Nyarlathotep is one of the Outer Gods, a fictional character created by H.P. Lovecraft. Also known as The Crawling Chaos, he made his first appearance in the short story “Nyarlathotep” (1920).
I decided to translate it for LLPSI server’s Halloween event and I thought about rendering the name in Latin too. I’ll leave it up to you decide whether it’s a good decision or not.
Is Nyarlathotep an Egyptian name?
«The name Nyarlathotep, like that of Abdul Alhazred, is etymologically false for the culture from which it is supposed to originate, yet close enough in aspects to invoke them»1.
Whether Lovecraft took inspiration from Lord Dunsany’s creations (Alhireth-Hotep and Mynarthitep) or from historical figures (Ptahhotep and Imhotep) is unclear.
In a faux scholarly essay2 the author, William Hamblin, says that the name Nyarlathotep is a contraction of the Egyptian phrase “ny har rut hotep”, meaning “there is no peace (safety, rest) at the gate”. Then he adds that «the significance of this title is apparently that Nyarlathotep, in his role as messenger of the Other Gods, is the “gateway” between the planes, and specifically between their dimensions and ours». I’ll omit his translation of the name into Ancient Greek because it is utterly ridiculous.
Hamblin’s version
In the song “Nyarlathotep” by the metal band “The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets” the lyrics are claimed to be in Middle Egyptian, but I am not able to judge their quality. The authors of the lyrics apparently followed the faux essay and transliterated Nyarlathotep into nj-ḥr-rwt-ḥtp3 (literally “There is no at the gate peace”).
Crying out from the Red Land Came a man of darkness With evil bloody secrets
He knew the Black Pharaoh Servant to the Faceless Sphinx God He gave me the book of the dead
Nyarlathotep Slaughterer bringing nigh those who are detested Nyarlathotep
Tumult and time bent Mutilation and death in every land Unleashing fear, creeping downward
Messenger to those who are detested Prepare a way for the Void and the Evil Ones Terror in the harem of pestilences
The word ḥtp
As a layman I’ve observed that the noun ḥtp (hotep, hetep), which usually means “peace”, “offerings/sacrifice” or “to be satisfied, at peace”, when used at the end of the word was transliterated in ancient greek with -ωθης.
Egyptian t was not transcribed as θ when the previous consonant was rendered as aspirated (Νεφώτης, Σοχώτης). Also the vocalisation was rendered as ου after m (Ἰμούθης)4.
Examples
Amenhotep (Ỉmn-ḥtp “Amun is satisfied”): Ἀμενώθης
Peteamenhotep (Pȝ-dỉ-Ỉmn-ḥtp “He who has been given by Amun is satisfied”): Πετεαμενώθης
Senamenhotep (Tȝ-šr.t-n-Ỉmn-ḥtp “The daughter of Amun is satisfied”): Σεναμενώθης
Imhotep (Ỉy-m-ḥtp “(the one) returning home safely”): Ἰμούθης
Harimhotep (Ḥr-Ỉy-m-ḥtp “Horus has come in peace”): Ἁριμούθης
Pachompaimhotep (*Pȝ-ʿẖm-pa-Ỉy-m- ḥtp “The eagle (of) the one of Imhotep”): Παχομπαιμούθης
Peteimhotep (Pȝ-dỉ-Ỉy-m-ḥtp “The one who has been given by Imhotep”): Πετειμούθης
Psenimhotep (Pȝ-šr-n-Ỉy-m-ḥtp “The son of Imhotep”): Ψενιμούθης
Psensenimhotep (Pȝ-šr-n-tȝ-šr.t-n-Ỉy-m-ḥtp “The son of the daughter of Imhotep”): Ψενσενιμούθης
Psentremimhotep (*Pȝ-šr-n-tȝ-rm.t-n- Ỉy-m-ḥtp “The son of the woman of Imhotep”): Ψεντρεμιμούθης
Senimhotep (Tȝ-šr.t-n-Ỉy-m-ḥtp “The daughter of Imhotep”): Σενιμούθης
Taimhotep (Ta-Ỉy-m-ḥtp “The one of Imhotep”): Ταιμούθης
Teteimhotep (Tȝ-dỉ-Ỉy-m-ḥtp “The one who has been given by Imhotep”): Τετειμούθης
Zmenimhotep (Ns-Ỉmn-Ỉy-m-ḥtp “He belongs to Amun-Imhotep”): Ζμενιμούθης
Menthotep (Mnṱ-ḥtp “Montu is satisfied”): Μενθώτης
Mouthotep (Mw.t-ḥtp “Mut is satisfied”): Μουθώτης
Neferhotep (Nfr-ḥtp “The good one is satisfied”): Νεφώτης
Paneferhotep (Pa-Nfr-ḥtp “The one of Nephotes”): Πανεφώτης
Pachompeteneferhotep (*Pȝ-ʿẖm-pȝ-dỉ-Nfr-ḥtp “The eagle of He who has been given by the good one is satisfied”): Παχομπετενεφώτης
Peteneferhotep (Pȝ-dỉ-Nfr-ḥtp “He who has been given by the good one is satisfied”): Πετενεφώτης
Senneferhotep (Tȝ-šr.t-n-Nfr-ḥtp “The daughter of the good one is satisfied”): Σενεφώτης
Teteneferhotep (Tȝ-dỉ-nfr-ḥtp “She who has been given by the good one is satisfied”): Τετενεφώτης
Sobekhotep (Sbk-ḥtp “Sobek is satisfied”): Σοχώτης
Petesobekhotep (Pȝ-dỉ-Sbk-ḥtp “He who has been given by Sobek is satisfied”): Πετεσοχώτης
Therefore my proposal is to translate nj-ḥr-rwt-ḥtp in Ancient Greek as Νιαῤῥουθώτης (Latin: Niarrhūthōtēs).
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Blasco Torres A.I., Representing Foreign Sounds. Greek Transcriptions of Egyptian Anthroponyms from 800 BC to 800 AD (Dissertation), Leuven-Salamanca, 2017, p. 427
𓋹𓅝𓇋𓀁𓄤𓄤𓏞𓊪𓈖!