| Menes' Crocodile Scale | |
|---|---|
| |
|
Origin |
Menes |
|
Type |
Crocodile scale |
|
Effects |
Summons ethereal, but solid, crocodiles that obey the user's commands |
|
Downsides |
Causes canines to attack the user |
|
Activation |
Holding |
|
Collected by |
|
|
Section |
Ancient Archives (01920-00656) |
|
Aisle |
00029-9829-234 |
|
Shelf |
02371-0912-111 |
|
Date of Collection |
Warehouse 2 Era |
| [Source] | |
Origin[]
Diodorus Siculus recorded a story of Menes, related by the priests of the crocodile-god Sobek at Crocodilopolis, in which the pharaoh Menes, attacked by his own dogs while out hunting, fled across Lake Moeris on the back of a crocodile and, in thanks, founded the city of Crocodilopolis.
Faber (1816), taking the word campsa to mean either crocodile or ark and preferring the latter, identifies Menes with Noah and the entire story as a deluge myth.
Edwards (1974) states that "the legend, which is obviously filled with anachronisms, is patently devoid of historical value", but Maspero (1910), while acknowledging the possibility that traditions relating to other kings may have become mixed up with this story, dismisses the suggestions of some commentators that the story should be transferred to the Dynasty XII pharaoh Amenemhat III and sees no reason to doubt that Diodorus did not correctly record a tradition of Menes.