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- A chronologically loquacious tomb is that of Setau
at El-Kab (EK4). Setau is a high priest of the 29th
year of Ramses III (-1152) and of the 4th year of
Ramses IX (-1120), a prophet of Nekhbet, the
vulture mother goddess. [1] His third dedication is
erased. These dates are not those of the construction
which is made after the commemoration. The master
scribe Merire of Esna hired by Setau praises the
craftsmanship but the tomb of Setau at Elkab (EK4)
is however only a specious copy of the adjacent one
called Pahéri (EK3), dating from the reign of
Thutmose III. This is the interest here, because
taking up a "canva" fresco allows to add elements of
intrigue which generate a unique new work. The link
between Thutmose III, Ramesses III and Ramesses
IX inevitably leads us to the war against the Sea
Peoples, and a successive or joint victory like the
Argonauts would have been a fine accomplishment to mark in a tomb. For the dates given for the Argonauts'
expedition are about 30 years before the Trojan War. (Given that several of their sons would go to war. That
is, from the beginning of the Trojan War in 1086 BC to the Argonauts in 1114 BC. [Ref. Babylone Troyenne
VOL.1]). The tomb of Paheri contains many 19th century graffiti, unlike that of Setou, which is
nevertheless nearby.

1
Texts of the Setau tomb : TOPOGRAPHICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ANCIENT EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHIC
TEXTS, RELIEFS, AND PAINTINGS, V. UPPER EGYPT:SITES, BY BERTHA PORTER AND ROSALIND L.B.
MOSS, 1937, 1962, p.181
- On the text. The agricultural work of tomb EK3 –
or the rites of Demeter – is only partially taken up in
EK4, almost as an implied continuity, where we saw
large ships with several oarsmen in EK3. Does the
dedication of Merire in the EK4 tomb speak of the
craftsman or the warrior-adventurer who wields iron:
“(5.1) Every craftsman (Hmww: from the root used
to evoke skill and mastery) who wields the adze; he
is more tired than the agricultural corvée staff, his
field is of wood and his tool of copper (...) has he
finished a cubit of work that his arms are
annihilated with fatigue. He remains on the “foods-
of-Re” (a type of stone, it seems) his knees and his
back twisted. (Google translated)” [2] What a gap!
The author analyzing the text emphasizes that "those
who create works of sculpture, jewelry or
goldsmithing, but also chariots, oars or sacred boats, bear the title of Hmw.w" And what is this "Food-of-
Re", could it be linked to the Golden Fleece? Here is what the text also said: "(4.1) I have never seen a
sculptor (qs.ty) on a mission, nor a goldsmith (nby) who would have been commissioned (…) (Google
translated)" In the myth of the Argonauts, Medea provides Jason with a protective balm against burns and
the iron of bulls, as well as a stone that makes the warriors kill each other. For Jason was commissioned by
King Aeetes to undergo preliminary tests: to plough a barren land while harnessing a bull with bronze
hooves and spitting fire, to sow there the teeth of the dragon of Cadmus, from which sprout warriors, the
Spartans or "sown ones", who attack him.

2
Le scribe et le peintre. A propos d'un scribe qui ne voulaitpas être pris pour un peintre,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366812368
- The two sails. The two large
sails folded on their masts and
placed at the upper part of the
tomb between two large eyes
are significant; as are the
geometric patterns on the
ceiling depicting stars, 4-
branched flowers in diamonds. These patterns are
those of the Cenchreae Fresco. The representation of
masts folded on their ship in order to navigate by oar
is found in the tombs of the Old Kingdom (e.g. the
tomb of Paheri in Elkab), but rarely in a completely
detached form: the object is placed in adoration near
the Eye of Re, signifying an outstanding navigation.
These two sails have the shape of feathers of Maat or
more simply those of Shu, a personification of the
air. The one mast on the left is the classic ostrich
feather hugging a Djed pillar. The one on the right
could be an Atef crown, more precisely that of
Heryshef/Harsaphes "He who was born on the lake"
because it is decorated with the uraei or solar disks,
that is to say the two circles at the bottom of the feathers. Sails with
feathers of Maat are rarely represented and even less in a completely
detached way. The best example is a contemporary of Setau, that is to say
Khaemwaset, the son of Ramses III, pharaoh for whom Setau officiated.
We can clearly see the feathers of Maat placed on the
masts of the ship but also anthropomorphic oars. We
can also see the role of the sphinx, protector of naval
voyages, and/or of the path-opening dog, and the
Eye of Re which guards the prow of the ship. Maat is
the justice which guides the ship like eyes.
- Notice how the right sail dips through a name
cartouche. The name of Maat is often the compound
of a titular, for example "He who made Maat; The
lord of Maat". Under the 19th dynasty, Seti I is
enthroned under the name of Menmaâtrê "The Maât
of Re is lasting". It is also under the latter that this
beautiful ship appears where the feather of Maat
transcends the ship. Here is an analysis on the
subject: "Maat is often depicted at the prow of the
solar bark, sometimes even standing before it,
pulling the tow-rope (in the First Hour of the
Amduat)." Hygin reports in his Fables, 14.5 "Argus,
son of Danaus, was shipbuilder; Tiphys was pilot.
After his death Ancaeus, son of Neptune, steered.
Lynceus, son of Aphareus, who had keen sight, was
the lookout man at the prow; helmsmen were Zetes
and Calais, sons of Aquilo, who had wings on head
and feet." What defines that these two masts of tomb
EK4 are indeed masts is among other things the fact
that these feathers of Maat appear either raised on
the head of the goddess therefore without the
transversal, or on the weighing of the soul which
cannot correspond here, and the fact that the
detached masts are depicted leaning in the
iconography. Note that the Argo is not presented in
its entirety but as Hygin says, Astronomica 2.37:
"The entire form of the ship does not appear in the stars; it is divided from stern to mast, signifying that
men should not be in despair when their ships are wrecked."
- Libya. The Argo is on its way back when a storm occurs: it drifts and sinks into the Libyan Sea far into
the Syrte. After twelve days, they reach Lake Triton; the god Triton comes to their aid and shows them the
direction. It should be noted that in ancient times the so-called Libya was more likely to be the West of the
Nile in general. For example, the Bahr Youssef River fed by the Nile crosses the Libyan chain at El-Lahoun
and waters the Fayoum depression before feeding Lake Moéris. During its floods, the river fed a huge lake
in a depression of more than 1,700 km². This lake was formerly called Pa-yom "the sea" in Egyptian.
Herodotus gives 2,300 km² for Lake Triton. How can we explain the frescoes at El-Kab if the Argonauts did
not go down the Nile? Triton is the oldest name of the Nile (Argonautica, IV, 259-260 & 267-271): “For
there is another course, signified by those priests of the immortal gods, who have sprung from Tritonian
Thebes.... in the days when Egypt, mother of men of an older time, was called the fertile Morning-land
(?????) and the river fair-flowing Triton, by which all the Morning-land is watered;” “Hecataeus of Miletus
brought the Argonauts from the river Phasis through Okeanos into the Nile and down-river into "our sea"
(FGH 1 F 18a).”
- Tzetzes sur Lycophron : Ǥ 871 for Heracles' temple (Al. 871) around Syrtis of Libya, Jason and the rest
of the Argonauts were terrified after completing the contests there : for falling into the Syrtis due to the sea
being shallow and not being able to sail, they lifted the Argo on their shoulders and traveled for twelve days
through the desert of Libya, as Pindar says (PI V 44): on the twelfth day, coming to another sea, they put it
down. And having competed and bathed around that sea, they built a temple, which I mentioned, to
Heracles. § 872 "The helpless son of Cretheus"; which temple of Heracles "he feared" and built with the 50
Argonauts "the helpless" and descendant of Cretheus, Jason "having anchored" and having harbored there,
obviously the "boat" or the ship Argo. [] for Aeson was the son of Cretheus, and Jason was the son of
Aeson. § 881 "Titaironeion; where" once "dead" Mopsus from the city of Titairon "was buried" by the
Argonauts "they erected" and set up a tombstone as a "funerary base" and a sign from the "Argo's spear"
and the wood of the Argo "a broken" board or oar, they erected it as a "treasure" and a gift for the dead —
where did they erect it? Around the "Ausigda" city of Libya, which the Kinnuphos river flows by. [] Sailing,
he (Titaironeion"; this Mopsus) was killed by a snake in Libya, where his companions buried him. Above
his tomb, they fixed an oar or a board from the Argo. And this Mopsus, son of Ampyx and Chloris, lies in
Libya, being one of the Argonauts.»
- The eyes. In the Argonautic
myth, the Argo is equipped with
a speaking prow coming from
the insertion of a piece of the
Oracle Oak of Dodona. In the
manner of the Greco-Roman
tombs of Egypt such as that of
Petosiris with Hellenized
"animated" characters [Dakhla
Oasis, Tomb of Petosiris, Room
I, the Zodiac Ceiling], it seems
that this tomb is all the more filled
with these images. Notice how the
left eye is closed. Is this
intentional? Sometimes the glyph
of the eye is anthropomorphic,
placed in the head of an Egyptian
character, but here it is a possible
character who is placed in the eye,
just as one could say "in the
mouth of the dragon" or under the
protection of his lord-god.
Lynceus, pilot of the ship Argo,
had an extraordinary gift of
vision. On this point Hyginus
reports in his Fables (14.3) an anecdote: "Others say that no one
could see Lynceus at night (Lynceum noctu nullum vidisse)." In
the central eye we can see by a winged animal. According to the
myth, the fleece is that of Chrysomallos, a winged ram on which
Phrixus and Helle fled, and which was sacrificed to Zeus and
given to King Aeetes, who then had it guarded by the dragon.
Pliny (II.XV) adds: "Only in Aries will one see, on the same day
or the same night, the last quarter and the new moon; even then it
is given to few men to see this phenomenon, and hence the
fable of the sight of Lynceus." Philostratus also says of Lynceus
in his Galleries II: "XV. the first, he greets the earth appearing
on the horizon. But at this moment Lynceus' eyes express
terror, at the approach of a vision that suspends the oars in the
hands of fifty rowers. [] Glaukos, the sea god. [] For Glaukos
ends as a fish, as is proven by the two tails that straighten and
turn back towards the hip."
- Ships. A whole set of ships are
depicted. There seems to have
been some trouble to erase the
"shame" of the Sea Peoples.
Although erased, the main boat
can show the transport of a
"great warrior" placed at the
front (red circle), to whom glory
is given; a small cherub is
placed on the said head. The
Argo and its crew were
protected by the goddess Hera
(Pyth., IV, v. 184), which may
explain the presence of Nekbet
as mother goddess, the blue
vulture. The small red temple
has a strange glyph in the upper
right corner. A character such as
Triton, throws an object into a
fish's mouth.
- The ship at the bottom right is sailing; we see a fragment of the ship's
nacelle to the right. There may be a great divinity at the front, Proteus or
Triton, in the form of a fish-man raising his arm and indicating the way.
"the Argonauts propitiated the deities with a golden tripod on the shore
and Triton, the local deity, appeared to them in the form of a youth, to
show them a hidden channel to the sea. This late myth related that a lake
nymph named Tritonis made the lake her home and, according to an
ancient tradition, was the mother of Athena by Poseidon." The dog placed
on a pedestal of the ship at the bottom left is not typically Egyptian, its
muzzle is not refined. It is perhaps a lynx and an image of Lynceus?
- On the boat on the upper left,
the tall man with the pilos
helmet (dark red) could well be
the pilot Tiphys or Ancée. The
prow head is missing from the
boat, deliberately torn off or
erased, but from which we can
still make out a very long Asian
hat. On the other hand, a
remains (brown font), and the
torn off part at the front with
this crude face could be a statue,
or even that of an old man with
a helmet.
- Medea and the dragon. In the
upper right corner, at the edge
of the ceiling, we can see a large
character that has not been
erased. He is green, coarse,
smiling and holds a dagger or a
potion in front of a red snake
which, given the oval shape of
the ceiling, could wrap itself
around it. We can therefore see
this red toothed head. This part
of the fresco corresponds well
to the episode of the dragon of
Colchis. Ovid in the
Metamorphoses speaks of a
dragon always awake,
impressive with its crest, its
three tongues and its fang-
shaped teeth, fearsome guardian
of the tree with golden
reflections. He was put to sleep
by the witch Medea who threw
magic drugs into his eyes, in
order to allow Jason to seize the
fleece. But this is not the only
dragon in the story, Jason also
meets warriors born from the
teeth of the dragon of Cadmus.
- A few other images can be
seen on the ceiling in the
background: a classic wavy
mermaid shape and the shade of
a dog on the left.
- To the right of Medea, at the very bottom of her
hair, there is possibly the image of a crowned king
and a small cat's face at the bottom right. Creusa is
the daughter of Creon, king of Corinth. She was
destined for a king of Greece, but Jason married her
and repudiated Medea, and she took revenge by
killing Glauce-Creusa in a tunic that caught fire.
Medea also killed Creon and Jason's children,
Mermeros and Pheres. Her story may explain the
"cursed" shape of the images. However, if this is the
case, then the tomb would have been completed on
the return of an Argonaut, after returning to Greece.
- Further to the right of the hair, a hero with a long
headdress, an orange face, as well as a large eagle
spreading its wings but torn off.
- The wedding. After taking the Fleece from the
Dragon, the Argonauts flee, pursued by the armies of
Aeetes. Jason and Medea marry on the road, but
receive bad omens. According to the Orphic
Argonauts, the marriage, occurring in Corcyra on the
road to Syrte, saves them from the intentions of King
Aeetes who pursues them, because Medea is no
longer a virgin. Exiled in Corinth, the couple lives
happily for ten years and has two sons. Hesiod
mentions that Medos is the son of Medea and Jason.
On the left side of the ceiling, just above the ships, at
the top of the red circle, appears a kneeling man with
a hoplite crest holding the hand of a lady. The face of the lady probably leaning
forward (yellow circle), slightly coarse, benevolent in appearance and leaning on
her trunk; the hair is therefore mixed with the hand, the face with the chest. On her
dress is still a statuette of the
"knight of her heart", the
promise of an heir maybe.
- Upon Tzetzes scholia on
Lycophron : Ǥ 1025 "Bridal
convoy": Tropis is the name of
the timber below the ship,
which is also called the keel, as
it is stronger than the rest and
holds everything together. []
Now, "tropis" refers to the
whole ship, the Argo, from a
part to the whole; "bridal"
because it carried Medea, who was a bride, with
Jason to Iolcus. For she, having bewitched the
dragon that guarded the golden fleece, took it; and
having charmed the fire-breathing bulls, she made
Jason yoke them. Jason, having taken her, since he
had secured her with oaths not to leave, and having
put her brother on the Argo, flees.»
- Scene on the left wall. The large left wall is all
torn off but there is a small scene at the bottom, near
the back wall. At first glance, one would think to see
a man holding a bird that is turned to the left, but this
bird is anthropomorphic. The Greek sirens were
originally singing birds. The Egyptian bird called
rekhyt, for example, means "praise" or "the people".
The two men are therefore holding out an object,
probably the head of an enemy (red square), the
character at the top having a certain horror in his
face, facing a divinity such as Glaukos or Triton.
This marine divinity (green) is accompanied by a
servant (orange) and the two are possibly carrying a
prophetic fetish staff with a bird's head, perhaps even
that of Athena's owl. The webbed object at the very
bottom is intriguing, could it be
a form of lyre? The Egyptians
have several musical
instruments represented with
elongated shapes. According to
the scholia of Tzetzes on the
Lycophron : Ǥ 175. Medea, the
daughter of Aeetes, fell in love
with Jason. She anointed him
with potions and protected him
from the fire of the bulls. She
led him by night to the fleece,
enchanted the dragon, took it,
and sailed with the Argonauts...
[] They passed the Eridanus,
the Syrtis islands, and the
Sirens while Orpheus played his lyre; only Butes
went out to them. [] § 310 Love is also called "Iynx"
and a certain bird called "seisopygis", which the
witches use for love potions. Similarly, "caught in
inescapable snares"; for lovers are drawn to their
beloveds as if by a bond. Therefore, with love,
"wounded by the one who conquered", with the love
of Achilles (=dragon § 307), [] since Achilles was
his lover (=Troilus § 307) for a short time. The
"unloving" is in no way thin or unstable. "With the
fire-bearing Iynx of arrows" now instead of the fire-
bearing arrow; he speaks of love. The Iynx is
primarily a bird [] frequently twisting and spinning
its neck, useful to witches for love spells; for they
take it and bind it from a certain wheel, which they
spin around while chanting. [] So, they say, this Iynx
was first given by Aphrodite to Jason, teaching him how to charm Medea. [] Others say that the Iynx is a
very melodious lyre, hence everything desirable is called Iynx. [] § 885 Ausigda is a city in Libya through
which the Cinyps river flows. They say that during the return journey, the Argo fell into the Syrtis. The
Argonauts were at a loss about the passage when Triton, the son of Poseidon, appeared and guided them, to
whom Medea gave a golden mixing bowl as a reward, which she had from her father's spoils. Or, being a
sorceress, Medea saved the situation by using her magic to water the place where the ship was stuck, so
that it was as it had been at first.»
- Other images can be guessed. On the ceiling to the
left of the one in the background, above the small
sequence with the bird, is a form of a ram.
- Other images can be guessed.
The outline of "masts and eyes"
is a product of several figures,
possibly the Argonauts;
however, only a few are still
visible. Below the feather is a
form of a lion or monster
raising its paw. Just above, on
the ceiling, is a giant deity or
king carrying a Fleece, in his
lair for example.
- To the left of the mast bubble
is a large figure stretching out
his two small arms, with, in
front of him, a hideous bird that
seems to be a headdress of a
second figure. It must be said
that the upper section is the one
placed in the stars, at least on
the sides of the tomb.
- Dioskuri constellations goes
with Lega and found on an
antique celestial sphere. The
Chronology of Ancient
Kingdoms Amended (1728) par
Isaac Newton : «(p.37) Now
Chiron delineated σχηματα
ολυμπου the Asterisms, as the
ancient Author of
Gigantomachia, cited by
Clemens Alexandrinus [Strom.
1. p. 306, 352.] informs us: for
Chiron was a practical
Astronomer, as may be there
understood also of his daughter
Hippo: and Musæus, the son of Eumolpus and master of Orpheus, and one of the Argonauts, [Laertius
Proem. l. 1] made a Sphere, and is reputed the first among the Greeks who made one: and the Sphere it self
shews that it was delineated in the time of the Argonautic expedition; for that expedition is delineated in the
Asterisms, together with several other ancienter Histories of the Greeks, and without any thing later.
There's the golden RAM, the ensign of the Vessel in which Phryxus fled to Colchis; the BULLwith brazen
hoofs tamed by Jason; and the TWINS, CASTOR and POLLUX, two of the Argonauts, with the SWAN of
Leda their mother. There's the Ship ARGO, and HYDRUS the watchful Dragon; with Medea's CUP [] and
the HARP of the Argonaut Orpheus. [] The People of the Island Corcyra attributed the invention of the
Sphere to Nausicaa [Suda : Anagallis of Corcyra, a grammarian, attributes the invention of the ball[-game]
to Nausicaa the daughter of Alcinous], the daughter of Alcinous, King of the Pheaces in that Island: and it's
most probable that she had it from the Argonauts, who in their return home sailed to that Island, and made
some stay there with her father.»
- Other images can be guessed. On the torn off left wall, a fierce man's
face with a third eye can still be seen.
- To the right of the front door, a small animal.
- Above the wall in the center-right, there is probably the bare belly of a
woman; possibly an erased portion of a sexual rite. It must be said that
the torn left side also presents an old woman's face.
- The cave. For those who followed Babylone
Troyenne VOL.2, Palestrina's Nile Mosaic comes
with a second mosaic found at the bottom of a cave
called "of the Fishes and Fates". This one seems to
present the Golden Fleece and a version of Triton,
who will be named Proteus "the Old Man of the Sea"
in the myth of Helen in Egypt. When the Argonauts
arrive in Libya, they give the god Triton a crater or a
tripod which will be hidden in a cave.
- Tzetzes sur Lycophron : Ǥ 886 The Libyans
fearing the "prayers" that is the words of Triton will
"hide" the "possession" and property that is the
crater in the "earth's" farthest "hidden recesses". §
891 "The Greeks," for Triton then predicted that the
Greeks would conquer Libya, when a Libyan man
gives the crater to a Greek man, which the Libyans,
fearing this, will dig and hide. He probably says this
from the ship, saying that he is the same as Poseidon
and received a golden crater from Medea, in return
for showing the way, and he says that he prophesied
to the Libyans that the Greeks will rule Libya, when
a Libyan man again gives the crater to a Greek man,
so he says that the Libyans, being afraid, hid the
crater in a trench in the ground. § 895bis "And the
gift of Medea, the mixing bowl... and the 'in' 'neirois'
either refers to the hollows or the wet places... either
to hide the mixing bowl... of Medea."»
- Towards Troy. According to Le Roman de Troie
by Benoît de Sainte-Maure: Jason lands on the lands
of Laomedon, the king of Troy. The latter, fearing
that Jason and his men will attack him, sends a
messenger to chase them away immediately. Jason,
reasonable but offended, will curse the king and the
city, affirming that they will one day be punished for
this inhospitality, then leaves. Hygin Fabula. Ǥ 89
LAOMEDON: Hercules and Telamon came there,
the Argonauts being on their way to Colchis, and
killed the monster. [] And so Hercules, assembling
ships to attack Troy, came and slew Laomedon». It
must be said that the myth of Hercules in Troy also
sees inhospitality.