“The sky hath withdrawn the life of the star Septet (Sothis, the Dog-star); behold Unas a living being, the son of Septet.  The Eighteen Gods have purified him in Meskha (the Great Bear), [he is] an imperishable star.  The house of Unas perisheth not in the sky, the throne of Unas perisheth not on the earth.  Men make supplication [there], the gods fly [thither].  Septet hath made Unas fly to heaven to be with his brethren the gods.  Nut,[1] the Great Lady, hath unfolded her arms to Unas.  She hath made them into two divine souls at the head of the Souls of Anu, under the head of Ra.  She made them two weeping women when thou wast on thy bier (?).  The throne of Unas is by thee, Ra, he yieldeth it not up to anyone else.  Unas cometh forth into heaven by thee, Ra.  The face of Unas is like the [faces of the] Hawks.  The wings of Unas are like [those of] geese.  The nails of Unas are like the claws of the god Tuf.  There is no [evil] word concerning Unas on earth among men.  There is no hostile speech about him with the gods.  Unas hath destroyed his word, he hath ascended to heaven.  Upuatu hath made Unas fly up to heaven among his brethren the gods.  Unas hath drawn together his arms like the Smen goose, he striketh his wings like a falcon, flying, flying.  O men, Unas flieth up into heaven.

[Footnote 1:  The Sky-goddess.]

“O ye gods of the West, O ye gods of the East, O ye gods of the South, O ye gods of the North, ye four groups who embrace the holy lands, devote ye yourselves to Osiris when he appeareth in heaven.  He shall sail into the Sky, with his son Horus by his fingers.  He shall announce him, he shall make him rise up like the Great God in the Sky.  They shall cry out concerning Unas:  Behold Horus, the son of Osiris!  Behold Unas, the firstborn son of Hathor!  Behold the seed of Keb!  Osiris hath commanded that Unas shall rise as a second Horus, and these Four Spirit-souls in Anu have written an edict to the two great gods in the Sky.  Ra set up the Ladder[1] in front of Osiris, Horus set up the Ladder in front of his father Osiris when he went to his spirit, one on this side [and] one on the other side; Unas is between them.  Behold, he is the god of the pure seats coming forth from the bath (?).  Unas standeth up, lo Horus; Unas sitteth down, lo Set.  Ra graspeth his hand, spirit to heaven, body to earth.”

[Footnote 1:  The Ladder by which souls ascended to heaven.  A picture of the Ladder is given in the Papyrus of Ani, Plate XXII.]

The power of the king in heaven was almost as absolute as it was upon earth, and in a very remarkable passage in the text of Unas, which is repeated in the text of Teta, we have a graphic description of the king as a mighty hunter, who chases the gods and lassoes them, and then kills and eats them in order that he may absorb their strength and wisdom, and all their divine attributes, and their power of living eternally.  The passage reads: