Stone of the Sahara

‘I went below deck and viewed your artifact, Professor Mane.’ said Captain Saad. ‘It certainly is worth your daring attempts. I say that because I also noticed that the hieroglyphs begin with a depiction of a male lion.’ ‘Would you mind explaining the whole meaning of the stele, Professor?’ Liza asked. ‘I’m aware of its importance, but I want to hear it directly from an archaeologist.’ ‘Well, Liza, let me start…’ Waterhouse blurted. ‘I’ll handle this, Water boy.’ I replied as I put my hand on his shoulder. ‘The stone is made of basalt and written in three languages, just as the Rosetta Stone… hieroglyphs, demotic and Greek. As you know, the Rosetta Stone was found in the Delta region by Napoleon’s army, in the town of Rashid, which translates to Rosetta. It was the key to deciphering hieroglyphs, since the inscription was written in three languages all stating the same facts. Thus, what was written in Greek and/or demotic, two known languages, could be used as a key to translate the hieroglyphs, which they did. This is basically a second Rosetta Stone, which, in itself, makes it extremely historical and valuable. The inscription on the stone relates to the god Maahas, who is the ancient Egyptian god of War. It appears to be written by the Council of Priests who wrote it for King Ptolemy V, of the Late Period. At the time, the Egyptians still had not regained control of Thebes in the Ptolemaic Period, and were determined to do so. The inscription in the stone provides a means to summons the god Maahas, and the stone would be carried before the advancing army in their trek towards Thebes. This ‘magical’ stone would lead the king’s army to victory. Here, take a look at this depiction of him in this book.’ Everyone gathered around to have a glance at the ancient art depicting Maahes and one of his statues being carried into battle. He was pictured as a man with the head of a lion, holding a knife and wearing the double crown of Egypt. He was also depicted as a lion devouring a captive. ‘How much credence do we place in the ‘magicalness’ of this stone, Professor?’ Liza asked. ‘I know that the ancient Egyptians believed in such powers, but, what are we to believe?’ ‘Belief is part of success.’ I replied. ‘That in itself makes it magical. The army believed that they could not fail with Maahes leading them. He was depicted as a lion and often called the Lion god of War. The ferocity of the lion was part of the invincibility factor and a statute of Maahes was often carried into battle. In addition, this God had successes in other battles and his reputation preceded him. Per some little-known documentation that I came across several years ago on a dig in lower Egypt, the Egyptians won two battles against the Hittites by the intervention of some higher power. They credit Maahes, but even they couldn’t explain the phenomena.’ ‘He is a powerful god.’ Sulmona chimed in. ‘His father was said to be the chief male deity at the time, either Ptah or Re, also known as Atum-Re. His mother is said to be Bast, the Lioness goddess of War. He had very powerful attributes, such as strength and power, often associated with the pharaohs.’