Page 371 - Fingerprints of the Gods by Graham Hancock

Graham Hancock – FINGERPRINTS OF THE GODS

Gods, Demigods and Spirits of the Dead

If we are to allow Manetho to speak for himself, we have no choice but to
turn to the texts in which the fragments of his work are preserved. One of
the most important of these is the Armenian version of the Chronica of
Eusebius. It begins by informing us that it is extracted ‘from the Egyptian
History of Manetho, who composed his account in three books. These
deal with the Gods, the Demigods, the Spirits of the Dead and the mortal
kings who ruled Egypt ...’ Citing Manetho directly, Eusebius begins by
13
reeling off a list of the gods which consists, essentially, of the familiar
Ennead of Heliopolis—Ra, Osiris, Isis, Horus, Set, and so on:
14
These were the first to hold sway in Egypt. Thereafter, the kingship passed from
one to another in unbroken succession ... through 13,900 years— ... After the
Gods, Demigods reigned for 1255 years; and again another line of kings held sway
for 1817 years; then came thirty more kings, reigning for 1790 years; and then
again ten kings ruling for 350 years. There followed the rule of the Spirits of the
Dead ... for 5813 years ...’
15
The total of all these periods adds up to 24,925 years and takes us far
beyond the biblical date for the creation of the world (some time in the
fifth millennium BC ). Because it suggested that biblical chronology was
16
wrong, this created difficulties for Eusebius, a staunchly Christian
commentator. But, after a moment’s thought, he overcame the problem
in an inspired way: ‘The year I take to be a lunar one, consisting, that is,
of 30 days: what we now call a month the Egyptians used formerly to
style a year ...’
17
Of course they did no such thing. By means of this sleight of hand,
18
however, Eusebius and others succeeded in boiling down Manetho’s
grand pre-dynastic span of almost 25,000 years into a sanitized dollop a
bit over 2000 years which fits comfortably into the 2242 years orthodox
biblical chronology allows between Adam and the Flood.
19
A different technique for downplaying the disturbing chronological
implications of Manetho’s evidence is employed by the monk George
Syncellus (c. AD 800). This commentator, who relies entirely on invective,
writes, ‘Manetho, chief priest of the accursed temples of Egypt [tells us]
of gods who never existed. These, he says, reigned for 11,895 years ...’
20
Several other curious and contradictory numbers crop up in the
fragments. In particular, Manetho is repeatedly said to have given the

13 Manetho, p. 3.
14 Ibid., pp. 3-5.
15 Ibid., p. 5.
16 Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1991, 12:214-15.
17 Manetho, p. 5.
18 There is absolutely no evidence that the Ancient Egyptians ever confused years and
months, or styled one as the other; ibid, p. 4, note 2.
19 Ibid., p. 7.
20 Ibid., p. 15.

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