Built in the pyramid field at Saqqara, the pyramid complex of king Unas of the Fifth Dynasty is famous for incorporating several innovative features, but is most recognized for the inclusion of vertical lines of hieroglyphs on the walls of the vestibule and burial chamber. When Gaston Maspero opened the Unas pyramid in 1881, he found texts covering these stone walls to be extremely difficult to decipher, because of their archaic characters, forms, and spellings. These were magical/religious texts, designed to ensure the safe passage of the Pharaoh into the next world. They are known today as the Pyramid Texts. According to these texts, Unas became great by eating the flesh of his mortal enemies and then slaying and devouring the gods themselves. Those gods that were old and worn out – Egyptian gods aged and died – were used as fuel for Unas's fire. After devouring the gods and absorbing their spirits and powers, Unas journeys through the day and night sky to become the star Sabu, or Orion. This is known as the Cannibal Hymn. Geometric shape created by connecting a polygonal base to an apex An n-sided pyramid is a polyhedron formed by connecting an n-sided polygonal base and a point, called the apex, by n triangular faces (n≥3). ... Saqqara is a vast, ancient burial ground in Egypt, featuring the worlds oldest standing step pyramid. ... Unas (also Wenis, Oenas, Unis, or Ounas) was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, the last king of the Fifth dynasty. ... The Fifth Dynasty of Egypt is considered part of the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. ... Gaston Camille Charles Maspero (June 23, 1846 - June 30, 1916), French Egyptologist, was born in Paris, his parents being of Lombard origin. ... 1881 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The Pyramid Texts are a collection of ancient Egyptian religious texts from the time of the Old Kingdom, mostly inscriptions on the walls of pyramids. ... Orion is a proper name used in many different ways: Orion the hunter, from Greek mythology Orion the constellation Orion the spiral arm in the Milky Way Orion Nebula also known as M42 Orion, a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département in France Orion, a municipality in...

While this is certainly not the first reference to cannibalism in Old Kingdom texts, what is notable is the method by which the Pharaoh Unas achieves deification and immortality; by turning on the gods, slaying and then devouring them, and thus ascending to the heavens to become the star Orion. The concept was remarkable to Maspero, who found the idea to be of "absolute savagery." Maspero seemed to be reeling from a confrontation with a symbolic revival of pre-dynastic cannibalistic rites – which are suggested, according to Maspero, by the gnawed and disconnected bones found in certain early graves. Petrie suggested that at the original Sed festival, the tribal king appears to have been sacrificed and devoured, so that his people might derive from his flesh and blood the power and virtues which made him great. This practice was based on a belief in contagious magic. Bulls and boars were eaten to give men strength and courage, deer to give fleetness of foot, and serpents to give cunning. The blood of slain and wounded warriors was drunk so that their skill and bravery might be imparted to the drinkers. Similarly, Unas feasts after death on the spirits of the gods, and on the bodies of men and gods. He swallows their spirits, souls, and names, which are contained in their hearts, livers, and entrails, thus, Unas becomes allpowerful. Egyptologist Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (3 June 1853 - 28 July 1942) was a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology. ... The sed festival (or heb sed) was an Ancient Egyptian ceremony held to celebrate the continued rule of a pharaoh. ...