Everything about The Story Of Wenamun totally explained
The
Story of Wenamun (alternately known as the
Report of Wenamun,
The Misadventures of Wenamun, or [informally] as just
Wenamun) is a
literary text written in
hieratic in the
Late Egyptian language. It is only known from one incomplete copy discovered in
1890 at
al-Hibah,
Egypt, and subsequently purchased in
1891 in
Cairo by the
Russian
Egyptologist Vladimir Goleniščev (Caminos 1977:1). The
papyrus is now in the collection of the
Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts,
Moscow, and officially designated as
Papyrus Pushkin 120. The hieratic text is published in Korostovcev 1960, and the
hieroglyphic text is published in Gardiner 1932 (as well as on-line).
The text
The story is set in a "Year 5", generally taken to be Year 5 of the so-called Renaissance of
Pharaoh Ramesses XI, the tenth and last ruler of the
Twentieth dynasty of
Ancient Egypt; this was equivalent to Ramesses XI's 19th regnal year. Egberts (1991) argues, however, that the story is set in the 5th regnal year of
Smendes I, the
Delta-based founder of the
21st Dynasty. As this latter view assumes the High Priest
Herihor followed
Piankh (their relative order is normally reversed), it hasn't found wide acceptance among
Egyptologists.
In the first part of the narrative,
Wenamun (also called
Wen-Amun or
Wen-Amon) dates his departure from
Thebes as "Year 5, fourth month of the third season, day 16." Year 5 most likely refers to the fifth year of the Renaissance era, which began in the nineteenth year of the reign of
Ramesses XI (1099-1069 B.C.E.). We are thus fairly certain that
Wenamun's journey is set in the years 1075-1073 B.C.E., if we use the low chronology, or 1095-1093 if the high chronology is used. The middle of the fourth month in the third season corresponds to approximately 20 April, which is a reasonable time of year to begin an expedition.
As the story begins, the principal character,
Wenamun, a priest of
Amun at
Karnak, is sent by the of Amun
Herihor to the
Phoenician city of
Byblos to acquire lumber (probably
cedar wood) to build a new ship to transport the
cult image of Amun. After visiting
Smendes (
Nesbanebded in Egyptian) at
Tanis, Wenamun stopped at the port of
Dor ruled by the
Tjeker prince
Beder, where he was robbed. Upon reaching Byblos, he was shocked by the hostile reception he received there. When he finally gained an audience with
Zakar-Baal, the local king, the latter refused to give the requested goods for free, as had been the traditional custom, instead demanding payment. Wenamun had to send to Smendes for payment, a humiliating move which demonstrates the waning of
Egyptian power over the Eastern
Mediterranean. After a wait of almost a year at Byblos, Wenamun attempted to leave for Egypt, only to be blown off course to
Alashiya (
Cyprus), where he was almost killed by an
angry mob before placing himself under the protection of the local queen, whom he called
Hatbi. At this point the story breaks off.
Analysis
It was once widely believed that the
Story of Wenamun was an actual historical account, written by Wenamun as a report regarding his travels. However,
literary analysis conducted by Egyptologists since the
1980s (Helck 1986) indicates that it's a work of
historical fiction, a view now generally accepted by most professionals working on the text. For details, see Baines 1999; Scheepers 1992; Egberts 2001; Sass 2002; Schipper 2005.
Jaroslav Černý found that the text had no corrections, and was apparently written without any interruptions, such as those which would be caused by simultaneously composing the document. In general, the literary character of the text is summed up by Egberts (2001:495) as being apparent from the sophisticated
plot, the
rhetoric and
irony of the
dialogues, the
imagery, and the underlaying reflection on political, theological, and cultural issues. Specific grammatical features also point to the literary nature of the text. Moreover, the
palaeography of the text points to a
22nd Dynasty date for its composition (Caminos 1977:3; Helck 1986:1215), as well as a number of
anachronisms more reflective of a post-20th or 21st dynasty time frame (Sass 2002; Sass specifically states it was written during the reign of
Shoshenq I).
The text also ends abruptly, possibly showing that the person writing the text down was only interested in the first part of the narrative, and stopped when he realized that he'd continued too far into the return journey. Finally, at the end of the text, in a slightly larger hand, the syllable (copy) is written, showing that it isn't the original.
It is quite possible that the copy which we've may date as much as one-hundred and fifty years later than the original. The reasons for this assumption are as follows. The first reason is that the post-script is used. This is otherwise only used in the twenty-second dynasty (945-715 B.C.E.). The other reason is the locale in which the document was discovered--the Upper
Egyptian town of
el Hibeh. This town only gained any degree of importance under the reigns of
Shoshenk I and
Osorkon I. There was also apparently a renewed interest in the affairs of the
Levant during the twenty-second dynasty.
The author of
Wenamun possibly wrote the original manuscript as an administrative document, a report of his journeys. However, the man who had the document copied over a century later most likely had a different reason. When theorizing about the purposes of the copyist, it seems to be all-too-common to forget about the reverse side of the papyrus. This concerns, as near as we can tell, the "sending of commodities by Ni-ki.. through the agency of Ne-pz-K-r-t for unspecified payment." It could be that this is a summarization of an attempt to perform a mission similar to that of
Wenamun in this later time. "The Journey of Wenamun to
Phoenicia", then, may have been copied as a preparation for this later trip.
Importance of the document
The
Story of Wenamun is an unparalleled source for learning of conditions in
Egypt, as well as in
Phoenicia. One can also see from this document, as from no other of the period, common attitudes toward religion (especially the cult of
Amon), the state of
Mediterranean shipping practises, and even the attitudes of foreign princes to
Egyptian claims of supremacy in the region. Even the supremacy of the
pharaoh in
Egypt is placed under our scrutiny. The current pharaoh,
Ramesses XI, is never even mentioned during Wenamun's journey.
Thebes, Wenamun's hometown, is under the control of
Herihor--the High Priest of
Amon. The authority
Wenamun goes to see in the delta is
Smendes, who resides at
Tanis, and bears the never-before-seen title "organizer-of-the-country". It is worthy of note that neither
Smendes nor
Herihor bear any royal title whatsoever.
Overall, the
Story of Wenamun presents to us what could possibly be the most vivid and descriptive narrative of pre-classical times. Surprisingly, it's also remarkably accurate. Quite probably, the accuracy of this document is based on the fact that it was never intended to be more than a description of his trip, which was to be read through and filed away, then forgotten about. Perhaps this is the most outstanding difference between "The Journey of Wen-Amon to Phoenicia" as opposed to "The War Against the Peoples of the Sea" (c.1177 B.C.E.), or the information found on the "Harris Papyrus" (c.1153 B.C.E.), both of which were written during the time of
Ramesses III.
Whereas there could be no valid reason for this author to exaggerate the grandeur of
Egypt, or the loyalty (or disloyalty) of a particular prince to
Herihor,
Smendes, or even to
Ramesses XI, the purpose for the last two documents was to summarize (and gloat over) the reign of a pharaoh, as well as to list his wealth and achievements for all of
Egypt, as well as the entire world, to see, for all eternity. While there are many differences, the similarities shouldn't be surprising, seeing that they date only fifty-four years apart, and were found in the same region of
Egypt.
Because the text is based on a historical framework, it remains particularly useful to historians for the study of the late
New Kingdom and early
Third Intermediate Period. They often treat the text as a
primary source of the late 20th Dynasty. The
Story of Wenamun was discovered with another historical fiction, the so-called
Tale of Woe [
PapyrusPushkin 127], which takes the form of an imaginative letter as a vehicle to convey a narrative; see Caminos 1977 for discussion of both works.
Further Information
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