Inscribed on the walls of several key tombs in the Valley of the Kings is the so-called Book of the Heavenly Cow, sometimes known as The Destruction of Mankind. The most famous inscription (but not the complete version) is on the outer golden shrine of Tutankhamun in KV62, more specifically on the interior left and back panels. The book is also inscribed on the walls of a room next to the sarcophagus chamber in the tombs of Sety I, his son Ramesses II, and Ramesses III, but these are more complete versions compared with that in KV62, and fill all four walls of the chambers. Ramesses VI’s tomb has a reduced version in a niche on the third corridor. There is a papyrus extract in the Egyptian Museum of Turin, which originates from Deir el-Medina, and part of a wall relief (probably from Sety I’s tomb) in the Musée Lapidaire in Avignon.
The book itself can be divided into two main parts. The first relates to the destruction of mankind by Hathor, and Ra’s role in deceiving her, and thus avoiding the complete annihilation of humanity. The second half moves on from that episode to reveal the reordering of the cosmos by Ra as a result of human iniquity. The more complete version in Sety’s tomb also contains various ritual instructions and three vignettes.
The destruction of mankind
In detail, the myth begins with a prelude in which the self-generated Ra is described as being king of both humanity and the gods. Interestingly, he is addressed in a cartouche at one point as the ‘king of Upper and Lower Egypt’ (nswt-bity). This is unusual if not unique.
War Classics: The Red Badge of Courage