Every claim on this site comes from a credible source, and the source is always shown so you can check it yourself. How we check
Credible Theories Surprise me
Ancient text

Egyptian Tales, Translated from the Papyri: First Series, IVth to XIIth Dynasty

EvidenceDocumentedA primary record or a faithful public-domain copy of one. This page says what the file is and where it comes from; it does not say every claim in it is true.
What this means

Primary records exist: an original document, a published text, an official file or a dated report. We link to them. This level says the record exists and what it says, not that every claim in it is true.

See all five labels

Short stories written down on papyrus more than 3,000 years ago, including the one about a sailor shipwrecked on an island ruled by a giant talking serpent. Petrie collected translations of the best.

Public domain copy

Made byW. M. Flinders Petrie
TranslatorW. M. Flinders Petrie (editor)
LanguageEnglish
FileTXT 100 KB, EPUB 400 KB
DownloadOriginal source

Where this comes from

This is a public-domain copy. The line below says where the file comes from and why we may host it.

Why we can share it: Project Gutenberg record: 'Copyright Status: Public domain in the USA.' Petrie (1853-1942); the title page in the text reads 'Second Edition, London, 1899', published before 1931 so public domain in the US.

Read the story behind it

TextTale of the Shipwrecked SailorA storm sinks a ship, one sailor washes onto an island, and a giant golden serpent with eyebrows of real lapis lazuli appears. It says a falling star burned up all seventy-five of its family; called the oldest known fantasy story, this Middle Kingdom papyrus has no known link to a real impact. What does the serpent want?

Updated