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32 the works of "these Metal People of Horus," and he decreed that henceforth they "shall dwell in sanctuaries" and shall be served with libations and offerings "as their reward, because they have slain the enemies of the god Horus." They were settled at Edfu, the Upper Egypt capital of Horus, and in This (Tanis in Greek, the biblical Zo'an), the Lower Egypt capital of the god. In time they outgrew their purely military role and attained the title Shamsu-Hor ("Attendants of Horus"), serving as his human aides and emissar- ies. The inscription on the temple walls at Edfu. it has been estab- lished, was a copy of a text that was known to the Egyptian scribes from earlier sources; but when and by whom the original text had been composed, no one can really tell. Scholars who have studied the inscription have concluded that the accurate geographical and other data in the text indicate (in the words of E. A. Wallis Budge) "that we are not dealing entirely with mythological events; and it is nearly certain that the triumphant progress ascribed to Hor- Behutet (Horus of Edfu) is based upon the exploits of some victori- ous invader who established himself at Edfu in very early times." As with all Egyptian historical texts, this one, too, begins with a date: "In the year 363." Such dates always indicate the year in the reign of the Pharaoh to whom the event pertains: each Pharaoh had his first year, second year, and so on. The text in question, how- ever, deals not with the affairs of kings but with divine matters—a war among the gods. The text thus relates events that had happened in the "year 363" in the reign of certain gods and takes us back to the early times when gods, not men, ruled over Egypt. That there indeed had been such a time, Egyptian traditions left no doubt. The Greek historian Herodotus (fifth century B.C.), on his extensive visit to Egypt, was given by the priests details of the Pharaonic dynasties and reigns. "The priests," he wrote, "said that Men was the first king of Egypt, and that it was he who raised the dyke which protects Memphis from the inundations of the Nile," diverted the river, and proceeded to build Memphis on the reclaimed land. "Besides these works he also, the priests said, built the temple of Vulcan, which stands within the city, a vast edi- fice, very worthy of mention. "Next they read me from a papyrus the names of 330 monarchs who were his successors upon the throne. In this number of succes- sors there were eighteen Ethiopian kings, and one queen who was a native: all the rest were kings and Egyptians." THE WARS OF GODS AND MEN