The Tale of the Two Brothers
E798463
The Tale of the Two Brothers is an ancient Egyptian narrative often regarded as one of the earliest known fairy tales, featuring themes of betrayal, divine intervention, and moral testing between two siblings.
Statements (51)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
ancient Egyptian narrative
ⓘ
fairy tale ⓘ literary work ⓘ mythological tale ⓘ short story ⓘ |
| approximateDate |
13th century BCE
ⓘ
reign of Seti II NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| catalogueNumber | British Museum Papyrus 10183 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| containsMotif |
Potiphar’s wife motif
ⓘ
divinely ordained kingship ⓘ magic heart hidden in a tree ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin | Ancient Egypt NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| featuresCharacter |
Anubis (elder brother)
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Bata (younger brother) NERFINISHED ⓘ Ennead of the gods NERFINISHED ⓘ Khnum NERFINISHED ⓘ Nine Gods ⓘ Ra NERFINISHED ⓘ pharaoh of Egypt ⓘ wife of Anubis ⓘ |
| genre |
didactic literature
ⓘ
fairy tale ⓘ mythological narrative ⓘ |
| influenced | later comparative studies of fairy tales ⓘ |
| literarySignificance |
important example of New Kingdom narrative literature
ⓘ
one of the earliest known fairy tales ⓘ |
| manuscriptLocation | British Museum NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| narrativeStructure | third-person narrative ⓘ |
| originalLanguage | Ancient Egyptian ⓘ |
| plotElement |
Bata becoming king of Egypt
ⓘ
divine creation of a wife for Bata ⓘ false accusation of attempted seduction ⓘ flight of the younger brother ⓘ murder and rebirth of Bata ⓘ transformation of Bata into a bull ⓘ transformation of Bata into a tree ⓘ |
| preservedOn | Papyrus D’Orbiney NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedWork | Story of the Two Brothers (alternate title) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| setting |
Egyptian royal court
ⓘ
rural farmstead ⓘ |
| studiedInField |
Egyptology
ⓘ
folklore studies ⓘ |
| theme |
betrayal
ⓘ
divine intervention ⓘ false accusation ⓘ fraternal loyalty ⓘ moral testing ⓘ resurrection ⓘ royal destiny ⓘ |
| timePeriodOfOrigin | New Kingdom of Egypt NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| writingSystem | hieratic script ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.