“Death is by my sight today, like a well trodden way…
Death is by my sight today, like the longing of a man
to see home…
I am laden with misery…”
Analysis of an ancient Egyptian poem by a psychiatrist and an
Egyptologist shows that it describes the psychopathology of suicide
with great accuracy.
Dispute over Suicide was a poem written by an unnamed Egyptian
writer between 2000 and 1740 BC on papyrus in hieroglyphics.
The writer is known as ‘The Eloquent Peasant’, and was
commissioned by King Meri-ka-re to write a poem in order to
dissuade people from committing suicide.
History of suicide
Suicide as a form of human behaviour is probably as ancient as
man himself. Attitudes towards those who take their own lives have
veered between condemnation and tolerance throughout the ages.
It is possible that moral and cultural views about suicide have
affected its incidence, statistics on suicide, and even coroners’
verdicts. An historical approach makes it possible to understand
what meaning suicide has for people with different experiences from
different backgrounds and generations.
The analysis
Dr. George Tadros, a consultant psychiatrist, and Dr. Ahmes
Pahor, an Egyptologist and ENT consultant, used a computer
programme with special software for qualitative analysis to assess
the poem.
The Eloquent Peasant gives a detailed description of negative
thoughts, hopelessness and helplessness, which are characteristic
of the state of mind of a person contemplating suicide. The poem
presents an accurate picture of depressive mood, and the negative
thought pattern that accompanies it.
The poet also gives a unique illustration of ‘magical thinking’,
which is frequently associated with suicide. “Surely he who is
yonder shall be a living God Punishing the sin of him who commits
it.”
“Death is by my sight today…” The poet gives a detailed account
of the feeling of suicide as approaching death, and demonstrates
how desperate people could see suicide as a desirable outcome.
However, The Eloquent Peasant also offers a solution of
reconciliation to resolve the conflict for people contemplating
suicide.
“What my soul said to me.
Put care aside, my comrade and brother.
Make an offering on the brazier and cling to life…”
The authors of the study comment that the Ancient Egyptians
appear to have had a significant grasp of the psychopathology of
suicide. It would be interesting, they say, to study wider mental
health issues and practice in ancient Egypt.
For further information, please contact Liz Fox or Deborah
Hart in the Communications Department.
Telephone: 020 7235 2351 Extensions. 6298 or 6127