Unas

1
Unas
This article is about the king of ancient Egypt. For the Stargate race, see Unas (Stargate). For the United Nations
association, see United Nations Association of Singapore. For the village in Azerbaijan, see n.
Unas
Oenas, Unis, Wenis
Funerary chamber of Unas' pyramid
Pharaoh
Reign 23752345 BC (5th Dynasty)
Predecessor Djedkare Isesi
Successor Teti
Consort Nebet, Khenut
Children Unas-ankh, Iput, Hemetre, Khentkaues, Neferut, Nefertkaues, Sesheshet Idut
Father unknown
Mother unknown
Burial Pyramid of Unas
Unas /juns/ or Oenas (/ins/; also spelled Unis or Wenis) was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, and the last ruler of
the Fifth dynasty from the Old Kingdom.
[1]
His reign has been dated between 2375 BC and 2345 BC.
[2]
Unas is
believed to have had two queens, Nebet and Khenut, based on their burials near his tomb.
With his death, the Fifth dynasty came to an end, according to Manetho; he probably had no sons. Furthermore, the
Turin King List inserts a break at this point, which "gives us some food for thought," writes Jaromir Malek, "because
the criterion for such divisions in the Turin Canon invariably was the change of location of the capital and royal
residence."
[3]
However, there are several instances of uninterrupted continuity between the Fifth and the sixth
dynasties: Kagemni, the vizer of Unas's successor Teti, began his career under Djedkare Isesi and Unas. Teti's queen,
Iput, is believed to have been the daughter of Unas, which shows Teti, Nicolas Grimal argues, "made no conscious
break with the preceding dynasty."
[4]
The break between the two dynasties may have been more as an official act
than in fact.
Unas
2
Reign
Due to the scarcity of historical records of this period, little can be said with any certainty about the reign of pharaoh
Unas. While Unas' pyramid is the smallest pyramid to have been built during the "Old Kingdom", the quality and
innovation of the Pyramid Texts found within it, and of other artworks found on its inner walls were in fact the very
finest pyramid bas reliefs surviving from the "Old Kingdom". Some have speculated that there may have been a
famine during Unas' reign.
[5]
Unas was the last pharaoh of the fifth dynasty, and it is believed that there may have
been a brief period of social instability after his death. He died without a male heir. It is believed that his daughter,
Iput most probably became the queen/ wife of his successor, Teti.
The Pyramid Texts
View of the remains of Unas pyramid at Saqqara
He built a small pyramid at Saqqara, originally named "Beautiful
are the places of Unas", close to the Step Pyramid of Djoser. It has
been excavated by Vyse, Barsanti, Gaston Maspero, Firth, Selim
Hassan, A. Husein, and Alexandre Piankoff.
[6]
Its interior is
decorated with a number of reliefs detailing events during his
reign as well as a number of inscriptions. However, Jaromir Malek
considers "the main innovation of Unas' pyramid, and one that was
to be characteristic of the remaining pyramids of the Old Kingdom
(including some of the queens), was the first appearance of the
Pyramid Texts",
[7]
the oldest religious text in all Egypt, and the
second oldest known to exist anywhere,
[8]
surpassed in age only
by the Kesh Temple Hymn of Sumer.
These same texts were later found represented in royal versions of the Sixth Dynasty, but Unas's Fifth Dynasty text
contains verses and spells which were not included in the later copies. The pyramid texts were intended to help the
king in overcoming hostile forces and powers in the Underworld and thus join with the Sun God Ra, his divine father
in the afterlife.
[9]
The king would then spend his days in eternity sailing with Ra across the sky in a solar boat.
[10]
An example of one of the more 'straightforward' pyramid Texts here is given below:
Re-Atum, this Unas comes to you, A spirit indestructible...Your son comes to you, This Unas comes to you,
May you cross the sky united in the dark. May you rise in lightland, the place in which you shine! (Utterance
217)
Also included in the Pyramid Texts is a stylistic section of verse known as the Cannibal Hymn. The Cannibal Hymn
portrays scenes in which the Pharaoh is described as eating both gods and men. While most historians believe that it
is unlikely that Pharaoh Unas himself engaged in cannibalism, this section of stylistic verse may harken back to an
earlier time in Egyptian history when cannibalism was in fact practiced.
[11]
Unas
3
Technology
Syro-Canaanite sailors aboard a seagoing ship. A relief
from the causeway of Unas at Saqqara. Lateral trusses
are seen here supporting the tripod mast (on the right).
The causeway of Unas's pyramid complex includes a bas relief
showing how they transported a palm column by boat on the
Nile.
[12]
In popular culture
The American technical death metal band Nile have an
11:43-minute long song named "Unas, Slayer of the Gods"
based on a myth about how Unas killed and ate the gods in
order to achieve immortality. It appears on their 2002 album In
Their Darkened Shrines.
In the Sci-Fi TV series Stargate SG1, Unas is a species of
sentient hominids and original host to the parasitic goa'uld - the
main antagonist species throughout the story arc.
Gallery
Unas's name on
a stela at
Saqqara
Scenes of
starving
bedouin were
part of the
decoration of
the causeway
walls Saqqara.
Causeway of the Pyramid of
Unas.
Palmiform column
from the funerary
complex of Unas
in Saqqara. Now
at the Louvre.
References
[1] King Unas (http:/ / www. digitalegypt. ucl.ac.uk/ chronology/ kingunas. html) (Digital Egypt)
[2] Jaromir Malek, "The Old Kingdom (c.2160-2055 BC)" in Ian Shaw (editor), The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (Oxford: University Press,
2000), p. 112. The Digital Egypt website at the University College of London (link above) supplies the dates 2450-2300 BC.
[3] [3] Malek, "The Old Kingdom", p.113f
[4] Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, translated by Ian Shaw (Oxford: Blackwell, 1992), p.80
[5] http:/ / ancientegyptonline. co. uk/ Unas.html Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt: Scenes of famine found on Unas' causeway.
[6] Grimal, A History, pp. 118f
[7] [7] Malek, "The Old Kingdom", p.112f
[8] http:/ / ancientegyptonline. co. uk/ Unas.html Antiquity of the Pyramid Text.
[9] Lorna Oakes & Lucia Gahlin, Ancient Egypt: An Illustrated reference to the myths, religions, pyramids and temples of the Land of the
Pharaohs, Hermes House: 2002, p.94
[10] Oakes & Gahlin, p.94
[11] From Fetish to God in Ancient Egypt, By E. A. Wallis Budge, Dover Publications, 1988, Pg. 323.
[12] Lehner, Mark (1997). "The complete pyramids: solving the ancient mysteries" p.202 New York: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05084-8.
Article Sources and Contributors
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Article Sources and Contributors
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Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors
File:Ounas-chambre2.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Ounas-chambre2.jpg License: Copyrighted free use Contributors: Jon Bodsworth
Image:Saqqarah Ounas 06.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Saqqarah_Ounas_06.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Juiced lemon, Neithsabes
Image:Saqqarah Ounas 08c.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Saqqarah_Ounas_08c.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Saqqarah_Ounas_08.jpg: Neithsabes
derivative work: JMCC1 (talk)
Image:Unas stelae.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Unas_stelae.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Alensha, JLCA, JMCC1, Juiced lemon, Mmcannis,
Neithsabes, 1 anonymous edits
File:11 louvre.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:11_louvre.jpg License: Copyrighted free use Contributors: Jon Bodsworth
File:01 unas causeway.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:01_unas_causeway.jpg License: Copyrighted free use Contributors: Jon Bodsworth
File:Louvre 032007 08.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Louvre_032007_08.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: GDK, JMCC1, Neithsabes
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