Stele of Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu 1

Stele of Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu
The Stele of Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu i (also known as the Stele of
Revealing) is a painted, wooden offering stele, discovered in 1858 at
the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut at Dayr al-Bahri by François
Auguste Ferdinand Mariette.[1] It was originally made for the
Montu-priest Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu i,[2] and was discovered near his
coffin ensemble of two sarcophagi and two anthropomorphic inner
coffins. It dates to circa 680/70 BCE, the period of the late Dynasty
25/early Dynasty 26. Originally located in the former Bulaq Museum
under inventory number 666, the stele was moved around 1902 to the
newly opened Egyptian Museum of Cairo (inventory number A 9422;
Temporary Register Number 25/12/24/11), where it remains today.

The stele is made of wood and covered with a plaster gesso, which has
been painted. It measures 51.5 centimeters high and 31 centimeters
wide. On the front Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu i as a priest of Montu can be
seen; he is presenting offerings to the falcon-headed god Re-Harakhty
("Re-Horus of the Two Horizons"), a synchronistic form of the gods
Ra and Horus, who is seated on a throne. The symbol of the west, the
place of the Dead, is seen behind Re-Harakhty. Above the figures is a
depiction of Nut, the sky goddess who stretches from horizon to Stele Cairo A 9422 (Bulaq 666), depicting Nut,
horizon. Directly beneath her is the Winged Solar Disk, Horus of Behdety as the winged solar disk, Re-Harakhty
seated on his throne, and the stele's owner,
Behdet.
Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu i

The stele is also known as the "Stele of Revealing" and is a central

element of the religious philosophy Thelema founded by Aleister Crowley.

Origins
[3]
The stele is a fairly typical example of a late Third Intermediate Period Theban offering stele dating to the late
Dynasty 25/early Dynasty 26.[4] It was discovered in 1854 as part of a large burial of priests of Montu at Dayr
al-Bahri, and included the coffin of the dedicant, Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu.[5]

Text
The stele is painted on both faces with Egyptian texts, some of which are Chapter 91 of the Egyptian Book of the
Dead, while the back of the stele records eleven lines of text from Chapters 30 and 2.
The text reads as follows.

Obverse

[A1] Beneath the Winged Solar Disk: (He of) Behdet, the Great God, Lord of Heaven
Stele of Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu 2

[A2–A3] Above Re-Harakhty: Re-Harakhty ("Re-Horus of the Two Horizons"), Chief of the Gods
[A4–A8] Above Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu: The Osiris, God's Servant of Montu, Lord of Waset, Opener of the
Door-leaves of Heaven in the Most Select of Places (i.e., Karnak), Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu, <True of> Voice

[A9] Beneath the offering table: (1000s of) Bread and beer, cattle and fowl
Stele of Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu 3

[B1–B5] Main text: [B1] Words spoken by the Osiris (i.e., the deceased), God's Servant of Montu, Lord of
Waset, Opener of the Door-leaves of Heaven in the Most Select of Places (i.e., Karnak), Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu,
[B2] True of Voice: "O Exalted-one! may he be praised, Great of Manifestations, the great Ba whom [B3] the
gods fear, and who appears on his great throne, make the path of the Ba, the Akh, and the Shadow, for I am
equipped so that (I) might shine therein [B4] (as) an equipped-one. Make for me the path to the place in which
Re, Atum, Khepri,[6] and Hathor are therein." The Osiris, God's Servant of Montu, Lord of Waset, [B5]
Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu, <True of> Voice, son of the like titled Ba-sa-en-Mut, borne of the Chantress of
Amun-Re, Lady of the House, Ta-nesh<et>.[7]

Reverse

Replica of the reverse face of Cairo A 9422

[C1] Words spoken by the Osiris (i.e., the deceased), God's Servant of Montu, Lord of Waset, Ankh-ef-en-
[C2] Khonsu, True of Voice: "(O) my heart of my mother [2 times], (O) my heart while I existed [C3] upon
Stele of Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu 4

earth, do not stand against me as a witness, do not oppose me in [C4] in the tribunal, do not be hostile against
me in the presence of the Great God, Lord of the West. [C5] Although I have united (myself) to the land to the
great western side of Heaven, may I flourish upon earth!" [C6] Words spoken by the Osiris, the Stolist[8] of
Waset, Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu, True of Voice: O (you who are) Unique [C7] of Arm, who shines like the moon,
the Osiris, Ankh-ef- [C8] en-Khonsu, goes forth from your multitudes, [C9] (O) deliverer of those who are
within the sun-light, open for him [C10] the Netherworld, indeed, the Osiris, Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu who goes
forth in [C11] day in order to do everything all that pleased him upon earth among the living-ones."

Interpretation by Aleister Crowley and Thelema

The designation of this object as the Stele of Revealing was given in April 1904 by the occultist Aleister Crowley, in
connection with his Book of the Law.[9]
According to Aleister Crowley, his wife Rose had already reported a revelation from the god Horus, through his
messenger Aiwass[10] . The couple went to the Bulaq Museum (no longer in existence), near Cairo, to see if she
could recognize Horus on Monday, March 21, 1904. Rose recognized an image of the god on this painted stele,
which at the time bore the catalogue number 666, a number holding religious significance in Thelema.
According to Crowley, the stela depicts the three chief deities of Thelema: Nuit (Egyptian Nut), Hadit (Egyptian
Behdety), and Ra-Hoor-Khuit (Egyptian Re-Harakhty ["Re-Horus of the Two Horizons"]).
Crowley states that he dined with the Egyptologist Émile Charles Albert Brugsch bey, Curator of the Bulaq Museum
to discuss the stele in his charge and to arrange for a facsimile to be made. According to Crowley, Brugsch's French
assistant curator translated the hieroglyphic text on the stele.[11] In 1912 a second translation was later made for
Crowley by Alan Gardiner and Battiscombe Gunn.

External links
• Boulaq Museum [12]

References
[1] In general, see Cynthia May Sheikholeslami. 2003. “The burials of the priests of Montu at Deir el-Bahari in the Theban necropolis.” In The
Theban necropolis: Past, present and future, edited by Nigel C. Strudwick and John H. Taylor. London: British Museum Press. 131–137.
[2] Hisham el-Leithy, "Painted Wooden Stelae From Thebes from the 21st to the 26 Dynasties," in Proceedings of the Ninth International
Congress of Egyptologists, edited by Jean-Claude Goyon and Christine Cardin. Orientalia lovaniensia analecta 150. Leuven: Uitgeverij
Peeters, 2007. 585–594 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=R-Vv8kOU9BIC& lpg=PA585& ots=XsxNOhmfPQ& dq=""Painted Wooden
Stelae From Thebes from the 21st to the 26 Dynasties"& pg=PA585#v=onepage& q=& f=false); see also Abd el-Hamid Zayed, "Painted
Wooden Stelae in the Cairo Museum," Revue d'égytologie 20 (1968), 149–152, and plate 7.
[3] Peter Munro. 1973. Die spätägyptischen Totenstelen. 2 vols. Ägyptologische Forschungen 25. Glückstadt: Verlag J. J. Augustin. The stele is
#187 in Munro's catalogue.
[4] Abd el Hamid Zayed, "Painted Wooden Stelae in the Cairo Museum," Revue d'égytologie 20 (1968), 149–152, and plate 7.
[5] Henri Gauthier. 1913. Cercueils anthropoïdes des prêtres de Montou. 2 vols. Catalogue général des antiquités égyptiennes du Musée du Caire
62 and 65. Cairo: Imprimerie de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale du Caire.
[6] Re is the sun at midday, Atum as it sets, and Khepri as it dawns
[7] Lit. "The Hairdresser." For the reading of the name, see Hermann Ranke. 1935. Die ägyptischen Personennamen. Vol. 1 of 3 vols.
Glückstadt: Verlag J. J. Augustin. 1:364. cf. the Prosopographia aegypti (http:/ / www. ccer. nl/ ccer/ apps/ prosopographia/ prosopo.
asp?trans=tA-nS. t)
[8] Egyptian smꜣ; a priest responsible for clothing the image of a god. See William A. Ward. 1982. Index of Egyptian administrative and
religious titles of the Middle Kingdom, with a glossary of words and phrases used. Beirut: American University of Beirut. No. 1288.
[9] Skinner, Stephen (ed). The Magical Diaries of Aleister Crowley: Tunisia 1923, p. 79, n. 8. Weiser, 1996. ISBN 0877288569
[10] Equinox 7:4-the events leading up to writing of the book
[11] The Equinox of the Gods section 7:4-The people
[12] http:/ / www. egyptianmuseum. gov. eg/ about_history. html
Article Sources and Contributors 5

Article Sources and Contributors

Stele of Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=367927976  Contributors: 999, AgentPeppermint, Aleister Wilson, Amalas, Ankhefenkhons, Asarelah, Ashami,
Auroranorth, BalthCat, Buddyboy76, CapitalR, Chaos5023, Dan, Ermeyers, Fibonacci, Frater5, IPSOS, J.smith, Lashtal93, Midnightblueowl, Mmcannis, PericlesofAthens, Rich Farmbrough,
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