Thebes, Egypt. 2022 B.C. Standing
on the balcony at dawn, Neith was looking at the rare white clouds floating in
the sky. Sirius, the sacred star, was shining bright on the horizon; it was the
first month of the season of the inundation, first decan, the first day. From
the big propriety, Neith was able to see the beautiful winding Nile which was
expected to flood soon.
Neith was a nineteen-year-old
housemaid living and working at a Nomarch Menes domain. Devoted and possessing
a good temper, everybody at Menes’ house liked to deal with the young Neith.
Her position of the lady Nomarch’s first maid required full-time attention and
a great sense of anticipation, and Neith was perfectly succeeding at fulfilling
her tasks. Work was something important to Neith, and being at the service of
Menes’ wife, Satamon, provided her with a lot of it. The young maid was
responsible for her meals, her baths, and every single thing the mistress might
need.
The morning was quiet. Some
craftsmen were walking quickly to regain the cliff located in western Thebes,
the place that Mentuhotep chose to edify his future mortuary temple.
“Work, this is all that
matters… Life without work is unbear- able,” she thought.
King Mentuhotep the second
was at his thirty-ninth year of reign, as the ruler of Upper Egypt, he
succeeded at making the nation prosper and Thebes’ inhabitants were growing in
number.
The first day of the year had
always been a festive day in Egypt. So as usual, a party was supposed to be
thrown tonight at Menes’ house. But the night before was New Year’s Eve and it
was particularly odd and scary for Neith.
“How could I work on the
party’s preparations after such a night?” she thought. Indeed, Neith witnessed
some strange facts that troubled her extremely.
“I need to speak to Ahmes
about it… Even though, I can’t imagine him finding a sensible explanation.”
Ahmes was a priest’s disciple
living in the temple of Montou, and because of his special skills and sharpened
intelligence, he was occasionally Menes’ healer. Neith met him a few days after
she was assigned to Satamon’s service and since then, from time to time, they
would have spiritual conversations and those were very agreeable moments for
the young maid. “Mistress Satamon will wake up soon, I must hurry.”
Neith put some order in her
long and braided hair.
The lady Nomarch wandered a
little while in the reception room located on the ground floor then she decided
to visit her husband’s workplace, “Of course, I need you to accompany me,
Neith.”
Menes’s office was located on
the left side of the propriety. The two women had to walk a few minutes to
reach it, but this wasn’t a great inconvenience, as the walkway and the gardens
were absolutely beautiful.
When the women arrived at the
office, Nomarch Menes was dictating a message destined to the king of Thebes
while the young scribe was copying it in a small sheet of papyrus.
“My dear, you work too much lately. You should
rest sometime,” Satamon said with a fake tenderness that only Neith noticed.
“My beloved, there are
political and military matters that cannot be delayed. You know very well that
King Mentuhotep needs to be Pharaoh,” Menes replied with a serious tone.
“It seems like he’s
completely relying on you. Other complica- tions I suppose.”
“Of course there are, fifteen
years of complications!” her husband shouted.
“Don’t tell me we are losing
the war!”
“There are still some
Nomarchs of Lower Egypt that are not fond of the idea of Thebes being their
capital.”
“The war is over, that’s what
you told me last month, and we even feasted to celebrate the event!” Satamon
complained.
Menes tried to reassure his
wife, “Don’t lose your temper, my dear. It is a matter of time and patience. It
is just a delay. Those things take time, but we will succeed soon.”
Satamon didn’t reply, her
husband’s speech didn’t convince her at all. She kept watching him dictating
his missive with certain contempt in the look.
Menes was a middle-aged man
with an average height and mild obesity. Like most Egyptian notables, he wore
heavy makeup and huge wigs.
“Definitely not handsome,”
Neith thought with a little shame.
Then, feeling that Satamon
was determined to stay for a while at her husband’s office, Neith offered her a
comfortable stool. Satamon sat down and continued to watch her husband work.
At some point, Menes spoke to
his wife, “My dearest, haven’t you a banquet to prepare for tonight?”
In fact, Menes didn’t want to
get his spouse involved in political matters. He was one of those men who think
that a woman cannot keep a secret.
“Indeed, my beloved, I have
already planned everything,” Satamon reassured him.
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