyptian literature in the First Centaury, but it also provides an insight into how the Egyptians viewed their own history and how they dealt with some of the major changes that were sweeping their